Tropical North Queensland October 2008

Yalada....Welcome!

2008-10-10T22:48:00.015+11:00

The Kuku Yalanji (speakers of the Yalanji language) are the indigenous inhabitants of the land which stretches from around Cooktown in the north to near Chillagoe in the west and Port Douglas in the South. They welcome people to Mossman Gorge, and share their cultural traditions on a terrific rainforest walk. Come walk with our guide Cameron.

Below: The Kuku Yalanji lived in family groups, making camp sites with perhaps 18 to 20 shelters. Palm leaves, bark and the Yibuy (lawyer vine), which is very bendable, were used to make the shelter. In the dry times, people moved around a lot and the shelters would be light and temporary. Grass would form a mattres son the floor, and big sheets of bark for a door. They were also used to store equipment like shields, swords, tools, baskets, water containers and bark blankets. The bark would be the soft bark of the Buyku (Paperbark tree).

Below: A nutcracking stone, for opening Bikarrakul (candle nut), which are roasted and eaten. They are very oily, and the oil was used to pre-oil the body before painting with ochre before ceremonies. A nut hollowed out by an animal can be made into a whistle to attract forest birds. The oil was used for lighting fire.

Below: Women's swimming and washing place, where women would go for women's business. "The ancestors said that water is like rainbow water. It's fresh and cool. They said it has healing powers." - Aspects and Images of Kuku Yalanji Life at Mossman Gorge.

Below: Cameron is demonstrating the use of the Karrandal (soap tree). There is a branch on the ground beside him. The leaves are crushed and rubbed to form a lather. It is also antiseptic, smelling of linament.

Below: A strangler fig tree. Cameron explained that this tree is said to house the spirits of the old men. A boy would have to spend the night out and come face to face with the spirits in order to pass the test for initiation. These plants begin life as epiphytes, when their seeds, usually spread by birds, germinate in crevices atop other trees. These seedlings grow their roots downward and envelope the host tree while also growing upward to reach into the sunlight zone above the canopy. The original support tree dies, leaving the central core empty.

Below: Rock art. Painted with ochre, this is a copy from a cave in the area. The original is very faded, so this copy was made to demonstrate what was painted. It includes people, stingray, cassowary, animal tracks, dingo, turtle. It also shows sailing ships. The ancestors saw them sailing up the coast. Captain Cook sailed close to the area. The Endeavour was damaged on a reef at Kulki (called Cape Tribulation by Cook) and he had to stop at what is now Cooktown (which he named after himself) to repair it.

Caves like this were used for shelter in rain times, and boys would be brought to a cave such as this for initiation rites.

Below: A pretty grouping of Bird's Nest ferns.

Below: Can you see the portion cut from the buttress root of this Wuymbariji (Red tulip oak) ? That is from where the timber to fashion a boomerang has been cut.

Below: Cameron demonstrates the use of ochre in body painting. The ochre is ground to powder and mixed with water.

Below: Jidu (Scott's Hornstedtia - Native Ginger). This is a very sweet fruit, especially loved by children. These aren't quite ready to eat yet.

Below: At the end of the tour, we were treated to damper and tea, and Cameron demonstarted the didgeridoo - not a local instrument, but didj culture has spread from contact with the groups of the Northern Territory. According to this article, it had reached this part of Queensland by the early 1800s. (PS Didgeridoo appears not to be an Aboriginal word, but a European one. Aboriginal groups have about 40 different names for the instrument)

Daintree River

2008-10-05T10:00:00.001+11:00

Above: Waiting for the ferry on the northern side.

Above: The car ferry

Above and Below: Looking over the mouth of the Daintree River and coast from Mount Alexandra lookout.

Mason's Swimming Hole

2008-10-04T18:05:00.000+10:00

Cape Tribulation

2008-10-04T14:00:00.000+10:00

Ice cream factory

2008-10-04T13:00:00.000+10:00

Next stop was the Daintree Ice Cream Company, with its "set-menu" four flavour ice cream cups. The flavours were delicious, including black sapote, wattleseed and a couple I can't remember. The setting is lush, with some beautiful tropical plants and flowers....I've got no idea what they are, except one I recognise as an orchid.

Cow Bay

2008-10-04T12:00:00.001+10:00

After we left the Discovery Centre we headed down the road to Cow BAy beach. Have to say I was a teeny bit apprehensive, given the croc warning signs, and the knowledge that they DO emerge onto beaches at times. The day had fined up - very humid, and overcast, but the downpour had stopped.

Below: A reminder that some rather unpleasant things lurk in the seas in these parts:

Below: Looking north toward the next headland.

Below: Tracks in the sand

Below: A tourist taking a dip in the sea. Coming in to stinger season, so not somethign I was keen to try.

Below: Mangroves and a creek. . .

. . . . which didn't stop these tourists setting up their campervan, and going for a stroll. But after the indelible vision of mangoes and crocs in Cairns, not something I was keen to do.

Below: And eventually we spotted a pair of crocs...

Daintree Rainforest Discovery Centre

2008-10-04T11:00:00.000+10:00

We started the day at the Daintree Rainforest Discovery Centre. It was raining really hard!

Daintree Rainforest Retreat

2008-10-03T19:00:00.000+10:00

Miscellaneous photos around Cairns

2008-10-03T14:00:00.000+10:00

Cairns Esplanade

2008-10-03T08:00:00.000+10:00

The lovely Esplanade is a popular place to walk, jog, roller blade etc. I took an early morning walk.

Below: But dont go near the water - crocodile alert!

Below: The pristing skate park (the onlt one without grafffiti I have ever seen) and volleball courts.

Below: Free activities near the swimming lagoon each morning.

Below: Muddy's Playground

The hotel pool

2008-10-02T20:00:00.000+10:00

If we weren't at the lagoon, there was a small pool at the hotel. Ben and I swam there at night once (during the day the conference was held in the rooms alongside)

Trinity Inlet and a Manly Ferry

2008-10-02T18:00:00.000+10:00

The Barrenjoey (later renamed North Head) was built in 1913 and spent 70 years on the Sydney-Manly ferry. In 1949 she was converted from a steamer to diesel engine and renamed. More here.

From Ferries of Sydney website:

On 12th of December, 1985, North Head made her final trip and she was offered up for sale. On the 26th of March 1987 she proceeded under her own steam to Hobart to take up a new career in that city as a floating restaurant and convention centre. There she remained until 2000 when she was taken to Cairns. After 13 years in Tasmania, where it was restored and cruised the Derwent, it was bought by an entrepreneur who wanted to turn it into a floating restaurant in Port Douglas. But his plans were thwarted by bankruptcy and debt.

The ship rotted at Cairns until 2005, when it was sold on eBay to a landscape contractor, George Fay, for about $20,000. It languishes amid debris on his property on Trinity Inlet. Locals say he wants to restore it. A lone ladder stands beside the ship. But the expensive, laborious job was made even more difficult after it was battered by Cyclone Larry. A consulting marine engineer, Peter Burge, said restoring the old ferries would cost millions of dollars - too much to make a commercial proposition, such as a floating restaurant, viable. The most viable fate, he said, was for them to end up as museum pieces. The mayor of Manly, Peter Macdonald, said the council had been involved in negotiations to buy relics from the North Head from its former owner, but they fell through.

Spot the Croc

2008-10-02T14:00:00.001+10:00

Cairns Crocodile Farm is the largest crocdile farm in Australia. It started in 1995. In winter, during the sugar cane harvest, hot water produced by the sugar mill is piped directly into the swimming ponds of the juvenile enclosures. The water raises the body temperature and growth rate of the young crocodiles.

The farm has more than 200 adult wild Australian Estuarine crocodiles. Most have been relocated from areas within Cairns because they posed a threat. They are now used for breeding. The captivity-raised crocodiles are farmed primarily for their meat and skins.

The Lagoon

2008-09-30T15:00:00.000+10:00

In recent times, the Esplanade area has been completely made over, and as well as boardwalks, kids' playgrounds, large swathes of grass and shade trees, barbecues, there is this massive free swimming lagoon, complete with sand beach. It covers 4 hectares, and is open daily between 6am and 10pm, and patrolled by security guards outside those times to prevent damage.The water in the lagoon is sea water, but cleaned and filtered every few hours. No marine 'stingers' can enter the water, so it's safe for swimming all year round (you don't go in coastal water in northern Qld between November and April unless wearing a "stinger suit" to protect against deadly jellyfish). And the beaches and estuaries are crocodile territory as well.

Here's the lagoon throughout the day.

Below: Free fitness activities are held each day. On Thursday mornings it's Pilates

...and on other days, it's other things:

Below: Morning stillness

Below: Mid afternoon

Below: Late afternoon

Below: Night

The mud flats

2008-09-30T14:00:00.000+10:00

For years I've heard people say "Cairns is boring; there's no beach, all that's there is mudflats." The messgae was that Cairns is a great place to arrive by plane and get out of, or from which to arrange reef and rainforest trips. Well, the latter part is true, but the movers and shakers of Cairns have been listening to what was said and decided to do something to shake up Cairns' image. We'll go there next!

But first, here's the mudflats as you see them right at the main waterfront of Cairns.

Below: Looking north

Below: Looking south

View from hotel

2008-09-30T12:00:00.000+10:00

We're on the 11th (top) floor of the Pacific International Hotel on the corner of the Esplanade and Spence St. Great view; slow lifts!

Below: View along Spence St away from the water and intersection with Abbott St
Below: The casino, and beyond the ship passenger terminal - the Sun Princess was in port.
Below: The view along Spence St towards the water, the intersection with the Esplanade, and the Pier Point development.

Flying into Cairns

2008-09-30T11:10:00.002+10:00

The prevailing wind was, apparently unusually, a north-easterly, which meant, also unusually, we flew into Cairns right across the city, rather than looping around and approaching from the north. Ben had a window seat and these pics are his.

Below: I think these creeks are part of the cairns crocodile farm.

Below: The cruise ship in Port was P&O's Sun Princess . The large corrugated roofed building is Cairns Convention Centre.

Below: Central Cairns, with the Esplanade Lagoon clearly visible. It covers 4 hectares. Much of "Old Cairns" has disappeared under concrete multi-storey buildings. How long before the low-rise shopping area in the middle is replaced?

Trinity Beach - for Jilly and Ian

2008-08-10T21:47:00.001+10:00

Trinity Beach is one of Cairns' "northern beaches", popular with locals, and some of them (especially Palm Cove) having up-market resorts. Our friend Jilly from Menton lived around Cairns for three years, at Trinity Beach. We took a slight detour here on our way back to Cairns from further north to have alook at what it looks like in 2008. We didn't have very long, so a few perfunctory beach shots and the immediate vicinity. Another froiend, Ian, lived at Yorkey's Knob, the next beach along.

Below: Looking north along the beach and the walking path along the Esplanade
Below: Northwards, with Snapper Island off-shore
Below: Looking south. There is a patrolled swimming area between the red and yellow flags (in the distance)

Below: The patrolled swimming section
Below: A reminder that it is unsafe to swim during "stinger season" November to May. Several of the northern beaches have Stinger resistant enclosures designed to keep them out, and increasingly, people choose to swim in "stinger suits" - lycra head-to-toe suits. I used one when we went to the reef, and I'll post a pic of me in it in another entry.

Below: The Esplanade looking north

Below: The Esplanade looking south

Below: Trinity Beach Rd from the beach end. There was quite a party going on at the pub.

Below: The opposite side of Trinity Bay Rd

Below: Typical of the newer style of apartment development. There is a string of holiday apartments looking over the beach.