All Summer Long

We’ve been staying in Cairns, which is in close proximity to plenty of rainforest, coastline and the great barrier reef. Bite marks have formed constellations around Nicola’s ankles, left by the colony of invisible insects that crawl us in the night. The water is warm and there are warnings everywhere about crocodiles and marine stingers. There are even booths with bottles of vinegar stationed every few metres along the beach at Port Douglas, just in case you get stung by a jellyfish.

I watched Nicola freeze in front of a public toilet and turn back, because the black floor, which looked reasonable from a distance, turned out to be a sheet of ants. I had a fright when I closed the window in the bathroom of our home and a translucent gecko, the length of my hand, legged it in and ran around my head. It’s pretty cool to walk into the living room in the evening and find one chilling out on the ceiling.

A perimeter walk of Kuranda, village in the rainforest, took us by a long stretch of still water. We saw two fishermen or hunters with nets tell a family, also enjoying a pleasant stroll in the stifling humidity, that you have to assume there are freshwater crocodiles in all waterways in this part of Australia. I did feel inadequate when the father comforted his wife and children by saying “It’s ok. At least I have my machete.” Machete! The best part of the walk was beneath a claustrophobic canopy of trees which led us down to Jumrum Creek. We heard the various screams of wildlife but only actually witnessed a few lizards by the side of the path. I spotted a hollow log, its entrance decorated with a necklace of flies. I didn’t dare touch that.