We had such a great time enjoying the beautiful coast, rain forest and reef while still spending plenty of time relaxing!
On our first day we took a very short road trip to the Mossman Gorge area in the Daintree Rain forest. We explored the surrounding jungle by taking an hour walk through the forest. After the jungle trek, Brian took a dip in the river afterwards (a bit too cold for me). It seemed safe from crocodiles as we were quite some distance inland from the ocean and there are a few waterfalls in between.
When we got back we spend the rest of the day on the beach. There was a big sign before you got on the beach with a few warnings.... Needless to say we didnt swim. I dont know what would be more deadly, the stingers or the salties (crocs that is)-- either way, I wasnt risking it!! Did I mention there were saltwater crocodiles here?! I mean, these guys grow to be over 20 ft long and weigh over 1000 pounds.... and they eat people. I was a bit nervous about that but luckily we only saw them when we were trying to on a croc tour the next morning. We still enjoyed lounging on the beach though :)
Like I said, the next morning we went off to see some saltwater crocodiles in the wild-- but FIRST-- I got a wonderfully fabulous massage. AHHH so nice, I was really needing that! After an hour of being pampered in the spa we were off on our next journey-- just what everyone wants to do after a massage-- see man eating crocodiles!
It was a pretty overcast day and even rained a bit (imagine that-- it rains in the rainforest !!) So the crocs weren't really out on the banks basking. They wanted to stay in the warmer water rather than get up out of the banks when the weather's crummy. We did see a few small little guys and a very creepy head coming out of the water! Luckily the folks at the river tours issue a pass that's good for a few days, so we decided to return another day to see if we could get a better encounter.
Although semi disappointing that the big salties weren't out, it was still quite an experience touring through the mangrove estuaries that is the Daintree River.
After that we got off the boat and continued our adventure to to see more of the Daintree. The road took us over the river (via cable drawn ferry) and continued into the heart of the rainforest. A self-guide CD told us all about the local flora and fauna as we drove along. We decided to drive all the way to Cape Tribulation straight away, which is about as far north as you can drive in Australia without a 4 wheel drive. Upon arriving at Cape Tribulation, we stopped and walked along the beach -- careful to stay a safe distance from the waters edge! Did I mention there are saltwater crocodiles here?! The beach was beautiful and lovely, and we could have spent much more time enjoying, but it was on to more jungle adventure for us.
We really loved walking through the forest. It was really beautiful and it was amazing to think of how all these plants have been here for so long. I think Australia does such a great job with all their national parks, and this one is no exception. so many nice nature paths and boardwalks made the experience quite nice. Here are some pics from the day's tour:
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| YIKES-- SPIKES! |
That evening we made it back to town and had a delicious seafood dinner, and we just happened to be in Port Douglas the same weekend that the community holds their annual festival, so also got to watch a parade going through the cute little beach town! We went to bed early because we had a big day out on the Great Barrier Reef the next morning!!!
I was a bit nervous about this part of trip. The last few times we've snorkeled I've gotten anxiety and haven't been able to fully enjoy the underwater world . I think its just the fear of the open water that causes it. So there was that, plus the crew of the boat was making quite a big deal of the possibility of a windy day with big waves causing sea sickness and no medicine is safe for my pregnant self (looking back on it, I think the boat crews just try really hard to get everyone to take sea-sickness medicine so they minimize the number of sick people they have to deal with) So with all that I was pretty surprised that I had a great time!! The wind was hardly blowing all day and the ride out was fairly smooth so I didn't get sea sick and I loved being in the water, I was really relaxed! I think our little unborn son was a big fan and wanted me to stay in the water! We took sooooo many pictures... Here are just a few!
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| dont judge, its hard smiling with goggles :) |
After the long day of snorkeling around the Opal reef (thats the name of the little patch of the Great Barrier Reef we were at), we made it back to town for a relaxing evening in Port Douglas.
The following day (our last day of the trip), we decided to give the river tour another go. The town of Daintree isn't far from where we were staying, so after a lazy morning and breakfast we headed that way. The weather was only slightly better than the first day we took the river boat ride, so we didn't know what to expect. but not long after heading down the river, the boat captain spotted a fair size saltie catching some sun on the bank. it was creee-ppppyyyy!
Not so bad watching it from far away.... and then the boat driver kept getting closer.... and closer.... and closer. He was trying to make everyone (an by everyone, I mean Brian and I and maybe 6 other people on the boat) feel safe by telling us something like they can't move very well sideways, but I think it was a little too close for comfort.
After the close encounter, we finished the rest of the boat ride with some pleasant bird watching and just enjoying the time on the water in a beautiful setting
The rest of our last afternoon was spent eating our last seafood meal-- seriously, every meal we had was amazing-- nothing beats fresh grilled fish! On our way out we stopped by the Port Douglas Open Air Market they have every Sunday. There were so many beautiful things! But I kept it short-- not Brians favorite vacay activity! We then started the drive to Cairns for our flight back to Melbourne. I think we drove through about 50 roundabouts in the hour drive back-- its really annoying and weird... I guess Queensland just loves a roundabout ! We did spend a bit of time walking around Cairns. They have a lagoon built in the city, which is basically a big pool, because they don't really have a beach and even if they did the jellyfish are really bad there so no one would get in the water. So basically everyone goes to the waters edge and gets in this big pool! Kinda strange but I guess it works! That's the main attraction for the city so after checking it out we left for the airport got on a very late flight back home!
We had such a great time together before baby gets here! August 18th will be here before we know it!!! WE ARE SO EXCITED :)
------> There I am at 27 weeks pregnant! :) Baby boy is getting big!
