Day 6

The rainforest is AMAZING!  We went for a proper run through the rainforest last night--with real running, not hiking, I'm serious--and decided that it was about time for a proper hike.  (The Australian students haven't arrived yet, so Steph's British accent is rubbing off on me... which isn't so bad, actually.)  So bright and early this morning (9am is early, right?) the lot of us headed off into the forest, armed with cameras and trail mix.

I hope you folks reading this have a good internet connection, because you are about to see a LOT of awesome photos!

The photo is a bit blurry (I took this before I discovered the 'stabilizer' function on my lens was off) but
check out that spiral pattern in the center!  This web was about 20cm in diameter. 

Another great spider web!  Now if only I could find a spider!

Here we go!  A St. Andrew's Cross spider!  (Or at least, that's what I think it is.  I'm not an expert!)  This is the female,
the male is apparently pretty boring.  How awesome is this gal?!  She was pretty small, and I couldn't see the pattern
with my unaided eye.  Good thing I've got a fancy camera!

This is the same spider, but her web was so impressive that it deserved a photo of its own.  The silk
reflects UV light, which attracts flying insects!  Cool!

Will is an aspiring ornithologist, so we spent a lot of time looking for cool birds.  Unfortunately
 birds are REALLY hard to shoot, so here is a picture of a bird's butt.  

These tree trunks are crazy!  They're very thin and
long and triangular.  It looks almost fake!

Seriously, can't you guys just appreciate this tree trunk?  Those triangular bits are about a meter high!  (That's like 3 feet!)

This is the ONE decent bird photo I got.  I have no idea what bird it is, but because it sat still long enough
for a photo, it is now my favorite type of bird.

You know, if you click this photo, you'll get a really
big version.  I bet it'll feel like you're in the rainrforest.
Maybe you should try it.  :)

Seriously, the rainforest is AWESOME.  It's so green!  And you can hear all kinds of birds!

I put my face into this guy's web by accident, then noticed him about three inches from my face.  He is very
mean-looking!  I haven't seen a spider like this before.

After a bit of research I have discovered that this is a type of Spiny Orb Weaver spider, Gasteracantha vittata.
There is an Entomology class here, but I'd only want to catch little guys like this, so I'm not taking the class. 

Seriously, this spider is awesome.  And this is only the bottom!

Hallie was nice enough to pull on the web so I could get a picture of the horny bits on the back!

Tadaaa!  Here's the top side!  What a strange little spider!  This one was about 2cm in length and 4cm across.

Dragonfly!  He was pretty big, but not THAT much bigger than the ones in America.

This is some kind of long-jawed orb weaver, I think.  Ryan found this one, isn't it gorgeous?

A little closer this time, with a better view of the web!  (Actually I'm just trying to give people spider nightmares, haha!)

Cute little caterpillar!

This guy is super cute, but I tried and failed to identify him, even to family.  Maybe I'll ask around
in the entomology department?  :(

HUGE SCARY SPIDER AHHHHH

Haha, just kidding!  He's dead!

Still pretty scary though.  Look at those fangs!  Yikes!

Even though he was dead, I was still afraid to touch this guy... his corpse got poked with sticks a lot today.

I found some berries!  I want to know if they're edible, because they look pretty good, and the ants seem to like them!

We finally made it to the top!  Hallie and I climbed up a tree to get a better view.  Pretty nice, right?

The top of the mountain!

Termites!  I kinda kicked their mound.  Whoopsie daisy.

Backtracking a bit, we also went to the beach on Sunday!  It was pretty cold and windy, but we got in the ocean anyway.  Apparently in England, a 'hot day' is 65 degrees and windy.  The more Steph tells me about England, the more I wonder why people actually live there.

Trinity Beach!

It looks nice but it's actually really cold!

We walked along the beach until we found a nice rocky, sheltered area.  Then we went into the tide pools
and poked things with sticks.  Some things never get old!

This was the trail we took to the tide pools!  Very tropical and cool-looking!

Trinity Beach was lovely, but I think I'll return when it gets warmer here.

Tomorrow we're headed back to Cairns (we live in Smithfield, about 30 minutes out of the city) to barbecue at the Lagoon!  We've bought ground chuck, beef sausages, and KANGAROO STEAKS.  YEAH.  I also borrowed-with-no-intention-of-return some starfruit off somebody's tree!  (I definitely didn't steal them or anything.)  Still working on finding the crocodile meat, but I will find it!  I promise!