The next day we’d booked to spend with Tony’s Tropical Tours, exploring the rainforest to the North, so at 7.30am the eponymous owner and our guide for the day turned up and we were off, complete with insect repellent, umbrellas and plastic ponchos. We picked up a couple from York, who are currently living in New Zealand and an American couple from Lake Tahoe, who made pleasant company, along with Tony, who clearly loves his work and was knowledgeable and incredibly enthusiastic about the local inhabitants of the rain forest.
We stopped at Mossman Gorge, where we took us for a guided walk through the forest and along the river bank, pointing out lizards (a large breed called a dragon) and other creatures. The local mosquitoes were clearly impervious to the jungle formula repellent and we did end up with some spectacular bites. The area also lived up to its name in terms of rain so the ponchos and umbrellas came in handy.
Next stop was the Daintree River where Tony left us with Bruce for a croc spotting cruise on the river. We pottered along, admiring a tree snake (apparently harmless), a tree frog and a spotted frog mouth (a large bird) before the highlight of the trip. A large male croc, probably about 30 feet long swam upriver and alongside the boat, surveying his territory and ensuring no other dominant male was planning to move into his patch. It looked very scary and whilst the locals seem quite blasé about snakes, spiders and other potentially threatening species, there is huge respect for and fear of crocs. Warning signs are put up by creeks and on golf courses if anyone spots one and if a boat sinks in the river it is not salvaged if it would mean going into the water to get it.
Tony picked us up further down the river and we drove on to a coastal look out point. The lookout was obscured by rain and fog so, after a morning cup of tea, dripping under a wooden shelter, we continued to Cape Tribulation (named by Captain Cook after running aground there and taking some months to get his boat mended and sorted out) where the beach is absolutely lovely. This is where the barrier reef meets the rain forest and it is the picture perfect idea of a tropical beach paradise. However on this day the sea was grey and the waves were crashing on the sand so we didn’t mind too much that we couldn’t go in the water due to the box jelly fish! Tony took us to see the golden orb spider which had made a huge web just outside the men’s loo and which was definitely the record breaker in terms of size. They have been known to eat small birds which get stuck in their webs. Surprisingly no-one felt the need to visit the conveniences at this pit stop!
The streams we’d crossed on the way up had become raging torrents by the time we returned, Tony told us that they frequently used to get stuck between creeks for hours at a time before the new fords and bridges were put in. We walked through a beautiful bit of forest to a small shelter where Tony served meat, fish and salad for lunch with ‘damper’ or bush bread (much tastier than the ones we used to make at guide camp). We were most impressed as to how he’d managed to conjure up this feast in the middle of nowhere, but when we walked back on a different path we discovered several ladies busy under a large wooden A frame with a semi permanent kitchen! Just below us was a swimming hole where we had intended to swim in the crystal clear stream, where the water is too cold for crocs though not for people. However, this too had become a raging torrent and we would have been downstream with the crocs in minutes so we just admired it from a safe distance.
After lunch we drove deep into the forest and once again donned our ponchos for a walk on a tiny path exclusive to Tony’s tours. Before setting off Tony pointed out a plant that if you brush against it will fire small spikes into you which will cause huge pain and discomfort for as long as 6 months – even the plants here are out to get you it seems, but at least they stay in one place so they’re easier to avoid! We took a walk through the forest, admiring the lizards, insects, trees and flowers and saw some of the damage done by Cyclone Yassi in February and how the forest is already starting to repair itself.
Our final stop was for some home made ice cream and a look at the wild orchids. We were lucky enough to see a Cassowary which wandered onto the next field. These are huge, flightless birds, bigger than an ostrich with incredibly colourful blue and red heads and a horned helmet. They are direct survivors from prehistoric times and are now very rare, even in this corner of the rainforest which is about their last remaining home. We’d seen them in Sydney Zoo and in the wildlife park but it was amazing to see one in the wild. Apparently they can give you a nasty disembowelling with their huge claws if you upset them and get too close – it’s a wonder anyone survived here long enough to colonise the place!
Thoroughly warn out we headed back to Port Douglas, over the chain link ferry across the Daintree River (hoping it didn’t break down having seen the size of the crocs in the river) and narrowly avoiding a tree which fell onto the road in front of us with all the rain and wind. We were lucky this time in that the cloud had cleared so we could admire the view down the coast from the look out point. We made it back with just some mosquito bites from our adventure and had avoided being bitten by snakes or spiders, brushing up against fearsome plants or being disembowelled by a cassowary. It was a fantastic day but I’m really glad I live in Manchester!
