Friday 8th of April

Today I stayed locally, and visited Cairns Botanic Gardens.

It started with a boardwalk through a rainforest. (Please note that this is in the middle of Cairns City!)

This vine looks like it is trying to strangle the poor tree!

A dragonfly is posing for me.

Look at the two "eyes" on the forehead of this dragonfly.

There was a tiny creek too! You know my love for water...

Absolutely wonderful!

Vines were climbing on most trees.

Well, it is a botanic garden, so there is a lawn too.

A wonderful flower! 

In the greenhouse: an amazing spider!

and another one!

and a lovely flower.

This flower looks like a small bottle, and is about 3 cm tall.

I thought it might be an insect trap, so I picked a small grass straw and touch its' inside, but no reaction.

So it is probably for containing water.

These black berries are hanging on a red twig from the palmtree.

Looks like a string from a necklace.

These vines were hanging down.

I tried to grab one, to see if it could hold me, but it broke easily.

A closeup of the vines.

This is a cannonball tree.

For obvious reasons. Look at the fruit.

I love the colours of this flower.

It looks like paper falling off this tree, and it is actually called a papertree.

In the afternoon I practiced throwing a boomerang I bought in town.

I threw it alright, but most of the times it ended up in a palmtree. Had to search a while, before being able to find it... :-) Maybe two pieces of wood attract each other...?

Well, you don't start as an expert, do you? It was fun to have tried. I will look for a larger and more open field next time I practice, to make it easier to find.



Thursday 7th of April

Today it was time for Daintree National Park. It is about 80 km north of Cairns.

This is a preserved rainforest park.

At the entrance, there was this warning sign for turkeys. Another sign said they were stealing food at the tables, so we should not feed them. Better be careful... :-)

I am getting quite used to these water hazards now. They are becoming quite fun! Take aim and drive quickly, and it splashed everywhere! :-)

Here is the little turkey, at the picnic tables. He seemed very friendly. However, a guy I met told me that it had run away with one of his 20 dollar bills! (Wonder how it intended to use it...? )

A small splashing stream. Can't resist taking a photo of it...

Many trees seem to interleave their root systems...

All plants seem to be in symbiosis with each other.

A tiny waterfall, followed by a very relaxing stream...

Look at this view! The clouds are covering the mountain! Wonderful!

Looks like walking in a tropical rainforest, doesn't it? You are correct!

Many plants like to grow on trees.

This tree has an enormous rout system!

Just a tiny tree prevents this giant rock from rolling!

... or maybe these two stones helped. But nothing else prevented this rock from rolling all over me!

These tree roots are big, and not under ground like we are used to, rather in the air.

Sometimes I had to walk across a small stream. Quick steps, and I successfully came over to the other side.

I little wider stream. Quick steps on the rocks, and I was over on the other side.

Strangely one of the leaves was purple...?

The mosquitos were quite active... :-(

I will remember to wear long sleeves next time...

Wednesday 6th of April

Today I visited Skyrail Rainforest in Caravonica, just north of Cairns.

It is a cableway, hanging over the beautiful rainforest, so you can see it from above.

It stops at three different stations, where you can get it and have a closer look.

Well, I shouldn't be surprised, since Cairns is in the subtropical zone.

Getting started... full of expectations!

Ranger Phil tells us many interesting things about the rainforest. The tree behind him is 30-35 m high, and 500 years old. They usually become 1000 years old...

Here is a caterpillar (larv) hanging on a twig. It is exactly in the middle of the image. Hadn't he pointed at it, I would never have seen it!

This little insect also has a good way of camoflaging himself. Looks like a small piece of wood. Suddenly wings appeared, and he flew away!

We continue our way. This is a magnificent gorge!

Here is Barron Falls, our next stop. (You know how much I love these waterfalls, don't you? :-) )

Another image of Barron Falls, standing on a viewing platform.

This is how we travel over the rainforest. All these wonderful trees, just below our feet!

And the beautiful Barron River, just outside Kuranda.

Kuranda was the end station and, as it turned out, a tourist trap. I realized that when I was asked "Don't you want to walk around the village?". So I returned to Caravonica.

I later visited Kuranda by car, and got confirmed that it indeed was a tourist trap. Just lots of souvenir shops. So I didn't miss anything!

Here I am on my way to Emerald Creek Falls, outside Mareeba. Yes, another one of those wonderful waterfalls!

Suddenly a sign appeared, saying "8 km of dirt road". Well, I thought I would continue anyway, since I am already so close.

The road turned out to be very muddy, and my car got very dirty. But I will not give up this easily!

Big holes in the road made it difficult to drive, but I managed to get through.

Isn't the road really suberb! :-)

And sometimes the water floats over the road...

Just had to drive slow, and everything went smoothly!

I did find some lovely flowers on my walk to the waterfall.

I could get very close to the waterfull, so here is an extreme closeup!

Emerald Creek Falls from a distance.

Look at the force in the water! Absolutely fantastic!