Rainforest

Saturday was a day to be taken easily. We relaxed on the deck in the heat, reading and planning. In the afternoon, we all piled into the car and went to the Mary Caincross Rainforest reserve, a reminder of how the area used to look before it was lived in. We browsed the informative display, learning the sheer size of dinosaurs that had lived here thousands of years ago and the sorts of creatures we might come across during our walk. Then, we set off into the trees!
Instantly, the light changes - it is darker, more filtered. The smell of foliage is strong, and the strangler figs loop mad-looking vines across the pathway. As we walked deeper into the rainforest, all sound was blocked out, to be replaced by creaking trunks and snufflings, odd bird calls and things crashing to the floor from the canopy, almost 50 metres above. I spotted two small Pademelons in the brush and both Alex and I froze in order to snap off some pictures of them as they unconcernedly hopped about (they look like tiny versions of kangaroos). We carried on, startling when a large, solid green pod hit the ground just next to us with a heavy thump. Concerned (understandably) about being knocked out, we made a hasty exit from that particular grove of trees, only to walk into a stand of native bush fig trees, and to narrowly avoid being pelted by the continuous rain of bright purple fruit that fell from the canopy above us.
We saw several more Pademelons, including one with a joey in the pouch and we sat and observed them for a bit. We found a crazy misty river winding its way through the tall trees and looking picture-perfect for a Jurassic Park setting. That is where we first heard the noise.
It was a crying baby. We hadn't seen anyone take a baby into the forest, but despite the empty paths, we knew there were lots of other people wandering round. We heard the cry again. Again. Again. It was relentless. We started to think someone had abandoned a baby in the forest. We were just debating investigation, when we heard it again. From the opposite direction! Well, we didn't think there would be two babies in peril in the rainforest. We figured it had to be some sort of animal. Maybe the Pademelons? But no, they just make huffing, clicking noises. We eventually found out what it was - a tiny, insignificent looking bird. A relief, as we had been beginning to think maybe it was some sort of large animal's ingenious human-hunting technique.
Then we took a trip down into Melany town in order to buy the ingredients for a dish Alex and I planned to cook for our hosts the night after. We also hoped to pick up some sort of mozzie bite cure, as Alex had been bitten 51 times and was feeling decidedly woozy. His top lip was starting to swell up, but the chemists was closed. Thus, dinner was eaten inside, so as not to expose him to anymore insects!