Rockin' out in the Rainforest

I know the term “Melting Pot” is way overused but I really think it’s appropriate when describing the Australian scene. Maybe the place has a strong identity and feeling of independence because of its geographical isolation, for whatever the reason there are many strong and distinctive sub-cultures here. The population on the whole seems fairly artistic, creative, and entrepreneurial. This is definitely what gives Australia a lot of its character and charm. Coming from Canada, we can relate very much to the pace of life and similar overall social aspects. Over here however, there seems to be less of a “mold” to follow when compared to our highly Americanized province, and nation. There seem to be niche communities all over the country here. One place where we really felt the freedoms on offer in this glorious land, was the Kuranda Roots Festival. We decided, on a whim, to get tickets since we had missed all the other events on tour here. We weren’t sure what to expect but from our previous Aussie experience we thought it to be laid back, interesting, and more than likely a good time. We checked into the Kuranda Rainforest Park where we would spend the following 2 nights of the festival. We were a short and very pleasant, rainforest walk away from the Kuranda Amphitheatre. We walked around town to take in some of the sights. After all the town of Kuranda is a classic tourist town. It has all the attractions from scenic railway, butterfly sanctuary, bird aviary, snake and bat farms, the local candy shop, and countless souvenir shops. The place is famous for its rainforest markets which are super cool. We tasted some of the splendid local fruit wines; lychee, mango, lime and spicy chili…all delish. We stopped at the general store and finally at the Bottle-O to pick up the weekend beverages. The evening concert didn’t start until 6:30 so we figured we would have dinner and a couple drinks, and head over. To our pleasant surprise, as Friday afternoon was winding down, we already had 3 interested buyers for the van. Buyers were eager, wanting the van immediately and offering us cash over the phone. We realized that we would have more say in when, where, and to whom we sold so we informed all those interested that we would be back in Cairns Sunday afternoon, giving everyone a chance to view and test-drive. I guess we got a little too into the “Goon” (Big box of cheap Australian wine) because we didn’t make it to any of the pre-festival events on the Friday night. After having our own private party and some good laughs, we headed to bed fairly early to get a jump start on the following day.

Early Saturday we had a light breakfast and walked down to the amphitheatre. The weather was great and from the buzz around town we could tell we were in for an awesome day. As we entered the park we were impressed from the start. There were three separate stages showcasing local Reggae and Dub talent. This place was unique and cool to say the least. Continuing the rainforest theme, the tiered seating was carved into the earth and the beats reverberated within the natural surrounding forest. There were several local artisan stalls selling a variety of handy crafts as well as an assortment of healthy gourmet foods. We chilled out all afternoon watching and dancing along to one impressive act after the other. The energy here was warm and overwhelming as hundreds of people, young and old, moved to the music. The festivities carried on straight through the day and after a quick stop back at the van park to bundle up for the cool Rainforest evening, we were back at the theatre for the night show. The crowd had doubled or even tripled in size after dark, all in anticipation of the headliner, Ash Grunwald. The party crowd was wild as he pounded through his set, everyone was happy and the place was glowing like a modern day Woodstock. We had such a great weekend and were so happy that we decided to take part in this annual event. By weekend’s end we had at least 8 people who would meet us for the van. One buyer in particular was super keen and made sure she was the first to see it come Sunday afternoon. She turned out to be a nice Scottish girl traveling with her brother and after taking a look and a quick spin, they were anxious about missing their chance once others arrived so they made us an offer on the spot. We were still counting on having the van for another week in order to travel north into Daintree and Cape Trib so when they agreed to wait until the 12th plus give us what we were asking…we couldn’t refuse. With a handshake and a down payment, we called off all other potential buyers. We knew Fran was the best vehicle listed in her price range but we were impressed that she sold to the very first person to take a look. Fran served us well as transportation and accommodation and she gave us the ability to self-cater which saved us hundreds of dollars. She turned out to be a great investment fetching exactly what we had paid plus an extra $100. Even though it was sad to let her go, we celebrated our ongoing good luck and sudden influx of cash, with a pizza party and would start our northerly road trip the following morning.