Oh yeah, I'm a geek

Just bought tickets to go see a Jared Diamond lecture on the collapse of human societies =) Should be an interesting way to spend a Thursday evening!

Meanwhile, this week is looking extremely dull, from a work perspective. Bring on the weekend already.

Julatten 30/04/05 - 01/05/05

After Mossman Gorge we drove back up to the hinterland, winding our way along the mountain roads. We stopped along the way to admire the view: a patchwork of cane farms stretching between the forested mountains and the calm, flat sea. Alex discovered he'd been an unwitting walking meal for some lovely leeches, so we did the parasite inspection, much to the amusement of some fellow travellers who stopped to share the view. We then continued on our way to Julatten, where colleagues had recommended a birdwatchers' lodge. Driving in to the lodge we were greeted by an azure kingfisher swooping from the trees and we were sold! Sadly, it was right on dark, so we missed the evening birds, but were sure the morning would bring more.

Laughing kookaburra, Julatten

So we had a huge meal at a lovely country pub, bringing back a bottle of wine which we shared with a Swedish couple staying in the next cabin. We talked about wildlife, international issues and Australian culture before retiring for a night of snuggles in the peace of the rainforest... Sometime after midnight I woke up groggily, disoriented and confused. What was that noise?? My brain groaned into gear... ...it's a long way to the top if you want to rock and roll!! WTF! Redneck karaoke and half past 12 in the rainforest!

Alex, my hero, donned his clothes and trekked across dark, damp paddocks to locate the offending party and politely asked them to shut the fuck up, mid a spirited and off-key rendition of born in the USA. Eugh. They eventually shut up at about 1:30am and we drifted back to sleep. Up early in the morning though, as I wanted to see the birds and the platypus down by the creek. Deathly quiet. Our rousing redneck chior has pissed off everyone, including all the wildlife. When you're paying $109 a night to stay in a birdwatching retreat this makes Toni a very unhappy fishy.

Still, it was a stunningly gorgeous day, so we got on with it anyway.

Sugar cane and rainforest - Julatten (Atherton Tablelands)

Julatten to Home - 01/05/05

Leaving the birdwatcher's lodge (where they knocked a few dollars off after I did my grumpyfish impresion), we drove down to Tolga and had a scrumptuous brunch at the woodwork gallery. Best scones I have ever eaten! Satiated (and after Alex had taken lots of photos of the lovely furniture for future reference) we headed on out towards Lake Eacham, a volcanic crater lake surrounded by national park, stopping along the way to visit the Curtain Fig, a huuuuuuuuge strangler fig that towers above the surrounding forest. So hard to capture the sense of scale in a picture!

( Shall we go to the lake? )