We saw the fruits of all this rain on Sunday. Driving up to the Atherton Tablelands, rolling green fields at a high altitude, we saw plantations of every kind - bananas, melons, mangoes, papayas (local wineries use these fruits instead of grapes) as well as the humble apple, plus countless beef and dairy farms.
It was a bit like driving through Ireland but with added rainforest. Stops and detours included some lovely waterfalls and a platypus colony.
Then the rain set in as usual and it was teeming down by the time we reached Mission Beach. What was different was that this time it just carried on. Heavy enough to drown out the soft whirring of the air con. And it was still going at 9 in the morning.
Local news said over 250 mm of rain fell overnight. I don't know how that relates to a soggy day in Skegness but it sounds a lot to me.
One beneficial side effect of the rain was that we came back from breakfast to find a wallaby sheltering under a bush outside our window.
The overcast and windy conditions also meant we could walk along the beach without overheating, though of course today was the day I caught the sun a little.
We're now staying on the Cassowary Coast and have been looking for these creatures ever since we arrived at Port Douglas. We were beginning to give up hope but we bumped into someone on the coastal path who said he'd seen one so we got back to the car and drove around a few times until an adult and two chicks suddenly walked out of the undergrowth in front of the car. Perseverance pays!!
No comments:
Post a Comment