Saturday, October 4, 2014

The End of the Line

Now heading north from Townsville, we were coming into the climax of our trip up Australia’s east coast.  The last major settlement along the coast was Cairns, the most famous jumping off point for one of the Natural Wonder’s of the World - The Great Barrier Reef.  Almost immediately after hitting the highway, the open dry savanna land around Townsville filled with lush greenery pushed all the way up against the sea.  The Daintree Rainforest - one of the oldest in the world - had begun.  About halfway along the 4 hour drive to Cairns we came up and over a large pass and there spread out before us was a fantastic panorama of the massive Hinchinbrook Island.  As much as I would have liked to do it, I had to pass on the Thorsborne Trail due to time.  Perhaps another trip.  By the time we arrived in Cairns and got dinner and accommodation sorted out it was nearly nightfall.  Not that it mattered much as to be honest there really isn’t much going on in Cairns which was a bit of a disappointment.  
Hinchinbrook Island
The next day we booked our tour to tour out to the Great Barrier Reef and at the suggestion of a very helpful woman at the information center we decided on a tour leaving from Port Douglas (another hour north) to the Agincourt portion of the reef.  From there we headed up to check out the beaches north of Cairns and took a stop at Palm Cove.  The town is definitely a quaint little beachside hamlet and caters well to the tourists that make up its lifeblood.  The beach itself, much like nearly ever beach we’d encountered north of the Gold Coast (sans the Whitsundays area) left something to be desired and we didn’t spend much time there before moving on.  The road from Palm Cove to Port Douglas was beautiful and hugged the coast the entire way.  It made me reminisce of driving Highway 1 in California and more than once we were enticed to stop and snap a few photos.  Port Douglas turned out to be a bigger and busier version of Palm Cove - quaint, pleasant and filled with restaurants and tourists.  A place we may have been able to enjoy were we not budget conscious backpackers :p.  A drive to the top Flagstaff Hill provided a more enjoyable experience of Four Mile Beach than the beach itself.
Palm Cove
Highway between Palm Cove and Port Douglas

Four Mile Beach from Flagstaff Hill while we were there
Four Mile Beach from Flagstaff Hill photo taken from Google - maybe we were there at the wrong time?
Since we had some time to kill before our tour to the reef we decided to head north until we hit the end of the line - Cape Tribulation.  Cape Tribulation is the popularly known as the place where the sealed East Coast Highway ends, as well as the place where the Daintree Rainforest and the Great Barrier Reef meet.  To get there you have to travel another 2 hours north of Port Douglas and cross the Daintree River on the car ferry.  The area north of the river is largely undeveloped rainforest with a small community living in the area.  It’s also one of the last habitats in Australia for the elusive cassowary as well as the home to an incredibly diverse array of creatures and critters. Oh and did I mention a high density of saltwater crocodiles?

As soon as we approached the ferry terminal to cross the river we were handed a crocodile warning telling us not to swim or go near the water’s edge on pain of possible death.  Fun! We stayed overnight in the rainforest on the far side of the river and I took my time walking along some trails hoping to catch a glimpse of a cassowary or a croc while enjoying the ambience of the exotic plants and trees around.  Kayleigh for the most part decided to forgo any unnecessary movement in this hot and steamy wonderland.  I don’t blame her.   


Daintree Rainforest 
Daintree Rainforest mangroves
Alien flower - cover your face! 
Wonderful 

Eel 
Cape Tribulation - Standing here I was closer to Papua New Guinea than any of Australia's capital cities
If Cape Tribulation sounded like a great place to swim think again...

 


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