Cape Tribulation, Australia
May 4, 2005
Daintree wildlife sanctuary in Australia
We've been out of touch with civilization for a few days, but here's the story....
Wednesday morning we left Cairns aboard a small bus to make our way up further up the Eastern coast. In the few flat areas, we saw sugar cane and
banana farms, but mostly green mountains. We made a short stop in Port Douglas, an old hippie town turned resort area. We had time for about a
half hour walk around the small downtown on the water, before getting back on the road for the Daintree wildlife sanctuary. Here we got to see a
Cassowarie, an endangered flightless bird that lives in the rainforest here, and is similar to an ostrich. We saw wallabies, alligators, koalas,
and best of all- we actually got to feed and pet some kangaroos! They were cute and friendly. (the koalas were cute too, just never awake.) It
started to rain here, and it would rain off and on every few hours for the rest of the next two days we would spend in the rainforest. However,
the sun would come back out quickly, or even stay bright during most of the isolated sprinkles. This was the first rain in our whole trip, and we
were the only nerdy people who happened to have bought rain ponchos that morning.
Mossman's Gorge, then on to Australia's rainforest
From there, we drove to Mossman's Gorge, which is a hike through the actual rainforest. We were warned about the plants (killer plants, we
weren't even told about animals yet) in the rainforest. There are leaves that leave stinging needles in your skin that burrow in and poison you,
palm leaves with razor sharp edges that cut you, and other palm trees that have hanging vines with barbed hooks that can also slice your clothes
and skin open. The rainforest was beautiful, so many colors of green and the air was cool, fresh, and wet. We crossed over a suspension bridge on
the gorge that only held twenty people at a time.
We stopped at a small cafe for lunch (we tried a Vegemite sandwich- not good- vegemite is a dark yeast spread that tastes bitter), and then came
to the Daintree river which basically cuts the land north of here off. We boarded a small boat for a cruise down the river and to the other side.
The cruise took us an hour down a wide, tropical river. About every half mile or so, we saw an alligator sitting on the bank, waiting for dinner
to come by. One of the alligators gave us a big, toothless smile. The guide said this alligator was 60 years old (they can live to be over 100),
and had lost all his teeth tearing apart prey, but could still feed just by crushing food in its jaws. A bright, neon green tree frog hitched a
ride on our boat, and we saw a hanging yellow tree snake overhead. One of the islands on the river was inhabited by wild boars. The Europeans had
brought pigs to Australia long ago, and the wild ones have developed huge tusks, mean personalities, and are now hunted.
On the other side of the river, we met our bus, which had to take a ferry across the river, the only way for cars to make it to this northern
part of the country. We had another hour drive up the tiny coastal road, with the ocean on our right, and the mountainous rainforest on our left.
After the paved road ended, we continued on a one lane dirt road to our accomodations for the night. We were staying in a beach hut in the
rainforest! There were a handful of small huts, with a tiny path cut through the rainforest. After a short walk through the rainforest canopy
above us, we saw a light at the end of the tunnel- and walked out onto an uninhabited beach, all to our own. Unfortunately, this is still the end
of jellyfish season, so we swimming along the shore was limited, but we could walk along the water and see the dramatic, green mountains on one
side and the blue water on the other. We even had to time our walks, as the beach disappears completely during high tide. At one point, mangroves
from the rainforest preserve reach out into the surf, the only place in the world where two World Heritage Sites touch (the Daintree Rainforest
and the Great Barrier Reef). We were very lucky to be able to stay here, as the number of people allowed in is strictly limited.
After taking in the scenery, we ate dinner at a tiny, open kitchen restaurant with a tent roof and open jungle on three sides. The chef fixed us
a gourmet meal of marinated kangaroo (it's so hard to find good roo meat in the states!). We were a little nervous eating kangaroo, but there is
plenty of it here, and it was very good. Along with some good Australian wine, we ate and listened to the crazy sounds of the rainforest all
around us, and the occasional raindrops on the tent roof. We called it a night to the continuing jungle symphony.
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Shark Sighting in Australia's Great Barrier Reef, May 5, 2005
Captain Cook was the first Caucasion to discover Australia in the 1770's. It was this area that he saw, after having the unfortunate luck of
running his ship aground on the Great Barrier Reef off the coast. This would be easy to do, even today, as there are thousands of underwater
mountain tops and islands that make up the Barrier Reef. Cook brought his ship to the shore for repairs, and tried his best to explore the area.
He named this bay, the place we were staying, Cape Tribulation, and that summed up his idea of the place. He named the mountain above it Mount
Sorrow. No other explorer came to Australia for a hundred years afterward, as Cook's journal described it as an impenetrable jungle, good for
nothing except danger.
We however, had a great night's sleep, and walked down the short path to see the sunrise break through parts of the clouds. After breakfast, we
went about 10 minutes south on the beach, took off our shoes, and walked into the water to catch the catamaran which would take us out to the
reef for the day. An hour's journey in the boat took us out to Undine reef and Sandy Cay. When we got there at high tide, there was just a small
sandy beach, about 10 feet by 30 feet, and we could see all the turquoise shades of the reef just under the water around it. The beach was a
habitat area for sea turtles and birds. We quickly grabbed our snorkeling gear and were exploring the reef. Every reef is different, but this one
probably had the most diversity of anyplace we've been. There is less polution and very little human contact in this part of the world, and the
reef looked amazing in the bright sun. We saw lots of bright blue starfish, which were a foot across, schools of tropical fish, and lots of both
hard and soft corals. There were more giant clams, opening and shutting. Parts of the reef were like trees, nearly touching the surface, with 10
feet of clear water and a sandy bottom beneath us. We were swimming between a couple pieces of coral when it happened- we saw a frickin' shark!!!
It was a white-tipped reef shark, about 4 or 5 feet long swimming across the water in front of us. We froze, holding our breath, and watched it
casually swim side to side across the reef, about 10 feet away. No worries mate, this shark was harmless, it typically eats wounded fish in the
reef. It's mouth was only about the size of your fist, but it was a shocking thing to see. The vision of the shark in front of us will be forever
etched in our memory. Mel even had an underwater camera on his arm, but didn't dare budge while the shark was around.
Back on the boat for lunch on the sundeck, we watched the tide go out and the top of the reef rise out of the water. The Sandy Cay grew to about
three times its former size. Turtles and fish swam by as the receding water pushed them out of the top part of the reef. What appeared to be
geysers shooting up out of the reef were actually the giant clams expelling water close to the surface. The different shades of green and blue in
every direction were amazing.
Mel went back out to the reef for another dive in the afternoon, while Stacy and some of the boat crew did dives and flips off the sundeck on top
of the boat into the light green ocean. This was one of our most amazing days of the whole trip, but unfortunately, we had to go back to shore at
some point. We were dropped off at the same beach, and walked up the path to catch the small bus ride for Cairns.
Again driving on the dirt road out of the rainforest, we felt like we were leaving one of the most remote places on earth. We also felt like the
bus driver was driving too fast for the wet roads, and we both put on our seat belts. We crossed the river on the barge and continued south.
Before the story continues, we are both completely safe, although we feel some grey hairs coming on. It's not a great road to begin with, narrow
with lots of turns, and the 3 hour drive should be a 4 or 5 hour drive in the rain. The driver acted more like it was a sports car on dry
pavement though, and as a car slowed to make a turn in front of us, the driver (who was following too close and too fast) slammed on his brakes
and we started skidding. This happened entering a round-about, and the bus slammed through the center curbs on the round-about and wiped out all
the highway signs in the center. Luckily, we came to a stop on the other side without hitting any cars, and no damage to the bus except the
smashed windshield from hitting the signs.
So to put things in perspective, we've traveled through Asia, flown sideways in a helicoptor above the reef, and came face to face with a shark.
And the most dangerous thing we've done was to ride in an automobile. Please be careful on the roads.
We spent the night at the same hostel in Cairns as we were at earlier in the week, and then flew back to Sydney this morning (Friday). While we
stayed in the business district in downtown Sydney last weekend, we are staying at Hotel 59 in the Kings Cross area for the rest of our trip.
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