Sea Kayaking at Cape Trib

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After a great breakfast at the Bistro, i met my sea kayak guide Stewart and the one other "client" for the trip, Karen from England, and we set out to walk down to the beach to get into our sea kayaks to explore the rainforest, the mangrove forests and the treacherous waves around Cape Tribulation via the ocean.
Karen and i quickly found our rhythm and off we went.... first through the mangroves , then out to the open sea, where we realized quickly why Captain Cook gave the Cape the name Tribulation... well he actually named it such because of the Reef that comes up all the way to the coast (fringe reef) and the Great Barrier Reef, that made it tough to navigate these waters, but we thought the name was quite fitting as we fought our way around the cape in our little kayak, getting tossed around on 4-5 foot waves. After about 20 minutes of tough, hard core paddling, we made it around the cape, elated that we did not capsize the kayak, and headed for the beach to have our morning tea and a look around for some wildlife. Well, since the waves were following us to the beach, and travelling ashore with the waves crashing around you actually proved to be more challenging than just paddling through the swells, we did indeed get caught by a good wave, flipped the boat, and .... the first thought..... "where is my camera, i cannot loose my camera....", yeah, it wasn't oh the jelly fish, or where are the sharks?... no - where is the camera... 😊. well, since we were really close to shore when we tossed the kayak, it was actually quite easy to locate our drybag, the paddles and the water bottles, and we just walked the rest of the way to the beach, towing our kayak, and laughing our heads off.... yeah , great fun, for sure!!

The return trip around the cape was much less eventfull, since we went with the wind, and so we arrived safely without further incidence at the starting beach, and after a walk through the forest, where we picked up and ate starfruit, picked some lemons and avocado, i got back to the hostel just in time to rejoin todays tour and head off on our return to Cairns. After a few more stops, a guided walk through the forest, and a river cruise on the Daintree river where we spotted a few crocodiles , we arrived back in Cairns around 6 o'clock.

Now, after a great dinner with my friends, i am off to pack again, so that i can get ready for my very early flight to Ayres Rock tomoroow. Uluru is waiting for me. More on that in a few days....

Cheers SL

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Photos

Sea Kayaking
I just love the water...

kayaking in the calm cove
"the calm before the storm"

Crocs on the Daintree
"chilling on the river bank"