Embracing the Rain

In order to better understand the history and culture of Queensland, we separated into five groups and set off to explore Atherton, Karanda, Malanda, Herberton and Yungaburra. Our group went to the nearby Yungaburra center. We quickly found out that Yungaburra was the smallest and most rural of all the towns (in fact it is classified as a village since its population numbers less than a thousand). Having grown up in possibly the smallest and most rural town in Massachusetts, I was quite content with this small little town. After talking to some folks at the information center, we wandered about trying to find more information about the town but both the library and the police station were closed... figures. Of course we weren't too disappointed since there was something at the information that really caught our interest.

The Duck-billed Platypus (one of, but not the only egg-laying mammal in the world) is a common resident of Yungaburra. We set out to Alumbah Pocket to find the stream where Platypuses could be found. Unfortunately we found that our chances of finding a platypus were greatly reduced due to both the murkiness of the water and the closure of most of the trail due to "too wet conditions". Slightly disappointed, but still enthusiastic, we wandered back the way we came where we stumbled upon a bowls club.

We curiously wandered down to inquire about the club and found the president right away. He let us practice bowlsing while giving us pointers and answering any questions we had about the town. Bowls is nothing like what it sounds like. There are no pins to knock down like in bowling, rather there is a small white ball that you are aiming to get as close to as possible. So it must be Bocce, right? Actually no. The balls are weighted so that they always curve when you bowl them. Not a game I was particularly good at since I kept treating it like Bocce =P

Our final interviewee was the owner of a small, but cozy coffee shop where anyone could get free wi-fi as long as they bought a drink. For us, this would be a luxury since there is only one building on site where we can access the internet and it becomes markedly slower as more people use it. I suspect we will be spending a lot of time a this shop when internet studying and research are required.

On our way back to camp, we stopped by Tinaroo Lake pictured below. Despite the fact that it is man-made, it was quite beautiful.

Though not as populated or exciting as the other towns, Yungaburra is an excellent place to hike and watch for wildlife (in addition to platypuses, they also have flying foxes and tree kangaroos).

After browsing our towns, we played a long round of volleyball in the rain. Eventually, most of us took our shoes off and shifted about in the mud to return a volley. I believe it is safe to say that we were all soaked by the end, but no one was complaining. Living in a rainforest demands that residents adapt to the constantly wet conditions. Perhaps Yungaburra is not so different from Ithaca after all.