Paronella Park

We were going to visit Paronella park on our way to Townsville but it was raining and we didn’t really feel like getting wet again. The weather forecast was promising an improvement in the weather so we decided to go to the park on our way back up to Cairns. This is an area next to Mena Creek and waterfall that Spanish immigrant Jose Paronella bought and proceeded to create an estate which consisted of a castle, tearooms, water features and a beautiful garden in the rain forest back in the 1930’s. It suffered major damage due to flooding on several occasions and was eventually left to crumble. Back in the 1990’s the current owners bought it and decided to bring it back t life. They have restored the gardens but the buildings are heritage listed and cannot be restored back to their original condition. It is a really good day out and as they do a night tour you can camp for one night free. Their web site is http://www.paronellapark.com.au/ and I would recommend it.