Cairns Botanical Gardens

This afternoon I went to the Cairns Botanical Gardens. Right across from the street from the botanical gardens is a large area of the rainforest with a swamp and two saltwater ponds. I ate lunch and walked around the garden area and then crossed the street to go check out the rainforest and ponds. I put in my iPod and went on a lackadaisical stroll deep into swampy rainforest and about 30 minutes later came upon the two saltwater ponds. It was a beautiful area and seemed as if it had never been tainted by human contact. I sat in a grassy area in between the two ponds, relaxed and took a few pictures. Then I suddenly remembered the piece of advice that everyone told me before going to Cairns: stay away from secluded creeks and swamp areas because of crocodiles.

So, there I was, in the middle of a saltwater swamp and 30 minutes from the closest exit. I was wondering why I hadn't seen another person since leaving the botanical gardens. I immediately began the very tense walk back towards the exit, beating myself up over how I could have been so stupid to get myself into this situation. I'm sure you are all wondering (especially my mom) the same thing, but I had other things on my mind and didn't even think about it. During the walk back I kept on recalling information from my crocodile tour guide two days ago, such as "crocodiles are so quick, you won't have time to react when they attack you," and the worst of all "crocodiles are experts at camouflage, you'll be walking along and BAM, before you know it that thing in the water a few feet to your right that you thought was just a fallen tree branch is chomping at your leg."

Actually, come to think of it, another interesting fact I learned on that tour is that saltwater crocodiles are actually faster than cheetahs over a short distance. Interesting, but not comforting while you're walking through a swampy jungle by yourself. The walk back was the complete opposite of the relaxed walk that brought me to the two ponds. It seemed that with every step the natural environment of the rainforest became evermore engrossing: the loud calls of the birds, sticky spider webs jutting out from the trees and animals ruffling leaves and rippling the water. I felt as if all of the animals of the rainforest were banding together saying "we got ourselves a human." Fortunately, I got to the exit and escaped only with a new appreciation for living in an area where the only predators in the woods are meth-head hobos.

Tomorrow I leave for New Zealand, where I will stay in Auckland for six days before embarking on a nine day tour of the south island. Here are some pictures from today, the top two are the gardens and the bottom two are from my adventure to the saltwater ponds. Cheers.

Botanical Gardens

Botanical Gardens

Walk through the jungle

One of the saltwater ponds