Cape Tribulation

 Graeme picked me up at 8am this morning to head north - to Cape Tribulation. The 3.5-hour trip up was hands-down, the most beautiful drive I've ever experienced. The Great Dividing Range of rainforest-covered mountains on the left, a canopy of tree ferns and fan palms teeming with cockatoos and eagles above, and white sandy beaches and blue-green ocean on the right, with the distinct coloration of coral reef not far off shore. At Cape Kimberly, in the Daintree National Rainforest, we stopped for cappacinnos on the beach, where we could see the low-lying Snapper island on the horizon. Once we reached Port Douglas, a narrow railway followed the highway, where harvested cane was shipped to the port for export or processing. A variety of other crops could be seen along this stretch through the Mossman area, including bananas and tea. At the Daintree River, we crossed on a ferry - the only access to Cape Tribulation. Graeme explained the derivation of the cape's name - when Cpt. Cook was commisioned to map the east coast of Australia, he struck the Great Barrier Reef for the first time just off Cape Tribulation, resulting in significant damage to the ship. From that point on, it was only tribulation for himself and the crew - repairing the damage during harsh Pacific storms.

Upon arrival, the view was absolutely stunning, and not surprisingly so: I learned that this was the only place in the world where two World Heritage Sites met - the Daintree Rainforest and the Great Barrier Reef. The rainforest and beach met seamlessly, such that within 20 yards (and 30 seconds) of each other I saw a goanna (monitor lizard) and a small reef shark. As I was wading in the warm, calm water, the reef shark came close enough that I was able to reach down and touch it! The goanna was less keen on physical contact, and waddled back into the thick rainforest. With an old reef just off shore, little peices of coral were scattered across the sand as we walked northwards along the beach. After a fifteen-minute walk, we passed a beautiful stretch of mangroves - one of nature's oxymorons - before eating a delicious lunch at a restaurant nestled just inside the rainforest. Ullyses butterflies and Cairns Birdwings flew around our table as we ate the most delicious (and inexpensive) food I have had since I arrived.

Back to the car, we then spent the next two hours on a dirt road limited to 4WD vehicles only - up and down the steepest hills I've ever driven on and through over a dozen river/stream crossings, only to end up at a small, well-kept Aboriginal community named Wujal Wujal, built along the Bloomfield River. After driving back in the direction we came, we headed back down south. Off to our left (east), we saw the reflection of the sunset on the ocean horizon. We stopped at an orchard that grew nearly every tropical fruit known to man - about 95% of which I had never heard of. They sold fresh ice-cream made from their own fruit - I had jackfruit, pineapple, waddleseed, and blueberry. Yum! Today was full of "firsts" for me, and I hope to bring a bunch of my friends back with me sometime soon!

Reef shark

Lace monitor

Mangroves

Meeting of the World Heritage Sites

Tea and fruit trees