“The jungle is neutral” is the title of a book I read umm…. shall we say about 50 years ago. It was about soldiers fighting the Japanese in 1944 in the jungles of Burma. A terrifying place to fight. There was the discomfort and strange flora and fauna, a lot of the latter wanting to take a piece of you. But the scariest thing of course was the Japanese wanting to take more than a piece of you, and the fact you can only see a few meters and the danger of an ambush is ever present. The author gradually came to the conclusion that the Japanese were definitely scary, but the jungle was not. It did not favour anyone. Every single organism was doing its own thing with little heed of the strange new visitors. The same terrors were repeated in Vietnam and many a ‘vet’ permanently changed.
Guests come to Possum Valley with a variety of experience and attitudes. Most have at least a little experience, and put up with the rain and leeches with whatever good grace they can muster, and realise that in an Australian rainforest at least, they themselves are the scariest creatures in the jungle. By far the biggest, strongest, most adaptable pack animal to be found in the forest that day. Others seem quite intimidated and ask nervously about the plethora of lurking dangers. I answer very matter-of-fact that if you see a snake, keep a separation distance of at least 1m, and pick and flick the leeches, resisting the temptation to wind them up with stories of drop bears. Though come to think of it, tree kangaroos could fit the description quite nicely and they do have long wicked claws. Still, a few people exit the forest in haste or even screaming at the sight of a leech. They must have brought these fears with them. Children very easily pick up on the fears of their parents. If the parents freak out, the kids are sure to follow. Here is a guy having a face-to-face interaction, heroically defending his valuables, and appointing himself alpha male.
The problem is of course the separation of the modern lifestyle from any effective interaction with the natural environment. For the first decade of a kid’s life, the major interaction with fauna may just be pigeons crapping on statues, and cockroaches and mice trying to invade the house. Maybe fling a few crumbs to the former and exterminate the latter. Those households with pets at least give a kid some connection with an animal, however artificial the environment. Zoos serve some function, though the animals are plucked from their environment to be conveniently arrayed in ours. Australia, with its vast space and low population, offers much more opportunities than most places for people to take themselves out of the human constructed environment and put themselves into a wilderness where nothing is crafted for human comfort or convenience. Alas, many take every convenience with them. I always did like minimalist camping. A decent swag and a blackened billy doesn’t put up too many walls around you.
A rainforest is a very active environment and I can’t stop critters from invading my house or the cottages. I do deal with situations as they arise, like removing a snake from the bathroom or the roof, catching mice, wrangling possums etc, but I can’t guarantee a sterile environment. If you like sterile….. don’t come to a rainforest. The Belgian family who left this morning were most co-operative. I told them on arrival that there was a problem of a family of melomys in the cottage. Halfway in size between a mouse and a rat, a rainforest native, only distantly related to either, rare, quite cute and a protected species. They had been pillaging the guest’s food, frightening the faint-hearted who thought they were rats, and the worst crime was ripping up my sheets and chewing holes in walls and doors. Just a few days ago I had found a mouse trap of brilliant design that I though might catch them. I had for years tried various commercial designs, and even built a custom design of a commercial trap tailored to their size. Without success. Wily little buggers. I had success on the first night, and they have been happily re-located to deep in the rainforest. Well, I am happy at least. Another guest recently was confronted with a centipede. I call them wood centipedes as they often inhabit rotten logs. They are about 15 cm long by 2 cm wide when grown up. Sort of yellowy-green and and cruise briskly along like a train on their substantial rippling legs. I can tell you, if you get one down your gum boot, you’ll dance the jig. If you think you may be the sensitive type, not open to confronting experiences with nature, you might want to give Possum Valley a miss and try the Cairns Hilton where they diligently ensure such experiences are kept to a minimum.
Here is a girl here last week, open to new experience, who may remember this for the rest of her life.
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