Daintree and Cape Tribulation

Our Monday tour was a long one, more than 100 km north to the Daintree Rainforest, another World Heritage site, and Cape Tribulation where Cook's 1720 expedition ran aground on the Great Barrier Reef. We were picked up early by a converted 4 wheel drive truck which, by the end of the day had thoroughly jolted everyone's internal organs as if we had made the day one of racing Monster Trucks.

Enter one point against this form of touring -pickup and dropoff of the others takes too long. On this day we stopped at 3 more hotels in Port Douglas after collecting a circuitous route in Cairns. Boring!

The Daintree Interpretive Centre is on private land , not strictly part of the official official World Heritage site, but in all ways similar. Our guide gave us a very interesting walk through the three levels of the rainforest. About 10 m off the ground on a steel walkway gave insight into the species that inhabit the mid level zone. 

Access to light drives the plants here which hook on to their taller brethren and scramble upwards toward the light. Ferns, some species 100's of millions of years old survive in many forms mostly on droppings from above. Up the 23m high tower to view the canopy layer, with its birds and flowers, but mostly leaves. 

A reptile house, complete with captive dragon and a walk along the forest floor where the rare flightless Cassowary bird processes fruit to distribute the seeds of 20 species of plants dwells completed this part of the tour.

On to Cape Tribulation, the northern extent of our visit. Then Lieutenant Cook ran the Endeavour aground on the reef off the Cape on his 1768 trip, which led to him giving some depressing names to the geography of the area. Beautiful, but dangerous. The beach is signed with warnings for crocodiles and stingers. No swimming allowed.

Back to the Daintree River, a ferry crossing of the old cable variety, where we boarded a river boat for a one hour poke along the banks looking for salt-water crocodiles. On the way, an ice cream stop at a tropical fruit farm that uses excess fruit to make delicious treats. We lucked out and got a pineapple, chocolate, and whattling seed sampler. Almost as good as Cochrane. We saw birds, snakes, crocs, and lots of mangrove species of plants. Pictures of the wildlife we saw don't do the place justice.

Then the journey home after afternoon tea at the boat dock made for another lovely outing.