 |
|||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Day 5 - Friday, October 5th, 2001 Port Douglas - Sunny 29°C - Slight haze due to forest fires | ||
|
|
The first leg of our journey took us on an hour-long drive to the shores of the Daintree River, bordering the rainforest of the same name. We met our riverboat captain Bruce and had a quick drink before boarding his small canopy-covered boat and heading off down river for a nice cruise. Along the way, we easily spotted many species of birds, along with many not so easy to spot (or photograph) tree snakes. Unfortunately, we did not see any crocodiles that day. We met Ian further downstream, waiting in the truck to take us to our next destination. A short drive later brought us again to the river’s edge, this time to await the fairy boat to get across the river. While waiting, we snacked on some fresh bananas we purchased from the locals by the roadside. Once across, we proceeded to another beautiful location called Cape Tribulation. Arriving at yet another beautiful beach, we took our time enjoying the sights and strolling along the shore. A small trail lead us through the forest and up to a lookout from which you could see a small shallow area of the clear water where Dugongs (sea cows) were grazing on the sea grasses. We stopped at a small resort within the forest to have a bite of lunch outdoors, during which a large sand monitor lizard decided to make an appearance, and eventually sit still long enough for us to take a few shots. With our bellies full, we boarded the truck and this time kicked it into 4x4. We drove for almost an hour through small bumpy rainforest "roads" to the mouth of a small walking trail, where we continued on foot the rest of the way. Taking in the forest sites of palms and numerous wildflowers, we soon arrived at the spectacular Bloomfield Falls. While I am sure they are even more beautiful during the rainy season, there is one advantage to having them be smaller, and that is that you can get much closer to them and feel the mist on your face. We took many photographs of the falls and surroundings, and then headed back down the trail to our vehicle. We stopped for a quick afternoon cup of tea next to a small out of the way creek, where we enjoyed ourselves feeding the small "bush perch" some cookie crumbs. A small fresh water eel made an appearance as well, not wanting the fish to get all the grub. Finally, our last destination took us back out of the forest and over to sugar cane country, where we visited a sugar mill. Sugar cane grows in most farmers fields here the way we see corn growing along every country road back home. As we passed the refinery, the whole countryside smelled like caramel, so despite the air conditioning the windows remained down for quite some time. Back at the hotel, we made some quick sandwiches for dinner and then changed and headed out for an evening stroll along the beach. We stopped in at the local liquor store on the way back and purchased a bottle of locally made and aged Bundaberg rum as a souvenir for my friend Steve, and called it a night. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
|
|
||
|
|
||
olling out of bed around 5 am to allow enough time to prepare for our 7 am pickup, we ate our fresh fruit and muffin breakfast then readied ourselves for our next adventure, the Daintree River and Bloomfield Falls four-wheel drive experience. Our tour guide Ian met us outside in a diesel Toyota land cruiser complete with engine snorkel (for those really wet days) and "roo bars" (bulls bars to us) on the front. A quick trip to another hotel to pick-up an English couple sharing the tour with us, and we were off to the rain forest.
