Day 4: Thursday, August 11 Atherton Table Lands and Rainforest
I am going to break with tradition and begin more or less at the end of the day because that is when the highlight of the day, indeed perhaps of the trip so far, took place. Seafood lover that I am, imagine me going to dinner where there is an "all you can eat" cold buffet containing: prawns, fresh raw oysters, crab, "yabbi yabbi" (like a cross between a shrimp and a crayfish), mussels. I was in heaven. Also included in the price was a huge hot pot of a curried seafood soup. The pot of soup would have been more than a meal in itself and I probably had to leave (most sadly) about half of it. I did justice to the other things I think, consuming two large plates full. On top of the food, the service was excellent but that might have been because there weren't many people in the restaurant.
After dinner I tried to get a connection to the Internet from the computers in the lobby. I fed $6.00 into the thing and it still wouldn't do anything so I went to the reception desk and complained (politely). They returned my money without question and then let me use the computer in the hotel's business centre. I assumed that there would be a similar charge for using it but was told not to worry about it. I still could not upload any files but at least was able to check and deal my e-mail.
Back to the beginning of the day.
I had my alarm set for 6:00 but woke up at 5:00 and couldn't get back to sleep so got up and began working on the journal. For the past couple of days I have been so tired at night by the time I processed the photos that I have left the journal for the following morning. At any rate I worked away until it was time to go down to be picked up at 8:00. The small 20 passenger bus arrived a few minutes early so I was glad to have gone down even earlier.
After stopping at a number of other hotels to pick up passengers we were set to go. There were eighteen or nineteen of us representing Australia, France, Korea, Japan, Britain and Canada (just me). A quiet group to be sure but the driver made up for that. He told us many stories, a lot of them historical (history of sugar cane farming, history of logging, history of the introduction of the African tulip tree, etc.) We drove through various suburbs of Cairns but the only names I can remember Edmonton and Whiterock.
Our first stop was a scenic lookout called, I think, Heales Lookout, on the Gillies Highway. The view over the Mulgrave Valley was beautiful even though it was pretty hazy - mountains, hills and valleys stretching for miles and miles. This highway is an incredible roller coaster ride up and down, twisting and turning for its length. I don't recall how long it was but I do know that in a relatively short stretch (15 km?) there are 213 turns. At one time there were more than six hundred turns in the same distance. Everyone was relieved when we got onto a somewhat straighter section. Somewhere along there we stopped to look at some huge bull kauris trees that had been spared from loggers. They are the largest of Australia's pines. For more information please see the description in the photo.
Then it was on to the Platypus Highway and morning tea at the Lake Barrine Teahouse. "Tea" consisted of scones smothered in strawberry jam and topped with clotted cream and then tea or coffee. Very good. Lake Barrine is a crater lake in an ancient volcano. There are no streams in or out but there is an overflow area and it is thought that the fish, eels and turtles made their way up the overflow and into the lake. Following tea we boarded a boat for a trip around the lake. In the course of the hour long ride we saw a great many ducks, one pelican, snapping turtles, and other water birds. The guide was very good and pointed out many of the trees unique to Australia and/or the Lake area. There are more than 500 kinds of trees in the rainforest here. We had hoped to see a python and other wildlife but no such luck. I am beginning to suspect that any larger wildlife I see will be in a zoo although I did see the rear end of a wallaby for a half second as it dove into the bush. The driver told me that the kangaroos are nocturnal but that contradicts what others have told me and what I have seen in photographs. Maybe I am too far north...
On to the Giant Curtain Fig tree. The photos don't really do justice to this monster and I find it difficult to describe. Simply put a fig plant attaches itself to another tree, sends roots down to the ground and then develops aerial roots that wrap around and eventually strangle the host tree. In this case the host tree fell against another tree when it died so the process began all over again. That scenario was repeated four or five times. In time the host trees rotted away leaving the fig roots that form the "curtain effect".
Lunch was in a park like setting complete with waterfalls. We had a choice of bacon and egg quiche, vegetarian quiche or cold corned beef. Most people, me included, chose the bacon and egg quiche. It was pretty good and came with a salad and "damper". Damper is sort of a cross between a soda bread and a scone - heavy, filling and delicious. Dessert was apple crumb and ice cream.
First on the itinerary after lunch was a stop at Millaa Millaa Falls one of the most renowned waterfalls in the country. That says a lot because we saw waterfalls almost every place we stopped. That reputation seemed to be born out by the number of people who were there. Pretty spectacular and as so many other places a beautiful setting.
More stops at lookouts and then it was on to Paronella Park the site of the ruins of a Spanish Castle. It is a long story and I will have to fill in more details later when I have time. Suffice it to say that it was an incredible effort by one man (Jose Paronella) basically but a fire and a cyclone have ruined much of what was there. The man certainly had grandiose ideas but didn't make any money as he had hoped because there weren't enough tourists in those days (early 1930's). The new owners of the property are doing much better. Afternoon tea was at the park but I wasn't interested in eating. I was too hot and dripping sweat everywhere so sat by myself far away from the group. While we were in the table lands (high in the mountains) I was quite comfortable but once we came back down the humidity slammed into me again.
The final stop of the day was at the Babinda Boulders. These are huge boulders that somehow ended up in a river and valley creating rapids and falls. Aboriginal legend has it that a maiden went into the pool and called for her lover to join her. He didn't and she drowned but now calls to all young men who come there. So far twenty-three men between the ages of 22 and 35 have drowned there. I didn't hear her call so I guess she really does choose youth over experience!
Another long, long day came to an end leaving me very tired and aching in back and hips from the walking and climbing hills and steps. The castle nearly did me in...