the rise and falls

---

Blog 5
Now where did I leave you , ah yes I was going for a swim , We strolled down to the sandy shore and started along to the area with the stinger and shark net ,on the way we saw a group of children happily splashing in the waves, I called to one ‘’hey ! Aren’t you worried about the stingers ?‘’ ‘’awe no , we have been swimming here for 2 days and haven’t been stung yet ‘’ we carried on towards the netted area, the tide was out so we amused ourselves paddling , next an elderly couple with a pair of dogs appeared and waded into the sea ‘’ excuse me ‘’ I called ‘’ aren’t you worried about the stingers ?‘’ awe no he said there haven’t been stingers here for years, you get the odd one drift in, but nothing to worry about ‘’ ‘’if my dogs go in there’s no worries’’ called his wife. We came out of the cage and plunged into the beautiful blue sea , we swam next to the dogs , when they got out so did we. I asked ‘’so what is the net for ?’’ ‘’well we know where the visitors are, that’s for sure ‘’. This was a lovely site for wildlife , wallabies watching you eat breakfast , giant fruit bats soaring overhead like mini pterodactyls , and on the beach in the morning were tracks where a turtle had come ashore to lay her eggs , if we came back 55 days later we would see the young scrambling for the sea. Unfortunately the site will soon be gone and replaced with holiday apartments, I fear all the coast will soon be built up from Brisbane to Cairns and all the unspoilt places ,like the one we were now in ,would disappear.
The next day we headed north once more , we were going to the Wallaman Falls , there were 2 stops on the way , the first was at Alva beach this was a lovely site with cocoanut palms and hibiscus hedges , and it had a swimming pool , we swam before dinner , we swam after breakfast, a very nice site but no wild life. The next night we pulled into , a free site just beyond Townsville , these sites are pretty numerous , you can stay for 24 hours, they have toilets and a shower , sometimes hot , sometimes cold. There were already 5 vans there when we arrived . You tend to see wildlife at these sites and it was here we scored 2 firsts , we saw 2 possums , and a tree snake , a woman on the way to the toilets called out ,‘’you know anything about snakes ? Take a look at this‘’ it turned out to be a tree snake about 5ft long black on top with a green underside , review check list for going to the toilet , 1. Check for snakes on the way , 2. Lift the lid check for spiders lurking under seat , 3. Use half flush to check for frogs living under the rim ,these people have no fear . The possums were cute.
The next day we reach the falls in the Girringun National park , at 268mtrs Wallaman falls is the largest, permanent, single-drop waterfall in Australia .These are special to the Warrgamaygan Aboriginal people , as it provided a permanent water source ensuring food supply even in the driest conditions, we viewed it from the top and it was stunning, there was a track that led down to the bottom, it was too good an opportunity to miss and just a mere 1.7 kilometres, we donned our walking boots , funny hats and rucksack with ample water and started the descent , the open forest transforms into rainforest , halfway down we are informed that the trees can kill you , you are advised not to linger under pines as the cones can weigh up to 10 kilograms , get one on the head and there you were. Another one to look out for had a heart shaped leaf with a corrugated edge that would sting you , the pain could last up to a month. We ploughed on, about two thirds of the way down we were passed by two groups of youngsters , wearing very little and flip flops , no water or anything , they wished us g’day , and asked how we were going, ‘’slowly’’ they passed us again on their way back to the top , we were still going down, but they said we were nearly there keep going its great . We did reach the bottom and were glad we did it, it was spectacular , we had hoped there would be a swimming hole but alas we had to turn around and begin the long climb up, we didn’t make bad time from leaving the top took three and a half hours. At the top our clothes clinging to us with sweat we met an American , ‘’so what’s it like ?’’ we assured him it was stunning, but it had taken us three and a half hours round trip, he would take our word for it. We stayed overnight , most national parks have sites , there was no donkey boiler so we had cold showers . So now we are heading up to Cairns and Port Douglas from here we will go to the reef, it will take us 2 days to get there.
First stop was Mission beach ( is this where Louise had here skydive , ?) there were loads of signs telling us to look out for cassowaries, we didn’t see one. And on we went the scenery changed from sugar cane , which we had been driving through for the last week , to banana plantations. Next stop was Josephine falls at Wooroonooran national park, these were beautiful and we only had to walk 700 meters , when we arrived the swimming hole at the bottom of the cascades was very inviting, I clambered over the rocks ready to take the plunge , but not being as agile as the many youngsters couldn’t reach the deep bit , I contented myself with paddling and a foot spa very much like the one we had in Yorkshire many years ago with Barry and Lynne .
And so to Port Douglas nothing can prepare you for the beauty of the great barrier reef , we couldn’t get on the big boat that took 300 people , this is the one with the glass bottom viewing gallery as it was fully booked but the same company Quicksilver had a smaller vessel that only took 40 visiting 3 sites with snorkelling or diving , it was a whole day with morning coffee , hot or cold lunch , and afternoon tea , we went and what a day we had .On the ride out to the reef which is about 40 miles from shore we go up on deck and are given a run down on what to look out for, safety signals, keep an eye on the boat and when the horn blows come back on board , they hadn’t lost any lately , we arrive at the first site , the young man then takes us to the side of the boat and throws food over , he wants to make sure we don’t get alarmed when we see a shark , one comes to the surface, I tell him he must keep feeding it until it is full . He assures us it is ok as it is just a nursery for young sharks, they wont hurt you. The crew seemed very young but were very encouraging, they fit you out with mask , snorkel and fins and encourage you to haul yourself off the back of the boat, having done this you lie with your face down and don’t forget to breathe . I can see why they tell you not to forget to breathe , the sight you see is incredible the water is crystal clear and the coral is so diverse and colourful with fish, so many fish , darting around like a rainbow , I could have just laid there forever, but you have to move about every so often so the guys on watch know you are still alive , and around every corner is something else to take your breath away, and yes we saw Nemo , and Dorey and many , many others , It would take forever to name them , you have to go and see for yourselves , but trust me you wont be disappointed. We likened it to swimming in a very large well stocked aquarium, but actually that doesn’t come close.

We miss you all we get you emails but aren’t always able to answer them, so good luck to Mum and Hienze on their move ,nice to hear you have been doing some painting fizz ,love to all at the pub , hello chloe , wait till you are older and can do all these lovely things , hi Adam , James and Amanda , Chris and Laura, we miss you all but wish you were here with us , we are not homesick yet. Sue we will be back just before Christmas , will text when to put the kettle on.
Tomorrow we head up for Townsville.

---

Comments

[Robert]

Frog Protection League
Hi Jo and Dave, Enjoying your reports from sunny Australia here in wintry Ontario. But why do I feel more sympathy for the frogs tucked up under the ledge of the toilet bowl than for my own dear sister? Best wishes, Robert, Sandra and Sam