We had based ourselves out of August Moon Caravan Park (best name so far!) to not only do Paronella park but a few other attractions around Innisfail. The campsite itself had beautiful rain trees throughout and everywhere was lush and green. Unfortunately the weather while we were there was not great and it rained on and off the whole time. Talking to the locals though I think this is a common occurrence.
Innisfail’s claim to fame other than Paronella park was the that it houses the largest concentration of Art Deco buildings in Australia. This was due to a cyclone that devastated the town in 1918 leaving only two buildings standing in the CBD which funnily enough were the only two concrete buildings. It was decided to rebuild with cyclone proof buildings and as Art Deco was the popular international style at the time “Tropical” Art Deco was born with Italian, Spanish, French, Moroccan and Anglo Saxon influences.
There was a documented walk we could do so the three of us walked around Innisfail admiring all the buildings. I have always loved Art Deco facades with their sleek stylised and geometric designs and thoroughly enjoyed walking around the town spotting all the different buildings. Unfortunately like a lot of North Queensland farming towns, Innisfail is in a state of decline. This meant that some of the beautiful buildings were a little worse for wear or alternatively the facade was restored but the shop fronts were all boarded up. A shame really but with farming getting more efficient due to technology allowing for economies of scale, one farmer now owns land that would have otherwise been owned by 4-5 farming families. Same has happened to my home town of Home Hill. Not sure what the solution is but I don’t just think this is a North Queensland issue. After our walk we stopped off for some delicious fish and chips along the river.
Another day trip we undertook was to the Mamu tropical skywalk. Through a dense rainforest, elevated boardwalks have been built which allows for the canopy section of the rain forest to be viewed.
Like Paronella, Griff was not allowed in but the ladies at the front desk were happy to look after him behind the counter. So after dropping him off we started off on the path that had been cut though the rainforest floor. Armed with a book on all the trees we would be seeing, we spent a nice relaxing hour walking around and up though the canopy of the rainforest.
On the way back we started hearing barks and soon realised it was our dog. So I quickened the pace and soon came across Griff barking every time someone left the counter to walk into the rainforest. Mortified I asked if he had been doing that the whole time and the answer was yes. The lady was quick to hand him back over. Obviously as soon as we were back he stopped his barking and turned back into the little angel he usually is. I could have strangled him. So our plan of leaving him with people may not be successful in the future but we shall have to wait and see. S