Jirribal Country

Heading north again we suffered a slightly traumatic trailer park experience.
We broke the journey with a stop at a van park that we thought the kids might like. Unfortunately we discovered we were in an outer suburban wasteland of Townsville on Saturday night, and a block away they had outdoor karaoke with a high powered sound system. In between the noise of the highway and and train line, it sounded like the Karaoke carousers were right next door! Lisa was thrilled to hear every mangled note of the midnight finale, half a dozen voices joined in a drunken rabble's version of "That What Friends are For!".......



Thankfully, we soon made it a couple of hours up the road to Tully where were privileged to have very special cultural experience in the rainforest with friends, Sonya and Doug Jeffrey. They are proud Jirribal Aboriginal People, traditional owners of the rainforests and mountains of the Tully region. We drove deep in to the Misty Mountains, up the Tully Gorge to a rainforest camping area and our first night highlight of Barramundi cooked with traditional flavours of bush Ginger and Candlenut leaves. With no-one else around, we were camped in  World Heritage wilderness with only the sounds of the river and the birds to remind us where we were.

The day began with watching a Platypus paddle around a large clear pool in the river. These amazing creatures are so elusive I have never been able to snap a good photo of one, the gloomy rainforest light saved this platypus from the paparazzi and accidental fame on social media. Later hearty breakfast was interrupted by a young local, Bubba the Cassowary who want to see what we were up to.

A walk in the rainforest with Doug was great eye opener, learning of the sophisticated understanding the Jirribal have of their rainforest home. I have spent time on country with many Aboriginal friends, but never in the rainforest and not with a guide so passionate and committed as Doug. He is an educator and just wants share what he has learned about his country. For the girls it was awesome to be able to experience culture with such a friendly and hospitable host. 

You can check out their tours at http://www.ingan.com.au

Later we were joined by Sonya and her Dad Ernie, whose encyclopaedic knowledge of the rainforest was based on both millennia of traditional wisdom and a lifetime of hard work in the forest and mountains. We talked about treks and ways that we could share the Jirribal experience with others, hopefully this will evolve in to a trek based on Aboriginal knowledge of the rainforest.

In the evening we drove out in to the rainforest with a spotlight hoping to find some of the more elusive nocturnal species. Hanging off the back of the ute in driving rain, bouncing down a bush track  with a spotlight, I didn't have much luck spotting wildlife, but it was a great flashback to the old field trips and biodiversity surveys.

After an awesome few days in the rainforest we cruised down to Mission Beach and a few days of camping with constant showers and gusty trade winds. We did manage a few bike rides between rain squalls, at least I felt better off that the sea-kayakers out on Hinchinbrook Island with our friends Dave and Atty at Coral Sea Kayaking. It was great to catch with Atty again after decades of working together. While we were having a cuppa, Dave called in from out on the water, and despite the grim conditions the sea-kayakers were doing well and had safely made it to Goold Island.

The best thing for us to do in the rain is get on the water, so we returned to Tully to join Ingan Tours agin for a kayak expedition down a rainforest creek. Caroline Grant is another Jirribal Aboriginal guide who share her love of the country with as we paddled through the fun little rapids. Big smiles from Charlotte and Aurora after a great day on the river. (Some good video to come!)