Daniel's Big Australian Holiday!

 Day 91 - Monday - 17/8/2026 Today we left Cairns and drove to Atherton where we drove into the Crystal Caves. At the check in we bought some tickets and were given a head torch each, then we went into the man-made cave where we looked at real crystals from all over the world.  Smoky Quartz A man called Rene from the Netherlands had a passion for minerals and crystals and when he was in Australia, he found a super big piece of Agate which gave him the idea of the crystal caves. He discovered a great place to find crystals was South America and there was even some crystals form Peru which is where my mum was born.  Some crystals After walking around in the caves for a while we found the main attraction of the caves, the huge 3 metre amethyst geode that was discovered in Urugay in 2007 and at the time was known as the biggest piece of Amythyst in the world.  Us standing next to the Amythest Geode Once we finished looking at all the different crystals Me and Seb got to ...

Day 90 - Sunday - 16/8/2026 This morning we drove to Freshwater Railway Station where we boarded the train to Kuranda.  The train Our scenic ride went through the mountains in the rain where we saw multiple waterfalls. The first one wasn't the tallest, but it definitely had the most water coming over it.  The first waterfall For the second waterfall we stopped and got off the train where had a view of Barron Gorge and the high waterfall all while it was drizzling with rain.  Barron Falls Soon we arrived at Kuranda where we went to the Kuranda Butterfly Sanctuary. At the butterfly sanctuary there where over 1000 butterflies and a lot of different species for example the Common Eggfly.  Blue-banded Eggfly Carins Birdwing Red Lacewing In the sanctuary there where a few different areas being the main aviary with most of the butterflies, the breeding lab where they kept all the caterpillars and the Fairy Garden where some butterflies were hatching out of their cocoons....

 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 basalt.  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 ...