The Daintree -Apr 6

 

 

Waluwururigga lookout

April 5 was a down day for us, the first in a long time. We got up late, did the laundry drove into town for lunch at the RsSL and came back to the campsite. We managed to dither the day away with no effort at all. We should be well rested for tomorrow when we tackle the Daintree Rain Forest followed by a couple of days of snorkelling.

Today (Apr 6) we headed up to the Daintree. This is an area of old growth rain forest about 80 km north of Cairns. You have to take a ferry over the Daintree river then drive north. The end of pavemnrt is at Cape Tribulation. We left camp in Cairns at 07:40 and arrived at the Ferry 09:30. The plan was to drive all the way to Cape Tribulation then, once we knew the stops on the road we could hit the spots we wanted on the way back and still stewart to a 3:30 ferry departure, before the line-ups got too long. We stopped at the WaluwurUrigga lookout point for a couple of pictures then at the Daintree Discovery/Information centre just north of the river. Unfortunately, but they had little info we did not already possess. Next we stopped at Masons cafe for a tea, just before reaching Cape Tribulation. They had a nice swimming hole out back in the forest that anyone could enjoy for a $1.00 donation.

Bill hanging out at the beach, Cape Tribulation

 

At the cape we had a picinic lunch then took the boardwalk to the beach and on to the look out. This is the furthest north we will get in Queensland so Bill hung out at the beach for a while! On the way back south we stopped at Masons again so Bill could go for a dip in the swimming hole, it was very refreshing in the 32 degree heat.

Masons swimming hole

 

They have a real issue with speeding the Daintree area due to wildlife encounters, mostly with cassowayies.. The speed bumps are even marked on the maps, and for good reason. These things are huge! And on many the top of the bumps are imbedded with large stones to make you slow down further. They are definitely 2nd gear requirements.

 

Diane in the ocean where Captain Cook ran aground

A stop at the Daintree Icecream company for a further cool down then we did a great walk on the Jindalba Trail. This is a superb walk through dense mature rain forest, a must do if anyone comes up this way.

We hit the ferry at just the right time, no lneup at all. We crossed the river and drove into the tiny village of Daintree, just off the main road. Not much there to see but it was a pretty little place.

 

Typical rain forest

A quick stop in Mossman for supplies then we headed the 80 km south to Port Douglas. We have the snorkelling trip book from Port Douglas to the outer reef tomorrow so are staying in town tonight. We drove straight to the marine port, so we would know where to go in the morning, before getting a campsite at......

 

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