Well today was simply a girl day – Rich made the best of it, but shopping is just not really his thing! I felt a bit bad to start with but then realized that I have tramped many, many board walks, sighed over even more big trees, ooh and ahhed over numerous waterfalls, and trudged to the end of jetties too many to count – all of which I enjoy of course, but when I think about it, there has not really been much retail therapy – a few markets here and there, but on balance, he is in the red! And he paid today! Well sort of!
We headed up to Kuranda which is a well known shopping place simply because it has an all day, all week, all year market in operation. Cass and I had a blast – and spent many blissful hours wandering around looking at all the stuff. We were both VERY controlled with the spending – there was MUCH more looking than spending! Really! Seriously!!
Don’t feel too sorry for Rich - he didn’t actually have it too hard, because the joy of Kuranda is that it is located in the rain forest, so he took himself off for some walks and visited some look outs, a discovery center etc. We reconvened for lunch together in the park and then all explored one of the best board walks I have seen on this trip which took us to look at the Barron River/Gorge – the river which widely flows across the top of the plateau and then literally flings itself over the edge – an awesome sight even in the ‘dry season’! As usual we managed to find some interesting creatures – today’s highlight was a very sweet, very furry caterpillar that was about ten centimeters long, who had long curly feelers at one end, that could or could not have been the front – he looked as though he had just stepped straight out of a Dr Seuss Book.
We all had treasures from the day – Cass and I, a FEW purchased items and Rich several lifers – a Wompoo pigeon amongst them! (Wompoo … isn’t that a lovely word – he looked exactly what you would imagine – a variety of different bright colours – almost as though he had been painted!) He also discovered Northern Fig Birds and was happily pointing one out to me in the main street of Kuranda – I asked how he could identify it when we were simply looking up its butt and then it poohed on me! I will say it was quite attractive from another angle – again, coloured in a very startling way – all very Dr Seuss – and all in all a lovely day.
The other fun thing we saw this morning on our way to Kuranda was a Cable Wakeboard Park – a largish body of water with cables all around the perimeter and then ski ropes attached to the cables and moving along them – so you could literally be pulled around the edge of the water on a wake or knee board – there were jumps and a variety of other fun things to do – Rich and Cass were fascinated. It would be a good way to perfect some ‘moves’ without the stress of dealing with the boat, the wake, other skiers etc. We might still find ourselves there before we leave Cairns
Other than that we are quite enjoying the caravan park we are in – lots of young people here, many of whom are from overseas. They are all in ‘Wicked’ vans – the name of the company that hires them – and every Wicked Van is graffitied all over and often have fairly interesting slogans on them – suffice to say I am quite glad I am not travelling with young children – there would be LOTS of explaining going on in the car! Anyway, you can’t blame the travellers for what their hired wheels say I suppose! The time in the park has been a good opportunity to catch up on emails, blogs, photo down loads and a mountain of washing (and the subsequent and rather-difficult-to-achieve drying of said washing.) I am determined NOT to be a ‘washing watcher’ as so many of the caravan folk women are – but as I have mentioned before, if you do not ‘watch your washing’ you can come in for some major disapproval for being ‘neglectful’. I seem to do something wrong in this department every time I do a wash – today’s crime was not pegging the clothes down properly on the line so when we got back from our day out, all our washing was on the ground – and as I picked it up, there were numerous comments and supercilious looks from the ‘washing watchers’ (Rich here – I was ironing my shorts inn the wash room when one of the washing watchers helpfully pointed out that I had my shirt on inside out – moral: wake up first, then get dressed AND watch those overly helpful washing watchers). Actually from my point of view, when it all comes out in the wash, (pardon the pun) I would prefer to have dirty, clean washing and have enjoyed a fantastic day in the rain forest, than to sit in the laundry room watching my washing …. Ah well, as Cass famously says …. ‘whatever floats your boat’….. and washing OBVIOUSLY doesn’t float mine! J
Tomorrow it is off to Green Island
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