The Crystal Caves in Atherton is a unique private collection of crystals from all over the world. The proprietors are a dutch couple who moved to Australia long ago after falling in love with rock hunting in its outback. Since then René Boissevain has been collecting crystals all over the world, and the display boasts the largest known Amethyst geode – the so called “Empress of Uraguay” which is over 3m tall and indeed very beautiful. After going through the display and learning a lot about crystals, we also bought two geodes of our own and enjoyed cracking them using a special tool to see what’s inside – both beautiful and totally different. In a pet shop nearby I was amused to see “snake kits” including a terrarium, some accessories and a spotted python (Antaresia maculosa). A note said “snake not sold separately”, and another note informed potential buyers that a special state permit for keeping a snake is required. I left frustrated at not qualifying as a buyer…
We spent the nyight at the Lake Eacham camp site, where the elderly lady who owns the place gave us lengthy recommendations on where to spot various species of animals, including water dragons (a type of large lizard, somewhat resembling iguanas) which I wanted to see. Since she also had small dragon dolls for sale, she soon became known as “the mother of dragons”. A shy padamelon (a small macropod slightly smaller and rounder than a wallaby) crossed our way near the campsite on our dusk pre-dinner walk.
The next day, undeterred by the light rain, we went on a walk around the Eacham crater lake. The high rainforest trail afforded partial protection from the drizzle, and many signs along the track offered both natural history information and tales from the aboriginal mythology (dreamtime stories) related to the creation of the crater and to some of the local wildlife. The tale of the “rain of fire” that preceded the creation of the lake is of particular interest. Given that the volcano was active until ~10,000 years ago, and the aboriginal population has maintained some form of continuous civilization in Australia for nearly 40,000 years, it is not impossible that the story of the eruption that created the crater has actually passed down several hundred generations since then. In addition to the signs, we saw many small birds, including Whipbirds, Rufous Fantails in courtship display and Spectacled Monarchs, and as usual heard many more than we saw. Tamar was especially interested in the Rattan Palms along the track – a vicious climbing palm whose fibers are used for ropes and furniture. It’s local names include “Wait-a-While Vine” and “Lawyer’s Vine”.
https://youtu.be/JFA5xpZmJYk&rel=0
Before dusk we headed to Hastie’s Swamp, where a two-story shed on the bank of the swamp afforded us a good view of thousands of Plumed Whistling Ducks (yes – they do whistle instead of quacking). We talked to a birder who was also in that shed, and it turned out that he had started watching birds in 1968, when we was a volunteer in a kibbutz in Israel. We spent the night in the Atherton BIG4 caravan park, where we had a chance to do some required housekeeping.
On Wednesday the 7th we had a late start, due to many finches, parrots and honeyeaters in the campsite whose pictures we just had to take. We went to a specific spot where the mother of dragons indicated we could reliably spot water dragons. Indeed, after a short kosearch in that creek we located the first one, and within half an hour we saw half a dozen of the coveted lizards, from small juveniles to an impressive alpha male. We decided to give the platypus in Yungaburra a chance, while eating pizza at Nick’s Pizzeria next to the creek where it resides. Unfortunately the pizza turned out to be closed that day, and the platypus didn’t show up for our appointment either. We had to settle for a water snake that did show up, and fish-and-chips nearby. From there we headed to the Nerada Tea Estate, where we were told (guess by whom) that there is a native group of tree kangaroos that can usually be seen in the trees around the visitor center, where they also serve good tea and scones. We thought that five o’clock tea would be a great idea, but the people at Nerada apparently didn’t share our view, as they close at 4:30pm. Somewhat frustrated, we headed to the Malanda Falls nearby, where we took a short walk around dusk. In addition to the often heard, but rarely seen, whipbirds, we had the chance to hear and see a couple of catbirds. In addition to being beautiful large birds with green plumage, their unusual call indeed sounds more like a cat meow than anything else. We camped nearby in a campsite which had a mini farm with various animals in the middle, but whose main attraction turned out to be the superb honey they sold at the reception. We bought a large jar of honey from Mabi Rainforest flowers, and it tasted like nectar. Reminded me of Honey Barbara from Peter Carey’s “Bliss”.
After short restocking in Malanda, we tried our luck again in Nerada. This time we had both Devonshire Tea with scones and cream, and a chance to see a male tree kangaroo. Unfortunately the drizzle and the terrible light made my attempts to photograph it a rather sorry affair. We decided we had to pay the platypi in Tarzali another visit, and indeed saw them again, this time at an earlier time of the day. We also bought some smoked meats at the kiosk – including smoked crocodile – and a platypus posh doll for the kids. We decided to have our afternoon hike in Mount Hypipamee, where I once found a beautiful blue Peripatus. This time, no peripatus was found, but we saw a Lumholz Tree Kangaroo right by the trail! It gave a couple of hops on the ground, to prove its macropod birthright, then climbed up a tall tree quite effectively, despite the hind legs which looked much more suited to jumping than climbing. We spent the night right there, and had a festive dinner since we recalled that this was our 10th wedding anniversary. A night walk around the parking area revealed brushtail possums of the unusual coppery color that is typical to the Atherton area, as well as a bandicoot and a couple of unidentified smaller mammals – either marsupials or rodents, and a nice frog.
Family Trips 