Tag Archives: Rainforest

The Great Ocean Road (Melbourne Day 2)

Our second day started with breakfast at the b&b, followed by a drive to a national park. This is the only location of the trip that I failed to take note of the name, but it was a great stop! We took a walk through the forest, which our guide said reminded him of the Blaire Witch Projects due to its eerie look with the dry and twisted trees, and paused at a spectacular lookout of the beach below.

North side of lookout

East side of lookout

South side of lookout

West side of lookout

Teddy’s Lookout

We Here we took a short walk through the woods in the town of Lorne, where we saw a few different birds. Our guide then gave us directions to take a short hike down the mountain, while he drove the car around to meet at the bottom. We hiked down a very steep track to the base of the mountain, at the river lookout. It was neat to see the Saint George River from above, then hike down and along it as well. We ate lunch in the nearby town of Marengo, enjoying delicious food at the General Store café.

Teddy's Lookout

Teddy’s Lookout

Beachwalk

One of my favorite stops of the day was a short beach walk we took near this area. We walked out on rock platforms, and using binoculars you could see a few seals on nearby rocks! It was a stunning beach, and a beautiful change of scenery from all the bushwalking.

Rocks platforms on the beach

Rocks platforms on the beach

Panoramic view of the beach

Panoramic view of the beach

Maits Rest

The next stop, Maits Rest rainforest, was also a fantastic find. Part of the Great Otway National Park, this is a must-do. This national park was declared in 2004, and overall includes a variety of landscapes including beaches, forests, a significant koala population (obviously important) and the Cape Otway Lighthouse. We took a relatively short but awesome walk through through one of the only rainforests left standing in Southern Australia, on the wooden boardwalk track that carves through the ancient forest.

Tree in Maits Rest

Tree in Maits Rest Rainforest

The 12 Apostles

It’s easy to see why the 12 Apostles are a popular tourist attraction, but was strange to enter such a busy area after bushwalking with only a few people for a day and a half straight. Rock cliffs in the area are made of soft limestone, which the Southern Ocean (combined with harsh weather conditions) gradually eroded to form caves and steeper cliffs. Those cliffs became arches, which eventually collapsed leaving rock stack formations.

Until 1922, the formation was called the Sow and Piglets, with Muttonbird Island as the Sow and the smaller rock stacks as the Piglets. However, the name was changed a number of years ago to increase tourism to the area, and the 12 Apostles was selected simply because it sounded more appealing. There were never actually 12 rock stacks, only nine, and in 2005, the 9th stack collapsed leaving the currently standing 8 Apostles.

The 12 Apostles lookout (west)

The 12 Apostles lookout (west)

One downside is that the soft limestone landscape makes it susceptible to further erosion and collapse. Studies are currently being conducted to make predictions of changes, but currently the rate of cliff erosion is 2cm per year. Existing headlands to cliff faces are expected to become new rock stacks in the future, and sinkholes more inland are becoming more of a problem. Although sinkholes evolve over time and do not collapse suddenly (unlike cliffs could), they still present infrastructure problems.

Loch Ard Gorge

This lookout gets its name because the Loch Ard boat ran aground here years back, near Muttonbird Island, while traveling from England to Melbourne. Two out of 54 passengers survived, including Tom Peace (age 15) and emigrant Eva Carmichael. Tom saved Eva after hearing her cries for help, and they were taken in by a random passerby (although several versions of why these people where in the undeveloped area at the time exist). Later the arch of the nearby island collapsed, leaving two unconnected pillars which are now named Tom and Eva respectively.

Loch Ard Gorge

Loch Ard Gorge

Loch Ard B&B

For our evening accommodation, we stayed at an absolutely charming dairy farm bed and breakfast. The property was set just behind the Great Ocean Road, with the ranch-style house sitting atop of the hill. We could see kangaroos and cattle roaming through the hills, and were close enough to still see the sea spay coming up the cliff edges. The couple that owns the bed and breakfast are lovely, and estimated they’ve had over 4000 people stay there in the past 10 years. Overnight, we had massive thunderstorms come through, which made us feel quite in touch with nature (luckily from inside). They made us a homemade dinner and we had a fantastic night enjoying their (Australian) Southern hospitality!

Terra Australis Incognita (Cairns Day 2)

Today we got to explore one of the oldest and most impressive parts of Australia, the Daintree Rainforest. Covering about 460 square miles, this national park layout is unique because is consisted of small irregularly shaped areas, rather than one large block of land. This rainforest is the largest continuous area of tropical rainforest on the Australian continent, with the rainforest extending all the way to the edge of the sea.

One unique story we were told tells the history of the Idiospermum australiense species, more commonly known as the idiot fruit. Essentially this tree was thought to have gone extinct many years ago, then was accidently rediscovered in 1970 by a farmer who was confused why his cows were dying from consuming this tree’s fruit. Named one of Australia’s most significant discoveries, this find identified that the Daintree Rainforest was far older than recorded, dating back 110 million years. Since evident of this species exists from that long ago, and it only grows in very specific and limited environments, this discovery was a huge mile marker for Australia.

Daintree River

Our day with Tropical Horizons tour group started with an hour and half drive to Port Douglas, following the edge of the ocean since only one main road links the two areas. Inland of the coastal area is very mountainous, so it makes sense that only main road runs along the edge. Despite what you might think, the road is very well kept and the drive is quite lovely with oceanfront views the entire way. After picking up the rest of the guests in Port Douglas, we drove through a residential area that was home to hundreds of wallabies and kangaroos, then headed to the first main stop at the Daintree River.

Here, we experienced the incredibly diverse ecosystem of the river. Within the first five minutes of our river cruise, we saw a saltwater crocodile and three baby crocodiles that were only 6-8 inches long! It was probably one of the cutest things I’ve seen on this trip. Although called saltwater crocodiles, majority of the species lives in freshwater. They get their name simply because they also have the ability to survive in saltwater. Later on we saw a larger crocodile, as well as a small snake in a tree, and a variety of birds. We learned about mangrove trees, which have vast root systems creating a swamp-like environment and wildlife haven among the water’s edge. Providing shelter and warmth, this creates the perfect living grounds for all sorts of flora and fauna. With only a little rain, our boat ride through the river was quite successful! We got off the boat upstream and on the other side of the river, where the bus picked us up again.

Baby crocodile

Baby crocodile (on center of lower half of branch)

Alexandra Lookout

Our next stop was Alexandra Lookout, also referred to as Walu Wugirriga by aboriginals. As you can see in the picture, it is absolutely stunning (sarcasm)! It was more than a little foggy due to the unfortunate weather, but you could still sort of make out the outline of the landscaping. With a clear view, this lookout offers views of the Daintree River mouth and it’s surrounding environment. We had just enough time to attempt a picture through the raindrops, then jump back on the bus.

Alexandra Lookout

Alexandra Lookout

Rainforest Lunch

For lunch, all we were expecting was “lunch in a rainforest setting,” which in Australia is an extremely vague description, considering detailed descriptions here are often to be taken loosely. However, we enjoyed an absolutely beautiful lunch at a restaurant that is tucked away in the middle of nowhere in the rainforest. This small property also houses a resort, and has a restaurant literally set in the rainforest. It is built next to the river, and you can look over the edge and down onto the river right next to the dining tables. The staff was very friendly, and it was a fantastic meal! To make it more quaint, this restaurant was established a long time ago, before Cairns tourism developed, and was a typical spot for locals to stop by and enjoy a meal.

Cape Tribulation

Our second to last stop took us to the beach, at a point that was named by James Cook after his ship ran into some trouble there. Although his voyage was delayed, it was not ended, and he therefore named the point something representative of its nature, Cape Tribulation. By this point in the day, it was starting to just about pour buckets, so if anyone didn’t know how the rainforest got it’s name by then, they learned quickly. After a short walk on the beach learning the history of the point, we walked through the forest to a lookout point. Again, it was a bit foggy and rainy, but at least it felt appropriate to have this weather when visiting the rainforest!

Cape Tribulation lookout

Cape Tribulation lookout

Going off of that story, in case you’re wondering, here’s how Australia got it’s name. A long time ago, people knew the mapping of the North and South America’s, as well as the large European and Russian landmasses, so they assumed that in order for the world to balance out (in regards to land verses water masses), there had to be another land mass countering South America. When James Cook set out on his voyage from England, they had the idea that this land mass was wider and skinnier than it is now, and therefore he was sure to run into it when heading South. Although he did end up reaching what is now Australia, he had many unexpected adventures along the way that lead to many new discoveries. In the process though, Australia was originally named “Terra Australis Incognita,” or more simply and appropriately put, “the great undiscovered land.”

Mossman Gorge

Our last main stop of the day was Mossman Gorge, where we first enjoyed tea at the visitor’s center, then a short presentation by an Kuku Yalanji aboriginal. We took a shuttle to the park entrance, then followed the rainforest track walk to Mossman Gorge, passing over a suspended bridge along the way. Mossman is also known for its sugar cane farming, as many areas around Cairns are as well. Due to the fitting environment, sugarcane grows extremely well in this area, contributing to make Australia the world’s fifth largest producer of the sweet stuff. While harvesting used to be gathered by hand, now it is all processed by machinery to avoid infection by toxic waste products of rats living in the area. This change in methods caused the time limit of transporting the cut cane from the field to the mill from two weeks to a mere 14 hours. For this reason, small train lines run all across the countryside, because it is faster than transporting it on the limited roads with such a large volume of cane. Recently though, a successful sugar mill was bought by another company with the intention of solely trading ownership, then completely shut down after two months. This was done through the eyes of the competitor as a means to regulate the price. However, this devastated the town, which prided itself on the sugar mill business, and impacted a lot of lives and related businesses. This is just one example of how politics happen all over the world.

Mossman Gorge

Mossman Gorge

Another interesting story of the day was learning that the company Palmolive started in the Daintree regions. Essentially, palm tree oil was mixed with olive oil, which was used as a base to make soaps. Two inventors, William Colgate and B.J. Johnson, joined forced to create a company for which they could both benefit from the credit and sales of a product. Therefore, Palmolive is not a name, but rather simply an addition of the words palm and olive.

Overall, we had a fantastic day learning about and exploring the incredible world of the ancient Daintree Rainforest!

Puerto Rico: Isla del Encanto (Island of Enchantment)

I cannot believe that an entire week has passed since we arrived in Puerto Rico.  At the same time, I have no idea how we fit our entire agenda of outings and day trips into seven days.  The first couple days we explored our local small town of Rio Piedras and the campus of the University of Puerto Rico.  We also began our classes on Thursday and Friday of last week.  However, the weekend was completely academic-free as we visited Old San Juan and El Yunque Rainforest.  Our first stop was a historic fort called “El Morro” which means “the hill” in Spanish. 
IMG_1797.jpgThe construction of the fort started in 1539 and was authorized by King Charles V of Spain to protect Puerto Rico from any competing nations.  The island was very strategically placed due to being at the entryway to the Caribbean.  Although the fort was attacked multiple times by British ships, Spain miraculously maintained control of the island for hundreds of years until eventually selling it to the United States.
IMG_1809.jpgIMG_1832.jpg After the fort, we enjoyed a delicious lunch at a local restaurant.  We have already noticed that in Puerto Rico, you must be prepared to have rice and beans as a side dish!  We then walked around Old San Juan and saw local houses, the Cathedral of San Juan Bautista (where the remains of Juan Ponce de Leon are buried), and the Capital Building.
IMG_1848.jpgIMG_1857.jpgThe Ben and Jerry’s of Old San Juan. =)
IMG_1945.jpgI have so many more pictures on my facebook page of Old San Juan and the fort.  If you would like to see them, add me as a friend “Kathryn Elizabeth Clark” and include in the message something about the geoblog. 

On Sunday, we went to El Yunque Rainforest, and we definitely experienced some rain!  We took a two hour hike to the top of the main mountain and then explored an area with a large waterfall.  We were actually able to swim at the bottom, which was such a neat experience!  Pictured below is our group at the Waterfall at El Yunque.  There will be much more information to come as I have the time!
   Waterfall.jpg


Location: Viejo San Juan, Puerto RIco