Rainforestation in Kuranda

Today was the first day of AustraLearn's "Culture and Adventure" orientation week. We took a bus up to the Rainforestation in Kuranda, just north of Cairns. The nature park was home to most of the iconic Australian species, as well as many others. Kangaroos, wallabies, dingoes, cassowaries, koalas, frogmouths, kookaburras, snakes, cane toads, wombats, blue-tongued skinks, saltwater crocodiles, and water dragons, just to name a few. A group of local aborigines performed tribal music and dance reminiscent of the flora and fauna of tropical Australia, and then taught us how to throw a boomerang and play a didgeridoo. Finally, we rode on an army DUKW through the rainforest and into a small pond, where we saw ancient tree ferns, various epiphytes and orchids, Ulysses butterflies, azure kingfishers, and many other small, colorful birds.
 

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