Sugar Coated Rainbow Sprinkles: Cairns Day 4

Decided to be adventurous and drive out of Cairns town - north to Cairns Tropical Zoo. Initially felt nervous and apprehensive towards venturing out of our current comfort zone - no GPS, vague maps and a novice driver's uncertainty towards the road conditions on Australia's highways. But ... still gotta try!

Went for breakfast at McDonald's at the Esplanade. You won't believe how expensive parking is in Cairns - AUD$8 per hour for just parking by the roadside! However, I just took the risk everytime and did not bother paying for the parking.

At the Esplanade

Took Captain Cook Highway and drove northwards to Clifton Beach. Surprisingly found it a breeze to cruise along the fairly empty highways. Road signs were adequate and clear, together with distance markers. Hardly many trees along the highways, but plenty of tall reeds and sugar cane plants.

On the road

Wide plains and tall mountains that cannot be found in Singapore

Arrived at the zoo about an hour later. Entrance fee was about AUD$32 per pax, but it allowed re-entry within the next three days. The zoo was small, but exhibited mainly Australia's native animals.

Outside Cairns Tropical Zoo

White cockatoo

Agile and cheeky ring-tailed lemurs

A zookeeper feeding the lemurs

The cassowary is a large flightless but powerful bird, capable of inflicting fatal bruises with their strong kicks and sharp knife-like claws. Shy, endangered and skillful at evading humans, it is very rare to spot a cassowary in the wild (they live in dense forests). Sadly, habitat destruction, traffic casualties and dog attacks have caused their numbers to dwindle over the years.

Methinks the cassowary looks like a turkey

The animal that stole Slug's and my hearts was the Nepalese red panda. We just could not stop cooing affectionately at it. Red pandas are also an endangered species, threatened by habitat destruction and poaching (they are highly-prized for their bushy tails, which are made into hats and wtf, feather dusters). They used to roam around in China and Nepal but poaching and forest loss have driven them either further up the Himalayas or to extinction. There was only one red panda in the exhibit. It took quite a long time for the zookeeper to coax it from its resting position to come and take its meals.

Methinks the red panda looks like a raccoon

The zookeeper feeding it some grapes

Isn't it cuuuuuuuuute?

Next we went to The Reptile House which houses snakes, frogs, lizards and geckos, some native to Australia and other well-known species like the Burmese python and Boa Constrictors. Never knew Australia has so many venomous snakes. Wonder if I can get to see them in the wild.

Adorable (can't remember their names)

In a suggestive position

Green tree frog

We bought some pellets to feed the kangaroos, but somehow we ended up feeding the ducks that roam around in the zoo as well. It felt weird when the ducks' broad and plastic-like beaks pecked at the pellets on my palm, leaving behind drops of drool. They would be shy and waddle away if you go near them, but once you stretch out your hand and they see the pellets that you are holding (and also KEEP STILL), they would let their guard down and flock towards you.

The ducks are free to roam around in the zoo

Feeding the ducks

We then went to the wallaby (a smaller version of the kangaroo) enclosure and fed the wallabies.

Feeding the wallabies

Small is cute

We had lunch at the zoo's outdoor cafe, which was built over a pond. There was a huge iguana on the wooden-plank floor. It would walk around occasionally, unintentionally scaring some of the diners. Slug and I were amused to watch two kids panic and run away when they unknowingly had walked near the iguana and got a shock when they suddenly spotted it. The iguana just stared motionlessly at them. Slug and I just kept our feet off the floor and enjoyed our lunch of baguettes.

At the cafe

Baguette with bacon and some really tasty wedges

After lunch, we went to the crocodile and alligator enclosure. These wicked-looking residents were certainly well-pampered - spacious enclosures with man-made rivers and ponds. And considering that many of them were previous serial killers! Many of them were actually the secret culprits behind the strange disappearances of cows and even dogs on farms, and when captured, instead of being sentenced to death, they were sent to the zoo for 'conservation efforts' where they will serve their 'life sentence'. When we were there, they were just laying there sunbathing. I just wonder how they can keep so still for such long periods of time. There were some really enormous crocodiles - must have been their nutritional diets of poor cows and dogs. Their largest was one named Sarge - measuring 5.1metres and weighting 300kg.

Dangerously quiet

Croc smiling to welcome us

Slug and I resting from all that walking (and crocodile-teasing)

The crocodiles are kept safely away from us

We also stayed a while for the crocodile feeding session. We felt uneasy and fearful for the zookeeper as she tried to taunt and lure the crocodiles to snatch their food (dead chickens) from her. The smaller and thinner ones moved faster than those larger ones that could barely drag their obese bodies for more than half a metre on ground. Conclusion: they are fast and scary in water, but probably cannot outrun most humans on land.

Must work hard for that food!

We then went to the koala enclosure but it cost AUD$15 if you want to have a shot of you hugging a koala (pronounced 'koh-air-ler' not 'kwa-la'). Too expensive. They had a marsupial-feeding session where the zookeepers fed the koalas and wombats. The koalas basically did not need much feeding, they just hang on to their eucalyptus trees and munch on their leaves when they feel like it. However, we did not get to see them feeding as koalas sleep most of the time (up to 18 hours!), feeding usually at night.

Koalas also face all kinds of threats in the wild

Wished to cuddle with a koala

The zookeeper also introduced another Australian marsupial to us - the wombat. Short and fat with stubby limbs, they somehow looked cute in a funny way. They are powerful burrowers that can dig under fences and into tree logs. And don't underestimate their heavy and clumsy bodies - according to the zookeeper, a bored traffic policeman used those speed detection devices for vehicles to measure the speed of a running wombat and found out it could run up to 40km/h.

Methinks the wombat looks like a pig

I like being lazy

After the marsupial feeding session, we moved on to the kangaroo enclosure where they were also free to roam around. Unlike the wild ones which will shy away from humans, the kangaroos in captive here will be receptive when you approach to feed them. Of course, that would mean that the whole enclosure was littered with kangaroo poo - fresh ones and dried ones.

A very friendly kangaroo

Which also loves the camera!

This group of kangaroos was alerted by some noise

We left the zoo at about 3+pm, but before that we just had to go see the red panda for one last time.

Resting on a tree branch lazily

Making funny faces

While driving back to Cairns, we decided to make a short side trip to Kuranda. We drove along Kennedy Highway which took us up a mountain and through dense forests. It was a thrilling ride along the narrow and steep road and hairpin bends that skirt the mountain.

We reached Kuranda town about 45 mins later, but we proceeded on further along Barron Falls Road, where we had to park the car somewhere in the forest and follow a trail that would lead us to the waterfall. After walking a distance, we reached a viewpoint which offered us a gorgeous view of Barron Falls - the point where the Barron River descends from the Atherton Tablelands to the Cairns flatlands below. The sounds of plunging waters and the cool misty air, coupled with the forlorn setting sun, were therapeutic.

We love hiking

At Barron Falls!

Barron Falls and the steep gorge

Barron Falls sees larger volumes of water during the wet season

Barrons Falls listed as one of the 1,001 must-see natural wonders before you die

We could not bear to leave the falls but we had to get on our way before the sun set. Kuranda actually offers many attractions - the Kuranda Scenic Railway that can take you across the gorge and very near the Barron Falls, the Skyrail cablecar, and the Cairns Wildlife Safari Reserve. It was a pity we did not allocate time to explore this area.

By the time we got back to Cairns town, it was dusk. We bought some raw salt-and-pepper squid rings and king prawns from a seafood store for dinner. The seafood stores here sell cooked food like fish and chips, calamari etc, as well as raw seafood like fillets, shellfishes and crabs.