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Day
12
(September 21, 2015) Cape Tribulation
Before
We have a car booked for this day to drive to Cape
Tribulation and will deliver the next day.
In our way to the North we’ll stop at the several
lookouts for the beach and rainforest landscapes.
Beaches are beautiful here but cannot be visited
peacefully as salt water crocodiles live in them.
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After
I’m leaving the hotel to the car rental office at
9 AM,
after breakfast. I’m lucky it is just in the next street, but Cairns is
large on despite it is not having a big population. Streets are wide
and long avenues and walking the one hundred numbers until the office
is hard with this heat.
We leave the hotel at the time seems to be the
global check out limit
time in this country: 10 AM, and take the Northern exit of the city to
Mossman.
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We skip the most of the lookout stops in our way as
they’re
on the other side of the road and will be easier if we stop on them
tomorrow. The beaches we can see from the road are spectacular, but
they’re empty. We assume this is because of the signs we can see every
time we stop by: danger of salt crocodiles living in this area. What a
pity!
Once in Mossman we stop in a gas station to fill up
and get
a couple of meat pies to kill the hunger.
When we reach the Daintree ferry, which is the
only way of crossing the
river with the same name, we pay 25$ for the return ticket. Once across
the river we stop in the first lookout. It is amazing and we can leave
the convoy generated after the ferry.
 
The road has changed after the ferry, it is more narrow and winding,
and lush vegetation is all around. The rainforest here is beautiful,
with different kind of ferns, and the views form this place, Mount
Alexandra lookout, are a good example of the Daintree’s motto: “where
the forest meets the sea”.
 
We arrive at our hotel in Cape Tribulation a few minutes past
1
PM and leave our things in the fantastic bungalow of Rainforest
Hideaway. We’ll spend to this place the time it deserves tomorrow as
now we must leave to explore this area.
 
We’re bringing a map and some recommendations from
the
hotel, so we drive directly to the most popular walk here: Marrdja.
 
This is a wonderful environment and, as we advance
on this
walk, the rainforest, with ancient trees full of vines and climbers, is
turning into a mangrove when reaching the water. This walk is all on a
wood platform in the way that visitors are not setting a foot on ground.
 
But if this amazing landscape is not enough we
still have
the chance of meeting a cassowary – the star of this park – with three
chicks in our walk. We watch their funny ways until they disappear by
the deepness of this mangrove. Amazing experience we’ve got in this
walk.
 
We stop by other spots in our way, as Thornton
Beach, and
come back to the hotel area to go to the recommended restaurant. But 4
PM is not a time for lunching at all here and kitchen is closed until 6
PM.
 
We spend the time we have by visiting Kulki Beach,
with
its warning about stingers and crocodiles, like all the others, and do
the Dubuji Walk.
 
 
At 6 PM we’re back in the restaurant waiting for
the two
Linguini we’ve ordered. A brownie with ice cream as dessert completes
our dinner. We pay 48$ for it.
In our room, which is more like a hut, we’re alone
with the sounds of the jungle at night.
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