Wednesday 14th July 2021
David headed out early down to the creek at the Lodge we were staying at t o look for the elusive platypus. I decided to stay in be instead as I don’t have David’s dedication and patience in the wet and cold conditions. Unfortunately for DB there were none to be seen.

After a slow start to the day we went for what was to be a 10 minute drive for a quick look at Barrine Lake , which instead turned into a 2 hour rainforest walk. Unfortunately no tree kangaroos, cassowaries or pythons, only bush turkeys and the occasional scurry across the track of something small and fast. David and I had a leech competition. Would DB wearing thongs or me in hiking boots win. The winner was 7 to 2 with the thongs being the winner.
We then headed to Fig Tree Curtain National Park to see the Fig Tree Curtain. It was amazing and the drive there was of beautiful, lush pastures and some mountains in the distance. It truly was spectacular.

After the Fig Tree Curtain we drove through a quaint little town called Yungaburra. We stopped so I could take a photo of the street and pub on the corner. Two hours later we were on our way again. We bought some sausages for dinner – 2 x Sweet chilli and mango, 2 x Italian (Pork and fennel) sausages and 2 x plain beef sausages incase we didn’t like the first 2. Luckily for us they were all very yummy.

We then enjoyed a further scenic drive around the area to the Nerada teahouse and farm, learning a bit about tea leaves along the way and enjoying a devonshire tea as well. David had green tea and I had Royal Devonshire (Black tea with smooth vanilla). We learnt that all types of tea come from the same plant. White tea comes from the tip of the youngest bud at the top of the plant and is hand picked (not done in Australia as too labour intensive and expensive), Oolong from the next 2 leaves at the top. Green tea is only fermented for a short time and black tea the leaves are fermented a lot longer until they turn a dark brown colour.
“Australia’s largest tea plantation nestled among Queensland’s highest mountain range, in the picturesque setting of Malanda, 360-hectare tea estate is also home to one of Australia’s rarest animals, Lumholtz’s tree kangaroos. There’s a family of them living in the trees outside our Tea Rooms. If you’re lucky, you might spot one of these creatures on your visit – just remember to look up. Maybe David should have read this before we visited. Oops!

We then drove to the Windin Falls trailhead and also to the Brere South walk but as they were to high lookouts and the weather was rainy and misty we decided against walking. Where too now – we decided on an early check-in at a big family home which has been converted to accommodation at Atherton. The kitchen was available for use by the guests which was a nice change to be cooking indoors. We really enjoyed the 3 varieties of sausages.

Tomorrow we need to head to Lucinda to get ready for our hike the following day to Hinchinbrook Island. Fingers crossed the weather improves as per the forecast as we will be out on the open for 4 days.