We started the second day of our northern adventure with a dip in the pool and a free eggs and bacon brek and then left our rainforest cabin to hit the road again. This morning was our chance to have more of an explore of the rainforest as we had run out of time the day before. Conveniently there are a number of boardwalked tours through the forest, just as well considering much of the forest floor is swamp and mangrove, not to mention the stinger plants we had been warned about the day before. Also, these spikey things that disguise themselves as palm tree leaves! They'll cut you apart!
The first walk we did wasn't far from our cabin and then the second one was a little further south; it was here where the magic happened! Firstly it was a beautiful walk, much of it was over clear water with huge stunning tree canopy above.
The trees were amazing with huge bases that almost looked like metal structures and hanging roots that criss crossed about. But the best bit was near the end of the walk, we were walking very quietly taking in the views and suddenly Rob stopped short and pointed into a watery clearing where stood a full grown Cassowary!!!!!!!!
I had been trying to spot a Cassowary the whole time since entering the forest the day before as everywhere you are warned you could come across one but noone ever seems to. They are a breed of Emu and the same size but black with a blue head and other colourful feathers (like a "Kevin" if anyone has seen the film Up). It crossed the stream quite quickly and then headed into the forest out of sight again but we saw it clearly before it did so. When we started walking again we found a huge cassowary "dropping" on the boardwalk and so it is very lucky we hadn't come sooner and met it face to face as they can be very aggressive. However, we caught it on video!
After that we decided that the rainforest had got as good as it could get and decided to head down South out of the forest only stopping to buy locally grown tea, visit a fruit farm and sample their ice cream and visit "Coffee world" where they grow and grind and have a yummy cafe. We were heading to Yungaburra, South West of Cairns where we were booked for the next two nights.
Despite all the scenic stops we made good time and so decided to have one last visit of the day to the Curtain Fig Tree. It is hard to explain what it is like except that it is a huge beautiful tree that has been surrounded by another fig tree whose roots have made a giant curtain and the effect is phenomenal. You can see why it is considered so sacred by its indiginous "owners".
Our two night home in Yungaburra was "On the Wallaby" a hostel that feels like a homely mountain cabin (although not on a mountain). It is the most homely and relaxed of the hostels/guest houses we've stayed in and probably the cheapest. Everyone made us feel really welcome too. We were good and cooked chickpea curry despite being tempted by the BBQ and then got ready to go out with them on their night canoe trip to do some more wildlife spotting I (a last minute decision and a very wise one).
The evening canoe was amazing. I could go on forever but I'll try and restrain. We were in two man canoes and we headed out in the dark onto a big lake. Luckily it was a full moon so we could just about see where we were going without the torches but we had those anyway for spotlighting. It was eerie but unbelievable peaceful out on the silent still water. We paddled along quietly, trying to avoid the branches that grow out of the water and holding the torches up to search the trees as we went, looking for the reflection of their eyes that gives them away.
Throughout the evening we managed to spot a number of common ring tailed possoms in the trees, water dragons balancing on the branches emerging from the water, pady melons (small Kangeroos) bouncing on the banks and a number of birds, platypus, then finally a bandicoot on the bank as we were leaving. An unforgettable night.
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