Richard and Sonia were kind enough to give us a ride up the narrow, winding Gilles Highway, for which we were very grateful when we saw how busy and narrow it was - a dangerous place for bikes! We started riding just before the end of the pavement, and had a good gravel road for the rest of the day's ride.
First stop was the Cathedral fig tree - a huge old tree with a boardwalk around the base.
Then we stopped at The Chimneys, which are remnants of some old houses built by early settlers in the region.
Finally we got to the campground and set up our tent. Aussies really camp in style! They pull up with a truck loaded full of stuff and spend a few hours setting up a tent the size of a small house, complete with separate bedrooms, cots to sleep on, chairs, tables, loads of electric appliances, and even outhouse tents!
We then went around the 5km walking track through the rainforest, carefully avoiding stinging tree (kind of like stinging nettles, but much more vicious - they say if you're stung by this stuff, seek immediate medical attention!) and lawyer cane (a vine covered in hooked spines - also rather nasty). There were signs in the campground warning of "unusual giant white-tailed rat activity", so we kept the food in a duffel bag in the tent (much to Ciel's chagrin). We didn't see any sign of these fabled giant rats though. I don't think they exist (cue Princess Bride-like scene of giant rat ambushing me from behind the next tree...)
-mark.
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