vVanderful World

We've jumped in a van (Betsie) to explore Australia's culture and natural beauty, while discovering ways to live sustainably on the road. We would love to hear your ideas or tips! <3 Jewlz & Rhys

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When stopping in at Etty Bay (near Innesfail) and Lynchaven in the Daintree we spotted Southern Cassowaries (Casuarius casuarius). The juveniles have a darker brown/green plumage, and when adult, will support a dagger-like middle claw up to 12cm long, giving them the most deadly kick of any animal alive today. They also slide in just after the Ostrich as the world’s second heaviest bird, the heaviest of which reach 85kg!

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This female Olive-backed Sunbird (Cinnyris jugularis)was caught out in the rain while feasting on some nectar near Noah’s Beach in Cape Tribulation. Like hummingbirds, Sunbirds have the ability to take nectar while hovering, however they prefer to perch if possible! We also snapped one in the much sunnier Kuranda.

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We were thrilled to find two Boyd’s Forest Dragons (Lophosaurus boydii) during our day and night walks through the tropical rainforests of Cape Tribulation. This species is endemic to this wet tropics area of Australia so we were really lucky to see them. Aside from having unique and often brilliant colours, these lizards are amazing in that they can also evade detection from predators like pythons by cautiously thermo-regulating to remain the same temperature as the vegetation around them. This species needs air temperatures not to rise enough that it struggles to thermo-regulate or have the necessary vegetation to survive.

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A wonderful track up the Mt Sorrow ridge trail paved with buttress roots led to a spectacular view over two world heritage sites - where the Great Barrier Reef meets the Daintree Rainforest. Wow!

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The Daintree Rainforest is recognised as the world’s oldest rainforest, dated between 110-200 million years old. This rainforest has the largest representation of primitive flowering plant families on Earth and contains 20% if Australia’s bird species, 35% of our frogs, marsupials and reptiles and 65% of our bat and butterfly species. Incredible! We had a wonderful time exploring its ancient ferns, mangroves, cycads, magical tall trees and animal species.   We had some conversations with locals who feel that climate change is already here as they are noticing the effects of changing rainfall patterns and temperatures. For example, this year the flowering of some species has occurred at multiple and irregular times. These changes are affecting feeding patterns of other species throughout the entire ecosystem.  All the more reason to keep our emissions in check!

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Crocodiles are older than trees! Yep- crocodiles are pretty tough- having survived the break- up of the world’s continents and even the ice ages! It is pretty cool to think that the animals we see today differ little from their prehistoric ancestors that reigned as predators on earth before the dinosaurs. Crocodiles play a valuable role in the health and balance of many aquatic environments and are now protected in Queensland waters. During an afternoon on the Daintree River we were lucky to have several estuarine croc encounters. Beautiful!

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From the beautiful Daintree Village we took a boat ride down the Daintree River which has enjoyed improved numbers of estuarine crocodiles since the introduction of protective legislation. In the past, this river played a pivotal role in the logging industry (particularly for the floating of red cedar downstream) within the Daintree Rainforest, however these days it allows us to visit some of the most untouched and dense regions of the world heritage area. While on board we managed to spot our first kingfishers of the trip – the Sacred Kingfisher and Azure Kingfisher!

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Taking a walk through the Mossman Gorge area of the Daintree National Park it was interesting to hear the stories of the Kuku Yalanji culture which portrayed a deep respect of nature and knowledge of the local cycles. The eco-tourism centre run by the Indigenous Land Corporation and Mossman Gorge Aboriginal Community was wonderful. One of the systems put into place to preserve the area was to reduce traffic heading into the gorge by organising a shuttle bus to transport tourists. Also great to see was that the boardwalks, picnic furniture and car park bollards were made using re-purposed plastic from industrial and domestic waste sources.  

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Jewlz was lucky to attend the Ecofeminism, Educators and Climate Change (EFECC) symposium in Cairns, with leading educators and researchers sharing different ways of communicating about climate change. Here we have the inspiring Knitting Nannas- cleverly standing up for our future using music, theatre and some good ol’ peaceful yet powerful nanna discipline! 

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Cruising around Port Douglas and the Atherton Tablelands, we became very settled with van life- loving picnics, wildlife and drive-in movie theatres! See if you can spot the cheeky cassowary :). Betsy also made a new pal, Urvan the pop-top. 

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Rhys recently visited the Cattana Wetlands in the Mulgrave shire near Cairns. It's awesome to see what used to be a sand mining quarry has been rehabilitated to a flourishing wetland - in which a variety of bird species and short-neck turtles like this little guy can once again live and thrive!  

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For all you arachnophiles, we found a beautiful Giant Golden Orb Weaver (Nephila pilipes). This species spins strong golden webs and has boldly marked black legs with bright yellow joints. This is a female, which vastly towers the size of the male. The Orbweavers are part of the oldest surviving genus of spiders.

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Frosty Mangos, a little stop just past Townsville has a tropical fruit tree orchard that supplies all the goodies within the store, from Rambutans right through to Longans and Jackfruit. We loved discovering and tasting new fruits that can grow in this part of Australia!

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Snorkelling around Hook and Whitsunday Island we met a few interesting characters like stingrays, turtles and this resident male Humphead or Maori Wrasse (Cheilinus undulates). These wrasse are essential for the reef, eating species that attack it, such as sea hares, boxfish and even the crown of thorns starfish! In Manta Ray Bay we also spotted a big school of Yellow Tail Fusiliers/Caesio teres. At night, and when resting, their colour changes from a bright yellow/blue to red/green. 

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A great time swimming with sea turtles was had just off Lady Musgrave Island, southern Great Barrier Reef. Lady Musgrave Island is a unique location within the GBR in that it is set within a deep water coral lagoon. Turtles are common in this area due to bommie ‘cleaning stations’, which the turtles visit to be cleaned by fish species which feed off parasites, dead skin and algae living on them. We were interested to learn that there is a great need for reef monitoring/studies in these southern areas of the reef to understand ecosystem health, human impacts and how the reef is changing over time.

If you are interested in contributing to population monitoring and habitat conservation of sea turtles, you can adopt one with WWF!  

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Travelling up north – enjoying the warmth, sunshine and sights Queensland has to offer. :D 

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The Natural Bridge is a beautiful natural rock arch along Cave Creek in Springbrook National Park, formed by the force of a waterfall over the erosive basalt cave. On the walk to the bridge, we were intrigued by the enormous Strangler Figs. These figs grow from seeds in the forks of their host trees, usually transported from birds or possums. From the seeds prop roots grow downwards towards the roots of the tree. These thicken and weave over time, eventually surrounding and strangling the host tree. It may take hundreds of years for a fig to kill its host. Descending under the bridge, we found ourselves distracted by the amazing glow worms, one of the largest populations in Australia.