Yungaburra

More exploring around the tablelands. It was cold but out of the wind was OK. First stop the curtain fig tree

and then on to Yungaburra and a walk through the main street with its craft shops, antique and trash and treasure shops, book shop and a great looking old wooden pub.

We went down to the platypus viewing spot on a swinging bridge but it was the wrong time of the day. Rifter balked at the bridge.

Look Left

Look Right

No way I'm walking over this bridge!

At Yungaburra on the  edge of Lake Tinaroo there is a moving memorial to soldiers killed in Afghanistan. It is set in an avenue of flame trees. It lists the soldiers who lost their lives on duty, those who were awarded a VC, a list of dogs killed in action and some moving poetry. A very reflective place. 



Then we went to Lake Barrine, a volcanic lake for lunch at the tea rooms. It made us think of Vissavouri in Finland. Lovely wooden tea rooms on the edge of a lake. In WW2 it was used for the recuperative of personal from the armed forces and has been run by the same family since it opened on the early 1900s.   It is now in National Forest (we left Rifer sleeping in the car and came back to see rangers in the car park..but Rifter continued to snore on). There were beautiful gardens and lovely birds in the flowers including the yellow bellied sunbird and an eastern spine bill.  Spied an eel and a turtle in the water.



We tried to find a lookout on the Gillies Highway which was the most twisty steep road we’ve travelled on. Eventually turned back and spied it on the way back. Great sweeping views.

 
We went past Lake Eacham, another volcanic lake and more wet tropical rainforests. 

 

On the return we tried all the little back roads and saw 1000 Plumed whistling duck on a dam bank.