Well, too soon we’ve come to the end of our week here North of Cairns, and are soon setting off for NZ – still without seeing a roo! The closest we’ve come is a group of little wallabys,sharing a pasture right next to the main road with half a dozen horses.
Apart from our brilliant day on the Barrier Reef, we’ve also visited Kuranda village up in the hills – heading up there by cable car over the rainforest canopy – but the most spectacular bit of the day was the trip back down again on the Scenic railway – a staggering feat of engineering, cutting a railroad into rock faces and over gorges on so many flimsy-looking bridges.
Have also spent lots of time here just taking it easy, enjoying the pools and beaches & generally being lazy. Being the rainy season this also meant some time watching the rain come down, but it’s warm rain so, No worries!
We gave ourselves a treat on our last day here; hired a car and headed north to the Mossman Gorge, on the SE corner of the Daintree Rainforest & National Park.
Some of our day was spent with a lovely Aboriginal guide called Harold – Wawubuja in his tribal tongue. Our guided walk was fascinating – saw all sorts of plants in the rainforest which could easily prove fatal! Often growing close by a natural antidote – if only you knew which one it was! A real privilege to spend a few hours hearing about the spiritual sites, rituals and customs of his tribe – the Kuku Yalanji.
The rainforest here is magical, with sparklingly clear streams and rivers, huge strangler figs, towering red cedars, massive ferns & vines, all covered with epiphytes. And the beaches – wow - Awesome.
We’ve had a really good first “taster” of OZ, and will look forward to returning for an extended stay another year. If we do, we’ll be making sure we fit in a bush camping trip with Wawubuja near his home village of Laura - just as long as we don’t have to eat whitchetee grubs!- (prob not the right spelling)
So….packing up and flying off in the morning. Can’t wait to get exploring in the camper van.
NZ here we come
Wow, that went so fast! It feels like you only left yesterday, and you've already packed so much in. Rainforest sounds awesome - better than Costa Rica? More poisonous? Did you find any Bolivian Wandering Spiders (admittedly they would have wandered a LONG way..., but hey, Costa Rica aint exactly close to Bolivia either...). Can't wait for a more reliable internet connection and some news from the road. Wine country here you come!!! Sarah xxx
ReplyDeleteSounds like you really enjoyed what you have seen, made us feel like we missed out on something by not going to this place called Oz!! If you enjoyed that, just wait till you get to NZ - a-maz-ing darling! I hope it lives up to the hype for you. x
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