Daintree Rainforest and Cape Tribulation

On January 22 we took a tour of the Daintree Rainforest and Cape Tribulation.  We woke up early and our shuttle picked us up and drove us about 2 hours to Daintree.  Here's a pic of a sugar cane farm from the road:

It was rainy in the morning, but it cleared up once we got there.  The drive was beautiful, but it was too hard to take pictures from the road.

To get into the rainforest, our shuttle had to board a ferry:

We're in!

We stopped at this lookout:

Then we drove a bit more, parked and took a walk through the rainforest.

Check this guy out:

It's a Boyd's Forest Dragon and they are only found in this area.  It was super still because that's its defense mechanism against predators (not the best method if I'm being honest, little dude.  Although we all just walked by not even noticing until I looked over and spotted him (yes, out of 20 people, the Asian who's needed glasses since the 6th grade spotted him.  Not you're proudest moment Australians)).  

Overall, the rainforest was very cool because it's one of the oldest rainforests in the world and some of these plants have been around for millions of years.  However, I'm more of a wildlife person than a plant person, so the lizard was the highlight for me (good eye, Sharmeela.  Good eye.).

  

I also forgot to put on bug spray before the walk and I got bit like crazy.  Not to mention, Dengue fever is in this area and is spread through mosquitoes, so it wasn't a thinking cap moment for me.  Luckily, it has now been 10 days since my body was attacked and I feel fine, so no Dengue here (knock on wood).  Dengue fever basically makes you crazy sick for weeks and there's no medication to prevent or cure it, so you just have to outlast it, which sounds like a nightmare.  I got so lucky!

The coolest animal to see in this rainforest is the cassowary.  It looks like an ostrich that got in a paintball fight.  

There are very few places in the world to see them and this rainforest is one of them.  However, it's even rare to see one in the rainforest because they seem to travel alone and stay in the shade of the trees.  The guide said he sees maybe one every 10 tours.  We got so lucky because one crossed right in front of us in the road!

We had already seen one at the Melbourne Zoo, but to see it in the wild was way cool!

YAY!  Cassowary!

Next, we headed to Cape Tribulation, which is a really pretty, tropical beach and the view is spectacular.

We had a picnic lunch I packed us and then we went to the lookout before hitting the beach.

Niny, a hermit crab!

Spectacular!

We got back to the van just as it was starting to rain again (perfect timing) and drove to Daintree Ice Cream Co.  They make their own ice cream and tea as well (it tastes like an English Breakfast):

Tea:

They do four flavors every day and have it already pre-scooped, so you just pay and grab your cup.  Today's flavors:

mango, raspberry and wattleseed (not a clue) were on top and macadamia was on bottom.  They were all incredible, but macadamia gets top honors.

We ate our ice cream while the guide drove us to our next location, the mangroves.

The sun came out at the perfect time (it's like a theme!) and we got a beautiful boat ride through the mangroves.  We even saw a couple crocs!

This one was 11 months old:

This was an adult:

They were really hidden!  They love to nestle into the mangroves because they're hidden from sight, but our guide knew where they would be, so we got lucky.

After the boat ride, we got back in the van (this tour included a lot of van time) and headed to our last stop: Mossman Gorge.

Wild turkey:

Rex Creek Suspension Bridge:

Then we went down to the gorge and Aaron went swimming.  The water was WAY cold, so I opted out:

Saw another neat lizard:

Then it was a 2-hour ride back to Cairns!

Giant bird nests:

Stopped at another lookout:

Saw this eagle flying by:

People come to this beach and stack rocks.  Now there are tons:

We stopped in Port Douglas, a really nice town halfway between Cairns and Daintree.

Apparently, President Bill Clinton visited this Mexican restaurant called Salsa in Port Douglas.  I couldn't get a good pic because the van was going too fast:

Doesn't this look photoshopped??  Not only is it NOT photoshopped, but it was taken from inside the van:

Good job, Aaron!

We stopped in a field where a bunch of wallabies live:

Yay!  They were so adorable!

Then the guide dropped us all off at our hostels and we went to P.J. O'Brien's for dinner.  Daintree rainforest was beautiful!