Berthing at Townsville, Australia
Buongiorno, well we weren’t berthed in Townsville all day. The Mariner entered the harbor about 10 AM when the harbor pilot came on board. We arrived at the docking station by about 10:30 and were tied up at our birth no later than 10:45. The cruise port terminal is still some distance from town, at least enough that a shuttle bus was provided.
This morning’s excursion was an eight-and-a-half-hour trip to the UNESCO World Heritage site known as the Wet Tropics Rainforest of Queensland. It is said to be the world’s oldest surviving rainforest. We were a bit surprised that there was an A & B for this excursion, that translates into two groups. Usually, a group is 40 to 50 people. This was one of the few excursions you had to pay for. Really 100 people?
The excursion began with the normal meeting the Constellation Theater. We are in group 2 or B. Our number was called, and we filed out on to the pier. Exiting the cruise terminal we say the reason fro two groups. There were two small buses, maybe 20 to 25 people maximum. Thank goodness a tour of 100 people is just too cumbersome to manage properly.
We rode along the coastline north from Townsville toward Moongobulla loading people into motor coaches. The driver talking pretty much the whole way. Not sure what he was talking about. Something about sugar cane, how busy the port of Townsville was, wild horses and pineapple. Yes, they have the world’s best pineapple.
The Queen variety of pineapples are gown here. Queen pineapples do not grow on a stock like the type you get the market in America. They grow inside the plant covered by and protected by the leaves. They are not suitable for the commercial market. Apparently, they have to be picked when ripe, they do not ripen well once picked. They are, however, an important part of the pineapple fresh market in the far North Queensland region. Apparently they are particularly sweet and not as acidic and those we are used to.
At Moongobulla we made a right hand turn and began our ascent up into the mountains. The use of the smaller buses is not completely clear. A large bus would find the winding route impossible, and the road isn’t exactly two lanes wide. In fact, in many places it is barely wide enough for the small bus. We made our way up to Paluma a small holiday village with the Paluma Range National Park.
It had just gone one when we arrived at the Ivy Cottage Rainforest Restaurant and Accommodations for morning tea and scones. The Ivy Cottage is a rustic little place surrounded by the forest. It was a beautiful spot for morning tea. There were a number of bird feeders around the cottage and they abounded with a number of birds. There were also a number of butterflies flittering around. The ambiance was really quite nice.
The walk through began at McLelland’s Lookout perched some 3,300 feet up on Mount Spec. We stopped here to catch the specular views of the coastline and Halifax Bay. Our naturalist guide’s wife’s birthday was today, so we stopped for a minute to make a short Happy Birthday video for her before hiking off into the rainforest. We traversed several microclimates in going up the mountain. Now we were hiking off on a two mile trek into yet another microclimate, a designated UNESCO World Heritage site recognized for its exceptional natural beauty and biodiversity.
The trek began in the sunlight, and quickly descended into the twilight world of the rainforest floor. The air grew damp, and the humidity made it difficult to breath. As we sank into the rainforest the foliage began to change. The hues of green became more intensified, a darker and richer green. Although there were thirty of us, you could feel the silence of the forest around you.
Birds calling out in the distance, and then silence. There was an awe about it. The guide told us about the stinging nettles, the wait-a-minute plant that can catch and hold on to you, the strangler fig which grows from the top of the forest canopy down, latches on to a host and then literally strangles the host to death.
We were following the trail to Witts Lookout. Each and every step was another step deeper into the rainforest. The clouds seem to descend on as we made our way forward. Walking into another microclim it started to rain. Now heavy? Hard to know the rain was bearing down not on us but on the rainforest canopy. Some filtered down to us, but it wasn’t annoying as rain can usually be. It just seems appropriate and natural.
By the time we got to Witts Outlook the clouds had descended so much that there wasn’t any thing to look out at except the fog of the cloud. But as you stood there, you could hear the strange silence of the rainforest, pierced occasionally by the shrill of a bird off in the distance. There was a peace about it. Another world.
We made our way back to McLellend’s Lookout and the buses. From there we started back down the mountain. Now the changes in the microclimes as we made our way down became more apparent. We passed a number of waterfalls, evens topped at Little Crystal Creek, apparently a hoist spot for bathers and loves of nature.
We stopped and had “lunch” just after it has gone 17:00 at the Mystic Sands Gold Resort. We got to see kangaroos on the golf course. Lots of them. They are cute to us but apparently a pain in the ass for those living here. It had nearly gone a quarter to six before we started back to the ship.
It was a long day, but very much worth it. We were treated by a golden yellow and orange sunset as the Mariner pulled out of Halifax Bay and left Townsville behind. Again much more to see here, and well worth another visit. It would be wonderful to feel the peace of the rainforest one more time.
Buonanotte e ciao, Enrico and Maria.
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