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Sunday, December 3, 2017

Dorrigo Rainforest NP

The next stop on the way back to the coast was Dorrigo NP.
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Oh look, a snake.
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The nearby and idyllic Dangar Falls with a rainbow in the spray.
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A common tree in the park is the Stinging Tree.  Its leaves are covered in fine hair-like structures.  Each is a tiny needle which injects acid into whatever touches it.  Not pleasant!
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The only animal that will eat its leaves is the Stinging Tree Hawk Moth caterpillar.  It only lays its eggs on this tree.  The stinging leaves give the larva protection from predators.  This is why the leaves have so many holes!
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A mature strangler fig.  Its host tree is long dead and rotted away.
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5 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. In northeastern New South Wales: https://goo.gl/maps/M6e2PsCWUZP2

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  2. This is probably true about many of the places you have visited, but this one ESPECIALLY looks like Jurassic Park.

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    1. Haha, yeah, there are some places where it is very easy to picture dinosaurs roaming around.

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    2. About 15,000 years ago there were 6,000lb Marsupials roaming about, like the Diprotodon. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diprotodon
      In some places you can still see dinosaur cousins like the Cassowary. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cassowary. We just need some amberized mosquitoes and genetic engineering...

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