Port Douglas to Chillagoe, Queensland
We leave Port Douglas, stopping at a botanic gardens in Cairns before heading west to Chillagoe Caves.
We woke early (still on camping time!), packed, and got out of Port Douglas by 9:30.
There wasn't much we wanted to do in Cairns except go to the Flecker Botanical Gardens. These were excellent--they were small enough to be kept up well, with many interesting signs explaining plant families and such. They had a good mix of exotic and native tropical plantings... and a nice Aboriginal Plant Use Garden for the rainforest region around Cairns. I found many of the plants I saw up on Cape York were here, and that helped identify four or five unknowns.
From there, we wandered downtown, as Chris was keen to see if the Red Ochre Grill had any lunch specials. The Red Ochre Grill specializes in bush food--kangaroo and crocodile and other food from the bush (sorry, no witchetty grubs). We walked in at 11:45--the whole restaurant was ready for business, tables out on the sidewalks, windows wide open... but empty. Is this a good or bad sign? The menu was pricey ($14 for a beef/kangaroo burger, $26 for a dozen oysters, etc.) but we said 'what the hell?' and tried to find someone in the restaurant. We spotted a woman way far away from the door, squatting in a back corner as she got something out of a low cabinet, and she told they didn't open until noon, but we could have a drink and wait if we wanted. Uh, OK. Maybe not at those prices. There were quite a few interesting restaurants around--Sri Lankan curry joints, Thai places, Italian, even Mexican--so we thought we could do better elsewhere. Guess we'll have to wait until Alice Springs for another go at bush tucker.
We instead found a yummy Filipino steam table inside an odd food court one street over--and the small $5 plate I had was some of the best food I've had in awhile. I don't think I've had Filipino food ever before; I must try and find some in San Jose when I get home. I had sweet pork (torcino?), pumpkin/silverbeet/spinach puree, and two chicken things that I can't quite remember.
Driving away from Cairns, Chris indulged his fetish for airports and drove by the Cairns airport (verdict: nothing special, in fact somewhat small--both domestic and International terminals together are as big as San Jose's old Terminal C). Then it was a winding half an hour drive to Kuranda past more tourist traps... Wildlife! Birds! Butterflies! Rainforest! I confess the butterfly thing would be interesting, but I'm starting to dislike butterflies for the simple reason that they're popular. Not that I'm elitist (much, hah!) or anything... just that people seem to think they're eco-friendly because they love pretty butterflies, while liberally dousing their gardens with insecticides so their beloved roses don't get munched.
After Kuranda, we were free from the rainforest finally--the Tablelands are a broad farming area where mangoes, tobacco, sugar cane, and macadamia nuts are grown. We had a brief stop in Mareeba at the Coffee Stop, where they roast local coffee beans and package it. Chris paid 5.50 for the bottomless tasting cup of eight or so different blends... I felt I didn't need that much caffeine, so I just had a nice iced mocha. I prefer the sugar buzz.
Mareeba to Chillagoe was an easy 160km or so, with a few short gravel sections of road. The country changed again, with round steep mountains punching up through the farmland here and there. Heading west, it got drier and drier, until we got to Chillagoe, where odd black limestone rocks 20m tall started appearing here and there. We stopped, bought tickets for cave tours tomorrow, and relaxed in the warm, dry afternoon.
Weird Wildlife Sighting
A wonderful black butterfly with green spots--that stayed still enough for me to snap a picture.