Jucing in Australia, Part II: Waterfalls and Wallabies

"I'm sorry about the weather," the travel agent said as soon as we walked into her office.  That wasn't what we wanted to hear.  Following the disappointment of the muddy Capricorn Coast, we pushed all the way up to Airlie Beach to get on a sailing trip around the Whitsunday Islands.  We were over halfway to Cairns, and still hadn't seen as much as we had wanted, and now the sailing trip wasn't looking likely either.  Maybe we could go straight up to Cairns, go diving up there and come back to Airlie on the way back to Brisbane?  "The weather's just as bad in Cairns," warned the travel agent.  Dejected, Lorena, Magge and I took some brochures and ate lunch on a windy beach as we strategized.  Different plans were discussed, including a crazy one that would have us backtrack nine hours, and in the end we decided to continue north to Paluma National Park, and decide in a few days whether to go up to Cairns or back to Airlie Beach.  The plan sounded fine, but all three of us were still discouraged and we had to remind ourselves that we were traveling around Australia while everyone else we know is working.

Here's the weather in Airlie Beach that wouldn't let us go sailing

When we weren't seeing much, we had to entertain ourselves in other ways.  Here's a giant mango.

Somehow the sky in Australia is more amazing than anywhere else

Paluma National Park was recommended to us by our CouchSurfers in Sydney, and we are glad it was because we probably would not have visited it otherwise.  The park straddles the Paluma mountains, which are covered in rain forests, and is part of the Australian Wet Tropics UNESCO World Heritage Site.  We spent part of the day on a hike through the rain forest, and Magge and Lorena left no area unphotographed.  We didn't see any wildlife, but the flora was fascinating.

The other part of the day was spent swimming in waterfalls.  We first arrived at Little Crystal Creek, and our first reaction was that it didn't look natural.  The postcard-perfect falls have multiple drops, with swimming holes in nearly every drop, and really do look landscaped.  Big Crystal Creek, our next swimming spot, wasn't quit as scenic, but it did have rock slides and boulders to jump off of (don't worry mom, the pool is fifteen feet deep).

 Yep, that's us at Little Crystal Creek

Jumping into Big Crystal Creek

Next on the list was Wallaman Falls (picture top left of the post), Australia's highest at 268 m (884 ft).  By comparison, Niagara Falls are 167 ft high and Victoria Falls are 360 ft high.  We just happened to go there because it was close to where we spent the night, and we're all surprised it's not touted more in travel literature because it's spectacular.  Southern cassowaries, the third largest bird in the world, live in this area, but we didn't see any despite keeping our eyes peeled, although we did see a huge wild boar in the woods.

Eungella National Park, another rain forest area, gave us our most recent waterfall.  We went swimming in this one too, but it was too powerful to get close.  Lorena finally got in, but I had to play the chicken card.

Magge trying to make it to the waterfalls - she didn't, but she came the closest

Magge and the third wheel

 I didn't jump, mom

Just off the highway going south from Eungella, we came across a lookout point on top of a mountain.  We drove up for the view, which was fine, but came across wallabies, which were more interesting.  I have to confess that I didn't know what a wallaby was a few weeks ago.  I've heard of them, but pictured them as being similar to bandicoots.  Actually, I still don't know what a bandicoot is.  I pictured wallabies and bandicoots as being similar to muskrats.  However, wallabies are just like small kangaroos.  If you already knew that, then you're a better person than Magge and me.  The wallabies on top of this mountain came out of hiding because they were being fed by effeminate Germans, and while none of us approves of feeding wild animals, it was neat to get that close to them.

Magge is fearless

"Thou shalt not pass"

As disappointing as the first few days of this road trip were, the past few days have been amazing.  We are now back where this post started, in Airlie Beach, and are waiting to board a sailboat.  Just like I told the girls after our downbeat lunch a few days ago, "hey, we're in Australia right now."

Note:  All the pictures in this post were taken with Lorena's camera, and most of them were taken by Lorena.  You can check out what she's writing at http://www.nothongsallowed.com.