Daintree Rainforest/Cape Tribulation, Queensland, Australia

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Daintree Rainforest/Cape Tribulation, Queensland, Australia

My second day in Cairns, Australia was spent visiting Cape Tribulation/Daintree Rainforest. It was beautiful! Because I had to get up pretty early in the morning (I think we left around 0600), I was able to see the sunrise on the ocean. Very pretty.

We then crossed into the the Daintree Rainforest/Cape Tribulation National Park by taking on of Australia's last remaining car ferries across the Daintree River. We then drove through lowland and tropical rainforests until we came to Cape Tribulation; it is only a small section of the Daintree National Park. Interestingly, the Daintree Cape Tribulation coast is where the Great Barrier Reef and the Daintree rainforest meet. This is the only place on earth where two World Heritage areas exist side by side.

I had lunch in a lodge right beside the water front and then went out onto the beach to get some photos. This was by far the best part of my day. There was golden sand, calm blue water, and it almost completely deserted. Because the beach was so large, it felt very empty even though there were some people in my area. If I had been given more time, I would have walked down the beach to explore and take more photos.

After taking a few photos of Cape Tribulation, I got back onto the bus and started to head back to Cairns. At one lookout spot, our bus stopped for a photo opportunity and I had to take a picture of myself and Cape Kimberley.

Here's some information about Cape Tribulation that I pulled off of Wikipedia:
Cape Tribulation (16°04′S 145°28′E / 16.067°S 145.467°E / -16.067; 145.467) is a headland and locality in northern Queensland, Australia 110 km (68 mi) north of Cairns. It is located within the Daintree National Park and the Wet Tropics World Heritage area. The locality contains a small number of tourism resorts and backpacker hostels. ,A sealed road provides access to the area from the south via the Daintree River Ferry. North from Cape Tribulation Beach House, a four-wheel drive unsealed road, known as the Bloomfield Track, continues to the Bloomfield River, Wujal Wujal, Bloomfield Falls and Cooktown and is often closed during the wet season (Feb-Apr).

The traditional owners of the area are the Kuku Yalanji people. The cape was named by British explorer Lt. James Cook on 10 June 1770 after his ship ran aground on a reef near the site, "because here began all our Troubles".

In the 2006 year the rainfall recorded was over 6.5 m (256 in) and most people visit the area during the dry season between July and November. During the wet season marine stingers are prevalent causing locals and visitors to swim in the many creeks not infested with crocodiles. There are four main resorts to stay at. The village has two small supermarkets, two cash dispensing machines, one takeaway food outlet and five restaurants.

The Great Barrier Reef is some 19 km (12 mi) due east, there are two boat charters that leave from the beach. Typical activities available are guided nightwalks, 4 wheel drive tours, horse-riding, kayaking, jungle surfing and crocodile cruises to name a few.

More photos: http://picasaweb.google.com/kdupak/04July2009CapeTribulation?feat=directlink

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Photos

Kim with Cape Kimberly
Coincidence in names...I think not