Day 40: We inspect a Spaniard’s dream: Paronella Park (11/07/12)

We woke up at Babinda to the same pitter-patter of drips from the trees above us that had lulled us to sleep the night before.

Dripping trees over the skylight

The drizzle was light but constant. The view was non-existent. We were in a narrow valley between two 1500 metre mountains which were no more than 6 km from our spot, but we did not see so much as a foothill.

Renske reported that the new tent was doing better: it was therefore declared drizzle-resistant, even if it was not completely downpour-resistant. Joke decided that a cold shower was better than no shower, so she gets points for bravery!

We decided to go to see Paronella Park at Mena Creek, west of Innisfail. This was a castle built by a Spaniard which had been highly recommended to us (the castle, that is, not the Spaniard. He has been dead for some time and would not be very recommendable). The place was very busy. We took the guided tour, after which we could drift around under our own steam. The buildings were amazing, the rainforest was beautiful and the story was romantic.

The Castle at Paronella Park

The park as seen from the bridge over the Wena Creek waterfall

Hanging bridge and waterfall, Paronella Park

Hey buster, where's my share of the fish food?

The travellers three

Bamboo grove

One of the many buildings

Lovers Lane

Where, where is this crocodile?

Rudolph the red-nosed turtle

Excitement at spotting the Mesenteric Lesser Spotted Hornbill

Ornamental fountain at the tennis courts

A little foray into yesteryear

Picnic ground and creek seen from the battlements (?).

Wet flower

Read about it on their website: http://www.paronellapark.com.au/

We drove back to Babinda the long way round, visiting a beach at the quaintly-named Murdering Point Road, and doing some shopping in Innisfail. There was excitement as we spotted various small patches of blue and noted that occasionally we did not have to use the windscreen wipers.

However, back at The Boulders, close in among the mountains, there was no blue, and only a tiny bit of drizzle. Yay!