Good morning to you all at Paronella Park.   I daresay its a bit warmer there than here, where we have a very bright frosty morning, but no snow which is a shame!!! although the people who are stuck on the motorways in the north of England probably wouldnt agree with me!!!
 
My husband Dennis and I visited your wonderful park probably in 2001/2002 not sure which year.   I came across mention of it on the tourist map - and as we were staying in Cairns (or perhaps it was South Mission Beach) we decided to "give it a go."   What a treat we had in store. 
 
  From the first it is obviously a magical place.   We had a wonderful guide (cant remember his name tho) who had known the park before it became flooded etc, and he conjured up so many stories from the past, about the original idea of a garden for the local people to come on their infrequent days of rest, and all the bygone glories. the planting of that large avenue of  trees (cant remember their names either!)   We were told how it had remained in the care of just the one family until recent years, and how that family had tried to preserve the park without trying to renovate it, but just let it gradually return to the jungle it was carved out of.
 
We were completely fascinated by the building remains, expecially the castle type place  where we climbed up to look down on the pond, and the other long stairway by the river where the electrical supply had been built in the 1930's (I think)  We were offered a swim in that river, but didnt fancy sharing it with those large eels!!!   There were a lot of photographs and artifacts on show in one of the buildings depicting how it used to be which was fascinating, seeing picture of the people who created the park. 
 
We are coming back to Queensland in April and Paronella Park is back on the agenda.   We are bringing two other people this time to discover it  for themselves.
 
Best wishes to you all.
 
Pauline