I am currently staying at a place called "The Sanctuary" near Mission
Beach, about an hour and a half south of Cairns. The place was built high above
the ocean (great views) and we stay in an open air (screened in) hut with two
beds. The rainforest is all around and it's quite noisy at night! Beautiful,
though, and a good place to relax for a few days.
Since my time in Hervey Bay (the gateway to Fraser Island), I have been
travelling with a friend who I met there, who happens to have a rental car and a
good sense of humor for my crankiness in the heat. It's been much nicer than the
train or greyhound and I've seen many things I wouldn't have otherwise. Along
the way we 1) toured the rum distillery in Bundaberg (not too exciting, other
than their coffee/chocolate/rum liqueur which was incredible but they don't sell
small bottles and you can't get it anywhere but at the distillery); 2) ate
kangaroo steak, self grilled slice by slice on a hot stone (delectible, the best
meat I have EVERY tasted in my entire life!!); 3) drove up to Eungella National
Park to look for platypus in the river (saw them!) and stayed in a lodge there
with a gorgeous view; 4) Stayed in Airlie Beach for two days and did a one day
snorkle/beach/boat trip in the Whitsunday Islands (we coudln't go tot eh
world-famous Whitehaven Beach because the seas were too rough that day to go
that side); 5) spend a day on Magnetic Island, rented a "moke", cute little
vehicle, to cruise around the gorgeous rocky/forested island, check out the
pretty little beaches and bays, and hike to "the forts" to look for Koala
(success! even saw a mom with baby!); 6) visit Billabong Sanctuary to get a bit
more up close with the wildlife, a really pleasant place to spend a few hours;
and now 7) stay 2 days at the Sanctuary rainforest retreat to soak up some green and shade after a lot of hot driving. This morning we visited a place called Paranella Park, an anomaly, a beautiful grounds of stone castles and stairways and thousands of species of plants, created as a spaniard's vision and lifelong dream in the 1930s or so. It's a beautiful place and feels much older than it is, as the buildings are crumbling and broken from several floods, fires, and cyclones over the years.
Tomorrow we head north again and Marissa drops me off at Innisfail to meet up with my next WWOOF hosts after this whirlwind tour up the coast. I hope it will be cooler in the Atherton Tablelands (1000 meters above sea level) but have heard that it's been hot there too. I suppose I'll be getting up at 5am so I can start my gardening by 6am and get it over with before the heat of the day!
