Daintree

Monday, 31 July 2017

Into the jaws of death ...

Intrepid explorers

Brother/sister cuddle at the top of the tower

I'll save you!

Dinorsaurs

Giant echidna keeping an eye on the tourists

Green tree snake also keeping an eye on tourists

Cape Tribulation visitors

Forgot about green ants!!!

Exploring the mangroves

Cape Tribulation swamp

At the lookout

Friendship stones

First course

The party's over ...

Last Saturday, we headed north with Sally and Paul and spent a very enjoyable day at the Daintree.  With the tide low, we knew that the large crocodile in the Mowbray River would be resting on the mud flats, however, Sally wasn’t quite quick enough to spot him.  The clouds cleared as we approached the Daintree River ferry crossing but the temperature stayed at a very pleasant 26 degrees for most of the day.  We had a short wait for the ferry, which gave the visitors time to look inside a crocodile’s mouth and take some photos of the river (from a suitable distance!).  Our first stop after crossing the Daintree River was at the Alexander Lookout, with its views south along the coast.

Our next stop was at the Discovery Centre, with lunch taking precedence over the jungle tour.  Once refreshed, we set off through the treetops for the tower, with its views over the canopy, before returning to ground level and Sally’s search for the very elusive cassowary.  We didn’t find the bird, but Sally did discover a very large “python” above the entrance to the reptile house.  Our jungle tour concluded with a walk through the Jurassic Valley, with its many life-size, vocal and animated dinosaurs.

We continued on to the beach at Cape Tribulation, along with many other tourists, and enjoyed a walk along the white sands before venturing among the mangroves (with an eye out for large reptiles, of course).  We joined a number of other tourists at the lookout, availing ourselves of their help to take group photos.  On our return trip, we stopped at the Daintree Ice Cream place (along with all the tourists who had been at the beach, plus a few extra busloads) to sample their ice cream made with tropical fruits and seeds.

We didn’t have to wait very long for the return ferry crossing and we soon headed south, with a stop at Rex Lookout for a photo opportunity of the coastline and another stop at the “Friendship Rocks” which have once again appeared north of Ellis Beach.  Naturally, we had to add to the large number of piles, but certainly couldn’t match the stack over 5 feet high!

Sunday we spent at Rusty’s Market in the morning and relaxing in the afternoon – very sunny and hot again – before Sally and Paul returned from their day’s travels and we prepared our very own Dinner Under the Stars.  Caravanning certainly doesn’t have to be barbecues and salad – we made a very presentable roast dinner with the trimmings, brownies and fresh fruit for dessert, after dinner mints, coffee and some very nice wine.  A lovely finish to the weekend.