So, before the European settlers came to Australia and decided that the Atherton Tablelands would be great farming land, it was completely covered in rainforest. The rolling hills of the tablelands are simply marvelous to behold, being completely green and lush and peaceful.. but once we met Ernie (an aboriginal trail guide in Malanda) who showed us around a 1 km bush walk, we realized just how much damage was done to the land. Today, there are small patches of preserved land that is not to be touched by the farmers, but still Ernie claims that there are drastic changes happening in the forests.

The fabulous four with excellent guide Ernie in the Atherton Tablelands

While listening to Ernie tell us about the different woods, tree growths, living cycles, things you can and can't eat and explaining to us how his people lived in the forests, we spotted yet another platypus cruising around the stream. Fantastic little buggers, they are! Shy, too. But, what luck!

We kept Ernie occupied for about 2 1/2 hours, asking him questions and just getting to know the guy. He's an elder among his people now, and had some strong opinions on how the rainforest is being used and how it should be used. Again, check out pictures, because he'll be in there somewhere!

We left the Tablelands, heading north to Port Douglas. We drove through the Mangroves, the mountains that form in that area of the country, and it was simply stunning. The most interesting part of the drive was coming down from the mountains, as the road wound back and forth in tiny hairpin curves for about 13 km!!! Arriving in Port Douglas in late afternoon, we ventured into town and found a market that we poked around, hung around the water and then went to find a camp site at the local caravan park. It's a cute town, but we really didnt' do anything special there... as it was getting toward the end of trip, Karl, Caroline and myself were getting rather worn out and tired of each other's company (to a certain extent) and we really needed to take care of a few maintenance issues before getting to Cairns and starting the dive course. So, while Port Douglas is a great town and a perfect launching point for exploring the Daintree Forest, Cape Tribulation, Mossman Gorge and the various beaches between P.D. and Cairns, we didn't have enough time to explore, and ended up just sort of giving ourselves a chance to relax and be alone for a bit. We did, however, meet quite an interesting fellow in the caravan park who just about quit his job the day we were leaving. Said, "this has been the worst day of my life" both the day we arrived AND the day we left. Poor guy; at least he has it in his plans to go travel for 2-3 years with a solid amount of cash stowed away...