WARNING
If you've had a surfeit of rainforest, palms, leaves and buttresses, read no further. I don't expect everyone to share my excesses!
After a couple of nights in Mossman, I head north towards Cape Tribulation, named so by Captain Cook “because there began all our troubles” that culminated when the Endeavour ran aground on a reef. I breeze across the Daintrree River ferry, and enter serious cassowary country. The road is designated for sightseeing and the low speed limits suit me perfectly. I pootle along under arching trees, keeping a hopeful eye open for a cassowary. The lookout shows me an expanse of coastline and waterways and I turn off past the Discovery Centre to the Jindalba boardwalk in Kuku Yalanji country.
I'm early, and the only car there is the ranger's car. Forest sounds are swallowed up in the wail of a leaf blower. A leafblower? In the forest? The young woman wielding it tells me it's a public safety issue. Damp and rotting leaves make the boardwalk slippery. It still seems incongruous, like a butterfly behind bars, and I'm certain she hasn't blown the whole boardwalk, which winds its way through all the pleasures of the rainforest, beginning with a spectacular blaze of red. The boardwalk makes way for saplings, probably not allowing them quite enough room to grow, and I'm amongst the irresistible elegance of buttresses, the occasional splat of water from high in the canopy, a flurry of creamy fungi, splotched tree trunks, an abundance of leaf shape, and a rushing creek.
Lucid Gypsy said:
I could never tire of the rain forest through your eyes Meg.
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morselsandscraps said:
I’m glad, Gilly. I couldn’t either!
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restlessjo said:
You so lovingly present each wonder of nature, Meg π But I’m a feckless creature- I’m in love with the blaze of red! Do you think a cassowary would be appeased by it?
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morselsandscraps said:
Red rag to a bull? I don’t think I’d try it. They are berry eaters and seed dispersers, but I’ll let them forage for their own.
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restlessjo said:
Fair enough π I bow to your superior judgement π
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pommepal said:
I also do not need a warning Meg, I love all your exotic images
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Heyjude said:
No need for the warning for me. I am loving your joy in exploring this area. I do find it strange that I have been here before you π
You may enjoy my post about cassowaries: https://smallbluegreenwords.wordpress.com/2013/03/22/a-tale-of-cassowaries-and-aliens/
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morselsandscraps said:
I LOVED your post about cassowaries. I’m sorry I didn’t encounter one.
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Heyjude said:
I’m very pleased that I didn’t!
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Suzanne said:
I reallylije this post. Thecassowary warning is scary but fascinating. Now i will know not to run but to stand behind a tree. I can relate to your feelings about the leaf bloeblower. The last time i went to MT Warning a man was using a chain saw. LOve your photos here. So lush
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morselsandscraps said:
It was the tail end of the wet, and rained two or three times a day, as if it had set in, and then it would dissipate. I couldn’t get enough of green and the occasional splotched trunk.
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Suzanne said:
I’m imagining it to be hot and steamy. Down here it’s raining a lot too but more the cold winter’s coming time of rain.
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