Botanic Gardens

Tuesday, 24 July 2012

Yesterday, it was back to the airport – again – this time to collect Les on his return from Tasmania. The early rain had cleared by lunch time and the temperature risen. Needless to say, it didn’t take Les very long to discard the “Tassie” woollies and replace them with his “tropical” kit. During the afternoon we went for a walk along the Freshwater Creek and took some bread along this time to feed the fish. The little tiddlers were very appreciative until the big fish arrived and started attacking the bread. It was just like a shark feeding frenzy with the fish jumping right out of the water.

This morning was another beautiful tropical day – clear blue skies and no wind. After doing some laundry (all the Tassie clothes somehow ended up in the dirty laundry bag!), we set out for the Cairns Botanic Gardens. These really were a haven from the sun, with the lush tropical growth providing plenty of shade. There were quite a few plants in flower and the brilliant colours really stood out. The powder puff trees were quite unusual, with their soft, balls of fluff. We were surprised to find a new visitors’ centre had been erected since out last visit. Cat was a bit taken aback to see a scrub python (in a glass cage, fortunately) and learn that there were a number of these snakes in the gardens; he certainly executed a massive jump after falling off a large leaf into the thick undergrowth! There were also a number of orchids and carnivorous plants on display in the shade houses. Due to the large number of bities and our lack of insect repellent, we decided to leave the remainder of the gardens for another day.

We have learnt this afternoon that our flight to Cape York will go ahead tomorrow as planned – the weather forecast is looking good.