Malanda

26 - 28 November 2014

Our last minute booking has turned out really well. The unit is very well set up with a good kitchen-with just about everything you might need – as well as a decent sized lounge area, separate bedroom and small private veranda. We went for a walk around the grounds – down to the creek and along the edge of the bush. It's a very quiet, pleasant setting.

Lillipillies were flowering all around the grounds attracting lots of bees and butterflies. Most were too high up to photograph but I was able to catch a couple on lower shrubs. There were also plenty of birds around the place, including Rufous Whistler, Rufous Fantail, Silvereye, Bower's Shrike-thrush, Lewin's Honeyeater and Eastern Spinebill. Mick.

Bower's Shrike-thrush

This White-headed Pigeon was photographed next to the unit.

Common Jezabel

Green Awl

On Thursday morning we headed out fairly early - for us - and made our first stop at the Curtain Fig Tree. This magnificent example of a strangler fig has always been a favourite spot. After a walk around the boardwalk which circumnavigates the tree we made our way over to Lake Barrine, another favourite spot.

Little Shrike-thrush at the Curtain Fig Tree

Lake Barrine is one of two crater lakes on the Atherton Tablelands. It is popular with tourists as there is a boat tour as well as a remnant of days gone by - Tea Rooms. This facility has been run by the same family almost continuously since the 1920’s. Apart from this small pocket of privately owned land, the rest of the surrounding area is National Park.

Through the gardens to the Tea Rooms by the lake.

A great view with lunch.

Eastern Spinebill

From the car-park we heard Superb Fruit-doves calling but could not locate them. I would love to get a shot of one of these little beauties but they blend perfectly with the rainforest canopy and are very hard to find.

The beautifully maintained gardens at Lake Barrine are a good place to find  Eastern Spinebill, Dusky Honeyeater and Lewin's Honeyeater. 

There is usually a variety of waterfowl present on the lake. You may see Pelican, Pacific Black

Male King Parrot

Duck, various Cormorants, Eurasian Coot, Dusky Moorhen, Australasian and Great Crested Grebe. The latter can be found in large numbers out in the middle of the lake. The occasional  bird will come closer to shore but usually still too far for a good photograph.

The cruise around the lake is recommended. It's fun and not too expensive. You may be lucky and see a Amethystine Python sunning itself near the lake edge. Turtles and eels are also seen. Mick.


When we arrived, Mick spotted a fellow birdo – you could tell by the binoculars around his neck - a dead giveaway! Anyway, Mick asked if there was anything interesting around and he suggested we might see Tooth-billed Bowerbird on the 600m ‘rainforest walk’ so of course, that was where we headed. Although we have visited Lake Barrine lots of times we had never taken this particular track. It was a very pleasant walk, but we didn’t see the Bowerbirds even though we could hear them. When we came to a fork in the path, we decided to take the 4.7km walk back to the tearooms – definitely the long way round! It’s actually a really nice walk around the lake, through the rainforest. The path is mostly flat with a few gentle uphill sections and a small number of easy stairs. It took us about 2 hours, but only because we kept stopping to try and photograph birds. We made it back in time for lunch at the tearoom, with a beautiful view of the lake.

Male Chowchilla, a bird of the rainforest floor, difficult to photograph in the low light.

Near our table, this female Olive-backed Sunbird returned again and again to add to it's nest.

After lunch we headed in to Yungaburrafor a look at a new shop – a fudgery which has only been open for a short time. We believe in supporting small, local businesses so made a small purchase. Next we made our way down to Peterson Creek. There has been a significant amount of re-vegetation carried out by the local Landcare group and the walk along the creek is very pleasant – mostly flat with some gentle uphill sections. We didn’t see much birdlife (too hot and dry) but Mick did spot a Green Ringtail Possum asleep in tree. Much easier to photograph than birds which keep flying away!

Red-browed Finch

Green Ringtail Possum

Green Ringtail Possum

Sleepy looking Bush Stone-curlew sitting on eggs

Next stop back home to the unit and a well deserved swim. It’s usually cool up on the Tablelands, but this time it was really hot. 

We left for home fairly early on Friday and stopped at Cardwell for coffee. We decided to visit Big Crystal Creek for lunch. There is a camping area, a picnic area and a creek for swimming. We'll file this one away for future reference.

Atherton Tablelands

25 - 28 October 2014

Our next stop would be the beautiful Atherton Tablelands. From Cairns you can travel north and go via Kuranda and Mareeba, or go south via Gordonvale and straight to Yungaburra. We opted for the longer journey via Kuranda. Both the Gillies Highway and Kuranda Range Road are steep and windy, and both can be dangerous, but Kuranda Range itself is much shorter. Besides we had all day to get to The Canopy in Tarzali.

Once we reached Kuranda, just on 9.00 am, we stopped for coffee only to discover that Kuranda doesn't really get going until later in the morning - we suspected once the tourists start arriving via Skyrail and the Kuranda Rail. We did find one coffee shop open and enjoyed our coffee - complete with milk art - before checking out the local op shop. We also did a spot of Christmas shopping in one of the few shops that were open.

Great work by the barista, worth a photo!

As luck would have it we had booked this visit on the weekend of the famed Yungaburra Markets, so this was to be a definite stop. Yungaburra Markets started as a fundraiser for the local primary school, and have grown into the biggest and best markets in the north. They are held on the fourth Saturday of each month, except December when they are held before Christmas. We wandered through the numerous stalls selling local produce, clothing, natural remedies, soaps, gift ware and numerous foods. We bought nitrate free bacon and fresh local vegies, as well as some more Christmas gifts. Traditional Swiss bratwurst hot dogs and a deep fried, battered potato twist was not the healthiest lunch - but it sure tasted good! 

Christie is serenaded by a barber shop quartet as she chooses a dip.

Not only was it markets day, it was also Tablelands Folk Festival weekend, so like Green Island, Yungaburra was packed with tourists, but unlike Green Island, these were a different breed altogether. Everyone was relaxed and friendly, polite and courteous. Despite the crowds, it was a nice place to be.

Green-eyed Tree Frog found in the bath room.

From Yungaburra we drove on to Malanda to pick up more supplies and then on to The Canopy. We had stayed here before and chose to return as it is a beautiful spot in the rainforest, with abundant birdlife. Bird seed and over-ripe bananas are provided so you can attract the locals and it didn't take long for Mick to get the camera set up on the tripod on the balcony of our pole house. Brush turkeys were the noisiest visitors and catbirds the greediest. King parrots, Macleays honeyeaters, Victoria's riflebirds and many others visited throughout the afternoon. 

This is the boss turkey. There were at least six others in his entourage constantly hanging around, totally obsessed with getting a share of whatever food was on offer.

Light levels were always very low in the rainforest, making photography very difficult. I found myself pushing the ISO up to numbers I'd not attempted before and still not even getting 1/160 s. As a result, close up detail has suffered and lots of shots were blurred and unusable. Luckily, modern cameras can handle high ISOs very well and in in conjunction with noise reduction and editing software, a decent image is possible. 

I set up my camera with a flash attached on a tripod at the other end of the deck from where birds came in to feed. Whenever birds came in I clicked away like crazy. Unfortunately the feeder is at the darkest part of the deck. This was a great learning experience as I worked through different combinations of ISOs and fill flash values. Because of the lack of light the aperture was always wide open. Mick.

Spotted Catbird

Wompoo Fruit-Dove

I could never tire of this view.

Sunday was a relaxing day spent at the cabin, with Mick alternating between taking and processing photos. Some of the birds eat out of your hands and one of the king parrots was quite demanding – sitting on the table and making eye contact and noises until a handful of seed was made available.

Australian King-Parrot Female

Macleays honeyeater

Victoria's riflebird Male

Victoria's riflebird Female flicks banana into its mouth.

We were awoken by noises inside the cabin to discover a midnight possum raiding party. I had forgotten to close the louvres in the kitchen before retiring for the night! The Special K cereal was overlooked in favour of bananas, and date and walnut loaf as the food of choice for these very cheeky creatures. As Mick held the door open to shoo one out, another came strolling in. The trail of possum pee revealed that they had even been into the bedroom – perhaps checking that we were asleep. 

They are a pest but an irresistible one.

The local currency is banana.

We headed out - having cleaned up after the possum party - and made our way to Malanda and then Atherton for the op-shops. Then it was on to "Platypus Park" and Hastie Swamp for some bird watching. There is a great hide at the swamp, but not many birds on this occasion. Back to Malanda for lunch at the bakery - tasty pies and good service (they even provide hand sanitiser on the tables!) Back over to Yungaburra for a browse in the shops and you would never know the place had been crawling with thousands of tourists and visitors two days before - it was back to its sleepy and peaceful self.

Eastern Water-dragon.

Bridled Honeyeater sun-baking.

Gerygone feeding young in nest.

These three shots were all taken at another favourite birding place of mine, Platypus Park in Atherton. I make a point of visiting each time we are on the Atherton Tableland and am never disappointed. 

Because of the diverse habitat available in a relatively small area, there is always plenty of wildlife. Because this is a suburban park the wildlife is more accustomed to humans, so you are generally able to get a little closer. A large Evodia tree in the park blooms around Christmas each year and becomes the focus of a multitude of nectar-loving creatures. Several species of honeyeater, butterflies, lorikeets, beetles and other insects all flock to the abundant nectar supply. More pics to come. Mick.

On arriving home, we went for a short walk on the property to visit the turtle hangouts. These creatures know to expect to be fed when you arrive, and come to the bank in expectation. I held a handful of the turtle food provided and was bitten on the fingers for my trouble. I didn't expect that.

We spent our last morning just enjoying the surroundings - and taking more photos, so we didn't leave until almost ten o'clock. A good run home, with a stop in Cardwell for lunch.

Time to start planning the next trip....