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The Drive
Sugarcane field with mist-covered mountains in the background. April 8th: The good thing, at least the good thing for me, about Kevin not wanting to go on any tours is that I get to go on two (instead of just one)! For my second day trip I went on a tour focusing on the rainforest, waterfalls, and Paronella Park (castles!).
Again, I was picked up right outside of the hostel very early in the morning by the tour guide in a small, ten-seater van. The group was small today: 5 other people, all of them Australian (middle-aged), and myself! They were all very nice and I spent much of the day explaining where I was from, how long I had been in Australia, how I was liking it, what I have seen, etc. After picking up the whole group, we drove south, away from Cairns. We past many sugarcane fields and had magnificent views of the mountains. Even though it rained all day, this trip was truly spectacular and I enjoyed it even more than I did my trip to Cape Tribulation.
Our first stop was a beautiful freshwater lake called Lake Barrine. Here, after sampling some delicious scones with jam and cream (yum!), we went on
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Lake Barrine boat we went on for the wildlife cruise. a one-hour wildlife cruise. The tour guide used pieces of bread and meat to attract ducks, turtles and eels, so we were able to see plenty of wildlife. We even saw two huge pythons sunning themselves on the rocks by the lake!
After the cruise, we drove into the rainforest to view a giant curtain fig tree. Fig trees grow around a host tree and eventually, over a period of many, many years, cut off the light to the host tree, thereby killing it. The fig tree continues to grow, and appears hollow where the host tree has rotted away. This particular fig tree, as it was growing, it gradually was leaning to the side. To accommodate the weight of the tree, it kept sending down roots to the forest floor, thereby creating a ‘curtain’ effect. Very neat! This tree was massive, having grown over hundreds of years!
Next stop: Millaa Millaa Falls. You just don’t see waterfalls like this very often! Set right in the rainforest, this falls was very scenic. On a nice day, I imagine that it would be lovely to bring lunch and spend the afternoon hanging out. However, as it was raining fairly
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Ducks on the dock, waiting for the bread they know is coming! heavily, we only stopped for about 15 minutes. The water here is known for being very chilly! We saw some people braving the cold and taking a dip. Brrrr.
Next stop: Mungalli Falls and Rapids. Here, we stopped for lunch and ate right beside the rapids! Very nice. The food was great, and it was such a neat opportunity to eat and watch the rapids.
Our next stop was a really cool experience! We stopped at the MAMU Canopy Walkway, which is a boardwalk right over the rainforest. There is something really neat about being in the rainforest when it is raining, when trees are covered in mist. We spent about 45 minutes here, walking on the boardwalk and taking pictures.
Last stop: Paronella Park. In 1929, Jose Paronella, a Spanish immigrant, purchased land on the Mena Creek, determined to fulfill his dream of building a castle. On 13 acres, he built his castle, along with picnic areas at the lakeside, tennis courts, and tunnels and bridges. He built a movie theatre which was transformed on weekends into a huge ballroom. Surrounding the house and castle, Jose planted more than 7000 trees, including an avenue of massive
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Duck snatching bread from the tour guide. Kauri pines. Jose even built Northern Queensland’s first hydro electric plant in 1933 to power the 5 hectare park. Jose opened the park to the public in 1935. Jose passed away in 1948, leaving his wife and family to run the park. Over time, the park was eventually abandoned and fell into ruins. In 1993, the park’s current owners rediscovered and revived the park, and again opened it to the public. Paronella Park is really amazing and I absolutely loved visiting it! I would recommend it to anyone visiting Cairns as a ‘must-see’ attraction. 😊
Hillary (and Kevin)
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