Kuranda

We spent the day in Kuranda. The mountains are not far from Cairns, and Kuranda is a village at the top of one of these mountains. We were in the Barron Gorge National Park, a rainforest that is on the world heritage list.

We started our morning at the butterfly conservatory. After briefly admiring the colors, we moved to the laboratory. There we learned that every evening, leaves containing eggs are carried into the lab, washed in a sterilizing solution, dried, and placed into petrie dishes. The eggs hatch in 2-10 days. The caterpillars are moved into baby boxes along with their favorite leaves for munching, and after 7 days they are moved into emerging cages. Some will molt as many as 5 times. The pupa is in sticky liquid form. When the butterfly emerges, its wings must dry before it is released into the observatory.

The 2 butterflies that caught our attention were the Ulysses and the Bird Wing. The bright blue wings of the Ulysses butterfly are absolutely beautiful, and as I was to discover later, visible from great distances. This makes the butterfly an easy target for predators, so the butterfly moves very quickly. In addition, when at rest the Ulysses folds its wings and hides the coloring. The Bird Wing butterfly enjoys the juice of a poisonous plant, thus making the butterfly poisonous.

We also learned about the Hercules moth which lives for just 2 – 5 days. The moth has no mouth parts and so cannot eat. The female emits pheromones to attract the male. They mate for 24 hours, and then that’s it. Their purpose in life has been fulfilled.

Once the presentation was over, the students were free to go. Some bolted out of the observatory, others stayed to watch and identify the butterflies. Two students stayed so long that Charlie and I separately returned to give them updates on our schedule. When I approached them, about 6 butterflies lifted off the students and flew away. I apologized for scaring them off. The girls had figured out how to get them to land, so by the time Charlie checked in on them, the butterflies had returned.

We had about 90 minutes to eat and shop and wander about Kuranda. There were other animal enclosures we could visit – poisonous creatures, koalas, and an aviary. Charlie and I went into the aviary so that I could see the black swans. An Amazon rainforest parrot was causing a stir; he stole a scrunchie from one of the tourists and her daughter was desperate to get it back. Charlie and I moved to the feeding platform to watch other patrons hold out food to attract the birds. The girl arrived on the platform and reported she had retrieved the scrunchie. Within seconds the offending parrot landed on my shoulder. The parrot was very heavy, and its beak and claws sharp. I had no food (or scrunchie), so I couldn’t figure out why it had chosen me. Well, he tried to peel off the Sky Rail sticker I was wearing. Fearing I’d have to walk down the mountain if I lost it, I covered the sticker with my hand. The bird started poking around in my string bag. Charlie was doing double duty, snapping photos and shooing the parrot. The bird eventually left without drawing blood.

The Sky Rail would remind you of a ski lift; it runs over the top of the rainforest, allowing us to see the tops of the trees. We also have a more complete view of the path of a river or stream. We get a sense of the height of the trees. This was our way down the mountain. There were two stops along the way. At one we saw a magnificent waterfall. The Barron River flowed to what appeared to be flat rock. From where we were standing, it seemed as if we could walk across it. The water spilled over the rock in three places, sometimes forming a pool behind rocks before spilling over again. The water dropped several hundred feet.

At the other stop, I sought out basket ferns in the trees. Picture a tree you would like to climb; you’d probably sit on a branch close to the trunk because you’d have more support there. Leaves and debris get caught in these places, and so a seed landing there would be able to take root. As the fern grows, more debris is caught. I could see these fern baskets from above when on the Sky Rail. They look like gardens planted in the branches of a tree. From below, they do in fact look like baskets, the exposed roots giving that impression.

I could also see Ulysses butterflies fluttering about above the trees from the Sky Rail! In fact I saw more butterflies than birds at that height.

Our day was far from over. At the bottom of the mountain is an Aboriginal performing arts center, Tjapukai. Our visit started with dances performed by 6 men. These dances told stories; one was about the cassowary, another about hunting a kangaroo. The last dance included the audience, some as dancers on stage and the rest of us as singers.

We then heard a brief lecture on weapons used by Aborigine men in hunting, fighting, and punishment. These included the boomerang in the shape with which you are familiar as well as the X-shaped boomerang. Our guide also discussed spears and attachments to spears which enhance flight or damage. Later in the visit, every one of us threw a boomerang 2 or 3 times and a spear.

We also heard a lecture on bush food and medicine. We were shown leaves that would relieve a migraine, termite mounds that could cure constipation, and a plant that our guide claimed cured breast cancer. She too discussed the nuts that must be drilled and rinsed for several days to remove the poison, after which they are safe to consume.

We witnessed the telling of a Dreamtime creation story. Two brothers preferred different climates (one liked the wet, one the dry weather) and each created animals suitable to his climate. The conflict resulted in the death of one brother at the other brother’s hand.

The last presentation was on the didgeridoo. Our guide described how he searches for the instrument: he knocks on trunks of trees until he has found one hollowed out by termites. He cleans the debris from the piece of trunk he cuts, smooths the outer trunk, perhaps decorating it, and adds a gum or wax-like substance to the narrower end to fit his mouth. Our guide had two completed didgeridoos each in a different key (C and G, I believe). He then treated us to two compositions.

And still our day was not over. We ate a quick dinner and then headed out for our evening lecture in Cairns, our Reef Teach.