I may have answered my own question on this but am not sure. While lunching at Mooloolaba today at the Velo Project with friends, I noticed a very large tree next door which was almost groaning under the weight of fruit of some kind that I thought looked like pears. Not being an area noted for growing such things, I naturally went to get a closer look and a couple of photos.
The fruit looked like a cross between pear and fig, fairly spongy. I picked up one of the dropped fruit which you see here, broken open. The brown inside is soft to the touch, like velour. We thought it might be about to become a flower like a camelia, however not one fallen flower or bud to be seen on or around the tree. Research on the net has led me to believe it may be the creeping or climbing fig (ficus pumila)? Photos found on this link are almost the same as mine.
This is the tree, though, which doesn't look at all like a creeping vine does it? Wikipedia photos are nothing like this so I am understandably confused. I may have to go back and take a shot of the trunk because I seem to recall seeing a lot of thin "vines" winding around it but they're not visible in this photo. The investigation continues...
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[edit 14.2.14]
I had noticed a palm tree behind the fig "tree" but cropped most of that out of my tree photo. Today I went back and discovered the real situation.
In fact, it wasn't behind, it was in the middle of the fig "tree". The fig vine has completely enclosed the trunk of the palm tree. It is an amazingly sturdy vine which apparently hasn't bothered the palm much at all. And for all intents and purposes, is living life as a tree. So I think I can safely say, this mystery is solved....
"Sometimes I feel I'm not quite me,
I think I'd rather be... a tree."
...SMG
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