Paronella Park

It's amazing how quickly the landscape changes. The dry land became lush & green.

Sugar cane plantations as far as the eye can see. I can't imagine how many snakes & toads are amongst this cane. 

The first gumboot at Tully. I saw a sign for a cyclone shelter. Although it's so beautiful, that sign is a little disconcerting. That & the credible warning signs make it a great place to visit, but not live.

A sugar cane train. We did get a few spots of rain from those clouds. We haven't seen that in a long while & the car & caravan could do with a wash.

Banana plantations. That lot could keep us busy for a few days :-)

Paronella park is the place we'd come to see. It sat, overgrown & deserted for 13 years but slowly the new owners are trying to breathe new life into this grand property. It was built, by hand, by a Spanish man named class Jose Paronella. He was certainly ahead of his time. It's now used for weddings & tourist groups.

This was used as a tea room & dining area. He even built changing booths at the base for the swimmers that visited his giant pool.

This was, until a few years ago, still used as a swimming area for the public. The wet season can now bring salt water crocs with it & that is not a good additive to a swimming hole.

Mena Creek Falls was the reason that Jose bought the property. He later created a hydro water scheme that powered the property.

This is Kaurie Lane. These trees are 87 years old & grew from seeds the size of a grain of rice.

We returned for the night tour & it was even more beautiful. We even saw fire flies. Poppy looks like a ghost. I think our torch was misguided.

Truly magical! Watching the castle light up with music playing in the background. Seriously, consider this place as an outing next holiday. Great value too, with a nights camping included in the entry fee.