Rain Forest Monday 3/24/08

We have Easter breakfast again as we have leftover eggs, fruit and a hot cross bun. Still good and still no chocolate eggs. We were hoping for a date change thing by the Easter Bunny but he remains a no-show. We are driving north today into the heart of tropical rainforest and croc country. Our drive is about an hour along the coast to Daintree Village which is a couple of store fronts and a restaurant on the Daintree River. This is the kickoff point for river cruises that haul folks like us around looking for crocs and other creatures.

Daintree National Park is a World Heritage Site, a designation that is afforded major natural wonders like the Grand Canyon. We have enjoyed one of these earlier on our trip in Fjordland, New Zealand and now we are finishing our tour of the only two World Heritage Sites that are adjacent, the Daintree Rainforest and the Great Barrier Reef. Daintree National Park extends north from where we arrive and there is a driving tour reached by taking a ferry across the river and deeper into the park, but we have a different plan.

We book a noon river tour and, while buying our tickets, meet a delightful couple from Aberdeen, Scotland. They have crammed an itinerary similar to ours into a month and will be leaving at the end of the week so we enjoy trading stories. Lex is our tour guide and his partner in the "shed" is "Saucy" so named because his last name is Worcestershire. Mary likens our one hour cruise to a ride on the African Queen as we putt-putt slowly down a side flowage and then out into the main river dodging overhead branches, logs and fallen trees. We stare at the riverbank looking for 25-foot crocs and every log seems to have possibilities. Our first creature sighting is the Ulysses Butterfly that is an amazing electric blue and seems like it is flying in a spotlight. Lex, now pushing 60, grew up in the area and is pretty informative about the local flora. He claims that his schedule is four days on followed by four days of stress leave that he spends fishing these waters for the elusive barramundi. As part of the safety lecture he suggested that in the event that the boat should sink, the ladies take the life jackets and splash about loudly in the water so the blokes could swim quietly away. About a half hour out Lex steers us near the bank and points out a small croc laying on a log behind some tall shoreline grasses. All twelve of us on board are craning in an attempt to spot it and some of us see the log and some see a sort of shape on top, but if any of us were forced to testify in court that we spotted the guy, there would be twelve cases of perjury. Sandy, the Scotsman, suggested that at least one of us should be willing to give up a finger or toe to tempt the fellow out of his sleep. Take one for the team. We are among those who saw the shape on top so we are checking it off our list.

We continue the cruise without further croc sightings but this perspective of the rainforest is well worth the price of admission. We opted for this approach rather than the local "Croc Shows" for a more natural experience and are not disappointed. We do see some very big lizards (3-feet), more interesting birds and butterflies, and hear many more Lex tales of living with the unbelievable bio-diversity of this area. We spend 15 minutes after the cruise chatting with our Scottish friends before moving on to our next stop.

Next is Mossman Gorge. This is still in Daintree Park and a short drive from the town of Mossman. We have packed a lunch and, in the absence of ice, Mary has frozen our drinks and used them to cool our sandwiches while thawing to a perfect drinking temp. We gobble our food in the car near the parking area and then head out for a rainforest hike. We calculate that we are a few hundred meters from the parking area, then there is an easy 700 meter walk into some nice viewing areas of the gorge and river followed by a 2-kilometer hike on a track through the rainforest. That adds up to 4K round-trip by our figuring or about 2-1/2 miles. The whole thing takes about an hour and a half with some uphill sections, hopping rocks across three separate streams, some sideways maneuvering and we are drenched when we finish. We know that it was at least 120-degrees and 101% humidity in those woods and we should have just sat in one of those streams for a while. We do feel like we are better people for having done it and the feel and sights of the rainforest are certainly unique.

Turning south our next stop is Port Douglas. In the conversations about where to stay near the reef it is always between Palm Cove and Port Douglas, so we think we should see the town. The town center is probably twice the size of Palm Cove as are the resorts that ring the city. We do a walk around town while we nibble an ice cream cone that is our reward for our earlier exertion. There are a couple more pull-overs on our way back south as we make this last adventure day last as long as possible.

After showers we throw some Kranskys (polish sausages) on the barbie, whip up a bowl of guacamole, break out our deli salads and pop the tops on a couple stubbies. We are anxious to get home but we will miss days like this one.

Today's local headline: Queensland Cops Set Record Channel 7 Local News (Queensland nailed 500 drink drivers and issued 8000 speeding tickets over the 4 day weekend)