Port Sorell Noodles

Sometimes what you need is a quick and easy meal that brings joy when you think about eating it. Tonight we felt like noodles, as it was the first time we have made them, we thought we would share the recipe, named after the town where we first enjoyed them.

Also note these meals are to be enjoyed by two adults and six hungry children. You can adjust to suit for any number of people.

Ingredients

• 15 Packets of Instant Noodles with no seasoning
• 2 Cans of chicken or tuna
• 1 Onion
• 4 Cloves of Garlic (adjust as needed, we had two children with runny noses, so we added a little more)
• Small Amount Ginger
• Dribble Olive Oil
• 2 Liters of Water
• 2 Pak Choy or Bok Choy

Preparation

1. Crush and roughly chop the Garlic and Ginger. Slice the Onion into strips.
2. Put a dash of olive oil into a pan and put the Garlic, Ginger and Onion into a pan on low until they are browned.
3. Add the two cans of chicken or tuna. Use Sweet Chilli flavoured chicken to add extra spice. Turn up the stove to give it more heat.
4. Pour in the water. We needed about 3/4 full so when we added the noodles it would mostly cover them.
5. As the water heats cut up the Bok Choy and add that into the pot.
6. Add the noodles, enough to fill the pot.
7. Bring water to the boil and cook the noodles.

Once served, stand back because the hungry hordes come flocking in for their feed.

Seconds

The wonderful thing about this dish, is that we used half of the noodles for the first serve, so we just topped up the pot and kept on cooking.

1. To the left over soup add more Garlic and Ginger.
2. Add more water and another can of Chicken, if you have it.
3. Tell the hungry children that seconds will be ready soon.
4. More Noodles into the pot.
5. As it slowly cooks on the small portable fire, tell the children it will be ready soon.

Again serve and watch them disappear.

Scenic Railway to Kuranda

Dear Adventurous Reader,

An old railway runs from Cairns up into the mountains beyond. A railway constructed by the labor of many men, facing hardship and death everyday. Today we took the easy path and paid money for the train ride to the small town of Kuranda.

We love trains and railways. All of us like old railways with a story to tell, especially one of hard work, of toil and men of the past shaping a peaceful path through a treacherous mountain. Before the steam engine could make the journey, men went before to forge the path. Pick axes and dynamite used to blast and hack their way through the difficult terrain.

Today engineering is a different feat, we have made it easier for ourselves. In the days of old paths were created on the sweat and shoulders of people who would dare to prove what seemed impassable was not.

There are 15 tunnels hewn from the mountain side, the longest 490 meters. There are many bridges spanning gaps small to large. One bridge is built on one of the two switch backs where you can see the engines pulling up front and the last carriage following behind.

The train slows down on one switchback as it passes a large waterfall. People move from one side of the train to the other, making sure to take a photo or to store an image in their mind. The rain from a few nights ago not going to waste with the magnificent scenery.

The Kuranda Scenic Railway has a video that displays photos at opportune story moments, telling us the tale of the railway's creation. It is neither loud or annoying, often times the children's excited voices drown out the words it speaks to us. It tells tales of wonder and explains magnificent views.

Tourist Town in the Mountains

We pull into Kuranda. The station is surrounded by wonderful green trees and large flowers. There are some steps leading toward the town which we follow.

Kuranda reminds us if Sorento, across the bay from where we live. The prices at the shops also remind is of Sorento. The town seems to run on the tourist dollars that arrive, there are many indigenous, new-age and specialty stores along the street, all catering to the whim of someone looking for a bargain or for a memory.

We walked into the rock candy store, just standing inside that place made your teeth start to decay. There were so many colours and flavours of rock candy to choose from, with a video to demonstrate how it was made. We put that on the list of places to visit on the journey back towards the train.

We ate a cheap lunch of Nutella on bread. We took a brief stroll though the rainforest before rushing back towards the train for the ride home. We spent more time sitting on the train than wandering the streets of Kuranda, although if we had more time we would have walked the rainforest instead of finding shops to take our money.

Down Again

Back down the mountain, making the slow trip with the train again. The same video played but reversed the explanation points. The boys hopped between seats trying to find the best view as the train slowed at important sections, once again. Adeline had the afternoon sleep she had been fighting since lunch.

Kuranda Scenic Railway was a slow ride through some beautiful scenery. We loved the idea of seeing that part of the world by train, in old style carriages, going slowly up the mountain to see the views of Cairns and the forests below.