Carins and Cape Tribulation

1. the Great barrier Reef from the Rum Runner

2. my master diver for my dive on the reef

3. tree kangaroo

4. jungle surfing

5. Jungle surfing

6. Mossman Gorge

7. little croc!

8. amethystine python

9. me atop the rainforest in my jungle surfing gear

10. Cape Tribulation (with mangroves in the fore ground)

So Cairns is a tourist town, built as a stepping stone for the Great Barrier Reef and other out posts. Not much to do here but eat expensive food and go on tours... so that is what I did. On April 3rd I headed out of Cains to Cape Tribulation via Daintree National Park. Our first stop was at Mossman Gorge for a short interpretive walk and a swim in the river (for some). Our guide pointed out some interesting plants, like the stinging plant that when touched or brushed against makes you feel like molten metal is running through your blood with pain lasting up to 3 months and the only relief is to pour boiling water on it! Thankfully most have been removed from the park. Another leaf is oh so pretty until you touch it and it wilts while its edges become sharp pokey objects!

We drove past Batt Bay where Steve Irwin found his fateful death at the hand of a manta ray. Pretty spot though!

As we wound our way through dry lands, wet lands and rain forests the scenery changed and the more freaky insects and snakes were to be found. No lie, that the average size of spiders I saw was like 2 1/2 to 3 inches big.. SCARY.. and I saw the largest snail ever.. stepped over a snake without knowing (thank god)..

A stop at the Rain forest habitat Wildlife Sanctuary was gross.. full of birds and bats that I am not so fond of. A pelican actually ran out of the water after me and I ran away screaming.. To be honest I didn't spend much time in there, but had to see the tree kangaroo for my own eyes.. yup there he was sitting in a tree... a kangaroo.. seems odd..

We had some beautiful views of the old rainforest in the world. Quite spectacular. We stopped at a fruit picking place and tried some natural ice cream interesting flavors. (Just so you all know, I have been eating well and even trying new things. I still avoid mushrooms and onions and green peppers as much as possible, but I am eating! I'll get to more in a minute)

Before we got to our final destination in the Rainforest we went on the Daintree River on a little passenger boat. I was thinking ho humm another wait to get somewhere, but it turned out to be an interpretive tour about the crocs and wildlife in the area! We saw 5 crocodiles (ranging from small ladies to huge fat males). The guide said we were lucky but it seems as though the crocs have decided that the wet season is over and have settled into their dry winter spots where they will stay for 3-6 months.. one of the crocs was protecting her babies. It was neat to see them in the wild. There are 7 crocs per km in this river and as you go further north it gets to 14-20 per km! No more ocean swimming for me! And to top it off we saw a amethystine python about 40 feet up in a tree... I think it was a big on because we were a fair distance away and could still see it.

We arrived at our Rainforest get-away and had a swim in the pool, avoided the spiders and other insects and had supper. I just ordered a pasta dish (Very tasty) but the Danes I was staying with ordered the kangaroo and crocodile dish and let me taste! the kangaroo was very tender and cooked pretty rare. It tasted fairly sweet actually. The crocodile was smoked and tasted just like smoked fish and was rather chewy. Interesting.. not up to tasting squid yet...

The next day was rather lazy, but started with a Jungle Surfing trip on cables in a harness over the rainforest. It was definitely a unique way to see the rain forest from above. The rest of the day I went for a walk, a swim in the pool, and just generally was trying to feel better. (had a fever and gas issues that would not pass, but better now).

On my final day in the rainforest I went out to the Great Barrier Reef in the Rum Runner. There I did a dive (that didn't go so well) and I lost an underwater camera which sucks, but oh well. It was a beautiful day and I also got to snorkel, which was AMAZING... so much better than the dive... so many colors and fishes and sting rays and eels, and all that stuff.. wicked..

After those relaxing couple of days we came back to Cairns. I was scheduled to go on a boat for 2 more dives on the Sunday, but I just couldn't do it. I felt like crap and being on another boat for 8 hours would not have been enjoyable, so I cancelled and went on another tour... see next blog..

The Captain Cook lesson for today... After Captain Cook mistakenly found New Zealand and it wasn't the great Island continent they were looking for, he and his crew were happy to be heading home back to family and friends. BUT on the way they bumped in to the reef and found what they were originally looking for. Cape Tribulation was so named because his boat the Endeavour crashed into the reef here.. his men and he were tired and sicka nd just wanted to get home, so names in the area reflect their mood at that time.. Mount Sorrow, Shipwreck Bay, Black Rock, Stuck Island, Cape Trial etc... So the boys had to wait awhile before they got to head home!