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Published: March 2nd 2008
Rex Lookout
A scenic spot on the drive up to Cape Trib.No, you are not going crazy. I pre-dated this entry since this travelling adventure took place last week and I want to keep track of when these adventures actually happen, not when I finally get around to writing about them. We left Saturday morning (Feb. 23) and returned home Sunday night.
Cape Tribulation is about 2 hours north of Cairns, and is known as "where the rainforest meets the ocean". We decided to rent a van for the weekend for travelling freedom. Since 7 people went (me, Christina, Annie, Philip and Yngrid, Brad, and Nick) it came out to be much cheaper than if we were to take a bus or something. However, my mental well-being was not included in this fare. Christina (from New York) drove the van going up. Keep in mind that Australia drives on the opposite side of the road, an aspect that I'm sure takes more than one 15 minute practice drive to overcome. At one point during the drive we were going up a mountain on a very narrow and winding road, and if I hadn't had my eyes closed in a prayer for survival, I would have taken a picture of it. Christina
Pose
Christina, Annie, Me had an alarming tendency to swerve into the other lane while admiring the scenery. One of my favorite moments was when she asked "Hey guys, whats that?" and Nick responded with "It's a rock. KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE ROAD." Besides the road of treacherous death, the route was very scenic. When you weren't within the rainforest, the road was right next to the ocean.
We didn't drive directly to Cape Tribulation, but stopped at some parks along the way. The first stop was Mossman Gorge, located within the Daintree National Park. As an interesting side note, the Daintree Rainforest is the oldest rainforest in the world, about 135 million years old. The Amazon Rainforest, in comparison, is about 10 million years old. Crazy right? Back to the Mossman Gorge. The big, smooth stones that are found throughout the river seem to be its trademark feature. And let me tell you, the current is strong around these rocks! Annie and I were trying to swim upstream to get where the guys were, and we found ourselves going absolutely no where. I'm sure the laughter didn't prevent us from drowning as we realized what total tourists we looked like, but
Mossman Gorge
Family fun for everyone we made it there eventually. Exhausted, we had to lay on the rocks to suntan for a bit. I'm a little embarrassed by how poor of a swimmer I am! I think summers in the pool have spoiled me for the great outdoors. After cooling off in the water, we took a 2km forest walk. Walking through the rainforest in a wet bathing suit is not the most comfortable way to explore the land, and I appeared to have peed my pants by the end. The trail began with a very Indiana Jones-like rope bridge. The guys thought it was funny to make it shake as much as possible. The girls didn't have quite the same sense of humor. As expected, the rainforest was very lush and green. My favorite trees were these huge, twisty ones that were all over the place. I took a picture posing next to one as you can see (along with the start of my wet shorts look). We didn't see any birds or animals, mostly brightly colored butterflies that you would see in a butterfly conservatory and of course fish. There was a large lizard in the trail that we tried to take a
picture of, but it didn't come out very well. After sweating during the walk, we took one more dip before continuing onward.
The road went through a part of the rainforest where the elusive Cassowary lives. I had never seen a cassowary before coming here, and Jana at the clinic had to show me a picture of one before we left for the trip. They are large birds, very much like ostriches, with blue heads and this bony protrusion thing. Very prehistoric looking. If you are curious, you will have to google it since we didn't actually see one. I was told that they are very aggressive and will attack and slash you open with their large talons, especially if they have babies. If you try to outrun them, they will chase you down and proceed to slash you open with their talons. I asked if you should try to hit their head or anything, and was told that they would be more likely to peck you in the face. Ooookk...motto of this is steer clear of the cassowary. They are endangered, so the chances of seeing one outside of a zoo are rare. Australians seem to love signs,
Mt. Something
I forget the name/story behind this mountain...it has something to do with a god being trapped there. and every occasion and incident is reason for a sign. Cassowary signs are all along this road, along with this famous sign that someone vandalized with great results. The top sign used to be a speed bump, until an unknown visionary saw that it could be more. It is even featured on postcards.
We stayed in PK's, a hostel in Cape Tribulation. People ask me all the time why I don't stay in Australia and do the travelling thing after the internship. Well, this night firmly answered that question for me. I don't think there is any way I could stay exclusively in hostels for an extended period of time. Everyone who knows me knows I am very picky about my sleeping arrangements. I didn't mind sharing the room with 6 other people although this assessment would have been drastically different if there was a snore-er in the room. First of all, the people in the office forgot to give us blankets. At first Annie and I were like, its ok, its warm outside. Weelll...when I woke up cold in the middle of the night, I had nothing but my beach towel to grab. While I huddled under my
Mossman Gorge
Us girls in the rainforest towel, Annie covered herself with her extra clothes. When I got out of bed in the morning the imprint of my body remained in the mattress. Now I know why it costs $22 per night! The hostel was a 5 minute walk to the beach, but we couldn't swim in it because of the jellyfish and nets couldn't be put in the water since it is a wildlife conservation area. We just sat and gazed at it longingly.
I wasn't the only one who couldn't handle another day of Christina driving. As soon as we got near the car on Sunday, Philip was like "Nick, you said you were driving today right?" It was obviously the first time Nick had heard this news. He is from Sydney, so we all had a much more relaxed drive with him behind the wheel. We visited 2 more swimming holes. The first one (Emmagen Creek) was in some remote location along a dirt road. The poor minivan was navigating around huge potholes and up steep hills. The people passing us in their 4-wheel drive jeeps and SUVs must have had a good laugh at us. Signs warning us of crocodiles kept us
from swimming in the one area, but after a 20 minute hike through the forest we got to a point that was too freshwater for them or something. And when I say hike, I mean there was barely any trail at all. We had to balance along logs and fight past prickly vines to get there. I only put my feet in since I didn't feel like sitting around in a soggy bathing suit again. There were some dark areas that seemed like prime crocodile habitat, so Annie also sat this one out. Everyone else swam with no dangerous predator attacks commencing. The last swimming hole was much more tame. There was a rope swing, but that was the only excitement available. Well, the rope swing and the attractive Australian guy who was showing off by doing flips off it. When he climbed up the rope (using only his arms mind you!) I think all the girls had a dreamy look on their faces hahaha. I saw a catfish swimming by my feet as well, but that is barely worth mentioning when compared to our Australian acrobat.
It seems to go against my idea of Australia, but people around
these parts looove freshwater swimming areas. When one thinks of Australia, long white beaches, the reef, the sun, etc. all come to mind. Swimming hole locations are frequently discussed, with some labelled as must-see. I don't know if this is a cultural thing, but I prefer the beach. Sure, you have to swim in certain areas to avoid 2 species of deadly jellyfish and crocodiles, but the waves and sun make up for it. Before coming to Australia I had never swam in freshwater, and now I am proud to add 5 different swimming holes to my list. At first I was freaked out by the thought of leeches (one of my worst fears is finding a leech on me. I would die.) and refused to touch the bottom. My lack of swimming stamina forced me to wear my flip flops instead, which worked just as well.
There was an exotic fruit farm nearby that we heard made really good ice cream, so there was no way we were missing out on that! This place made home-made ice cream from the fruit it grew, and had 4 flavors at a time out of about 28 choices. The flavors of
the day were soursop, mamey sapote, wattleseed, and passionfruit. I don't know about anyone else, but I had only previously heard of passionfruit! The mamey sapote was my favorite, it was very creamy and sweet. Wikipedia claims that it tastes like avocado, honey, and sweet potato combined, but I didn't get that impression. I wish I wrote this right after the trip so I could remember! The wattleseed tasted exactly like coffee ice cream. The soursop had a lemon-citrus flavor. Passionfruit most people have tasted at least once. I wish we could have tasted all 28, it was so delicious!
On the way home we also stopped in Port Douglas to check out the beach and get some food. Port Douglas is very obviously aimed towards people with money to burn on vacation. Thankfully this beach had a jellyfish net so we could actually go in the water. It's tragic...you see this long stretch of beach with clear blue water, and everyone is contained within this square net. The water was 78 degrees Fahrenheit! With water that warm, it is easier to understand why people tend to go to the freshwater pools to feel refreshed. Unfortunately we couldn't stay
The Crew
You may not be able to find me. I'm the one who is so glaringly white (both my clothes and skin) that you can't see me. Surprise surprise. long since Brad had to be at work Sunday night. The ride home was uneventful, and so another work week began.
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Jill
non-member comment
I wouldn't befriend a cassowary
those cassowaries look terrifying. I googled it. I can't believe the ocean is 78 degrees! That's a bath. Was the rainforest creepy to walk through? Was it noisy from all the animals or was it really quiet? Sounds like an adventure none the less! ps project runway is almost over! wish you were here to critique the outfits with me... christian is fierce!