Cairns Part 2: Remember that time I drove on the left side of the road and nobody died?

Innisfail!

On Wednesday, 8 of us embarked on the road trip of champions.  Our van was basically a sports car, and smelled delicious by the end.  The first day we drove south from Cairns down the coast to a town called Innisfail (tee hee, sound it out…. So much maturity).  After lunch/exploring Innisfail, we drove south towards Millaa Millaa where we spent the night.  Along the way, we stopped at a bunch of different waterfalls, and went on a hike where Sheila, Laura, and Katie almost got eaten by a super poisonous snake.  Oops.  We saw a platypus at one of the waterfalls!  They’re nocturnal and usually not spotted in nature like that, so we felt like winners.  We also made an impromptu stop at a cheese farm with happy cows.  Obviously necessary.  Millaa Millaa was an incredibly small town, and the campsite we stayed at had rooms with no doors.  It was nice bonding time though.  We epic feast for dinner and accidentally turned the TV on just as Glee was starting which was kind of wonderful. 

Claire, Noah, Laura, Me, Mark, Katie

The next day we woke up explored a giant fig tree and crater lake in the morning.  Then we drove towards VOLCANO LAND, or the Undara Lava Tubes.  On the way, we stopped at this strawberry picking place where the lady let lots of annoying small children pick strawberries, but not us.  It was confusing.  But then we had time to go check out another dairy farm with chocolate so it was okay.  Back to volcano land, the Undara Lava Tubes are the longest lava tubes in the world!  The Undara park was also our first experience in the outback, which is kind of like the part in Lion King when Scar is the leader except fun.  The lava tubes were unreal.  And don’t worry; I didn’t act nerdy at all.  Because I don’t do things like that.  After our 

Volcano Land

tour of the lava tubes, we starting driving up to Port Douglas, where we spent the night.  On the way, we stopped at hot springs that were kind of sketch and in the middle of a trailer park.  Another oops.  After dinner we stopped on the side of the road to look at the stars.  This may or may not have turned into an epic dance party. 

coolest road sign ever

In the morning, we explored Port Douglas and had a feast of champions, then headed up to Cape Tribulation where we explored for awhile.  We were fortunate enough to experience a monsoon (after giving a presentation on monsoons I declare myself an expert in the subject).  We hiked around in the rain for a while and took pictures of some sassy road signs.  Later in the afternoon, we went kayaking.  Although during peak monsoon time, this was one of the road trip highlights for sure.  Noah had a particularly fun experience, being the only member of our group who capsized into shark-infested waters.  I think this was the last oops of the trip. Unfortunately, once kayaking was over we had to drive back to Cairns, get to sleep early, and wake up for an equally disgustingly early flight back to Sydney.   

Cape Tribulation.

FUN FACT:  There aren’t really any large mammalian predators in Australia.  This again reflects the low energy, nutrient poor environment.  Cold blooded reptiles have much lower energy requirements, and therefore can be sustained more easily in environments with lower energy.  

Dance Party.