Escape from the Rain

Bromfield Swamp

Up at 5.45am, our spell of weeks of drizzling rain continues as we head off into the foggy mists to Bromfield Swamp, an ancient volcanic crater renowned for its flocks of sarus cranes and magpie geese that shelter here over the winter. With coffee on the go and croissants for brekkie in the van, the day looks promising despite the weather. 

A rising crescendo of honking and whooping signals the dawn lift off for the birds. Skeins of geese start wheeling in their dozens over the swamp as they gain altitude to head off to their daytime feeding pastures. Soon, much smaller flocks of sarus cranes advance up the crater sides and whooping loudly launch their long legged bodies into the air.

Revived by this show of nature, we decide to leave behind the soggy weeks of rain along the Queensland coast, and head inland to the Savannah country. First stop is Undara, a national park famed for its lava tubes formed thousands of years ago by volcanic eruptions that flowed for many months, later cooling to form tubes where rainforest remnants flourish. We tour the tubes, huge underground cavernous structures with bats and tree roots dangling from the roof.