QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA
- Roadtrip days: 3
- Distance driving: 380km
- Animal species spotted: 7
- Waterfalls seen: 3
Hiring a car was a must, without one you cannot see much here. On our first day we drove south of Cairns to a place called Kurrimine Beach. On the way we visited Josephine Falls and Babinda Boulders, where we got to see a pretty waterfall and swim in the freezing mountain creek water. I only dipped in but Kai took his time, as usual. We weren’t really looking for animals walking back to the car, but to our amazement two little wild pigs rushed out of the forest just in front of us. They were rummaging around the forest with a purpose, eating everything they could find. It sounded really funny hearing them crunching nuts and cones they found on the ground. We followed them for a while and they came really close as if they were not afraid of us. We later heard from a local wild pigs and bores are not native to Australia and they are ruining the forests, therefore being hunt down.
Continuing south to our Airbnb accommodation we had a task to do. Whenever we rent a car or drive a car anywhere on our travels, our division of responsibilities are as follows: Kai drives and I drink beer. We stopped at a gas station in search for a cold pale ale, but to my astonishment there were none. Next we stopped at a grocery store, a big one, and turned the place upside down, only to find no beer was available. I asked a clerk who said they cannot sell beer anywhere except in a special Bottle shop, which must mean a sort of a liquor store. She pointed us to a drive in alcohol shop nearby. It was all very funny. We had to ask how does all this work, and spent a fair amount of time figuring out where everything was and how to open the fridge doors etc. Most bottles were sold in batches of 2 or 3 or 6, but I just wanted the one beer which proved to be both complicated and expensive. I ended up paying about 14 euros for 1 small beer and 1 bottle of wine. Coming from Finland, a notoriously expensive drinking country, I found this almost appalling. Anyway, I got the beer and off we went. Just before our accommodation we bumped into a winery which made wine out of tropical fruit. It sounded very exotic and we did a quick tasting. They were quite delicious, but I must say I still am a grape wine woman.
The place we stayed at was really cool. A separate private room at a big country house. They even had a pool table and a barbecue outside - and a 6 week old puppy, the cutest thing ever. Settling into a new lodging is always quite a show, at least in Australia. I have a terrible and terribly annoying and embarrassing fear of spiders. We all know the biggest ones live in this country. I must admit I have trained my husband well, as he checks everything even without asking. He goes into the room before me, looks behind the mirrors, shakes the bedding and curtains, checks under the toilet, in the shower, inspects all nooks and corners for the big ones. It’s the same with the car: under the sun flap, under the seat, in the glove compartment, under the mat, everything needs to be checked before I can step in. Luckily none have been discovered, yet. We have been quite lucky, otherwise, with spotting animals. They are one of the reason I still wanted to come back to this country, in defiance of the horrors I might face.
So, we were told there are several strange, native, unique animals that we could spot along the way. Cassowaries were one of these. They are pre-historic looking giant birds that cannot fly. I was wiggling with excitement of the prospect of seeing one of these. Through the endless sugar cane fields and banana plantations we drove to every place, walked every path and checked every beach where they should be roaming. The sun was nearly setting while we arrived to our last destination of the day. I checked the beach again, and nothing, except for the occasional boring brush turkey. I told Kai I was really disappointed and sad we did not see those, nor wallabies - a little kangaroo, which should be easily spotted due to their numbers. I asked him playfully if he could pretend to be a cassowary for a moment, just for me to feel better. And so he did, and that funny act made me laugh. I thought that’s it, no giant, jurassic birds for me, only to notice in the corner of my eye something big moving. And there she was. Just strutting around, not caring about the trail of tourists behind her taking photos. I followed her for quite some time, and returned to the car with a big smile on my face. We had succeeded at last! Kai had just turned on the engine, when we saw another one, a big male with a blue head and colourful neck. I could not believe our luck, as I bounced out of the car to follow this one, too.
Next day I had set a goal to see kangaroos. And we did: dead by the side of the road. I am not kidding saying we saw about 10 or 12 dead wallabies and kangaroos. Why could we not see any living ones?? We drove back up north visiting more waterfalls, lakes, mountains, and other sights along the way. At Yungaburra we found a creek said to be inhabited by platypus. Again, I was immensely excited just by the chance of seeing them. We were walking along the creek while some other tourists pointed us to the right place. They had just seen one, and if we waited patiently we could see him too. Platypus have to surface every few minutes, so the chances were good. Staring at the water, tiny bubbles appeared and soon after a baby platypus bounced in the surface. He was showing off and we enjoyed just watching him play around. What a great moment!
Mossman Gorge was our final destination of the day, a rain forest walk tour. It was honestly a little boring, no animals, just huge trees and nature, like a nice walk in the woods. Catching a quick dinner at Port Douglas we drove back south to reach our Airbnb. No (living) kangaroos in sight, but a tiny bandicoot (a native marsupial) was caught in our headlights while resting at a lookout!
Getting up really early the next day proved to be our lucky day. Driving down the highway to visit Kuranda, another rain forest site, we saw hundreds of kangaroos in a field by the side of the road. We stopped and drove around to the back road to get a better look at them. They were all staring at us, and when we came any closer, they would jump away as fast as they could. How adorable they were! I could have spent all day just staring at them, but we had only a couple of hours before returning the hire car. Continuing up the hill to Kuranda on a very long and windy road we reached Barron Falls, a magnificent location to view a waterfall.
Waiting for our flight to Bali to board, I happily think back of our Australian experiences. A lot of nature and animals, exactly what I wanted to see. Now, leaving the western civilisation again for the next 2 months, I am anxious of the things we will get to experience and see. Next stop, Indonesia.