Atherton Tableland; Trees and Vines

Poor Arthur was not a happy camper last night, waking at half-hourly intervals to be sick.  He (and his Mum) finally fell asleep at almost 3 am.  We woke at the usual early hour so it wasn't surprising that he fell asleep again while we were eating a late breakfast!  While Philip went into Ravenshoe on a errand, Esther made the most of the quiet morning to practice some reading and write in her journal.

The car needed a muffler repair so we drove the 50 km into Atherton, where the kids and I had lunch at McDonalds while Philip visited the mechanic.  We had heard from several people about two big trees not far from Atherton- the "curtain fig" and the"cathedral fig", so while we were in the area we took the opportunity to take a look at them.  They are amazing!  Starting when a seed drops into the crown of a host tree, the strangler fig drops roots down to the ground, and eventually strangles the tree it grows on. The host tree eventually rots away, leaving an amazing structure of aerial roots. Both of these trees are about five hundred years old. The photos don't really capture their immense size.  Their crowns cover and area about the size of two olympic swimming pools and host a complete garden of ferns, staghorns, bromeliads, funghi and vines. 

Soaked by the rain, the colours and patterns are absolutely beautiful.

Beautiful patterns on some nearby tree-trunks.

Another local we encountered today was the notorious "Lawyer Cane", also known as the "Wait-a-while vine."  These are beautiful climbing palms, with spiky stems and long treacherous canes covered in sharp little hooks.  The purpose of these canes is to help the plant climb into the canopy of the rainforest to reach the light, but they can catch and hold an unwary passer-by firmly. (Hence the nick-names- "wait a while" to get untangled, or, like a lawyer, once they catch you off-guard it's hard to get out of their trap!)  When the canes are mature they become smooth and very strong, and are used for making rattan furniture.

Climbing up to the light.

Thank you to those who have been visiting and commenting on this blog.  I'm really missing sharing this adventure with Dad, and knowing there are others "out there" helps.