Where The Reef Meets the Forest
- Sep 18, 2016
- 5 min read
Location:
Cape Tribulation, Daintree National Park, QLD, Australia
It’s our first major tour on our ‘East Coast’ adventure. How exciting! We have so much to look forward to. We got picked up in Cairns first thing in the morning so there wasn’t much time for a lie in. Oh well! No point in sleeping your life away. Our tour guide was a really nice guy. He told us stories of when he worked for the emergency rescue service for wildlife. Some of the stories he told us were very interesting.
Our first stop on the tour was to Mossman Gorge where we got to witness a smoke ceremony by the local indigenous people, ‘Kuku Yalanji’ where our souls were cleansed from any evil. From there we went to the river where we all enjoyed swimming in one of the worlds purest water sources. It’s so pure that you can even drink it. Swimming and drinking the water at the same time. How amazing is that! As the water is fast flowing in parts, it reminded me how much I really want ‘To go to the rapids, cause it’s a rapid!’ Ever since we started our adventures in Dubai, that has been one of our sayings! I know, we are very strange. But strange is good! Going down the river, that was fun, but try fighting your way through some pretty strong rapids? The water was so strong. Eventually I found myself back at the top ready to dive into the rapids again. When we got out, we all felt amazing from the water. It was so refreshing!
Over the last few years, we have done and seen some really cool things. Imagine going on a cruise in crocodile infested waters and being able to get up close, but at a comfortable distance to one of them. They are amazing creatures, and astoundingly have been around since dinosaurs roamed the planet. Since then, because of their sheer power and skill, they have not really evolved as much as one would expect. Being able to see wild crocs was very special. Nestled on the banks of the river, partly hidden by trees, there was a female croc believed to be around 40 something. Believe it or not, but these creatures can live until there around 100. That really is impressive. The cutest thing we saw that day was a tiny little croc on a branch. He must have only been around nine months old. Even at that age, his tail and bite are both so strong, something surprised me!
After a couple of more stops we arrived at ‘Cape Trib Beach House’ for our Cape Tribulation adventure. As the resort is right beside the beach nestled in the ‘Daintree Rainforest,’ it provides for a beautiful setting. Why is Cape Tribulation such a significant place? It is the only place in the world where two world heritage sites meet, ‘The Great Barrier Reef’ and the world’s oldest rainforest, ‘Daintree Rainforest.’ At 165 million years old, it is quite impressive when you consider the Amazon is only a mere 55 million years old. Still quite remarkable, but not so much when compared with the Daintree. With a beautiful beach on our doorstep, myself and Jason just had to get out and explore. Even though we were on a beautiful beach, you could not swim in the water for fear of being spun around and eaten by a crocodile. If I have to go, I certainly don’t want to go that way! Our guide told us how a woman was celebrating with her friend who got the all clear from cancer, on a beach nearby and decided to go for a swim! I don’t need to tell you what happened to her! I really don’t know why you would take such a risk!
After our little stroll, a few of us went back out for a beach walk with a guy from London called Louis who does walking tours along the beach each day. He spent about two hours in total with us showing us everything. As we walked towards a nest of green ants, he put his finger up to them trying to get one of them to bite him so he could then put one of them in his mouth, stating that they taste a bit like a lime. Jason then proceeds to volunteer me to try one. I didn’t hesitate! Shy away from another eating challenge is something I wasn’t going to do! Jason was very brave. He licked the aunts lime tasting bum and he liked it! No jokes allowed! I just couldn’t understand why he just didn’t eat it! Oh well, he is very strange! One of the highlights of the walk was the viewpoint which gave uninterrupted views of the beach and the rainforest which was incredible to see. On the way back, Louis showed us some small sharks in the water. Don’t worry, they are harmless. We could only make out their pointy fins as they circled their territory. It was such a really interesting walk and the best part of all was that it was free. Fair play to Louis! It was certainly one of the highlights of the trip!
Later on that night, myself and Jason chilled on the beach enjoying a nice bonfire listening to the sound of the ocean. Travelling really makes you appreciate the simple things in life. While music never goes unwanted, sometimes it can be nice to turn it off and strip everything back until it’s you, your loved one and the ocean. Simply appreciate where you are and the company your with, because in a split second it can be gone! Which seems to be the case when you’re travelling!
The following morning, myself, Jason and our two Japanese friends we shared a room with, all got up just after 5am for sunrise. What an early start! We walked down the beach to a nice spot where we could enjoy it. Unfortunately, there were too many clouds in the way, but we did get to see some of the sun going up which was really nice. I’m sure there will be many more opportunities to watch the sun going up and down! Surprisingly we actually stayed up, despite Jason’s many pleas for a nap. To keep us all amused, all four of us had fun in the pool acting like little kids throwing a ball!
In terms of places we have visited, Cape Tribulation is certainly up there. It is such a beautiful, picturesque part of the world. What’s not to like? While travelling and life in general can be very chaotic, it can be nice to find yourself in somewhere a bit more peaceful and tranquil than most of us are used to! Sit back, relax and enjoy the adventure!
By Andrew
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