RAINFORESTS AND REEFS REMEMBERED

Cape Tribulation

 

I can only say a week in the Daintreere is not long enough, but you do need a 4wheel drive to really appreciate it as there is only one main bitumised road to Cape Tribulation. Many others are dirt tracks with deep dips and high

hills, though I am excessively proud of my Little Chihuahua which managed many of them with ease! I am going to try and condense this now as I could just waffle on forever otherwise. The Beaches are stunning! Literally, picture postcard tropical paradises. But as there are signs that crocs and stingers live here too.....swimming is optional.  Cow Bay, Thornton Beach and Cape Tribulation are just three unbelievable beaches.

Thornton's Beach

From Alexandra Lookout all the way to Cape Tribulation is Dense Rainforest but there are plenty of places to visit. Daintree Discovery Centre is next. A fantastic Rainforest walk into and over the trees with many paths, walkways and a 23ft high Canopy Lookout. At $30 it is awesome value.  A little further up are two Ice creameries. Floravilla, the first on your right is small and boutique $5 for a tub.  Daintree Icecream company a little further on your left is large and concentrates on the fruits it grows there. $6 for a tub of 4 flavours! Macadema, Jackfruit,  Wattleseed, and Mango. Gorgeous. Cow bay is on a road to your right from here. A small but beautiful Beach worth going to, but little else on the road except for some B&Bs or cottage stays (which the Daintree is FULL of).

 There are two caravan camps next at Diwan.  Lync Haven (more the traditional Caravan Park) with its own small zoo. As I hate cages I was uncomfortable staying here (though these are rescued animals, I was assured). Just a couple of kms further was Raintree Village Van Park. Part shop/ fuel stop, with a lovely back area in the trees for vans and cabins further up. It was only $20 (single, no power) per night with toilets and HOT showers. Washers too if you needed them. Much more relaxed, so this was where I stayed. I visited Thorntons Beach  and Marrja Boardwalk (awesome free boardwalk in the Rainforest)  while I was there. I had intended to stay at the ONLY national park camp ground there was at Noahs Beach (just after Marrja Boardwalk) , but it was FULL. You need to book well ahead for this one! Oh BTW – no internet or phone signals in the Daintree! So booking has to be done on the other side of the river.

Marrj Rainforest Walk

View from Masons Cafe

There is also Mason’s Swimming Hole and Mason’s Café just before Cape Tribulation. Both very well known tourist draws. Have to say loved the Swimming Hole but the Café was just not worth it. sorry :( Quite expensive, even for the Daintree (which has to have higher prices due to the cost of getting anything there), and not that great in taste. For me, also, the menu was mainly meat (not good for vegetarians). All sorts of meat. I heard one customer say the Croc burger was vile! The ‘Roadkill’ Burger worried me!

Ocean Safari Tours

And then came Cape Tribulation. This is not a typical Village but made of two Backpackers/ camping/ caravan sites on each side of the road. PKs Jungle Village on one and the Jungle Lodge on the other. Both are fairly basic but clean. NOT caravan Parks but more camping with toilets showers cafes and  tour bookings. Maybe the Spa and Chalets and Rainforest Retreats here are different in their pricing but  the Daintree is surprisingly cheap for this type of camping accommodation, I thought. Jungle Lodge was only $10 per night without power. Especially as the Beach here is to die for! Still can’t swim but, hey, just to laze on and look at! And paddle in, may I add.

There’s lots of other stuff you can do here too, for the more adventurous, or if you like tours. Lots of Croc Tours on rivers and reefs available. Swimming and snorkeling on the Coral Reefs too. WireRides up in the canopies and 4 wheel ‘Exploring the Daintree’ tours are on offer as well. And…. Oh so much more. A week is not enough.

And so,alas I have to bite the bullet here and say this will have to be my last blog for a while. It is just getting too much hassle to try and get internet connections now folks. And trying to download photos is a nightmare and takes forever!!!! So I hope you’ve enjoyed the journey with me? I will of course be journeying on, but maybe writing in a different way or not as often. I just wanted to say thank you all for being with me. You made it all worth while xxx And a Special Thank you to Valentino and Heather who left some great comments for me. Valentino I will miss your enthusiasm and cheer.
All the best. Di

May your journey bring your souls awakening.
The Grey Chihuahua

DREAMS OF THE DAINTREE

Cape Tribulation

I was finally poised for my ultimate destination- the Daintree. I was like a kid on Christmas Eve. I had wanted to visit this region so much for so long, pouring over travel brochures which extolled the ‘Rainforest to Reef’, that I was a little worried it might fall short of my expectations. And, believe it or not, initially, that’s what happened!

Swimming at the Gorge

Mossman Gorge

I had travelled from Mareeba, through some nice but flat wetlands, to a free overnight stay in a lovely bush setting at Mt Mallory, before travelling through Julatten  to Mossman. At Julatten I began to feel my spirits rising. This was a very green, lush country with winding roads and the Mountains,I was headed for, in the background. But when I turned off for Mossman, although the Mountains remained,  the country became flat again. I felt  little deflated, but wanted to visit Mossman Gorge anyway on the way up, so turned off at the signpost just as I entered Mossman. Do not miss this place! If you travel to the Daintree this is the place to start!

Mossman is a nice enough town, with plenty to do, but a short trip to the Gorge makes it very special. You cannot drive your car up to the Gorge, and need to leave it at the stunning Info Centre at the bottom. This is one of the best Info Centres I have seen BTW. And the Café there caters for Vegetarians too :) I had some fried yams (huge portion for $6) and local spicy tomato chutney. Gorgeous!!The people who work/ run this are the local indigenous peoples, and they were such  considerate, friendly, welcoming people. They could give lessons in great customer service.

To get to the Gorge you need to take the bus there, which travels every 15mins. It is only $8 for a day of unbelievable beauty. People do try to walk up to the Gorge, but as you pass them you can see they didn’t realize how steep this place is to get to. It’s up a mountain for God’s Sake! Once up there's picnic tables, toilets, fabulous walks and viewing platforms and even a swimming hole with clear, pristine water. One of these walks is a 2.5 km Rainforest Trek. I took this trek. Word of warning… unless you are a mountain goat, or supremely fit….. maybe it’s not such a good idea. Fabulous, unbelievable views though.

As I made my way from there the land was still strangely flat up to lower Daintree where the road forked to right and left, and not really what I expected of the Rainforest. I took the right hand turn to Daintree Village. Now the roads became more winding with the rainforest vegetation clearly taking precedence. It was pretty and lush, but somehow not the wild, tropical forests I had wanted to see. I turned back and headed up the left hand turn at Lower Daintree towards Cape Tribulation. And came to the Daintree River. Actually I came to a Ferry. Because, silly me, hadn’t realized you need to cross the River to get to Cape Tribulation! Yes I know… my lack of brains astounds even me at times. $25 return on the ferry was cheap though. And once over the other side… guess what? I found my real Daintree!

Here, a huge, rainforest jungle met me, complete with a narrow, incredibly steep road of tight zig zags and treacherous shelves as I wound my way up a mountainside. I was amazed that my Little Chihuahua seemed to have little trouble negotiating such a climb, but REALLY amazed at the two huge caravans ahead of me! I kept well back from them, I can tell you, and I think I may have closed my eyes when a small truck passed one. Once at the top I turned off at Alexandra Lookout, to see the awesome view… and to calm my nerves!

I had made it to the Daintree of my dreams!

 To Dream is the first step to your goal.
The Grey Chihuahua