Well, to finish off yesterday, I am still in awe from seeing the reef in person. That is an experience I don't think I'll ever forget. The colours and shapes are vibrant and the marine biologist on board and guiding our snorkelling was so informative.
For example, clown fish are all born male and at some point some change to female. If a male clownfish is not doing a sufficiently good job bringing oxygen to the nest of eggs ( our equivalent of bringing home the bacon), the female disgards him from the anemone and he must find a new home. No wonder Nemo's father was so concerned about the little guys. If he does not succeed in finding a female to take him in then he may decide to become female and start his/her own nest in a vacant anemone and lay her own eggs. She must then attract a male to tend to them. Talk about changing dating strategies!
We saw a huge piece of coral which had been broken off by the cyclone a few weeks ago. It was lying upside down on a shelf of coral. Some of the reef is so close to the surface that it was affected by the cyclone.
I do hope my pictures will give some sense of how spectacular it was.
The marine biologist also set two star fish on their backs and let them race to turn themselves over. It was amazing to watch their acrobatics as they almost twisted themselves into knots to manage this feat.
FEb 16th
Our day started a littel earlier, the bus picked us up around 7:45 a.m.
The driver pointed out many houses built on stilts in anticipation of flooding during the winter months and also serving as air flow to help cool the house during the hot summer months. With the advent of airconditioning many people are now converting the space under their homes into living space.
The bus coach took us to the railway train which would take us to a mountain village called Kuranda. The train carriage in which we rode was over 100 years old and at times I wondered if it would actually make it up some of the steep terrain. There were 15 tunnels and a similar number of very high trestle bridges on our journey.
2.8 million tons of earth was moved by hand to build the railway. The workers were expected to bring their own picks and shovels if they wanted to work.
The building of this rail passage was prompted by a famine in 1882 which threatened the lives of thousands of people, so a supply route was needed. It took 2 years to build the #15 tunnel alone. Much like our railway in
Canada, its accomplishment was a great feat to be celebrated, but many people died working in unthinkable conditions, so the means was not always something of which to be proud.
Kuranda is located way up into the rainforest, and while it may have served a utilitarian purpose when it was first established, it now serves as an isolated tourist trap. After jaunting around the Kuranda tourist trap we went for a BBQ'd buffet which sported a good variety of foods from which to choose.
Next we went on the rainforest tour in an amphibian vehicle called an Armyduck. The vehicle was an originbal vehicle from 1940-43. It originally went 80 km on land and 8 knots in water. It is much slower now.
On route we saw a variety of flora and creatures. The guide explained in detail which plants were dangerous/poisonous to the touch. A plant with heart shaped leaves, called a stinging tree, is very poisonous and can hurt for up to six months after contact with it - something like contact with poisonous hearts of the human nature I'd say.
We also saw a melaleuca tree growing wild in the rainforest. It's paper bark peels off and is used for cooking as it won't catch fire.
A lot of plants in the forest have self-defense mechanisms, making it quite dangerous to just traipse around if you are not familiar with each species.
At the Pammarigirri Dance show I was one of the three volunteers to get up and learn a native dance. It was fun to do something different and almost anything to do with dancing has got to be good.
We then moved on to native spear throwing and boomerang throwing, a thing at which Jack proved to be a natural.
Our guide demonstrated the four methods of getting sound from a didgereedoo (forgive spelling) - lip vibration, voice change, tongue movement and circular breathing.
We did a wildlife tour next, but much was what we had already seen at the featherdale wildlife park, with just a little different presentation. There was one exception. We saw 'Jack' the ripper, a 17 foot long crocodile known for being a lady killer. He is forced to live a life of seclusion after killing every female partner with whom they had tried to get him to mate. I certainly would not recommend them to run a dating service.
For example, clown fish are all born male and at some point some change to female. If a male clownfish is not doing a sufficiently good job bringing oxygen to the nest of eggs ( our equivalent of bringing home the bacon), the female disgards him from the anemone and he must find a new home. No wonder Nemo's father was so concerned about the little guys. If he does not succeed in finding a female to take him in then he may decide to become female and start his/her own nest in a vacant anemone and lay her own eggs. She must then attract a male to tend to them. Talk about changing dating strategies!
We saw a huge piece of coral which had been broken off by the cyclone a few weeks ago. It was lying upside down on a shelf of coral. Some of the reef is so close to the surface that it was affected by the cyclone.
I do hope my pictures will give some sense of how spectacular it was.
The marine biologist also set two star fish on their backs and let them race to turn themselves over. It was amazing to watch their acrobatics as they almost twisted themselves into knots to manage this feat.
FEb 16th
Our day started a littel earlier, the bus picked us up around 7:45 a.m.
The driver pointed out many houses built on stilts in anticipation of flooding during the winter months and also serving as air flow to help cool the house during the hot summer months. With the advent of airconditioning many people are now converting the space under their homes into living space.
The bus coach took us to the railway train which would take us to a mountain village called Kuranda. The train carriage in which we rode was over 100 years old and at times I wondered if it would actually make it up some of the steep terrain. There were 15 tunnels and a similar number of very high trestle bridges on our journey.
2.8 million tons of earth was moved by hand to build the railway. The workers were expected to bring their own picks and shovels if they wanted to work.
The building of this rail passage was prompted by a famine in 1882 which threatened the lives of thousands of people, so a supply route was needed. It took 2 years to build the #15 tunnel alone. Much like our railway in
Canada, its accomplishment was a great feat to be celebrated, but many people died working in unthinkable conditions, so the means was not always something of which to be proud.Kuranda is located way up into the rainforest, and while it may have served a utilitarian purpose when it was first established, it now serves as an isolated tourist trap. After jaunting around the Kuranda tourist trap we went for a BBQ'd buffet which sported a good variety of foods from which to choose.
Next we went on the rainforest tour in an amphibian vehicle called an Armyduck. The vehicle was an originbal vehicle from 1940-43. It originally went 80 km on land and 8 knots in water. It is much slower now.
On route we saw a variety of flora and creatures. The guide explained in detail which plants were dangerous/poisonous to the touch. A plant with heart shaped leaves, called a stinging tree, is very poisonous and can hurt for up to six months after contact with it - something like contact with poisonous hearts of the human nature I'd say.
We also saw a melaleuca tree growing wild in the rainforest. It's paper bark peels off and is used for cooking as it won't catch fire.
A lot of plants in the forest have self-defense mechanisms, making it quite dangerous to just traipse around if you are not familiar with each species.
At the Pammarigirri Dance show I was one of the three volunteers to get up and learn a native dance. It was fun to do something different and almost anything to do with dancing has got to be good.
We then moved on to native spear throwing and boomerang throwing, a thing at which Jack proved to be a natural.
Our guide demonstrated the four methods of getting sound from a didgereedoo (forgive spelling) - lip vibration, voice change, tongue movement and circular breathing.
We did a wildlife tour next, but much was what we had already seen at the featherdale wildlife park, with just a little different presentation. There was one exception. We saw 'Jack' the ripper, a 17 foot long crocodile known for being a lady killer. He is forced to live a life of seclusion after killing every female partner with whom they had tried to get him to mate. I certainly would not recommend them to run a dating service.
The Sky rail was our mode back to civilization.
According to the sign at the start it is 
solar operated.....oh my! It is raining. I do hope they stored a little of that sun energy from earlier today or we may be hung out to dry. We rode high over the rainforest, even the trees that are 150 feet tall. Man am I proud of me for that one!
solar operated.....oh my! It is raining. I do hope they stored a little of that sun energy from earlier today or we may be hung out to dry. We rode high over the rainforest, even the trees that are 150 feet tall. Man am I proud of me for that one!
On the way back to the hotel the driver and Jack got into a good discussion on the sugar cane plantations gwoing on either side of the road. Sugar cane is harvested once per year, at about 8 ft. tall. Every two years the land is tilled and left to rest for 9 months before legumes are planted, to be ploughed back into the soil to replenish it.
PS. In this wildlife park we were able to have a professional photographer take our photo while we actually held a koala. .....can't wait to share that one.
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