Chris, Riley, and Paul's Oz Blog (CRaPoBlog)

August 7: If you go out in the woods today ...

I went back to the Botanical Garden. They have turned a series of huge storage tanks from WW II into "art spaces". I attended a public lecture in one yesterday. I'm not sure what role Cairns played in the war, or what the tanks originally held, but inside they smell a little like Chardonay—which makes one speculate.

They all have overly ornate wrought iron gates which convinces me that wine as involved at some point.

Some are used for theatre performances, others as art galleries. Strange but interesting.

More odd looking fig trees—they almost reach out and grab you.

I followed an inviting path into the woods.

There were loud rustling noises in the bamboo all around me. Some very LARGE things were in there ...

Birds the size of turkeys.

They dig up roots or something in a most threatening manner.

And they don't like being disturbed. This was shot from behind my back as I fled up the path.

After what didn't seem like a long climb through the rainforest, I was suddenly high above the city.

I spend a couple of hours wandering around avoiding snakes, spiders and scary turkeys. Then the clouds rolled in, so I scurried home.

When I got home, out of revenge, I cooked myself a frozen turkey dinner. Chris conquers the wilderness.