CAIRNS (Continued)

Tuesday, 30 July 2019

Lake Placid

Lake Placid

Waterfall into the Barron Gorge

Rafting in the Gorge

Cattana Wetlands

Pied cormorant

Crocodile trap, complete with part of a chook

We have spent a fairly relaxed week, with some mixed weather conditions but mainly warm and sunny.  Fortunately, the nights are no longer as cold!

Our activities this week have included visits to Lake Placid, the Barren Gorge (where we watched Raging Thunder launch their rafts for some white water rafting in, hopefully, crocodile free waters), and a bit of retail therapy, along with one or two or three ice creams.  Sunday was a bit cool and cloudy, so we decided on a drive to the southern suburbs (not an area we know well) and stopped at the Mt Sheridan Plaza, which has only been open about 8-10 years.  Don’t feel any need to rush back.  We also stopped at the Coconut Grove Holiday Resort (the other Big4 in Cairns) and had a wander through the grounds.  We felt we had the much better park at Crystal Cascades and would have been rather upset to pay Coconut’s fees for dry grass and dirt.

Yesterday afternoon, with the temperature rising and clear skies, we headed to the Cattana Wetlands for a walk around the lakes/ponds.  This area has been further developed since last year, with new signage and a new pond with a circuit track.  This track  hasn’t been concreted yet and only after walking about twenty metres along the narrow gravel track covered with leaf litter, we decided that discretion was far preferable to valour, given the large snake population in the area, and quickly retraced our steps to the concrete!  Another new addition this year was the crocodile trap; obviously there for an obvious reason!!!  These wetlands, with their paperbarks, waterlilies and bird life, are well worth a visit.