Here we continue on from where we left off on Tuesday last week, at the end of Day 4.
Day 5: Rain, Wetlands, Mosquitoes, some birds
We decided to head back to Cattana Wetlands, about 15 minutes north from our hotel. It was not steamy hot yet, and I was hoping that we would see some more cool birds there. As we drove, the rain was on and off along the way, but by the time we got to the wetlands car park, it stopped. We hopped out and slathered ourselves in insect repellent. One of the most unpleasant things in the tropics is not the heat, or humidity. It’s the mosquitoes around wetlands and all over the place, generally speaking. Those pesky things are relentless and only the best insect repellent is able to provide protection, and for that we choose the Bushmans brand. Netra uses the cream, I use the spray. It’s no fun putting chemicals on our skin, but it’s also no fun getting eaten alive by these awful little insects.
One thing not lacking in Cattana Wetlands are the signs warning people of saltwater crocodiles being present around the water. Therefore, we had to be super careful not to walk near water, though they have placed benches barely 5 meters from the edges of lakes. I suspect a sneaky croc could easily take an elderly person or child in that kind of setting. But anyway, the mozzies were actively following us, thought due to the fact we had repellent, they only buzzed around us like clouds. It was insane!
I can count on two hands how many bird species we encountered, no joke. I listened, looked and looked hard. We managed to find Yellow Oriole, Willy Wagtail, Little Pied Cormorant, Australasian Darter, Australian White Ibis, Spangled Drongo, Orange-footed Scrubfowl and Sahul Sunbird, that’s it. And we covered a couple of kilometers of tracks rather silently, too, yet the birds were very elusive at this location.
One thing that there were a lot of, were frogs. At one point, the cacophony of frogs was so intense, that it was almost deafening. It was at a somewhat dried out pond with little water left, but plenty of ground cover in the form of vegetation to hide the calling frogs. It was here I spotted a stunning common tree snake doing what it does best, hunt frogs. Although when the snake slithered past Netra and me, it quickly dashed into cover to escape the scary humans.
We made our way back up to Kuranda and we thought we’ll have a look in the rainforest up there, but by the time of day we arrived, it was rather unpleasantly hot and humid and we could only find a pair of Mistletoebirds plus a lone Pale Yellow Robin. There were other birds calling, but sadly I am not familiar with FNQ bird calls, so I was a bit lost at what those were. Since it was past lunch time, we wanted to eat, but having driven into Kuranda village, we drive straight back out, as there was no parking at all. We agreed to eat at the fish market on the corner of Captain Cook Highway and Arthur Street, called Ocean World Seafood Market. It was one of the best food decisions of the trip. The fish and chips, prawns and mussels were first-class as we gorged ourselves about 500 meters up the road at Centenary Lakes.
We followed this feast with a brief walk in the botanic gardens looking for birds and other critters, but only the macro stuff were out, with the exception of a couple of gorgeous Black Butcherbirds. Being a northern cousin of our Pied and Grey Butcherbirds, it was great to make their acquaintance. We headed back to the hotel and at dinner Netra mentioned we walked straight past the conservatory in the botanic gardens where 4 titan arums (also known as corpse flowers) were blooming, or about to bloom. We kicked ourselves for not knowing and vowed to return the next morning after breakfast.
Day 6: Rain, Corpse Flowers, Heat, Mozzies and more Heat and New Year’s Eve
We could not wait to get out of the mediocre breakfast bar at our hotel and heat back to the botanical gardens. As we entered the conservatory, the heat and humidity hit us like a wall immediately. But the Titan Arums were there, in full glory. One still open enough from the previous day, another closed, and 2 still waiting to open up. When the flowers open on these stinky flowers, they last about 24 hours, so we were incredibly lucky to have been in this area during the time they flowered. Netra and I enjoyed a brief chat with one of the garden botanists and had a good look around this massive greenhouse. It was so beautiful with so many species of plants all cohabiting, but the heat and humidity were next level unbearable.
We tried to explore the northern part of the Esplanade, but the weather made it awful, so defeated we went back to the poorly air-conditioned room at our hotel, had a shower, napped and got ready for our NYE buffet dinner downstairs. It was a mostly seafood based buffet, so it was very appealing to us both, as we are real seafood lovers.
Once we went back upstairs, the evening thunderstorm was well underway and we got a bit wet standing on our balcony as we watched the 8:30pm fireworks, then later the midnight fireworks from the comfort of our room.
Day 7: Sun and heat, Parks and a Botanic Garden
New Year’s day arrived and Netra wanted to rest. I decided to head to a lesser known park and remnant rainforest patch 12 minutes’ drive away to look for Boyd’s forest dragons. There were a few records over the years from Goomboora Park, so I figured that on my own I can really take my time and look hard at thousands of trees for these elusive reptiles. That did not happen, though. Sadly, my efforts spent over 4 hours were rewarded with nice insects and spiders, but no reptiles, other than a couple of very fast skinks that escaped my lens.
I drove past a service station, picked up 2 600ml bottles of Powerade and swung by Maccas to get a very unhealthy lunch for us both. After lunch, we both crashed on the bed, and slept a few hours. Then we spent the rest of our day lazing around, packing our bags for departure the following day.
I was anxiously waiting for the rain to stop in the evening so I could head back to the botanic gardens, and at 9:00pm, my calls were answered, as the rain stopped.
The terrain changed with many large pools of water now standing in places where there was only grass a few nights earlier. A deafening chorus of dainty tree frogs was drawing me close, but I had to walk through ankle-deep water to get to them, as they were calling in the water, on plants that rose above its surface. I saw at least 15 of these, but opted for few images only. The interesting thing was that I also spotted 3 eels swimming around at my feet, taking advantage of their opportunities to hunt over new ground.
I looked for the well-known lichen spiders, but it was still very wet and a light drizzle by the time I looked for them, and could find none in the area I spotted several on the Monday night. I did, however, get to hear a fledgling Rufous Owl trilling, which sounded very similar to the begging calls of Powerful Owl owlets, a species that we get in Sydney. Unfortunately, I was not able to locate the owlet in the canopy, as the cover was so closed in above me.
Final Thoughts
Despite relentless heat, humidity, rain, and the occasional logistical frustration, Cairns delivered extraordinary wildlife from intimate cassowary encounters to beetles, butterflies, raptors, and rainforest species, the region proved itself as a strong contender for future visits and a place we’ll happily return to, hopefully under slightly drier skies.