{"id":3661,"date":"2019-10-26T16:01:37","date_gmt":"2019-10-26T05:01:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cuppa500.com\/Blog\/?p=3661"},"modified":"2020-04-24T08:53:23","modified_gmt":"2020-04-23T22:53:23","slug":"getting-to-know-the-rainforest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cuppa500.com\/Blog\/getting-to-know-the-rainforest\/","title":{"rendered":"Getting to know the Rainforest"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This place is just so different to anywhere else we have been in Australia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Big Stick insect<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Green, verdant, lush & moist, tall & shady \u2026\u2026.. clean ultra fresh air washed by the mountain rains. And the diversity of the flora ,plus the wildlife it supports surrounding us is a constant source of wonder & intrigue. Rarely a day has passed without a new \u2018to us\u2019 discovery. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We are in \u2018The Daintree\u2019 , the worlds oldest tropical rainforest. We are in the \u2018jungle\u2019. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Looking down the driveway of our Daintree ‘home’ from the sealed road.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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To be more specific we are in the lower Daintree Valley, alongside one of the Daintree River\u2019s tributaries on a property once cleared of it\u2019s ancient heritage & converted to pasture in what eventually became an unsuccessful attempt to raise cattle. Around 35 years ago, to the amusement of the local farming community the property was purchased with a vision of returning it to the forest & creating a wildlife refuge at a time when the planet was losing it\u2019s essential rainforests hand over fist. Sadly that loss around the world has not slowed in spite of it\u2019s obvious impact upon wildlife, cultures & us all, but here, surrounded by ancient & intact rainforest, the 100 acres we are living on is thriving. In the wet tropics things grow fast & the planting over the 35 years have recreated \u2018jungle\u2019. A few \u2018old growth\u2019 trees remain but the rest is down to the passion & dedicated hard work of the owners to faithfully re-create the biodiversity which previously existed. Nature has built upon their effort, self seeding as time has passed. The Daintree itself is unique & special, but here the achievement is inspiring. Extensive knowledge & understanding combined with unending passion have resulted in a place which now attracts wildlife which once called it home back again. An example. The Cassowary – a huge, colourful flightless bird – is an highly endangered species. It lives in a symbiotic\/interdependent relationship with the rainforest, but much of what it eats only comes from older established fruiting trees. After more than 30 years of planting there has been limited but increasing sightings of Cassowaries coming out of the denser mountain slopes to feed on the property in recent years. We remain hopeful we may be lucky enough to see one. How satisfying such a result must be for Barb & Allen, a gold star achievement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And we are privileged to be living here, trusted with Allen & Barb\u2019s \u2018baby’. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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We arrived early & set up camp a short distance from the house in a clearing alongside the workshop where we had power, water & toilet. All very convenient after life \u2018on the road\u2019. Getting up the tunnel like driveway was initially delayed by a fallen tree, but we walked & found the house & soon Allen MrsTea & I had cut & moved the obstacle. Reminiscent of Goombaragin. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Home for the first week. Raintree behind shed<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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During those first few days we experienced something we hadn\u2019t had since we were in Tasmania 2 years ago \u2026\u2026\u2026.. living under canvas in heavy rain. Not something to be recommended when the doors cannot be properly closed. One morning saw us taking out the floor covering & hanging it up to drip dry. It reminded us that one of the tasks which will be necessary whilst here is to get new door zips fitted to the tent. This involves detaching the tent from the Tvan & taking it to a suitable canvas repairer. A bit of work & cost involved but as we are as yet uncertain where we\u2019ll be come the beginning of February, possibly needing to camp in mid wet season, it is an essential repair. It hasn\u2019t been hard to live in the Tvan with untrustworthy zips in dry weather, but the situation is rapidly brought into focus with a few brief but heavy showers! We hope we might find further house sits\/care taking roles to provide us with shelter to see us through the wet season, but if this doesn\u2019t eventuate we will travel far enough south to get away from the monsoonal rains, but even the thought of living under canvas whilst fleeing the monsoon is not one we want to entertain! The rains which brought this into focus for us threw 50mm at us over the course of a couple of days. I learned a new word \u2026.orographic. The rain we have been getting, considered little more than welcome showers in these parts is . Clouds come in off the Coral Sea fast, rise quickly over the Daintree resulting in often short but heavy falls Last January however total rainfall here was measured not in millimteres, but in metres! 900mm of monsoonal rain over just one 20 hour period! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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