North Queensland - Day 4

On the fourth day we rented a little Hyundai Getz and went driving over the mountains and through the Tablelands area. The drive up is a beautiful scenic route climbing up the mountain side, and on the other side you pop out in an open dairy farming landscape. We first went to see the Curtain Fig Tree, an enormous strangler fig that is too awesome to describe. See photos below.

We then carried on to see some water falls and the occasional picturesque village. We stopped at a wood carving studio to buy some souvenirs and had lunch in a quirky cafe where the staff were wearing cat- and bunny outfits.

On the way home we stopped at Paronella Park which is a fascinating place. It is a complex of buildings and structures in the rainforest, all built by a Spanish man called Jose Paronella back in the 1930's. It is now mostly ruins, but that just makes it all the more mysterious and romantic. There is a wishing well, a fountain, two castles, a water fall... and all engulfed in tropical rainforest. It was incredibly hot and humid there, so we didn't last very long before we got back in the air conditioned car and headed home.

When we passed Cairns around 7.30pm on the way home we were welcomed by a ferocious tropical thunder storm with rain so heavy not even the wipers on full speed could keep the windscreen clear. The day was completed at a restaurant with thunder and lightning adding to the ambiance.

Curtain Fig Tree

Pretty tropical water fall



Millaa Millaa water fall