Australia Day 10--Daintree Rainforest & Cape Tribulation

 Australia series

Australia Day 1--Qantas flight 8 DFW-BNE (Dallas to Brisbane)
Australia Day 2--Flight to Sydney, the Westin Sydney hotel & sightseeing
Australia Days 3/4--Hunter Valley & the Blue Mountains
Australia Day 5--Sydney sightseeing and Manly Beach
Australia Day 6--Paddy's Market, Bondi to Coogee Walk & Darling Harbour
Australia Day 7--Sydney to Cairns, Holiday Inn Cairns & the Cairns Esplanade
Australia Day 8--The Great Barrier Reef
Australia Day 9--Kuranda Koala Gardens, Skyrail & Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Park
Australia Day 10--Daintree Rainforest & Cape Tribulation
Australia Day 11--Going home, Part 1, Cairns to Brisbane
Australia Day 11--Going home, Part 2, Brisbane to Honolulu 

Going to the Daintree Rainforest was another activity that seemed to come up often as a "must-do" in the Cairns area. The Daintree Rainforest, a World Heritage site, is located a couple hours north of Cairns, and includes Daintree National Park. It is the largest rainforest in Australia and is said to be the oldest rainforest in the world. Also part of the rainforest is a beach area called Cape Tribulation, and it is noteworthy for being where "the rainforest meets the reef."

Prior to arriving in Australia, I located a tour online for $109 AUD. Well, we waited until we got to Cairns to book it, and sadly that particular tour was sold out. However, the travel agency suggested a similar tour that was $134 AUD, so we went ahead and booked it for our final day in Australia.

Our pickup time was scheduled for a very early 7:10 am. We were picked up by a van with a very nice driver named George. At first, I was uncertain whether he was just doing hotel pickups and was going to drop us off at a central location like the Hunter Valley tour we did in Sydney. Turns out George was our driver/tour guide for the full day.

After a few more hotel pickups, we headed out on the scenic Captain Cook Highway to the National Park. George, an Aboriginal Australian, had lots to talk about and kept us informed and entertained. After we arrived at the park, we stopped to have morning tea, coffee and biscuits (Australian cookies). Then we proceeded to our guided walk with George at Jindalba Boardwalk. It was at this point I wished I had brought some bug spray. George talked about the various trees and plants native to the rainforest.

Getting ready to walk through the rainforest

Daintree Rainforest

After the walk, we headed back to the van and toward Cape Tribulation, where we had a picnic lunch and a little time to enjoy the beach. I didn't take any pictures of the food, but the lunch was pretty disappointing.

Turkeys hanging out near our picnic area

Cape Tribulation, where the rainforest meets the reef

Cape Tribulation, where the rainforest meets the reef

From Cape Tribulation, we made a quick stop at the Daintree Ice Cream Company, where it was $6.50 for four flavors of ice cream made using locally grown fruits. I didn't buy any, but got off the bus to take a few pictures.

Daintree Ice Cream Company

Daintree Ice Cream Company

Then it was time to head to our next activity, a crocodile/wildlife spotting cruise on the Daintree River. For me, this was the highlight of the day. We loaded up on a boat and set out on the river. The guide (not sure of his name) pointed out lots of crocodiles (young and old) in and out of the water.

Daintree River cruise

Crocodile spotting on the Daintree River cruise

Do you see the little crocodile?

Crocodile spotting on the Daintree River cruise

At the end of the cruise, the guide pulled a small crocodile out of a container (that I had been sitting next to!) and said pictures were available for $5. This seemed like a good deal to me, so I did it. The croc's mouth was taped shut, so I felt confident holding it for a picture.

Time to take pictures holding a young crocodile

Before getting back on the van, we we treated to more tea and biscuits. The final activity of the day was a stop at the Mossman Gorge swimming hole. It was a nice scenic area. However, we were only allowed 40 minutes there, and there was no place to change into our swimmers (as the Aussies call it). There was a short walking track that my cousin and I did.

Mossman Gorge

Mossman Gorge

Mossman Gorge

During the day and on the way back, we also stopped at a couple of scenic areas, Mount Alexandra and Rex Lookout, to take some pictures.

Mount Alexandra Lookout

Mount Alexandra Lookout

Rex Lookout

We also got a brief tour (from the van) of the beach town Port Douglas before heading back to Cairns.

All-in-all, it was an interesting and educational day, though it was definitely the least "fun" day of our time in Cairns. I'm not sure it was worth $134. I think someone who is more of a nature lover would enjoy this activity a lot. We spent a lot of time in the van since the rainforest was so far away. Yes, the rainforest was beautiful, but in hindsight, I wish we'd gone back to the reef or saved some money and taken a public bus to one of the beach towns, like Palm Cove or Trinity Beach.