Daniel's Big Australian Holiday!

 Day 88 - Friday - 14/8/2026 Today we drove to the Cairns Aquarium where we looked at a whole bunch of fish. We started at the freshwater section where we saw a heap of fish, some Eels and a few Turtles.  A moray eel Then we went over to the river monsters where we saw a lot of big fish like Sawfish and Stingrays.  Stingray After that we went up the lift and walked over to the rainforest section where we saw some Snakes, Turtles and of course fish.  Tree Snake We kept walking over to the escarpment area where there were a few Monitors some fish and also some other reptiles like Frilled-neck Lizards.   Lizard Soon we reached the mangroves where there was a juvenile Saltwater Crocodile. Then we walked to the upper deep reef where we saw hundreds of fish swimming around in a large tank.  Lionfish Next, we went back down the lift to the oceanarium where we got to go through a glass tunnel surrounded with water and fish.  Me and Seb in a small part of ...

Day 86 - Wednesday - 12/8/2026 Today we drove back into Daintree but this time to the opposite side of before, this time we drove to Mossman Gorge. At the visitors centre we bought tickets to the bus which we got on and drove up to the gorge. At the gorge we went on a boardwalk the led into a more difficult track. At the start of the walk, we walked down to the edge of the river which we weren't allowed to swim in because apparently the currents were too strong today. Me and Seb at the river Then we kept walking to ta lookout where we could again see the rainforest and river. After that we reached a wobbly suspension bridge that we had to cross over to get to the start of the harder walk.  Walking on the bridge On the more difficult walk there where a few sections where you could climb down to the waters edge and feel the temperature.  The walk mainly went through the humid rainforest over tree roots and occasionally along a creek. Nearing the end of the walk we took a little ...

  Day 84 - Tuesday - 11/8/2026 This morning we drove into Daintree National Park and on the drive, we had to cross a ferry to get across. Normally it would only take 5 to 10 minutes to cross, that’s if you don’t blow a hydraulic hose that lifts up the drawbridge so cars on which is exactly what happened to us. We were stuck there for a solid 30 minutes until the mechanic fixed it and we were finally able to cross the Daintree River. As we were driving through the lush rain forest, we got pretty lucky and saw a cassowary with two chicks and they crossed the road. The Cassowary with two chicks After seeing the cassowary, we drove a bit more to Madja boardwalk through a mangrove swamp. Everywhere you looked you could see all different types of plants and thousands of mangrove roots sticking out of the mud.  The mangrove roots We didn’t see much wildlife, but we heard lots of birds all around us.  The forest Once we finished the walk we drove to Cape Tribulation where we had ...

 Day 83 - Monday - 10/8/2026 This morning we went on a walk at Granite Gorge. The walk started at Wallaby Rock where there were 12 Mareeba Rock Wallabies that people were feeding little pellets to.  Mareeba Rock-wallaby Then we continued on the walk over the granite to the weir where we could have swam if we wanted to. After we went over to turtle rock which looked a bit like a giant turtle carved out of the rock. Then we reached the start of the hard walk where we had to climb over large boulders to get to the dinosaur footprints and rock. The rocky creek we had to cross Next, we had to hop over a creek on some rocks to avoid getting our feet wet and then we reached our end destination, Whale Rock. It looked a lot like a whale, and it stood over a moderately fast current in the water. After having a quick break, we headed back along the same path to the end of the hard walk and then we embarked on the other half of the easy walk back to wallaby rock where we fed the wallabies...

Undara Lava Tubes Day 82 - Sunday - 9/8/2026 Today we went on a tour at the Undara Lava Tubes. Once we met our guide we got on the bus and then drove to the lava tubes were Claire told us how they were formed. The tubes formed about 190,000 years ago when the Undara Volcano erupted, m agma shot out of the volcano at high speeds and filled a nearby valley.  Then the top and sides of the flowing lava touched the cooler air and hardened into a solid roof and t he hardened top worked like a blanket, keeping the lava below hot and liquid as it kept rushing forward and after a while  the supply of new lava stopped, and the remaining liquid ran out the lower end of the stream leaving the colossal tubes of granite.  The tube The formation of the tubes took approximately 20 years and over time large chunks of it had fallen down that you could see quite clearly. As we entered the tubes there was a difference in temperature, surrounding the tubes was a very lush vine thicket and the...

 Day 81 - Saturday - 8/8/2026 This morning we went on a tour to Talaroo Hot Springs. At the start of the tour, we went on a short walk where our guide told us a few things about the spring like how they were formed. In the Great Dividing Range, it would start to rain, and the water would seep into the ground heating up on the warm rock. The water travels hundreds of kilometres heating up and at a certain point it heats up enough that the water begins to rise and eventually it reaches the surface forming the springs.  The springs At Talaroo there where three main springs the biggest and hottest, Kangaroo averaging around 65 degrees, Spirit around 45 and Luna around 35. The springs also contain a lot of minerals in the water like Sulphur which is why some of the rock is stained yellow.  The stained rock Along the walk there was also a fossil of a giant carnivorous kangaroo that once roamed the land. Kangaroo fossil At the end of the walk, we reached the foot spa which we pu...

Cobbold Gorge Day 80 - Friday - 7/8/2026 Today we packed up the van and then went on a tour to Cobbold Gorge. Our group instructor Pete took us on the bus where he told us some of the history around Cobbold Gorge. James Clark and his wife Amelia Trigger owned a hotel about 25km away from the current station and in 1901 they took up Robinhood Station. In 1929 James Clark died leaving the station to his eldest son Edward Clark and when Eddie retired the station was handed over to his son Teddie. That's when the Clarks met the Terrys. Cob Terry wanted to buy the station and Teddie Clark was interested in selling it, when the first offer was made by Cob it was accepted. They split up the land into thirds, and each person got one piece. The youngest son Simon got the so called ‘rubbish land’ because it had some large amount of sandstone that the cattle wouldn’t walk on. His land also had a permanent waterhole that nobody knew what was around the side of.  One day he had his friend visit...