After two days in Cairns, we hired a rental car and set out exploring the area and driving north from the city. Our first stop for the day was the Tjapukai Cultural Park. This is an Aboriginal owned and run cultural center giving a wealth of information, history, tours, and song and dance about the local Aboriginal culture and customs. It was really informative, enjoyable, and well run. They had exhibits on the Aboriginal creation legend, boomerang and spearthrowing workshops, movies about colonization clashes with European settlers, and theater performances with song and dance describing the local customs and religious ritauls. We also got to hear presentations on Aboriginal bush tucker and what they eat in the wild. Aboriginies are very tied to the land and it is reflected in their culture and beliefs.
Tjupukai performance and dance with clapsticks, boomerang, spears, and the digeridoo. This ceremony is performed for preperation and anticipation for a successuful hunting journey.
Here they show how to quickly and successfully start a fire with friction from sticks in the bush.
After a workshop on spearthrowing, Kim quickly learned how to go about hunting a kangaroo!
We later made our way up the small mountain town of Karunda. Karunda is a small mountain town set in a beautiful rainforest. We walked around the town and went to the Arts Co-op and Barron Falls.
Barron Falls and Gorge. The falls drops more than 300 feet.
Spider web reflecting through the light on a hike in the rainforest.
View from Karunda looking back down towards Cairns.
