Rain Forest and Cairns

Yep, this is a fern

A 500+ year of clohesy fig tree

Today, we woke up early again to take a ride into the dense rain forest of Northeastern Queensland.  This rain forest is the oldest continuously surviving rain forest in the world.  It dates back to the days of Pangaea, when most of Gondwana (the southern part of Pangaea consisting of modern day, South America, Africa, Antarctica, and Australia) was covered in rain forest.  As Gondwana drifted south, separating from the rest of Pangaea, Australia slowly ripped away from Antarctica and started moving north.  Even though the land which the rain forest is currently on was under water during Pangaea, the plants are still very similar to the original rain forest.  When we first drove in, we were surprised at how big and exaggerated all the plants were.  The highlights included king ferns (ferns that are almost as tall as a small house) and fig trees (these trees start off growing around other trees, and sends roots down to the ground.  Once it takes root, it starts competing for sunlight and soil nutrients with the original tree.  Most of the time, the fig tree wins, and kills the other tree.  The result is a colossal tree supported by it's roots.  The root system creates little rooms under the tree where the original tree used to be (big enough to fit a small classroom!).  We also saw termite mounds, tropical birds, and lots of other cool plants.

After the rain forest, we drove back to Cairns and walked around for a while.  We saw lots of small gift shops and souvenir outlets, and it reminded all of us of Hampton Beach (on the coast of New Hampshire).  We had lunch at an Italian restaurant right next to the water, and enjoyed shopping for a while.  We also stopped at a grocery store to buy steaks which we will barbecue tonight.  Tomorrow, will be our first of three days snorkeling out on the reef!