Atherton Tablelands

After a hectic morning in the camp kitchen partly due to some of the vans having been robbed in the night we head south to Gordonvale. Then about 15 kms of winding uphill road to the tableland. Seems very high at the top of the hills looking back to the coast.
Rolling green field with patches of magnificent rain forest. Visit the Cathedral Fig Tree. Huge magnificent and looking like a cathedral. Sad to think lots of this forest has been cleared for farming.

Lake Barrine is a beautiful volcanic lake with rain forest walks and a lovely Devonshire Tea. Yungabuura is a nice little town with platypus viewing on the creek. The lady in the info centre is from Blackpool and recommends the Lake Eacham caravan park. Great place on edge of the rain forest. There is a big shed for the camp kitchen with a log fire. Perfect for evening chats.
Dave walks through the rainforest for 1 km to the lake then 3kms around the lake through more forest with two fig trees. Lots of backpackers swimming in the lake as the sunsets. There is a python in a hole

As Dave looks for the path home it goes dark. Even with a torch it is very dark and with lots of jungle sounds Dave can't find the path back. Luckily there is a road that leads back.
Early morning lots of noise from the campsite turkeys and chooks.

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Next day visit Malanda Falls. Great visitor centre and chat to a lady from South Africa who shows a stuffed tree kangaroo. These guys only live on the tableland and in PNG and are difficult to spot as they live high in the rainforest and swing around using their tales.

Atherton is a biggish place and Dave tries a lady hairdresser. Never a good idea. She says Max cut my hair too short and it only needs a 2 minute trim. She did start my pony tail so fingers crossed that will grow.
Walk up Mt Baldy which turns out to be steeply uphill for 50minutes. Surprisingly hard work and very dry although only a few kms from rain forest. Great view including Mt Bartle Frere
Back to the campground and another night of chatting by the fire. Tom, a belgian guy is great company. Very cold that night and everything soaked with rain forest condensation in the morning. While I am having my coffee and toast a very distressed lady comes in and says a malaysian airline has been shot down over Ukraine with 295 people killed. No good
Go back to sunny Cairns.
Walk to the lagoon have a swim at last which is great. African ladies being photographed on the beach.

Pelicans are in their usual place on a small patch of grass on the beach

 Walking back we pass a circus with a few lions outside. The keeper is being friendly with the ladies. He doesn't do this with the male lions.

Pizza hut $5 pizza and white wine for dinner at the campsite. Chat to a dutch couple who have got jobs in restaurants in Palm Cove. They have travelled for 2 months from Sydney and said it was hard to get work. They showed us wikicamps App which has campgrounds all over Australia including all in the guide Camps 7.