Next trip! I spent a week in Cairns (pronounced like “cans”), which ended up being my celebratory excursion after receiving the amazing news that my school was going to sponsor my visa for my stay to be extended in Australia. Now, the trip was booked prior, but I found out a couple days before my good news, so I was riding that high the whole time.
Day 1
I got to the airport four hours early for my flight, and then proceeded to forget to check in until we were boarding. Not my best moment, but it worked out! After the 3h20 flight up to Cairns, I made my way to my YHA hostel before starting my food tour about the central area of the city. Being in the tropics, it roughly the beginning of the dry season when I was there, and plenty warm. Each day was sunny, with a high of about 26 and a low of 18. Very predictable! But come the other side of the year, it’s about 6 degrees hotter all around and raining more often than not.
I had the first courses of my dinner at Ochre restaurant, where I sampled some “Modern Australian” cuisine:
- Bruschetta with rocket-macadamia pesto, tomato, basil, and akudjura (bush tomato) infused olive oil
- Kangaroo satay skewers with a macadamia satay sauce
I had cooked with bush tomatoes before at school, and the flavour can be compared to almost a sun-dried tomato or pizza flavouring when dried and ground. Starting my trip sitting in the warm shade overlooking Trinity Bay was absolutely perfect.
I continued walking along the foreshore until I found my next course of Moreton Bay bugs, a crustacean that looks like something between a crayfish and a prawn. Along the way, I witnessed a group playing a soccer-beach volleyball variation: volleyball net, soccer ball, and no hands allowed. I lacked the guts to ask if I could join in – next time!
Course two came from Salt House, which was featuring “Great Aussie BBQ” tonight. My order was:
- Grilled Moreton Bay Bugs with Nduja butter
- Prawn skewers with chilli jam
Unfortunately, due to the smoky flavour, I couldn’t get a proper grasp on the bugs’ sensory features, but they were tender as. Finally, the last stop on my food tour was at a cafe where I ordered passionfruit cheesecake. For a cheesecake, it was surprisingly light!
Day 2
Road trip day! I picked up my rental car and headed out towards the Atherton Tablelands. Without a destination in mind, so I let the road signs guide me. I drove down the Gillies Range Road, known for its 200+ bends over the 19 km stretch. I didn’t see too much as I climbed the Macalister Range mountains because the morning fog had yet to lift. The cons of being a morning person!
I detoured next to an absolute unit of a cathedral fig tree. A strangler fig, it engrossed its host years ago and then continued to grow its massive root system. Seeing the slow but unrelenting growth of the tree was pretty cool!
My next destination was intended to be Peterson’s Creek, but I got side tracked en route by Lake Barrine, where I walked the 5 km rainforest lake circuit walk, spotting two musky rat kangaroos but no cassowaries. One thing that stands out about the tropics is the absolute variety and volume of plant life that exists. Every possible nook that can possibly house life, does. After my walk, I had a refuel at the shoreside tea house, with a scone and Davidson plum jam.
I finally made it to Peterson’s creek, where several of the walking trails I intended to explore were closed. As a consolation, I did get to see some turtles and a golden orb spider! I stopped to check out another strangler fig, this one denoted a “curtain fig” because of the way it developed. Its original host tree fell into another, where the fig continued to grow, sending down roots to give the appearance of a curtain.
Next stop: Mount Hipipamee Crater and Dinner Falls! The lake formed by the crater is 73 metres deep, but I didn’t get the chance to see it due to algal growth on the surface. Bummer! Still no wild snakes in my great Aussie adventure, either. No cassowaries en route to the falls, which was okay by me, seeing as the trail was incredibly narrow with little in the way of escape routes. The trail I took started at the crater, then descended to the bottom of Dinner Falls, and then followed the waterway upstream. Talk about the gift that keeps on giving! Back in the parking lot, it was snack time, with one very disappointed brush turkey.
That wasn’t the end of day 2, but this post is long enough 😜
See you soon!
Kate
Australia sure has interesting sights to see.