Brisbane, QLD


Tuesday, June 25, 2013

LUSH LAKE BARRINE

After we completed our 4 day Savannahlander Train trip we had to wait 2 days in Cairns before our 12 day tour of Cape York departed so we decided to fill one of the days with a tour of Cairns' surrounds. We joined 4 others for the "Waterfalls and Paronella Park Tour". Paronella Park was on my bucket list but that will be in a future post.
Unfortunately it was an overcast day and threatening rain but we left Cairns in a small bus and climbed up the steep Lamb Range to the Atherton Tablelands where rolling countryside is dotted with pockets of rainforest.
First stop was at Lake Barrine, a fresh water crater lake formed by ancient volcanic explosions.

 We went for a short walk through the lush rainforest to marvel at the 1,000 year old towering Kauri Trees. They are over 45m/135ft tall and more than 6m/9ft in girth. The largest of Australia's conifers.


Then we were provided with a delicious Devonshire Morning Tea of scones, jam and cream in this lovely old guest house nestling on the banks of the lake.


 After morning tea we were taken on a cruise of the lake with an informative guide. 

 The lake is surrounded by rainforest and....
 wildlife including water dragons, snakes, birds and eels.

 Huge epiphytes were growing on the trees in their hundreds. Staghorns, elkhorns and
massive ferns hanging like baskets from the trees. There are more species of plants in the rainforest than  all the plants of North America so we were told. Even though we had grey skies it was warm and beautiful.

24 comments:

  1. What a great tour again, love the rainforest. It is so impressive with the huge trees.

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  2. dear diane, these are fantastic shots of your trip!
    thank you for taking us along.
    love rainforests .

    have a great day~

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  3. Lovely up there. Your photos are lovely :)

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  4. That is one portly little lizard. ;) Looks like he's not missing many meals!

    Do you happen to know what type of water dragon he is? Kind of looks like a bearded dragon, but... not. ;)

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  5. Oh, I forgot you did more than just the train trip. The guest house looks very nice.

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  6. Gosh. Just beautiful. And that thousand year old tree. Amazing. I can't imagine something living that long. Not even sure the Redwoods in California match up to that.

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  7. that lake is beautiful! and i LOVE those huge trees!

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  8. What a beautiful landscape ! And you even met dragons !

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  9. Cairns has a tropical climate doesn't it Diane, explains the fabulous lush vegetation. Looks like a wonderful way to fill in a day and morning tea in such a beautiful old guesthouse would be the jam on the scone :)

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  10. i like that water dragon and that staghorn is IMMENSE... the trees are fantastic... every scene you showed us today says Peace, sweet sweet peace and quiet..

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  11. Diane wonderful photos from your trip! I love the lake and the cool water dragon? And those trees are gorgeous! Thanks for taking me along!

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  12. Thank you for visiting & commenting on my blog. I love the title of yours! And I love the shots from AU even more as my sons are living there for now. They are presently in Jindabyne for the Winter. They snowboard, work in a snowboard shop & live on a lake with other roommates. They've been traveling through AU since Dec but haven't seen Brisbane or Melbourne. I hope they do and I hope they get to Perth. You certainly live in a lovely land.

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  13. Beautiful place. I never think of Australia as having rainforest, but of course it does!

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  14. What a beautiful place, and what lovely photos I like that you are showing the world the wonderful places here in Aus

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  15. cool looking park, are those trees related to redwoods?

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  16. Your rainforest in Australia is very similar to ours in British Columbia. I would love to see both. Awesome photos. B

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  17. Definitely different landscapes that the train ones. Amazing the age of the trees. To know they have stood that long is awesome.
    The lake looks lovely and what an inviting setting for that guest house.
    It is wonderful to 'tour' with you. :)

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  18. So lush and beautiful! And the tea sounds lovely, too.

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  19. These are super trees, like the water dragon. You do great trips.

    Greetings,
    Filip

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  20. I've had a lot of fun reading about all your travels. Fantastic photos!

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  21. We have to keep the rainforests protected; a lovely place on the lake. When I wander around in my garden I see small stag- and elkhorns growing on the bark; it is wonderful to see these tiny plantlets holding on. I can imagine how many years it took to grow all those on the trees in this ancient rainforest.
    Beautiful and interesting photos.

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  22. We will be exploring similar places in Atherton tomorrow.

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  23. Beautiful rainforest! Those lily pads are huge. And I love the dragon" and other assorted forest creatures.

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