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We have just returned from the most spectacular after dark experience in the rainforest. It was amazing, but I'll get to that later...
We left Coconut this morning as late as we possibly could. We had their free pancake breakfast again, and packed up slowly, trying to delay our inevitable departure, and pretend like we weren't really leaving. Geoff and Jenny had both said we could stay on longer, but we didn't want to wear out our welcome, and we'd done most (if not more) than everything we'd planned to do, and it was time to go. The kids have loved it, we've loved it, and I think for everyone, Cairns has become a preferred holiday destination for future family trips, even if it means fly in fly out and a hire car. There's no doubt that future trips to the reef are in the pipeline... I think the last 9 days in Cairns, staying at Coconut, have been the highlight of everyones trip so far.
Sadly, we turned south on the Bruce Highway, and drove the massive 86km to Innisfail. It took us just on an hour, and we'd arrived, and set up at BIG4 Mango Tree Holiday Park. They suffered massive destruction here during Cyclone Yasi two years ago, and they still haven't fully recovered from it. Insurance has been very slow with financial assistance (surprise, surprise), so they're struggling to get the business back to the stage it was at prior to Yasi. They've planted 5000 plants, but it's very obvious that the park was stripped bare. It's open and barren, and the newer plantings are still only small. Must be really hard for them to keep going after 2 cyclones in such a short time, but I suppose that's what you do, isn't it? You pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and carry on, and hope and pray it doesn't happen again too soon...
We had an early lunch in the caravan, and drove to another rainforest boardwalk in the hinterland called Mamu Rainforest Canopy Walkway. This is quite a major tourist attraction for the area, and is a significant feature in it's own right. It's a 2.5km rainforest walkway, of which 350m is on an elevated platform about 15m above the forest floor, and the rest on ground level. There's also a 40m long lookout, which is on ground level at the start, but by the end of 40m, is 20m above ground level, giving views out over the top of the canopy. At the very end of the walkway, there's also a 37m high tower and platform providing spectacular views of the forest in all directions from the top. Jo didn't make it up there, but the views are truly amazing. It's funny though... They've done an amazing job. It's very educational and informative, and was truly worth the visit, and I don't want to come across unappreciative and critical, but... (this isn't going to sound right), but... it's just not the same quality rainforest as the Daintree. The Daintree feels and looks pristine and untouched, it's wild and completely natural, and the Daintree Discovery Centre (same concept as Mamu), is twice as comprehensive and you'd spend all day at it. We were here for just on 2 hours, and we'd done and seen and read everything. We were at the Daintree Discovery Centre for three hours, and barely scratched the surface because it was pouring with rain. We rushed through. I know not everyone is going to get all the way up there, and see rainforest that's 140 million years old, and that's ok, cause places like Mamu can show you similar experiences, but once you have been up there, and seen that stuff, it's hard to really appreciate the more accessible forest that's down this way. It's just not as good. Don't get me wrong, it's good and we enjoyed the walk and the views, but it felt more commercial, and less... spiritual...? We all noticed the difference, lets just say that...
Anyway, after our walk at Mamu, we drove south to a place called 'Paronella Park'. You may have heard of it, or seen it on tv on travel shows or something, but if you haven't, google it. It's absolutely brilliant, and well worth a visit, even if you're just passing through. How to describe it? Ok, here goes... Back in 1933, a spaniard called Jose Paronella purchased a block of virgin rainforest on Mena Ck. He'd made his fortune as a canecutter, and then buying and selling his own sugar cane farms. There's a really interesting history behind how it all came about, but to cut it short, he married his childhood sweethearts younger sister, and spent the next 21 years building a castle and grounds for her in his patch of rainforest. He called it Paronella Park. It's mystical and magical, and a testament to one man and his dream. It was passed from Jose to his eldest son and then his daughter, and finally to his youngest son, who died around 50 years old. His wife sold it off outside the family, but a fire destroyed the castle two years later, and they left it, abandoned for over 15 years. The jungle reclaimed it, and it was all forgotten about... Until the block of land was purchased by the current owners in the 1990's, completely unaware of what was on it, or the history behind it. They've since discovered the original castle, buildings, gardens and grounds, and they even flew the youngest daughter out, (80 years old), who walked them around and gave them the full tour and complete history of what they'd bought, and what it represented to her and her family. It's open to the public now, and you can do day and night tours, or just wander around by yourself, but it's mind boggling stuff... The castle is gorgeous. The waterfall and picnic areas on it's foreshore are just stunning. There were four kitchens around the castle and gardens, so you could get something to eat wherever you were. Jose built his own hydroelectric plant on the waterfall, (the very first in Australia), and had electricity 30 years before the nearest town did. He built a grand ballroom and a movie theatre, and every Saturday he had a complete jazz band come in and entertain his guests all day and into the evening, until the movie was shown. The rainforest was his gardens, and was added to with exotic plants from all over the world, many of which are still there today. There were two full sized tennis courts (yes, in the rainforest), and a lawn bowls and boules pitch as well. There were paddle boats on the lake beneath the falls. He dug a tunnel through one of the hills on the property, and on the other side, he discovered another waterfall and creek, which he named after his daughter, Theresa. The paths criss cross the entire property, and all of them are wide enough for two people to walk along holding hands. There's an avenue of Kauri Pine trees, planted by Jose all those years ago, which are grown now, and are absolutely stunning to see... It's just incredible... You've got to see it to believe it... You've got to see it to even understand it... They also do a night time tour, which we stayed for, because the major parts of the original building and garden areas are lit, which shows everything in a completely different perspective, and again, it's beautiful... It's almost straight out of a fairy tale... You can just imagine how it must have seemed in it's hey day, people came from everywhere for a day of fun and recreation. The hydroelectric plant has been rebuilt by a team from Germany, at a cost of $400,000, and now generates power from the waterfall 24 hours a day. They are completely self powered, all of Paronella Park, and the attached caravan park (also started by Jose), and feed energy back into the main grid. The guy was a madman, but a genius... He was a dreamer, but an achiever... It took him 21 years of work and dedication, and his children continued what he'd started, and then it all just vanished, and was forgotten about. The government built the Bruce Highway on the other side of the mountain, and the passing traffic stopped passing, and the business failed... It's beautiful, but so, so sad...
If he saw it today, he'd be very proud, I think...
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