Mossman Gorge

The first piece of rainforest that I visited was at the Mossman Gorge where the forest clothes the steep slopes:

The path initially runs alongside the swift, broad, boulder strewn river ...

... before heading off away from the main watercourse and across smaller streams:

Some of the commonest - or at least most recognizable - of the forest trees are strangler figs. Unlike other trees they grow down, rather than up: the seeds are deposited high up in trees by birds that have feasted on the figs, and when the seeds germinate they send roots downwards that form a mesh around the tree trunk. These roots fuse to form what looks like a single tree trunk, and this arboreal straitjacket then does what it says on the tin - killing the host tree. The dead tree rots to leave a hollow fig tree, whose origin from fused aerial roots can sometimes still be seen. The buttress root to the right of this one is about 2 meters above the ground.

Strangler figs aren't the only trees with buttress roots:

As well as the buttress roots, there are some fairly spectacular lianas, ...

... and a few trees with fruit growing directly from the trunk:

A bit of colour was supplied by this small fungus:

Animal life is not easy to see in rain forests: much of it is high up in the canopy where the light is, and the creatures living lower down are either nocturnal, or, like many of the birds on the forest floor, rather secretive. So I was excited to see an information board telling me to watch out for Boyd's forest dragon on the trunks of tree saplings. 'Dragons' are some of the more spectacular lizards, Boyd's forest dragon growing to up to half a meter in length. I kept my eyes peeled ...

... but didn't manage to see any lizards other than this small skink enjoying a patch of sunshine on the forest track.