Where Reef Meets Rainforest

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After an overnight stay in Cairns I was off for a 3 day tour of Cape Tribulation. This area is located about 100km north of Cairns right on the coast. Cape Trib is basically a giant rainforest with lots of trails and plenty of wildlife. We took a croc spotting tour on the way up where we managed to spot a 7.5' croc in the Daintree River. The wet season up there is massive. Over a 48 hour period 5 years ago, they recieved 1.9 meters of rain which flooded the whole area. The time is in transition right now, so they have the heat but not the moisture of the wet season. With a few hours to kill on day 1, I went to an exotic fruit tasting session. The farmer grows over 100 fruits, none native to Australia. All the fruits are not able to be sold commercially for one reason or another. Most of them are from South America and SE Asia. I tried some pretty crazy tasting fruits and the guy was a real character, Rigby was his name.

Before leaving the coast I figured I had to see the Great Barrier Reef. I booked a full day on the Rum Runner that went to spots undisturbed by human use. It was a beautiful day on the reef and I can't really describe what it was like. The coral had incredible colors and I've never seen so many fish. Words can't describe it and I didn't have a camera, but it was better than I ever expected. One spot was basically a large shallow platform in the middle of deep water. Around the edge of the platform it dropped off severly into deep waters. As I swam to the edge I got the feeling like I was looking over the side of a building. I almost had the feeling like I was scared of heights. The dropoff was basically straight down. Anyway after a full day we headed back where I found some short hikes to entertain me.

Looking back, this is the only spot where I wish I had a few more days. I felt like I gave most areas enough time, but not this one. There were some longer hikes through dense rainforest I would have loved to do. It felt like I was in the amazon or something. Every morning I woke up and fog was stuck to some of the higher peaks and the humidity was out of this world. The tour ended on day 3 with quick stopovers in Mossman Gorge and the resort town of Port Douglas. I've officially finished Queensland and I'm off to more heat and humidity of Darwin in the Northern Territory.

Quick funny observation - The bars provide a coozy when you order a beer. It is so hot and humid it would go warm within minutes.

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Photos

Mossman Gorge
Swimming Hole in the Mossman Gorge

Snake
Not sure what it is, but I probably got too close.

Steves Met Stingray
Sandbar in distance is where Steve got stung

Comments

[Eric]

one coast finished
Well mate looks like you can cross one coast off your list. In reality I am sure you will look back and none of it will be enough time. I check this every day and get jealous when you post new ones. Find away to stay. Get a job, paul told me you could get one easily if you wanted to. Anyway hope all is well and I can't wait to see pics from the north since I never went there. PS I will for sure be back in monkey mia this spring, probably starting in may for 3 months ;) Cheers!!

[Eric]

Snake... you where safe
http://www.kingsnake.com/oz/snakes/pythons/msvariegata.htm One of the very few no poisonous snakes in OZ. You can tell by the head, if its shaped triangular like that (sorta like an arrow head) its a python and constricts. Could have hurt if it bit you but you would have survived.