Far North Queensland - Cairns, Port Douglas and Cape Tribulation

CAIRNS

Our campground in Cairns has the best activities for kids. We played mini golf, watched outdoor movies, jumped on the biggest jumping pillow in the world, swam in the pool and spa and played at the splash waterpark.

The Splash Waterpark

 It was great! In Cairns we walked down the Esplanarde. At the end there was playground called Muddy's Playground. It was great but probably more for kids under 10. So Callam and Finn loved it. At the other end there was a lagoon pool with salt water because you can't swim in the sea unless your swimming in a stinger net. But the lagoon was lovely. There were also lots of people running up and down the path with there dogs. 

Cool fish at Muddy's playground

Unfortunately we didn't have the best weather while we were in Cairns so we decided to go to the movies. We saw "The Odd Life Of Timothy Green." 

The next day we went to the Botanical Gardens. It had a tropical theme because we were in tropics FNQ. (Far North Queensland). There were so many amazing plants that I can't explain what they looked like.  I had never seen anything like it. It looked like the scene when Alice first entered Wonderland. Nothing like what you would see in freezing cold Canberra. Here are some snaps of my favourite flowers.

The day after that my Uncle and Aunty came to visit us for 10 days. We went on the scenic railway with them up the side of the mountain to a place called Kuranda. We had loads of fun there. First we walked down the Main Street and looked at all the shops and even bought a thing or two. Then we went to the Butterfly House. There were so many. My favourite was the bright blue Ulysses. We looked at the caterpillars as well. Afterwards we went on the sky rail back down to Cairns. We went over a river and we were up very high. It also went over the tree tops.

the train ride up the mountain

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Ulysses

It was great when they landed on you.

Skyrail ride back down the mountain.

The day we were leaving we stopped off at an aboriginal cultural centre. First we got our face painted as an aboriginal person. Then we went and watched an interesting video about the history of their culture. Then we watched a dance performance. I even got to join in. Then we had some delicious lunch and went to do spear and boomerang throwing. I didn't do a very good job.

Fire Lighting

Joining in the dance.

PORT DOUGLAS

In Port Douglas we went snorkeling out to the Great Barrier Reef. We went on a boat called the Posiedon. It was a big boat that could fit up to 80 people. There were divers and snorkellers on board. Our first stop was on the outer reef. I saw lots of different fish and coral. The coral was beautiful and had lots of colours and shapes. There were many kinds of fish like clown fish and parrot fish and angel fish to name a few. My snorkel partner was Aunty Karyn. At the second site we saw giant clams. They were patterned with colours on the inside. I skipped the last site because I was felling very tired and a little unwell. The trip was interesting and I learnt that coral is an animal and gives birth once a year. (Pulips)This is called spawning.

CAPE TRIBULATION 

On our way to Cape Tribulation we stopped at the Daintree Discovery Centre. we did a variety of boardwalks across the forest. We also climbed up a viewing tower. We had an audio tour that gave us information at special places. We had the device around our necks. I learnt that male Cassowary looks after the baby chicks and the female cassowary is the largest. I also learnt that in 1 square metre of rainforest there can be up to 15 different species of plant. The twisted vines were amazing as they wrapped around each other and larger tree trunks.

Our camping site was right behind the beach. It was like having a beach for a backyard. We explored the area and walked along the beach. We went walking on the boardwalks over the mangroves and into the Daintree Rainforest. Did you know that the Daintree is the oldest rainforest in the world! And it's right here in Australia. There was lots on little creeks and rapids and we even saw a snake lying in the sun. I fell in the water and got my clothes all wet.

Our exciting activity was jungle surfing. This is were you get put in a harness and then you have to walk up to the exit platform. Then you get pulled up to platform 1. After that the instructor clips you to the tree a gets everyone else on the platform. Then you swing down to the next platform. You do that till you get to the ground. On the last one you go upside down. My favourite was the super fast one.  

At the Discovery Centre with Uncle Gareth and Aunty Karyn

Listening to the audio with Finny