Hello:)

We went on another trip yesterday, to see Atherton Tablelands. It was a 7:40am pick up from our hostel, so not too early:) Our tour guide/bus driver was called Brett, a very enthusiastic and friendly man, he reminded us of Steve Irwin a little.

We began our journey by travelling down Bruce highway, part of the longest national highway in the world, 24,000km! Next we saw Walsh's Pyramid, which is the highest freestanding natural pyramid in the world! Aboriginal people believe that a large bush turkey created it!We turned right and were informed that we were travelling through the Wooroonran national park (Which means 'climbing vine'). We spotted Mango trees whilst driving the 19km's of winding road. The roads twists and turns were very likely to make you feel a little sick, so the driver popped on a little bit of music! But this was not just your typical pop music, this was a digireedoo album! LOL! Quite surprisingly it wasn't that bad either, this artist seemed to combine tribal sounds such as shouting etc through the instrument, it was bit like a dance track! :p

Brett was very knowledgeable and told us a few interesting facts; 80% of the Tropical rainforest is made up of trees; there are around 700 varieties and new ones found each year. Plus the rainforest needs 1.5m of rain a year. On the last part of our journey to our first stop, we were surrounded by views of the Atherton tablelands, wide open spaces, rolling hills with trees scattered about.

Our first stop was Lake Barrine, a dormant volcanic crater! Created about 20,000 years ago. Absolutely beautiful! Tropical plants surrounded the dark blue water, where Platypus's are said to live. We started off by going on a 600m walk through the rainforest; this was a little different to the rainforest we had seen at O'Reilley's! You could hear many different bird songs, rustling leaves, and insects were everywhere! Once we had finished our walk, we made our way back to the lake and sat for a short while on the bank:)

We were back on the bus again, making our way to the Giant Curtain Fig Tree, which is 600 years old!

Afterwards, we drove to the world famous Milla Milla falls! Used for such things as, advertising campaigns for Shampoo, mineral water, alcohol and many more things. The water is safe to swim in, but we only had 15 mins to spend there, so only got a chance to paddle for a bit.

Next stop, lunch! MMMMMmmmmm I was very lucky, they had made me a special coeliac meal and we had some free cheese and yoghurt to taste! :p

Paronella Park was our next destination, which I was really looking forward to seeing! In 1929 a young Spanish man called Jose Paronella bought some land and began to build his life long dream, a castle! This castle was to be opened to the public, for them to enjoy movies and lavish parties. He also created paths through the rainforest, cut tunnels through small hills and even built a tennis court! Jose planted more than 7000 trees, including magnificent Kauri Pines that now line Kauri Avenue.

Sadly in 1946 a large flood damaged a huge amount of his work. A lot of repair was needed to be done, but Jose passed away before he could complete rebuilding his dream. He left the legacy of his work to his family.

There were more floods later, Cyclones and a large fire. Jose's family decided it was time to sell Paronella Park, to a couple called Mark and Judy Evans. They have managed to restore alot of the dream Jose originally had. Because Jose was not a qualified architect in any way, he used a material that would eventually fall to the ground over time, which makes this place even more special.

In 1997, Paronella Park was recognised as a historical treasure and listed on the National Trust.

Our last stop was Babinda Boulders, where we finally had a swim in a fresh water swimming hole. It was suprisingly very clean and there weren't any crocs in there either! just the odd Turtle.

The Babinda Boulders is not just a beautiful swimming hole, but the area also holds great significance for local Aboriginal people.

Overall a lovely day, filled with some beautiful memories of Queensland.