DAINTREE RAIN FOREST

Tuesday, 9 July 2019

Jack's bedroom

Alexandra Lookout

Above the canopy

Cockroach inspection

Jungle floor

OMG - is that real?

Not so scary now

What sharp teeth you have...

Local freshwater crayfish

Cape Tribulation beach

Mangroves

Relaxing

At the Cape Tribulation lookout

Oh for a swim

Ice cream tasting

With some money in his wallet and an urgent need to buy some presents, we took Jack to the Night Markets on Sunday evening – along with every other tourist currently in Cairns!  He spent lots of time looking and comparing before making a couple of gift purchases, together with an anklet and t-shirt for himself.

Monday morning saw everyone (Himself included) out of bed well before sunrise so that we could get an early start for our day to the Daintree.  We were on our way shortly after 7.30am and were lucky enough to spot three crocodiles on the mud banks in the Mowbray River before passing the turn off to Port Douglas.  By the time we arrived at the Daintree River ferry crossing, Jack was well and truly over the excitement of seeing sugar cane!  We were lucky there was only a short queue for the ferry and didn’t have to wait.  We had a quick stop at the Alexandra Lookout, with its view of the Daintree River mouth and south to Palm Cove, before continuing to the Daintree Discovery Centre.  Jack seemed to enjoy the climb to the top of the 23 metre tower (not sure about Nan, though) before inspecting the exhibits in the centre, including the aquarium section.  We followed the boardwalk through the rainforest and spotted some very prickly pants, as well as being able to see the notorious stinging plant (well away from the path).  The Gondwana section with its dinosaurs was a bit of a surprise, with the “fluffy duck” dinosaur giving Jack a bit of a scare when it suddenly moved!  We enjoyed an early lunch before continuing our travels.

Our next stop was at Cape Tribulation and its beautiful beach, much to Jack’s delight and also despair – swimming in the warm water not allowed due to the possibility of crocodile and stinger attacks.  However, he did enjoy time paddling in the warm pools and poking about among the mangroves, chasing blue butterflies and watching a sea eagle.

The main event of the day was next – jungle surfing on zip lines!  Jack was quite happy to undertake this tour on his own, much to the relief of his grandparents, who spent a couple of hours under a tree reading.  After his tour, we stopped for a tropical ice cream tasting, made with local fruits.  The day’s offering was soursop (lemonade like taste), wattle seed (coffee taste), jackfruit (bit like a banana taste) and coconut.  Unfortunately, our return trip across the Daintree River was a little slower, with a much longer queue and a half hour wait.

The weather was superb all day – clear skies, gentle breeze and the temperature 26-27; just perfect.