The Ultimate Australian Treehouse and Wildlife

Hmm...we're staying in a treehouse? I'm not sure about you,  but when the idea of a treehouse comes into my mind I don't often think of it as able to accomodate 6 people, 7 duffle bags and a lot of energy.  However, as we pulled up to my first ever lodge treehouse in the Atheron Tablelands my mouth dropped.  It was spectacular! Not only did it have plenty of room for all of us, but the beds were equipped with electric blankets and the birdfeeders filled with seeds for lots of visitors! For four days and three nights we immersed ourselves in the Australian wildlife that call the Atherton Tablelands, just over the Great Dividing Mountain Range of Australia (and 4th longest in the world!). Over the course of our three days in the Atherton Tablelands we covered miles of Australian inland, spent time in quaint Aussie villages and went on the search for many of Australia’s best known animals.  A few of the classic stories and incredible spots…

While driving through the rainforest, we came about many of the orange footed scrub fowls.  At first glance it looks like a delicious turkey ready to feast on for Thanksgiving, yet these are quite extraordinary animals.  After the female lays her eggs under a created mound of foliage, she deserts her young leaving the male in charge.  In fact a great decision, as the male uses his waddle (hangie throat thing) to regulate the temperature of the eggs to affect the gender of the fowl based on what the forest needs.  Although the orange scrub fowls once again proved the amazement of science, they had nothing on the endangered cassowary.  A massive bird, easily able to devour a human, the cassowary’s stunning colors and willingness to eat the forest fruit that no other animal will eat, makes it quite the addition to the rainforest.  Rangers claim that over 80% of the trees of Australia depend on the cassowary to disperse their seeds for survival.  We were lucky enough to have a personal cassowary visiting our tree house lodge.  Once we got the call that “Tui” had arrived for breakfast, we ran through the muddy rainforest wearing flip flops, pajama pants, anything we could find.  It seems like a reasonable act—however, the day prior we had discovered that the leeches in Australia like the blood sucking a little more than those of Borneo.  These babies suck blood as if we would be their last meal!  Blood was drawn on Tess, Hannah, Sam and I—a scar remains on the back of my ankle from the leech that just wouldn’t stop feeding on my deliciousness.  If you can believe it, the leech ordeal and full coverage of mud was completely worth it to experience this once in a lifetime cassowary sighting.

Platypus

Since my childhood I had been hearing of a somewhat anomaly of a creature—the platypus. With fur on its body, a duck bill, a long tail, the ability to detect prey by feeling electric field currents and a poisonous spur generously used by the males to sedate the lucky lady before mating, the world’s remaining playtpus’ are endemic to Australia.  One of only 2 egg laying mammals, the platypus leaves scientists in quite the conundrum of how to classify it.  We spent hours and hours looking for this elusive creature—along streams, creeks, platypus viewing centers and lakes.  Our guide accurately pointed out that “they are harder to find than the KGB or the CIA”, however while standing in the pouring down rain along knee high swamp grounds we were finally able to spot one gliding across the water.  Between my level of excitement, a foot death grip in the mud and their quick movement throughout the water, I was unable to obtain a quality shot of this monumental moment.  However, I have attached a photo of a platypus to give you an idea of why our search was so important!

Princess herself

Wallaby with her joey

Once we could cross the platypus off our list, we were on to the KK Mission—kangaroos and koalas, mate!  Proud members of the marsupial family, the kangaroos (and wallabies) carry their little joeys in their pouches.  Quite the little hoppers, these tame creatures will hop right on up to you in a desperate attempt for a little snack.  The kangaroos were cute and all but they had nothing on the koala.  Although our wild spotting of koalas would happen eventually, we couldn’t wait any longer--a stop at the Kuranda Koala Park was a must.  Living the ideal lifestyle, these balls of fur sleep for up to 18 hours a day; the other hours used for munching on eucalyptus leaves and cuddling J   The koalas in Kuranda claim to be quite the cuddlers and with a name like Princess, we thought we had found the premier cuddle partner.  All was well until Princess got a little itch on her arm, as she nestled into Hannah’s arms.  Instinctively she went down to nibble at the annoyance and confused Hannah’s soft skin with her own—CHOMP!  Yes, a koala bite.  “No worries!” the park ranger assured us.  “I will go run and get an ice pack”.  Within seconds she had returned with a bag resembling ice that Hannah immediately placed on her red wound.  “Just make sure to drop that bag off when you’re done sweetie.  It’s the frozen rats we feed the snakes.”  Hannah somehow remained calm despite the disgusting thought, but Megan nearly knocked me over as she bolted to the farthest possible position away from her daughter.  All of the Australians seemed like this was quite the norm—I’ll stick to the ice packs or the bag of frozen peas if I’m feeling real crazy, thanks!  Despite the biting incident, we all LOOOOVED these precious animals! It truly may be the only animal that is actually softer than their stuffed animal look-a-likes.

The bird whisperer herself

One of the incredible benefits of a trip like this is the opportunity to get to know yourself a little better.  Prior to this journey I would have never considered myself much of a bird watcher—in fact, to be honest, I thought of the intense birdwatchers as quite a unique breed of people.  Don’t get me wrong—I liked seeing a cardinal or a blue jay when they were near, but by no means would I go in search of any animal in the sky.  However, beginning in Borneo, I found myself looking high up into the trees as we walked in hopes to catch a glimpse of the spectacular colors of the tropical birds.  From the rainbow larakeets, cockatoos, or Australian king parrots, Australia does not disappoint in the vibrant plethora of birds species.  It doesn’t get much better than waking up in the morning with a cup of coffee and honeyeaters or king parrots munching on seed, making their morning calls into the trees.  In no time you can start calling me the Bird Whisperer!

Baby crocs galore!

After an intense few days of animal spotting, we hit the Australian International Go Kart track on the way towards our next destination.  A huge hit amongst the kids (and adults), we had a blast!  The fun continued as we visited the Cairns Night Zoo to spot the nocturnal animals of Australia and get a full blown Aussie Barbie.  Although the bush bonfire with kangaroos and the bush turkey hokey pokey were big hits, the main show of the night took place just feet outside the home of the estuarine crocodile, more commonly known as the salt water crocodile.  Salt water crocs can weight up to 1300 kilograms and measure in length up to 6 meters long.  As we watched this beast of a creature jump out of the water for a late night snack, I could easily imagine a body getting devoured in a matter of seconds.  My fear of these camouflaged and speedy creatures only intensified and will be on my mind with every step I take into a body of water in Australia!