Mossman Gorge rain forest, on the crocodile river, Queensland

After Sydney, we had planned a few days up in the northern state of Queensland, area of the Great Barrier Reef. We are staying in a charming resort town, Palm Cove, between the two touristy towns of Cairns and Port Douglas, both gateways to the Great Barrier Reef. But there is so much more to this area... rain forests, sugar cane fields, Aborigine communities, salt water rivers, amazing flora and fauna.

This entire area has only been tourist-developed in the past ten years. Up until 30 years ago, it was all sugar cane fields, worked by the Italian immigrants who came over after WWII. Back then, the land away from the coast was the more valuable, and people even traded coastal property for inland...you might imagine how they regret that now. Reminiscent of Florida in the 1950s, Australia seems far behind the times in terms of development, which is a wonderful thing. I am so glad we are seeing it now, because it is changing quickly.

With its small population living on the perimeter of the continent, Australia has a huge inland area which is mostly empty. There is land land land, and very few people.