Day 221 / 2015 - Cairns and the One and Only Paronella Park

Paronella Park is approx 100km South of Cairns about 18km South West of Innisfail. We had originally planned to camp there with the caravan while on the way from Tully to Cairns back in June but the rain had been so heavy we decided to try again another time.

Leaving Cairns Coconut Tourist Park we headed south along the Bruce Hwy untill Innisfail then followed the Innisfail - Japon Rd for about 15 km arriving at Paronella Park. There is room to camp there in a desginated caravan park and is included as part of your entry ticket. We didn't bring the van with us only being an hour from Cairns we made it into a day trip. Paronella Park was originally conceived by Jose Paronella as a place for the public to come and enjoy the gardens and reception areas. He purchased the land in 1929 where e developed it untill he could open to the public in 1935. On the property is the first Hydro Electric power plant in North Queensland and was the oly power supply for the park. Indeed Jose was the ony property to have electricity at that time. The Hydro plant is still in use today although it has been modified from its original design to meet Australian Standards.

There were 3 tours on offer, a guided day tour which after you are free to wander the grounds. A guided hydro plant tour and a guided night tour all included in the one price. During the day tour you are shown all the different structures built and all the gardens that were planted. Once you oriented yourself you can then spend more time in areas that you want to look more closely at. You can walk across a suspension bridge to get a birds eye view of the waterfall and plunge pool below. We bought our own picnic lunch but there is a kiosk where you can buy takaway food. The Hydro tour needs to be booked and the guide takes you down some very narrow stairs and into the small generator room which is to one side of the waterfall. The water is chanelled from the river via a pipe through the generator turbine then out the bottom via another pipe. The guide gives you a talk on the history of the plant and the refurbishment project completed in 2009.

The night tour is guided and takes you through the park by torch light only although some of the key buildings are flood lit. You end up at the waterfall which is iluminated by lights using power from the hydro plant.