18th November 2007 - Cairns, Australia - Cape Tribulation and Daintree National Park
Sunday morning we were picked up at 7.45 for our trip to Daintree in a 4WD Toyota run by Billy Tea Tours, an excellent company. After collecting other punters we headed north to Daintree village where we had coffee/tea and biscuits before doing a boat ride down the river. This was very interesting and we saw a fair cross-section of wildlife were told, given that it was wet and at the start of the wet season. Saw three crocs, including a basking baby on a sandbank (poor picture but a fair one of the middle croc) and large tree python (too fay for the camera) a beautiful kingfisher and various assorted birds and other animals before arriving at the Daintree cable ferry where we were collected by the 4WD again. We continued north, past endless sugar cane fields and eventually arrived at a National Park walkway where we went looking for Cassowary to no avail. We did see many interesting plants and bids and a small beast like a gecko, the name of which we cannot remember. Still, it can be seen in the pic with M. The weather had turned by this time and we were getting the fag edge of cyclone Guba; windy but especially wet.
We went for lunch at Lync-Haven Retreat and M took a turn for the worst and even refused wine and a steak and, effectively gave up the trip and was given a motel room to lie down in until our return. We pressed on further into the Daintree passing the tea plantataions and continued to Cape Tribulation where the road turned to pressed grit. We finally arrived at Emmagen Creek where D took a swim as the heaven's opened, wiping out the Billy Tea session with tropical fruits and bush cake. However, being in the water this was no hassle for D who earlier had taken a pic of the creek with a strange looking Loch Ness look-alike in view.
We returned and called in to Cape Trib Beach. Beautiful and rather wild in the storm (see shot) but not available for swimming as the start of the wet is also the start of the box jelly fish season.
We returned and picked up M who was a little better and returned to Cairns for a quiet evening after a long day. Curry at Mother India this evening.
