From Daintree to Cairns

Daintree Crocodylus

March 23rd

The rain is heavy but intermittent as we leave Yungabura. No chance to go to the bat hospital in Atherton as it is open for visitors only between May and November. We are truly heading for the wet tropics.

Bill says look at all those strange rocks. They are not rocks, they are termite mounds. Hard to get a picture when you are driving in heavy rain.

 Reminds us of a Hotel in Atherton.

 Later we hear about a crazy bird that nests in the top of termite mounds. The male dive bombs the top of the mound to break through the cement-like outer covering. Sometimes breaking his neck in the process. He digs out a nest that comes complete with food. After the birds are done nesting the termites seal up their home.

We stop for lunch at Wonga Beach. Not very inviting. The rain has temporarily slacked off. William poses me by the sign that warns of the crocodile. I think it dragged off the last picnicer and left his chair toppled over.

You take a small ferry over toward Cape Tribulation.

 Captain Cook damaged the Endeavor here and had to limp to the area subsequently named Cooktown to repair the ship.

It is raining so much at Cape Tribulation, I break out the Skagway rain poncho.

The rain continues to be heavy. I should have water shoes, so I get a pair of thongs. Horrible toe pain.

Our cabin is in the rain forest. 

The forest from our porch

William got a large cabin so we have a double bed with netting and a bathroom.

Barry has his own bunk.

 No food allowed in the tent cabins because a tiny marsupial mouse-like creature will get in and chew up everything. So all food goes in the communal kitchen.

I was awakened in the night by horrid screeching. Rain forest creatures are very noisy in the night. I was told it might have been bush turkeys. I have never heard one utter a peep during the day, but apparently they go wild at night.

We took this picture of a bush turkey weeks ago

 Also we hear the mewing and cat-like howling of the cat bird and the screeching of the orange-footed scrub fowl. The incessant drumming of the rain on the canvas roof is the only thing that quiets the night bird noise.

March 24^th

After self catering our own breakfast in the communal kitchen, we head off to the Rainforest Discovery Center. This is a huge network of aerial and ground level boardwalks for exploring the rainforest. Between the audio and written guides and displays, we get a lot of information. Although the morning starts off dry we experience a huge cloudburst and hole up in a covered shelter. I like to look for the tiny things. But everything seems to be hiding after the rain. Maybe we will come back tomorrow.

cute tiny brown walking stick

Stay away from the green ants.  They bite and spray acid.

This golden ant with golden fur on it, is trying to run away

nice green praying mantis

given enough time they would take over

William studies the book waiting for the rain to slack off

rain

more rain

the red is new growth

This bug got a bit wet

William takes a walk on the Cow Bay beach.

Sunday night is BBQ night. Guests and neighbors come hungry for a big feed.

March 25^th

Barry has survived the rain, but he is ready to go.

 We head to the Rainforest Discovery Center. This time we go down then up and I catch some things I had missed before. While William goes up to the tower one more time, I watch some interesting movies on climate change.

We are heading to Cairns and watching the gas gauge. We make a nickel if we return the car dead empty, so we are trying hard. William has calculated how much gas is left after it shows empty. But he is driving slow for him.

We lunch at Ellis Beach. Pretty but windy.

No picnic  table, so we improvise.

We have booked a last snorkeling trip for early in the morning. The hotel will give us a ride to the dock. We walk the boardwalk and check out our meeting place for early in the morning. I think it feels like Savannah here.

Amazing how this fence has been eaten up.

A filtered salt water pool to keep the citizens out of the dangerous water.

I have Australian bugs for dinner. Sort of like a small lobster with a flat head. William says what the Aussies call bugs are slipper lobsters.

Time to pack up for our trip to the reef early in the morning.

Rain in the Rain Forest

Rain in the Rain Forest, who could imagine?  If we get much more rain, I am getting out my Skagway rain poncho.  My "rain" jacket got soaked today and I had an umbrella. I just stripped down when we got back to our cottage. Only my bra was dry.  Hope my shoes dry out. We were out next to Peterson Creek on a platypus hunt.  No success, but we remember how often we have seen beaver at Lower Scotts Flat Lake.  Exactly two times in the dozens of times we have been there.

We started our day with breakfast on the veranda at Hibiscus Lodge in Mission Beach overlooking the yard that abuts a piece of rain forest. A mother wallaby and her joey come hoping out. The hostess had baited the yard with apple pieces.  The joey decided to hide in his mom's pouch. But he still wanted some apple.

climbing in

Mom looked funny with that huge joey in her pouch. 

As we drove through more cane fields I noticed that almost every large field had a narrow gauge track leading to it.  This cane railway is used to haul harvested cane to the mill.  I finally saw some of the cars that look half the size of a regular box car.

Cane fields, pouring rain, cows huddled near the fences and bananas in protective bags.

We head to Millaa Millaa and the waterfall circuit, but most of the falls require you to walk for a bit and the rain continues to pour down. We are near Tully which boasts of being the wettest place in Australia with upwards of 300 inches of rain.  Finally we get to Millaa Millaa Falls which you can drive to, if you go to the buses-only parking lot. The picnic tables are here for lunch as are the toilets. I figure if anyone says why are you in the buses only area (there are no buses) we could plead that we are old people.

We stop in the Millaa Millaa post office to mail off gifts and souvenirs. There goes seven and a half kilos of things that I loved at the time and have forgotten now.  I have to make out a customs declaration that has to be specific enough so it can be determined I am not sending electronics. No fear there. My list includes such contraband as t-shirts, scarves and key chains. Hopefully they arrive at Valerie's house by Christmas, since they went by slow boat.

Our next stop in the renewed rain is the Curtain Fig, a truly impressive strangler.

We check into our lovely cottage in Yungagurra where the hostess tells us where to set out on our platypus hunt.  She specifically says that you have to maintain silence. I am sure the chattering people and barking dog don't help our search. Darkness and a drenching downpour sets in after we head over the suspension bridge.  I am glad I brought my flashlight.  We almost lose our way, but between the two of us we remember everything she had to say about the way back.  The map is wet and too hard to read in the dark. I am glad the rain is not really cold in the tropics.

We are off to the remote rain forest today at Daintree and Cape Tribulation.