Cape Tribulation
Nov 18-20
After our croc farm adventures, it was on to Cape Tribulation, the northernmost point on the Queensland coast you can get to without a four wheel drive. As we drove north, the lush rainforest encroached on the road and there were cassowary crossing signs everywhere. The most effective one was one that had been altered by a local artist to demonstrate the effect of a car/cassowary collision.
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| From Queensland, A… |
As we neared the Cape, we stopped to spend the night at Crocodylus Village, a cool place where sunlight barely penetrated the forest canopy and we slept in canvas huts right in the rainforest.
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The sounds of the rainforest were amazing, especially at night, when the place really came alive; there must have been a hundred different species of birds and jungle fauna that competed to see who could be the loudest. The cacophony of cries and calls made us feel like we were in the deepest darkest jungle and the kids were enthralled with the idea of “camping” in the rainforest.
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| From Queensland, A… |
Somehow we all managed to get some sleep, although the kookaburras woke us at the crack of dawn in time for us to do a self-guided walk in the rainforest before heading to the Cape. We saw lots of interesting plants and trees, but the only breathing thing we saw were some ants with bright green bums (apparently very high in Vitamin C). While on our walk, I must have accidentally come into contact with some noxious plants because, a few days later my arms were covered in what I assumed were bug bites but eventually spread into an angry weeping rash that resembled poison ivy (it drove me crazy for at least two weeks).
Cape Tribulation had more in store for us yet. When we arrived at Cape Tribulation beach,
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| From Queensland, A… |
one of the most remote and beautiful beaches in Australia, we passed a grouping of ominous signs at the entrance to the beach.
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First, there was the customary bottle of vinegar and warning about stingers. Next, there was a crocodile warning sign accompanied by a notice about a recent croc sighting on the beach. And finally, there was a warning notice about an aggressive cassowary that had been frequenting the area and hassling tourists for their picnic lunches. Not too encouraging, eh? It was scorchingly hot, but we decided to take our chances with the wildlife and hang out on the beach for a while and enjoy the view (since we couldn’t go in the water). The kids played in the shade while Claude and I sizzled on the sand and about fifteen minutes later they came running over screaming that there was a crocodile in the bushes. Considering crocodiles don’t usually hang out in the bushes, we decided to investigate. What we discovered was not a crocodile, but a 3 foot long goanna lizard which basically ignored us as he foraged in the bushes and ambled casually up the beach.
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When it was time for lunch, Claude went to fetch it from the car while the kids and I staked out a picnic table in the shade. As I sat down, Alexa shrieked something about a spider and I looked down in time to see a huge brown huntsman spider scurry across the table and hide in a crack.
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Besides heights, my other phobia is spiders and this one was worthy of it – it must have been 3 inches across. As we backed away from the table, the biggest wasp I have ever seen decided to join the party. Luckily, Claude arrived in time to save the day by squashing our unwelcome lunch guests with his flip flop. We were beginning to understand Captain Cook’s logic in naming the place.
After our brief sojourn in Cape Tribulation, we headed back down the coast and made it as far as Port Douglas, quaint little tourist town. Its sole claim to fame on our trip was that it’s name embedded itself in Simon’s brain and every time we asked him where we were, his answer would invariably be, “Port Douglas?”
To see the rest of our Queensland photos, visit our web album.
Tags: Australia, Queensland, Travel
tambour
Hi! I enjoyed reading about your experiences in the Daintree. Quite an adventure you’ve had. I recognised the Cassowary crossing photo from my own visit (http://www.lachlanc.id.au/daintree/). Hilarious. I’m from Australia myself, but currently hanging out in Thailand. I’m curious how you manage to support yourselves during such prolonged travels. Do you find work from place to place etc.?nrnrCheers,nrLach
We worked for many years and saved our pennies and then sold our house for a profit and used the proceeds to help fund our trip. We set ourselves a tight budget and stuck to it and, in the end, we came home with enough money for sizeable downpayment on a new (smaller) home and enough memories to last a lifetime. It’s really important to make sure that you plan for your return so that you have enough money to re-establish. It’s hard enough to return to “normal” life without being broke.