Only in Australia would
there be a highway called Bruce. It's a bit like the Route 66 of
Australia. Bruce and ourselves are pretty well acquainted now, and we
followed him again on this journey. Our next show was in Cairns, and
we had 7 days to get there from Townville. The journey can be done in
about 5 hours, but why rush when you've got the rainforest on one
side, and the great barrier reef on the other. This stretch of
coastline is called the Cassowary Coast, named after the Cassowary, a
large flightless bird that emerges from the rainforest and can often
be seen wandering by the roadside. We saw one on our journey, but
I'll be looking out for them on the way back down. There were many
more stops we could have made on the way, but here I highlight our
best ones, and some of my favourite parts of the trip so far:-
The Frosty Mango
Australia, being a big
country, loves to celebrate every day objects by enlarging them into
big statues. So when at the side of the highway we see a giant mango
(oddly enough, the second one we've come across so far) of course we
decide to stop. Next to the giant mango is a gift shop that sells
home made jams, smoothies, chutneys, ice cream, etc made from the
mango (and other fruits) farm produce, as well as the usual souvenirs
– keyrings, mugs, and mango shaped stuffed toys. At this stop, we
took a look at the brochures for activities in the region, and found
a handy booklet highlighting every must-do stop on the exact drive we
were pursuing. By this stage we'd already gone past some of them, but
nevertheless Queensland did not let us down.
Wallaman Falls
Tumbling over a cliff
edge at 268m makes Wallaman Falls the tallest single spot waterfall
in Australia. Upon first arriving, you have a great view from the top
of the falls, and it looks impressive. You can see the whole gorge
that the stream below the falls runs into, and witness the immense
power of the water as its spray mists up the area around the bottom.
From here, there's a 2km path that goes down to the bottom of the
falls so we thought “2km walk? Easy, why not?”, but when I see
the sign at the top that recommends this walk for those of a medium
fitness, I'm immediately regretting all those McDonalds and lazy
days. The half hour journey down rocky steps and steep rainforest
slopes wasn't too bad. My knees were giving out by the end, but at
least I had awesome views of the rainforest and could watch the
spectacular bright blue Ulysses butterflies that frequents this
region. The falls were even more impressive from the bottom. When the
sun came out, an amazing double rainbow was cast around the mist as
the falls met the stream at the bottom, and it really puts you into
perspective about how small you are – a single person in this world
of brobdingnagian proportions. To reiterate that idea, I was reminded
that what goes down must come up (well it does in this case). And my
less-than-medium fitness was definitely challenged on the climb back
up. Upon almost reaching the top, we passed a group of young tourists
just embarking on their journey and like me, wondering what limit
their body will be stretched to. We each gave a polite “hello” as
we went past, after which (and not yet out of earshot) one lad said
to his mate “why does everyone we pass look so f***ing depressed”.
They heard our laugh at this comment, and I think then they knew what
they were in for.
Murray Falls
Spectacular – yes.
But fun – hell yeah! Murray falls has a nice (short, this time)
walk to view the main falls, but also allows for swimming in the
gorge upstream where the currents flow but aren't so dangerous. The
water was clear and a nice temperature. The rocks are smooth through
a mixture of water erosion and gooey algae, and make for awesome
waterslides. There are rope swings which of course Joe and I couldn't
help but launch ourselves from into the water. We had 2 days of fun
here. We needed to come back for the second day because the GoPro
wasn't charged and ready for such frolicking the first time round.
Tully
The small town of Tully
is one of the wettest towns in Australia. They celebrate this with a
statue of a giant Wellington boot (Gumboot, as Aussie's call it)
reaching 7.9m high to mark the record breaking rainfall in 1950.
Given the abundance of rain, it's gorge is also one of the best
places in the country for white water rafting.
Mission Beach
We then headed to
mission beach to spend the night. There are 3 villages along this
stretch of coastal road, and though smaller than I imagined, they are
still teeming with life. The beach is awesome, and you can even go
skydiving straight onto the beach here. We didn't do this... maybe
next time.
Paronella Park
Paronella Park tells
the story of José Paronella, a spanish pastry baker who dreamed of
having a life outside of baked goods, and so moved to Australia to
work until he had saved enough to buy a large spot of land in the
rainforest. His land conveniently had a waterfall within it, and he
added to this picturesque scene a castle, lovely gardens and ballroom
that he could open for public use. Now the park has been sold to
private owners who continue to tell José's stories so it can be
remembered for generations.
Mamu Tropical Skywalk
Having now seen parts
of the rainforest by walking through it and gazing up at the trees,
walking above the canopy was something altogether more exciting. The
Mamu Skywalk offers this opportunity with their walkway built amongst
the trees, reaching a height of 37 metres. It teaches a lot about
rainforest life and gives you the chance to be in it for yourself.
South Johnstone
We went through South
Johnstone and took pictures. Purely for the fact that it's my future
surname.
Josephine falls
More waterfall chasing.
On arrival, there were already tourists launching themselves down the
8m high smooth rocks into the river below. As fun as it looked, on
this particularly wet day I was a little hesitant to try for myself,
but enjoyed watching Joe slide down into the cool pools at the
bottom.
Cairns
After a few packed days
we reached our destination. Surrounded by mountains, rainforest and
sea, Cairns sees millions of tourists visit each year for trips to
the great barrier reef and other surrounding areas. Of course, we had
to take a trip out while we were here. And let's just say I found out
what was so 'great' about it.
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