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River Of Data.com |
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Wednesday, 12 November, Port Douglas, QLD, AU This was the day of our tour to the Daintree Rain Forest and other areas of Far North Queensland (FNQ). We were picked up in a small 4wd van for the day, with a total of seven, the guide Ross, and six "adventurers". We rotated seats throughout the day, so no one was stuck in the back all of the time. There was one riding with the driver, three in the middle, and two in the back, which was a bit tight for any of us. But we made many stops, so it wasn't a big problem. Our first stop was at Mossman Gorge, which had almost no water running in it, and wasn't very impressive anyway, particularly compared to many other places we've been. We took a hike through the rain forest, which was very dry since "the wet" hadn't quite started yet. FNQ, like many tropical areas, has two seasons: "The Dry" and "The Wet", and we were right on the cusp. We were able to see a wide variety of trees, vines, and birds. As we travelled on, we saw signs saying "cassowary warning", but we didn't see any, as they are very rare. We then were taken to a dock where we boarded a river boat to take us on a cruise of the Daintree River. We saw birds by the dozens, but only one small crocodile, about two years old. All the "big bad boys" were sleeping somewhere. After the tour we were picked up by the van again, on the other side of the river, near the ferry crossing. After another walk through another section of forest, one on private land, where there are more animals since there are few tourists, we stopped for a nice lunch of grilled meats and salads. It is impressive how well the tour organizations do in providing excellent meals in fairly remote locations. We then hiked down to a stream with a swimming hole, and we all got in to splash around and enjoy the cool water. Next was a trip up to Cape Tribulation, another location named by Captain Cook, as he ran aground on the reef off shore, and had to dump his cannons and other heavy items overboard to be able to get off the reef at high tide. One of the cannon was later recovered and is now in Te Papa museum in Wellington, New Zealand. At Cape Tribulation we saw one of many signs warning us of dangers in the Coral Sea. We headed back south, going back across the Daintree on the ferry we'd seen before. There is no bridge across the Daintree, and many hope there will never be one, to assist in keeping FNQ unspoiled. We made one more stop on the way back, a stop for ice cream at a place that grew a variety of exotic trees and plants, and made ice cream from them. Half of the flavors were ones we'd never heard of before, but were very tasty. After another long day, we went to the superb buffet at a very high price at the hotel and went to bed early. It was a nice splurge, but not one we'll be doing again. Back to itinerary (trip home page)
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