Cape Tribulation

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Wow! Tour is off to a great start. So far, our group has 16 people in it. 20 more will join us tomorrow. So far, we have 1 German, 1 Scottish, 1 American, and the rest are English. Very different from our last tour to Europe as most were Australian. Everyone has been getting along really well thus far. Yesterday, we left Cairnes and headed up to Cape Tribulation. Along the way, we stopped for a tour of the Daintree Rainforest guided by a local aboriginal. He started the tour with their historic smoke ceremony guided us through the rainforest and showed local woodworking, paint, and different leaves used for medication. The guide said that when he was little he grandparents would make him eat the dirt in the forest to build up a tolerance to the dangerous wildlife he will encounter. This is Australia. Fun fact: the Daintree rainforest is the oldest rainforest in the world dating before the ice ages. Afterwords we headed to our bungalow in Cape Trib.
1) saw the biggest spiders in Australia near our camping groups. They were everywhere/ no idea what they were called/ and now I will never complain about the spiders in US ever again. As far as other wildlife creatures go, we saw wild boar and a cassowary and her baby! They are the 3rd largest bird in the world. Similar to an ostrich. A neat opportunity as these are almost extinct in the wild.
2) went on an amazing boat tour last night in the search for crocodiles. No luck but the view was gorgeous. Morgan and I both imagine this is what Hawaii looks like.
3) night time in Cape Tribulation is beautiful. Truly have never ever seen so many stars in my life. It was truly spectacular and humbling.
4) this morning we woke up to watch the sunrise on the beach. Incredible experience. Got to bond more with our group, assist in opening coconuts, playing fetch with a local aboriginal dog, and located crocodile prints in the sand.

We are back in Cairns now and will be here for the next few days. Will keep you updated. Love you.

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