Experiencing Jurassic Park: The Otway Rainforest

When it comes to movies, scary movies are not my type but for some reason, every time “Jurassic Park” is on TV, I get sucked in.  For those that know me well, this is bad, for all those around me, including me.  You see I’m an active movie watcher.  If I get scared, I will scream and I may hit or grab the arm of the person sitting next to me.  For such movies, my mind tends to block out the jumpy, dinosaur popping out moments until the moment is there and then, it’s too late.  I’ve then properly freaked myself out and startled those around me.  Today’s adventures brought the movie to life as we headed from the Great Ocean Road into the Otway Rainforest to experience Jurassic Park.

Misty fog gave an ominous, gray haze as we drove inland into the Otway Rainforest where we’d get to walk among the tree tops, something of which I was especially looking forward.  I had zipped an zagged on a zip line through the rainforest in North Queensland but now, I’d be able to walk among the canopy and experience the rainforest in a whole new way.

The Otway rainforest is known as temperate, although with the chill in the air, you would not think so.  Armed with a pullover and jeans, we began our walk along the floor of the rainforest, making our way to the metal walkways, which would gradually take us higher and higher into the canopy.  I love being in the green, chaotic beauty that is the rainforest.  With foreign birdcalls tickling my ears, I walked slowly to let others pass which gave me a chance to be alone and savor these moments.

However, I was not alone, as I’d soon discover.  I ventured on a side path like I was drawn to it.  Past hanging vines and overgrown ferns, I walked slowly and my mind began to wander, thinking about what our guide had said, that dinosaur fossils were found in this area, in this rainforest.  With such large plant life, I definitely could believe it.

Looking from side to side, I cautiously made my way past the first curve of the path only to see it, a dinosaur right in front of me.  With a jolt of my heart, I stared at it, waiting to see if it would move because with it being so lifelike, I would freak out if it did.  Thankfully it was an herbivore and kept its distance from me as moved on.  It put me on guard though that at any moment, behind any overgrown leaf or tree, they could be lurking about, staring at me.  I just hoped I wouldn’t see the dinosaurs whose neck flairs out and spit venom.  They’re the worst and I know I’d be dead meat if I encountered them.  Pressing on along the path, I saw a huge Tara dactyl flying about but made sure I hid from him.  All I need is to get scooped up like the paleontology student in Jurassic Park III. 

As I came into a bit of clearing, I felt a certain sense of relief to have gotten that far and then saw it, a head, a dinosaur head popped out from behind a tree a distance away from me, her eyes staring at me.  I knew that head, it was the one, the dinosaurs I feared most and I knew she was not alone.  I slowly looked to my right and there in the trees was another one, watching and to my left, another one, waiting.  I froze but knew I needed to try and press on if I had any chance of survival.  Scooting past an overgrown fern trying to keep eye contact with them, I came face to face with my hopeful attacker; claws outstretched and ready to pounce.  I was just waiting for their necks to fan out, begin to rattle like snakes, and spit water at me.  If they did I would properly freak out! 

Thankfully they didn’t but as I cautiously hustled around the bend in the path, a T-Rex with jaws wide open towered over me.  That’s it.  I was out of there!  His short arms and my quickness allowed me to run to the end of the path, backpack jostling behind me, and join up with my other tour mates.  That experience definitely gave me a new perspective on the rainforest and more depth into the movie than I wanted, although some sick part of me thought it was clever.

The walkways amongst the rainforest canopy

The treetop walkways were a welcomed retreat from my taste with carnivorous history, an experience that would take me far out of harms way into the rainforest canopy, although it had its own share of heart-pumping moments.  The see-through, metal walkways slowly increased in height as I walked deeper into the canopy, finally taking me to a spiral staircase leading to an observatory high over the canopy.  Standing still and absent of bus loads of tourists, I could watch the sun flicker through the trees trying to touch the rainforest floor, hear the wind rustle through the trees, birds sing in the distance, and feel the walkways sway in the breeze.  That last experience motivated me to push onward to a walkway suspended in mid air, which was freaky and amazing at the same time. 

I begrudgingly got back in the van to continue our journey along the Great Ocean Road, stopping at a place called Kenneth River, also known as Koala Cove.  We not only had a picnic lunch here in the midst of a downpour but we actually got to see a Koala in the wild, my first one!  We also got to feed a handful of colorful birds that perched on the hands and heads of anyone willing to feed them.  It definitely brightened up the drizzly day.

On our way back into Melbourne, we found ourselves in surfer country, stopping at Bells Beach, the original Quicksilver store, and countless other surf retailers before we called it a day.  Many of us exchanged information before we parted ways.  While this portion of my journey had its bumpy moments, it is the subtle beauty of the ocean, the thrill of the rainforest, and the acquaintances made that I will take with me as permanent souvenirs of my adventures exploring the outskirts of Victoria.

Scavenger Hunt Item completed:

9. Walk among the treetops.