The travel time to Chambers was only about 30 minutes- fantastic- and we arrived to this amazing retreat amidst the rainforest. We were really excited here, as it was said to be a Mecca for some amazing birds and especially mammals. It was fabulous. Similar to OReillys rainforest retreats, the lodges were set above ground so you are at height, making it perfect for the birds to visit the balcony in the morning. Apart from the fabulous rooms, it had a pool undercover but open to view the forest whilst enjoying a swim, a guest lounge with a billiard table (where we could hone our very limited skills!) ,and best of all, it had a viewing platform where each night striped possums and sugar gliders to lap up the juicy honey placed on the trees. After getting settled into our cabin and ensuring that the campo was as as possible, we went off exploring before heading out with Ross and Jan (our wonderful SA friends) to Mothers Day dinner. We went to a fabulous Swiss/Italian restaurant in Yungaburra for pizza/pasta. We had frequented this establishment 9 years ago and it again did not disappoint-
so it was a lovely way to top off a fantastic day. But that wasnt the finish of it! We came back to our lodges and went to the viewing platform to see if we could spot any wildlife. We sat quietly and waited patiently and then were rewarded with gorgeous little sugar gliders scampering down the tree to lap up the honey drenched trees. Then we were treated with glimpses of the striped possum- such a striking animal, substantially larger than the gliders of fluffy black and white striped fur- very specky!! Whilst at the viewing we met a Canadian family, with two boys a little younger than Merlin, and who were on the last few days of their Australian trip. The father was an extremely keen birder and had been wanting to Australia for many years. They had spent 2 months here and upon inquiring as to their opinon of Aus and if it met their expectations, they described their joy at seeing our wildlife, bush and that they just loved it here- which was great to hear. We chatted for quite some time with them, swapping bird stories and asking about their home
Now as many of you know, the plan for the trip was to reach (Iron Range) NP on the Cape. The unseasonal and voluminous amounts of rain were likely to potentially scuttle this plan but we hadnt given up hope just yet. However, at present the river levels on the Cape were so high that the roads we would be taking, were impassible. We were keeping an eye on the road conditions and closures as well as weather radars and the latest info advised that in the short term, the worst day for rain would be Wed- it was lucky we secured shelter for that day.
Mon 9th morning we spent the first few hours entertaining some spectacular birds on our balcony as they had quite a penchant for very tiny pieces of banana, grape and apple. I think the best part about this was that they were so close and obviously feeling safe enough in our presence to stay and pick at the food. After this session, i went for a walk to Lake Eacham and
around its perimeter. Lake Eacham is a Maar, which is essentially a volcanic crater formed by massive explosions frim the super heating of groundwater, which then filled the crater forming the lake. Even the local aboriginal people, the Ngadjon, share their stories which speak of the creation of the lake- it was a dry forest and one day the young men left at camp did a bad thing, spearing a flame tree. After that there was a huge rumble, the ground was shaking and all the animals statted running. There was nothing left, only water where the huts used to be. This was around 10000 years ago. Being on the tablelands here and part of the wet tropics, we are at approx. 1000m altitude of mainly rainforest habitat which was wonderful to experience on the walk.
