24th February 2008

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24th February 2008
Today we left the Rainforest Motel in Atherston after saying goodbye to the receptionist and her roo dog Wally. A roo dog is used when they hunt kangeroos as they can sniff out the carcasses in the long grass so that the hunters can find the ones they have shot. Wally was across between a greyhound and a mastiff. Very big!
We drove up to Yungaburra and had breakfast then continued up the Giles Highway towards Lake Barrine.
On the way we stopped to look at the Curtain Fig which could be a 1,000 years old which is mind boggling. The fig seed is dropped by birds in the top branches of a tree and grows aerial roots which go down to the ground. Gradually over many years the fig strangles the original host tree and it rots away leaving a free standing fig tree. In the case of the curtain fig the original tree fell over and was caught up in an adjacent tree and so the fig roots have fanned out in a curtain.
After seeing the curtain fig tree we arrived at Lake Barrine. There is a teahouse and jetty there and they run cruises round the lake. The whole place is delightful and set in nice gardens with lots of flowers and shrubs. The flowers attract enormous butterflies that are absolutely stunning colours. Dinah spent ages chasing these butterflies round the gardens trying to get a picture but of course they would not settle for long enough for her to be able to focus and get a good picture. There is a circuit walking track round Lake Barrine which is about 5km which we did and it is also very popular track for runners on a Sunday morning.
After the walk we did an organised tour of the lake by boat. The tour guide is also a ranger in the National Park and of course knew where to find the local wildlife. He first showed us the local ducks and he would lean out of the boat whilst it was sailing down the lake with small pieces of bread in his hand and the local ducks would fly alongside the boat and take the bread out of his hand. We also saw lots and lots of turtles swimming in the lake and he would also try to feed them bread but usually the ducks would beat the turtles to the bread. Visitors are not allowed to feed any wildlife in the National Parks to stop them eating the wrong food and becoming tame.
Next Warren took us to a python's sunning spot but he had gone out of the hot sun. At the next stop a small python was sheltering among the reeds and slithered away when we were looking at him. He was about 3 metres long so about 30 years old. The next stop was at another turtle hideout where we saw a very old turtle with moss growing on his back and Warren said he had been there at least 30 years. There were some beautiful blue water lilies and some tiny white ones called snowflakes which are unique to the area. The last stop was at a large basket fern which was home to a very large amethystine python. It was the most beautiful looking snake with irridescent blue and green scales when the sun caught them and as you know I am not very keen on snakes but I couldn't stop looking. It was about 5 metres long and about 50 years old and fortunately fast asleep. They have been known to grow up to 10 metres long and live to be 100 years old. They only need to eat 2 or 3 times a year once they get to about 2 metres long. So best not to meet one when they are hungry!
The basket ferns are epiphytes which mean they live on another plant but in a symbiotic way so the don't damage there host. The fern wraps it's roots round the branch or trunk of a tree and grows into a huge basket shape with the fern fronds growing out of the top. When it rains the water is stored in the root ball and they can weigh up to 2 tons. They look very impressive growing high up in the canopy. The python's basket had been growing on a tree that fell down over the water.
After all that excitement we went back to the 1920's tea rooms for a very good lunch. The tea rooms were built but a Mr. and Mrs Curry in the early 1920's as a retreat for business folks. Mr Curry used to row people round the lake which took him about 4 hours so he must have been quite fit. The family still own and run the tea rooms and the boat service but the boat has a motor now!
We then went on to Lake Eacham which is slightly smaller and did a 3 km walk through the rain forest round the lake.
After that we drove into Yungaburra to find a motel for the night. We selected the Kookaburra Lodge Motel to stay in and it was so nice that we have checked in for two nights. It also has the benefit of free internet connection and is only about one hours drive from Cairns.

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Comments

[Lucy]

Snakes!
Very proud of you Mum for getting such good pics of the snakes, wish I had seen snakes!