Doing the Daintree

After two days of fantastic underwater scenery and constant rocking motion, we celebrated our return to shore by going out for dinner at an Indian restaurant recommended by our new friends from the boat.  The food was terrific, but even better was the restaurant's location along the Cairns Esplanade and the lovely, balmy summer evening.

The following day we relaxed around the pool at our hostel to decompress after our busy two days on the boat and went to see the Les Miserables movie (highly recommended! - even worth the $17 AUD each it cost for admission to the matinee) to enjoy some air conditioning in the sweltering midday heat.  [Chad: of course it's better to see the live musical, but the movie is worth it for Anne Hathaway's short performance alone - what a tour de force!  I think she's my favourite actress.]

And on our last full day in Cairns, we did something very un-McFrothy-like and went on a bus tour north to the World Heritage Daintree Rainforest, including the Mossman Gorge and Cape Tribulation.  It turned out to be good value.

So someone is just going to drive me around all day, tell me what to do, and feed me?  Awesome!

Mossman Gorge was our first taste of tropical rainforest, and we were given a while to wander through it.  While we meandered around looking at the greenery, little did we know the danger that lurked around every corner!

This is not W-route trekking!

Green, green, green as far as the eye can see.

Hanging ferns - these grow partway up and tree and can become a hazard, as they can weigh up to 3 tons when filled with water and could fall on your head if gravity so chose.

The river gets much higher after heavy rain, but on our visit it was very calm and people (not us) swam in it.

Next up was a stop to pick up a picnic lunch at a road house where Chad would have gladly spent the day if I hadn't dragged him out of there...  [Chad: C'mon, this was clearly a Crocodile Dundee-approved establishment, what's not to like?  Including $1 mangoes.]

Back on the bus, we drove through more sugar cane fields.  They are all over Queensland, but probably not the best place for a walk as they are apparently a great place to find deadly venomous snakes.  (Australia has 7 of the world's 10 most venomous snakes.)  The mostly automated sugar cane industry is on the upswing in Australia, with $3.3 billion invested last year ($2 billion of which came from China).  [Chad: With all this sugar cane, Bundaberg Rum has become a well-known Queensland product as well.]

Which way has the least poisonous creatures?   [Chad: one of the highest mountains in Queensland is shrouded in clouds]

To get into the heart of the Daintree and up to Cape Tribulation, you must take a ferry across the Daintree River.  Peaceful, idyllic, filled with crocodiles.  More on that later - for now just enjoy this lovely shot from the ferry.

On the other side, it is apparently very much still the Australian version of the wild, wild west.  Is there a naked man with a machine gun threatening people in your campground?  Don't both calling the police until he has sexually assaulted or killed someone (yes, seriously - at least according to our guide).  The closest (and disinterested) police are in Mossman - a half hour drive and a ferry ride away.  Our first stop in this wild was at a beautiful viewpoint.

So pretty.  One of the "Low Islands" just offshore is where crocodile hunter Steve Irwin was killed by a sting ray.

Behind the scenes at the viewpoint.  We weren't exactly alone.

Here in the wild you can also find fields of carefully cultivated tea, like the one below.  It's "Daintree Tea", a big seller in north Queensland.

Cassowaries are big, flightless birds who look very dinosaur-age and are reputed to be quite shy, but dangerous if aggravated.  Although they frequent the area enough that there are cassowary warning signs, we weren't lucky enough to see any that day.

Don't hit the cassowaries!

Next was a guided tour through the rainforest on the Marrja Botanical Walk.  Finally, we were about to understand the dangers lurking in those pretty green forests.

Why are these eggs spiky?  

Purple ginger flowers.

Um, apparently this is a small spider...  A small golden orb spider, the largest web-spinner in the world.

Just another spiky plant.  We were cautioned many, many times to stay on the path as all manner of evil plants and animals will get you if you stray into the forest alone.

[Chad: my favourite was the tree that apparently, if you touch it and then rub your eye, will cause you to go blind.  There are also many plants with healing powers, but they seem to be outpaced by the dangerous ones.]

A walking tree - these can move many inches per year if they find another location they like better, much to the bane of Cairns landscapers.  They grow roots in the direction they want to go, and let trailing roots die.

Can you see the mud crab?  Apparently very tasty.

This is an invisible spider; it looks just like the tree it's on.  Apparently this one was very poorly camouflaged, which is why we could see it at all.

Can you find the stick insect?

Just another spiky fern, waiting to stab you.

This worm stood up to wave hello.

Our lunch stop was at Cape Tribulation, so named by James Cook after his ship struck a reef just off the coast and then encountered endless difficulties getting past the area.  It's a beautiful beach, but don't go in the water!

Go ahead and put some vinegar on that jelly fish sting.  It will probably make you feel better until you go into cardiac arrest.

And watch out for those pesky crocs - if the jellyfish don't get you, they probably will.

Ghost crabs leave their ball-of-sand markings up and down the beach.  I'm pretty sure they won't kill you, but they didn't show up for me to ask them.

I maintained a 20 foot distance from the water at all times...

Not that it helped when this 1.5 metre Lace Monitor was in the picnic site trying to eat my lunch!  [Chad: the larger ones are apparently confident enough to bite you.]

On the way back to civilization we stopped at the Daintree Ice Cream Company, where Chad happily tested out the four flavours of the day.  All their ice cream is made with exotic tropical fruits grown on-site.

The wattle is a tree, and also the national flower of Australia.  It's the reason Australia's sporting colours are green and yellow - green for the leaves, yellow for the flowers.  In the case of wattleseed ice cream, the wattle's seeds are roasted and ground, and they taste just like cappuccino.  Yum!

And then for our final activity of the day - a cruise down the Daintree River, with the primary purpose of tracking down some saltwater crocodiles.

Keep your arms inside the boat, as these crocs can jump 2/3 their length.

The cable ferry hauling cars back and forth.

Nests in tree.

Mangrove trees stick their roots up out of the river, reaching for oxygen.

A non-poisonous, non-attacking bird non-threateningly airs its wings.  My kind of wildlife!

Can you see the croc in this photo?  Right there in the middle?  Probably not.  They are extremely well hidden, but we managed to see two decent-sized crocs and several babies.

We finished off the day with a drive through fancy Port Douglas and at one last viewpoint.  I don't think we would want to go on a bus tour everyday, but this was a great way to see the wilds of tropical Australia without getting ourselves stung, bitten, or eaten alive!

Okay, there was also one final stop to look at the wild wallabies (small kangaroos) in this field.  Can you see them?  We had to get back on the bus before Chad could get a complete count, but he made it all the way to 80 in this field alone!