Today we had the chance for all of us to go to the Cairns Botanic Gardens together as Jess had not had the chance to see much of it. It is such a serene place and even more so as we had gone early morning and there was hardly a soul around. Cairns Botanic Gardens is a tropical paradise, renowned as one of the best exhibitions of tropical plants in Australia. We also stopped at the Zhanjiang Friendship Garden just near the Botanic Gardens which celebrates the Sister Cities relationship between Cairns and the Chinese. |
The entry pillars announce “arrival” and are adorned with graphic motifs of traditional cloud patters of Zhanjiang. Boulders of Chillagoe marble acknowledge the importance of rocks and mountains in Chinese garden culture. A Moon Gate is inscribed with the words “Friendship Garden” and carved granite dogs at the entrance to the Pavilion are representative of the ancient dog sculptures unique to Zhanjiang.
One of the noticeable features that was somewhat alarming was the masses of juvenile cane toad frogs almost carpeting the lawns around Freshwater Lake. Cane Toads were introduced into Australia in 1935 to control destructive beetles in Queensland sugar crops but their population has exploded across many areas of Australia as they have few predators and are capable of poisoning predators that try to eat them. Another one of man's 'brilliant ideas' that has backfired.