Recently I spent a few weeks in northern
Queensland in Australia. Four friends from Singapore accompanied me. It was
good to revisit places where I had lived during my late teens and early 20s. I spoke
once in a public venue, once at James Cook University, and at gathering
in the homes of several Sri Lankan families. I also met up with Chittapala who was
a monk in Sri Lanka for many years and now lives on the idyllic Magnetic Island
just off Townsville. But the highlight of the trip was several visits to the
magical rainforests north of Cairns, in the Atherton Tablelands and around
Ingham. If these wonderful forests were in Sri Lanka a monk could build a
little hut for himself and live there. Alas
in Australia that would be impossible because of planning regulations, building
codes, health and safety regulations, environmental laws, state and federal government forestry restrictions,
etc.
7 comments:
Magnificent! Thanks for sharing these beautiful scenes. What animals are these? What is that stunning flower?
In the Dhamma,
Dear Ken & Visakha, good to hear from you again. The animals are rock wallabies, a smaller variety of kangaroo. The name of the unusual-looking plant is unknown to me.
Beautiful and serene place to be! Thanks for sharing Bhante. Does Western Australia has any kind of similar scenery like this ?
Dear Shivam, most of the forests of Western Aust are the dry types characteristic of a Mediterranean climate. Unknown to most people a species of sandalwood (Santalum spicatum) grows there and supplied much of the world’s supply until the trees were over-cut by the end of the 19th century. Send me your email and I post you a few more pictures of the QLD rainforests.
Dear Bhante, sounds so nice. Sure : Dewan.shivam123@gmail.com I was thinking to WA early next year, it will be nice to meet you too if you are staying nearby :)
Much Metta,
Shivam.
Dear Bhante. It looks like you had a great adventure in the North Queensland forests. How wonderful. Thank you for sharing.
Such an amazing set of photos Bhanteji. Nature leaves us in awe, always. No matter how many times we see the same leaves, the same forests, the same waterfalls, the same places, etc., every time we see and feel nature, we are always mesmerized!
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