June 12

We spent last night in a lovely little village called Yungaburra in the Atherton Tablelands. We stayed at the curtain Fig Motel. It is named after another spectacular strangler fig tree. So after sneaking down to the platypus viewing station at dawn and seeing my very first platypus in the wild, we all jumped in the car and went to see the Curtain Fig Tree. It is an amazing and enormous tree, as you can see from the picture. We learned that one reason this tree has survived to grow so big, is that the surrounding land is covered by boulders making it hard to clear for farming. A lot of the Atherton Tablelands is farmland that used to be rainforest. We read that because it is a type of forest called Mabi forest, it actually makes pretty good farmland. In most rainforest ecosystems when the land is cleared for farming the soil is depleted in a couple of years and becomes useless. We are interested in learning more about this type of forest.
After we visited the Curtain Fig we went to a crater lake called Lake Eacham and trekked around its shores. They say tree kangaroos are there, but we didn’t see any. We had hoped for a guided wildlife cruise but that didn’t happen.
We drove down through the Tablelands and stopped at a ridiculously touristy town. It was called Kuranda and they seem to specialize in tacky souvenirs. They had kangaroo fur neckties and bottle openers made with kangaroo claws. We didn’t buy any and we didn’t stay long. We drove north up the coast to Port Douglas. It was a spectacular drive. We rented an apartment for the night and are making preparations for the Daintree tomorrow. As we were sitting on our patio, discussing our plans, a Kookaburra laneds just across from us. Look carefully. You will find it in one of the pictures.
The Daintree, as most of you know, is the oldest rainforest in the world. They are off the grid, so although they do generate some electricity, we will not have all the luxuries we are used to, like refrigeration for instance. We are unsure if we will have Internet access and we are staying for 3 nights. Check back, but don’t worry if you don’t hear from us for a few days. We have several guided walks and tours planned and expect to have a lot to tell.
And now- a small moment from Mrs. Morris
Despite my reluctance over the years to step into the wondrous world of technology, I decided for this adventurous journey I would like to have international calling on my phone. A few weeks before our trip and after not having service on my phone when we were in Florida, I trotted down to the AT&T store to set up international calling. The girl was quite helpful, explained the plan, or most of it, set the dates for the plan to start, handed me a brochure and I was good to go. How exciting it was going to be to call and text my loved ones in the U.S. all the way from Australia!
Once we arrived in Brisbane and discovered we “got” to hang out in the airport for 6 hours, I decided it would be a great time to let everyone know I had arrived exhausted but safe. I felt so cool texting my message and thinking how relieved everyone would be to know we were here. I had truly entered that amazing world of technology. I hit the send button and NOTHING! Nothing but the red exclamation mark telling you it’s a no go. Wondering what I had done wrong now I dug out the brochure which amazingly I hadn’t lost and remembered to bring with me. I read the instructions, followed them carefully, typed a new message, hit send, and…NOT THE RED EXCLAMATION MARK!!!! On further inspection I noticed a little message at the top of the screen—No Service! It is certainly frustrating to think I can’t get a message to my family in this day and age. Mrs. Harding has even had trouble getting the internet at our hotels. So much for staying connected.
So to all our family and friends that I can’t text, I am letting you know that despite a 15+ hour plane ride, a 6 hour layover, driving on the wrong side of the road, several unguided hikes in the rainforest with signs warning of stinging trees, and walking along the ocean shore where sharks and jelly fish hang out, we are all doing fine!!! And if you are curious of our future well being stay connected via our blog! Having a great time, wish you were here!!!! Mrs. Morris