Rainforestation

Day 4: 2/4

We woke up early this next morning, had breakie, and prepared for our trip to a place called Rainforestation up in the mountains of Cairns. I had a GREAT time here – we walked around a little bit and saw a Cockatoo who would repeat common phrases and some little green ants whose bums tasted like sour patch kids. I only know this because one of the group leaders (Jess) pointed it out so I plucked one up and gave it a lick. Shortly thereafter we boarded an amphibious vehicle called a DUCK that took us through the forest and a damned up waterway on a short tour. We saw some interesting vegetation including a 200 year old tree and a Banana Tree. We made it back just in time to view some authentic Aboriginal dances in their outdoor theater and then witnessed some spear throwing and boomerang tossing. We all got the chance to throw one (mine was miserable) and also had the opportunity to play the Didgeridoo which I tried my hand at and was able to produce some noise. To end the trip we were led into the wildlife containment area. This was definitely my favorite part. Here we could feed and pet tame Kangaroos and Wallabies (picture to the left) as well as see Koalas, Wombats, and a couple huge Crocodiles. On our way out of the area we were able to hold a Koala and get our picture taken for free, which was also pretty cool. That night we had another information session and went out to a local pub called the Woolshed. We had a good meal and enjoyed some free beer. They had fish racing on this particular night, which I decided to participate in. They auctioned off six fish for $5/piece and I bought one named “The Raging Dike from Holland”. To race the fish, they were put into two parallel narrow, long tanks and we racers were given a straw to blow bubbles by which to scare the fish to the finish line. My fish seemed to actually enjoy the bubbles and never reached the end. A little disappointed in my performance, we marched back to Gilligan’s, had a few more drinks, enjoyed a bit of dancing, and went to bed.