Speewah - In the middle of the rainforest

Day 10 - Speewah- 30.08.2018

Hello my dear ones back home,

I'm finally writing again, after Janina described our impressions of the past few days in more detail.

We have now arrived in a small town called Speewah. Located a bit outside, some bloggers recommended us a cute little campground called Etteleah Park on our 'WikiCamps App', which we drove to. After a few attempts (despite Maps, the campground wasn't easy to find), we reached this slightly remote park around noon. The weather was good as always and we were in a good mood. Upon arrival, a very nice, open-minded, energetic lady in her late 60s with short gray hair greeted us and checked us in at the campground. Our pitch, toilets, hot showers, billiards, a bar, pool, kitchen area, and a place to wash dishes - everything was there and made a clean and well-maintained impression. Lynette and her husband Michael have been running this beautiful campground for nearly 7 years and take care of everything themselves. They maintain the associated garden every day and clean the bathrooms every day. We immediately notice their hospitality and open-mindedness and feel comfortable right away. The campground has only seven pitches. Everything feels very familiar. Janina and I took out our camping chairs and table from the trunk and sat down. Nice to be at a different place again! Yesterday evening we had already chosen a hiking trail for today. There was plenty to choose from, and we decided on a 7.9 km long trail through the Australian rainforest. After a drive of only about 10 minutes, we reached the parking lot where we started hiking. We packed enough water, sunscreen, and caps, and off we went. Michael had given us a briefing earlier on how to behave in the rainforest: always keep an eye out for animals, preferably don't touch the plants, and stay on the trail. We were a little excited because we didn't know exactly what to expect.

The trail was estimated to take 4-6 hours. We started hiking carefully and were immediately thrilled by the variety of trees and plants the rainforest offered. Almost no plants were familiar to us from our local forests. The path was initially rather flat, later steep uphill, so we started sweating despite the shade. We didn't hear (unfortunately) or see (fortunately) many animals. But that should change towards the end :P

After about 2 hours, we made a small, necessary pit stop. Janina had a full bladder, but there was no toilet in sight. Afraid of getting bitten in the derriere by any animals, she hurried and looked around anxiously. It was a bit funny :D

Onwards! Thankfully, not as steep uphill anymore. We had overcome the most difficult part, and the trail became easier. Unfortunately, there was never a chance to orient ourselves and look out of the forest. Everywhere, only palm trees, trees, plants, and the trail. A bit disappointing, but on the other hand, also exciting.

The last sign before the parking lot indicated only 765 meters to go, and we were excited to have almost made it. So far, we hadn't seen any snakes or spiders, and we were glad about that. Suddenly, Janina abruptly but calmly stepped back. A non-venomous (!) Australian tree snake with a black and yellow body, as it turned out later, was sunning itself right in the middle of the trail and got at least as startled as we did. We stopped and waited until it disappeared into the thicket. Quite a shock on the last stretch!

We drove back a little exhausted with 'Liu', our camper, and cooked Indian curry with rice and vegetables. Unfortunately, in the Australian winter, it gets dark around 6:30 pm, so you can't sit outside for too long in the evenings. Also, because it gets very chilly here in the rainforest at night. Before going to bed, Janina and I sat on the warm road of the campground and looked up at the sky. Incredibly many stars were visible. No light pollution that would make the night sky appear darker...

Day 11 - Speewah- 31.08.2018

Today was the first day that we stayed at the same campground twice. It was a bit exhausting to pack up our tents every day and then set them up again the next day, explore new places and the surroundings. Regular grocery shopping, cooking, and washing up needed to be done as well.

We slept until 10:30 am and looked forward to a relaxed breakfast, without having to check out of the campground at 10 am. Our plan for today was to do very little. Just lie by the pool, play billiards, and sit around the campfire in the evening with Lynette, Michael, and the other campers. We still had to go grocery shopping, but the nearest supermarket was about 30 minutes away from our location. But for days like this, we had prepared with pasta, sauces, and instant soups :)

In the evening, like almost every day, we played one of the games we had brought with us in bed: Mister Mind, Yahtzee, Ludo, Uno, or Rummikub - we had everything with us! Lastly, we planned our next day and fell asleep.