Undara and the Tablelands

We are settling in to term 3, but we have not finished the photos from our holidays. So here goes.

After the Reef Tour it was then time to take drive for a scenic tour through the Atherton tablelands to Undura National Park. On the way we stopped at the Cathedral and Curtain Fig trees. These were very interesting to look at.

The Cathedral Fig tree is estimated at 500 years old and is from the strangler fig family. This parasitic fig germinates on top of another tree and tries to make roots into the ground. Once this important step is done, the fig will grow vigorously, finally killing the hosting tree and then grow on independantly.

The Curtain Fig tree, is estimated at 800 years old. In this case the hosting tree tilted towards the next one, the fig also grows around that one. Its curtain of aerial roots drop 15 metres (49 feet) to the ground.

Here is a video shot at this massive tree.

eeeeeek! I cannot get the video to function at the moment.... help please?

We then stopped at Milla Milla falls for a lovely picnic. Tom took a million photos. I took the video.

As we got closer to Undara National Partk the road got more interesting. The road began to take on the feel of the outback. We kept seeing these lumps on the side of the road that at first we thought were hay bales. When we got closer, we realized that they were termite mounds! Huge! and really neat! We had to get Tom to stop to take a picture of one of these things.

When we arrived at the park, we had time for a short bushwalk around the area. Lots of rocks and things for the kids to climb and a great view of the area.

We stayed at the campground at Undura. In the evening they had a campfire talk and we learned about feral animals. These are animals that are not native to Australia. Wild pigs, cats, fox, rabbits and the cane toad are not well liked here as their presence has attacked or displaced native animals. It was an interesting and lively talk that we are sure we will remember for a long time.

Sleeping in our tent was an experience. We did not have such a great sleep between trying to keep warm, Jocelyn sitting up in the middle of the night to giving orders and bossing everyone around in her sleep, and all of us squashed into Tom as our mattress sprung a slow leak and we ended up rolling into Tom, the heaviest.

The tour of the volcano tubes was fun. “Undara” is an Aboriginal word meaning “long way”. The park protects one of the longest lava tube cave systems in the world. About 190,000 years ago a large volcano erupted violently, spewing molten lava over the surrounding landscape. The lava flowed rapidly down a dry riverbed. The top, outer layer cooled and formed a crust, while the molten lava below drained outwards, leaving behind a series of hollow tubes.

Later in the day we were able to go for a walk around the crater of a volcano. You might have flown around one Andre, but we got to walk around one! ... actually it really was not very exciting when the volano had blasted of 190 000 years ago.

On the way back from Undara, Tom wanted to stop at a woodworking shop. That turned out to be a treat! This place turned woodworking into an art. We spent almost an hour oohing and ahhing over the pieces.

Before we left Cairns we went to Mossman Gorge for a lovely picnic and a hike and then to Port Douglas. What a lovely little town. The highlight was a beautiful sunset as we watched the ferries come in at the end of the day, and in the evening, the famous ...cane toad races.

We are back to the grind, time is flying!

Take care,

Ginette, Tom, Avery and Jocelyn