Paronella Park

We've decided to do a few of the "tourist things" on this trip, and one of the places we had seen a lot of advertising for was Paronella Park. It has an interesting history (Google it!). After doing our own construction and landscaping projects over about ten years, we appreciated how much work went into the concrete buildings and the gardens!

It is built on Mena Creek Falls, which was (and still is) used to power a hydro-electric system.

There are two tours included in the ticket price (and a night in their caravan park!), and the day tour focused on the history.

Northern Jewelled Spider

Golden Orb Spider 

Four O'clock Moth Caterpillar

Yellow-spotted Honeyeater

Wompoo Fruit-Doves

Little Bronze Cuckoo 

Olive-backed Sunbirds (male & female)

Helmeted Friarbird

Zodiac Moth

The night tour was more of an "experience". Having its own electricity before anywhere else in the district (in 1933) meant that lighting was a part of the evening experience from the beginning. 

A replica of the mirror ball that was in the original ballroom.

There was also a really enjoyable sound and light show.

Tully, Mission Beach and Lacey Creek

We spent a night at the Tully Gorge National Park campground and went for a drive up to the end of the road. When researching the area I saw a recommendation and instructions for finding Ponytail Falls, which turned out to be really pretty.

We were about half way back up to the car when we thought we heard some voices. We assumed it was someone coming down the track, but when the voices got louder we realised they were coming from the river - rafters! We turned around and ran back down to the river just in time to see them at the waterfalls.

On our way up the road we had stopped at the Cardstone Weir Lookout. We knew that's where the rafters would be heading, so we raced back to the car and drove back down to the lookout. By the time we walked down there they were approaching the weir.

After that excitement we went back to the camp where the Tully River is a little more sedate.

Next day we did the short Butterfly Walk... but there were no butterflies. We did really like this palm tree, though.

Varied Triller (female) 

Forest Kingfisher

On the way back to Tully we saw our first cassowary... It was quite a way up the road, and by the time I grabbed my phone it had mostly disappeared.

The Golden Gumboot - almost 8 metres high, the level of the highest annual rainfall ever recorded in an Australian town (in 1950).

The following day we drove out to Mission Beach. It was overcast and windy - not quite providing the postcard view of the palms along the beach.

It was clearer out to the north.

Beach Stone-curlew

The sea was calmer at the next beach to the north (Narragon Beach) and the view from the Perry Harvey Jetty was a little closer to the idyllic tropical beach/rainforest/island vista.

On the way back we stopped at Lacey Creek for a walk through the rainforest. It was really pretty and there were a few birds.

Rufous Fantail

Macleay's Honeyeater - We were particularly excited when we identified this one as it is only found in a small area from Paluma Range up to Cooktown!

Spectacled Monarch

Our final stop for the day was Alligator's Nest near Tully (apparently named after the local Scout group, not for any large lizards!).