To begin… In Cairns you have two UNESCO sites meeting and that in itself is very unique. You may also be unaware that the Rainforest in this area has been around since the time of Pangaea, the forest itself is considered to be 165 million years old (some say much older) and is the oldest tropical rainforest on the planet. A forest like this only reveals it’s complexity to those that know what their looking for.

The next part of the adventure took me further North into the Daintree region. The indigenous people of Australia (the Aborigines) have been around for 75,000 years, making them the oldest civilization on earth. The village I am visiting is an incredibly sacred place to the local Kuku Yalanji tribe who have been custodians to the land for thousands of years. Before we entered, we took part in a smoke ceremony to acknowledge ancestors and pay respect to the land, and also ward off any bad spirits

It can be difficult when you’re in the moment to appreciate the enormity of what’s going on sometimes, but to be fully immersed in a rainforest that was around over 165 million years, and in that same place you’re learning from the oldest civilization on the planet. You gain a new appreciation for time, for place and perhaps most importantly, perspective.