Advertisement
Published: January 17th 2011
When Captain Cook sailed by this stretch of coastline in 1770 he named it Cape Tribulation, looking at it from a non seafaring perspective in all it's tranquil beauty it's the last name you'd give it. Far more jubilation than tribulation.
To be fair to Captain Cook he had sailed thousands of miles around the globe to reach a perilously rocky shoreline with no safe harbours and was greeted by very hostile locals. The story was very different for us. We meandered up the Captain Cook highway calling in at the rather swanky town of Port Douglas for brunch. The dramatically beautiful coastal drive from here up to Mosman gave us stunning panoramas along the coral coast. A sidetrack to Mosman Gorge gave Dad his first taste of the tropical rainforest, a surging river cutting through it scattered with enormous boulders begged to be swum in. So in we jumped to the freezing, swirling water for a quick dip. Then it was onwards and upwards, further north to the Daintree River where a creaky chain ferry hauled us across the croc infested waters to where a dense brooding rainforest awaited.
The car clung to the road as we wound
deeper and deeper into one of the oldest rainforests in the world. It's dark dripping walls of trees closed in around us as we reached the Daintree Discovery Centre. Here we found a well organised, hive of information, with raised walkways 15m above the forest floor and a canopy tower that gave you the wompoo pigeon's perspective. Peering through the multilayered foliage we hoped to spot the dinosaur-like Casowary tramping along the creek. But, no sign of these prehistoric birds did not detract from the jungle experience.
So unlike Captain Cook we arrived in the small hamlet (now universally known as Cape Trib) without a hint of seasickness, scurvy or scary savages, only a sense of immense satisfaction of the great day we'd had!
The next morning we rolled from our dorm-style beds, and wandered down the fern and cobweb lined walkway to the cafe, reminiscing about the surprisingly gourmet dinner we'd eaten there last night. The cabins may have been basic but the Kangaroo fillet was pretty special, hey dad! Passing the pool we walked through the outer jungle edges to reach, the biggest expanse of sparkly grey/golden sand imaginable. It was beautiful. We wandered along the
sand, tossing a frisbee between us, listening to the cicadas and noisy birds in the rainforest that skirted the sands. A brief clamber to a look out provided stunning views of the whole bay and a little boat rolling at anchor below us.
Despite the tempting colour and no doubt cooling sea that stretched ahead of us, none of us so much as paddled a toe in the coral sea. The reason? The infamous Box and Bluebottle Jellyfish, that inhabit these waters during the summer months. Oh and as if that wasn't reason enough there was the ever present threat of the saltwater crocodile. So it was back to the pool instead for a much needed cool off.
Feeling refreshed (for a moment or two) we embarked on another walk, through a wood of twisted mangroves and onto the beach spotting huge spiders and wriggly eels along the pleasant boardwalk. All that remained for us to do here in Cape Trib was to cling to a rope and swing wildly, dropping with a scream (me only) into the calm swimming hole below.
We had now travelled as far north as we could get with Stan as our
A Church Spider...
harmless apparentlystead, had we had a 4WD we could have carried on to the jungle village of Laura, or even Cape York itself. But for us 2WDrivers, our road-trip turned south, back through Cairns where the Italian community provided us with a cheap motel and fantastic pizzas, then on to Mission Beach.
Arriving into Mission Beach at 7pm we felt as though we'd entered a ghost town not a thriving seaside destination. Every motel, hotel and campsite was unstaffed, where were all the people we wondered? "At the beachside bar listening to a live band" the English owner of the Rainforest Motel informed us, once we'd dragged him away from his beer. He was a friendly ex-Yorkshire man who gave us a special POM rate on one of his tastefully decorated wooden cabins, and explained that during the wet season this town practically shuts down-hence no staff.
The following day we got a taste of village life here at Mission. First a jaunt along the lifeguard patrolled beach with 'stinger' nets providing a safe spot to swim. Next for a coffee and a chat with the rather merry village drunk. And then in the midday sun the local auctioneers
began a bidding session for their current property sales, prospective buyers sprawled on the village green.
A tour of the surrounding area unearthed some more familiar names in unfamiliar places, first up...Jessie Lane, a quiet residential street, beside the beautiful South Mission Beach. Then we drove out to Hull River National Park, where the grassy banks were home to Kangaroos and the muddy waters disguised crocodiles. A slightly different clientele to the ones who frequent the Hull River in north England.
As we journeyed on roads through sugarcane fields it seemed appropriate to stop for lunch in the Industrial sugar town of Tully. This small place is the proud winner of the rainiest town in Australia award, with a giant wellington boot statue to commemorate this feat. No rain today only clouds of smoke from the factory across the road filling the sky. Filling our stomachs was the only functioning cafe, where croc burgers topped the menu.
We had slight difficulty finding a bed in Townsville too, what with all the christmas parties and a football match taking place tonight. However once rooms were sorted, the lively atmosphere endeared Townsville to us as we enjoyed a craft
ale at the Old Post Office Brewery, and discussed our busy few days.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.194s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 29; qc: 113; dbt: 0.1201s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.4mb
breadanhitt
non-member comment
Cape Jubilation
Thankks for sharing the real story of Cape Jubilation and the awesome pics of this beach....Your posts and the clicked pics are forcing me to visit there...Let's see when the time arrives to visit there... ferienhaus ibiza