Day 5 - 13 June - Botanical Ark http://www.botanicalark.com/

A little bit lost as our adventure unflods

Fruit picked on the property

Today, the pressure was on Jeff. Only because of his personal recommendation did the group agree to pay an exceptionally high price for the pleasure of seeing someone's garden. We all assumed the morning tea would have to be pretty good. We left our motel at 9:00 AM in convoy with Jeff in the lead. We had smooth sailing up to Mossman... found the correct exit from the highway and headed for the hills. The bitumen ran out and the bridges became more dilapidated. Soon the front cars were scraping their way over the bumps in the road. Col and I with more than a touch of self-righteousness switched our car to 4-wheel drive and showed our impatience at having to wait for the slow vehicles up ahead. We negotiated one last steep hill to come to the end of the road. There were no signs welcoming visitors to garden inspections, nowhere to serve a luxurious morning tea... Jeff's credibility was being tested. Our only welcome was a savage dog on a chain showing his eagerness to tear us limb from limb. We decided to re-trace our steps.

One type of ginger plant bloom out of a wide variety

There were not too many gates to choose from. None of them offered hope of a splendid garden. We drove into one through a short scrubby area to find a tropical visita unfold before our eyes. We were met by an academic looking man who walked us to the homestead that lay the other side of a picturesque pond. We were served some morning tea that did not fulfil the typical 'luxurious' perception. But we quickly keyed into the theme being presented to us. All the cakes and sweets were made using exotic plants grown on the property. Everything tasted delicious; many with flavours not familiar to me.


The proprietors, Alan and Susan Carle, told us the history of their development of the property. They commenced  more than 24 years ago, first a subsistence farm, and more recently (1990) as a private ethno-botanical gardens. They found that many varieties of ginger plants had blooms that lasted six weeks and were a novelty to many city dwellers. They would pick selected ginger plant blooms very early in the morning and transport them to Sydney, Melbourne and Singapore where florists in the large hotels had no problem selling the produce. They travelled the tropical regions of the world and specialise in plants that indigenous rainforest cultures have and still use for their foods, spices, shelter, medicine, cosmetics, fibres, oils, dyes - in fact for all their everyday needs. The business grew and prospered right up to the time of the Air Pilots' strike. The business stopped for the period of the strike.

Each tree in the garden had its own amazing story

During that period, Alan and Susan decided their preferred future lay with collecting a seed bank of rare rainforest fruiting trees and establishing a garden to show scientists and visitors the wonder of rainforest plants. 

They emphasise the link between plants and people and demonstrate it with some of the most unusual tastes and sights imaginable. They aim to educate visitors to some real values of tropical forests to help save some of those forests for their peoples.

The History of The Botanical Ark
When they first acquired the land in 1982 it was virtually treeless. They purchased it from cattle farmers who burned the land each year to keep the shrubs and trees from growing back. What they inherited was lots of grass, weeds, erosion gullies and an immense amount of work.

Their first priority was to implement soil conservation measures. Days of picking up rocks turned to weeks, then to months, and after many years their numbers are dwindling. They constructed an elaborate drainage system and began employing millions of earthworms to try and replenish the topsoil.

Next came the trees! Permanent plantings to hold the soil, sequester carbon, provide oxygen and fruit and nuts for generations to come.

Rainforests are being devastated around the world at a rate of a football field every 2 seconds. They occupy less than 5% of the world land mass, yet are home to more than 50% of the planet's plants and animals.

Alan and Susan had the goal of raising awareness of the issues and highlighting the biodiversity and economic benefits that rainforests offer.

Alan has travelled the world's rainforest paying attention to local food markets. When he saw fruit or vegetables that looked to be different, he researched the plant and found the site of trees. He would collect seeds and then undergo the rigorous quarantine restrictions. He currently has the only 'private' seed quarantine site in Australia.

We set out on a tour of his garden. Each corner had a plant of specific interest... many with medicinal properties that showed promise in replacing some of the old remedies now reaching the end of their effective life. He showed us a dam he had built that is part of a small hydro-electric unit that provides all his power needs. He showed us his tame pet perch that dutifully came to play a game of catch the leaf.

Alan and Susan have put a lifetime of work resurrecting 30 acres of rain forest. His example points to a future where more of our land will be converted into rainforest to provide the bounty of rich foods and medicines it so readily delivers.


Jeff proved to be a winner. All our group agreed that the morning had been entertaining and inspirational. The high price was well justified in meeting Alan and Susan and learning their life philosophy.

Silky Oaks Resort Dining Table

Next stop was Silky Oak lodge. Most of us had visited the resort previously and their food came highly recommended. This time the recommendations were accurate. Col and Jan were still on their diet of bread and water... but the rest of us made up for them. After lunch, we decided not to take the short tracks around Silky Oak Lodge, but to use the remaining sunlight to walk the more challenging tracks at Mossman George.

Fig Tree on Mossman George walk

Kathie likes to walk at a very fast pace. She raced on ahead and Graeme, Joye and I tried to keep up. The rest of the group took the walk at a more civilised pace. John gave Kathie 15 minutes start and bet the rest of the group that he could catch up with Kathie and her group. John somehow won the bet... he must have found a short-cut!
   

Cane Toad jockeys rising to the challenge

Tonight Joye, Don, Jan and Col were scheduled to provide the dinner. Everyone was well fed from Silky Oaks and wanted a spare night. In place of a meal, Col Jan, Joye and Don decided to visit the pub that holds the Toad Racing event. The meeting took place in a tin shed out the back of the pub. The spruiker organising the event had his spiel well rehearsed. All the participants racing a toad had first to kiss it... a major test for the young girls wanting to enter the race. The spruiker consoled them with the advice that they would soon be kissing uglier faces! The jockeys spurred on their toads by blowing party whistles at them. The tourists lapped up the entertainment and the poor cane toads lived to see another day.