First thing in the morning and it’s time for me to do the washing up after breakfast whilst Kim wanders off to take some photographs. Unless it’s raining or cold we don’t usually put up the tent walls. It’s quicker to simply open up the main tent and maybe the awning. It’s quicker to pack up too.
Our first stop of the morning is to Cooktown’s botanical gardens which are ambitiously subtitled ‘Natures Powerhouse’. At first glance they seem typical of the tropical landscape we’ve seen before. But on closer inspection we found that they have been laid out so that visitors can get a better understanding of how plants interact and rely upon others to thrive. We also found some different specimens to admire. Here’s a few to enjoy.
Now there’s a plant called the Cooktown Orchid, which is rather pretty. None being in flower, we can’t show you what it looks like. Instead, here’s an ants nest. Skilfully crafted by curling and sticking together leaves, these green ants, each about half an inch long, became quite aggressive when the stick was pushed into their ‘territory’. Apparently the Aborigines use these ants to make a lime tasting drink but we didn’t try it.
As we headed into the hills to find the Bloomfield Track it started to rain and the clouds lowered until visibility started to drop. Now where have we experienced this weather before? The dirt track was slick with wet clay and very slippery, so we stopped and lowered the tyre pressures which improved road holding considerably. Then it got a bit wetter.
The crossing was not too challenging being only about two feet deep but altogether we crossed about eight small rivers, mostly flowing quite fast. Fast flowing is good – no crocodiles! The track was generally quite good, mainly wet clay mixed with some strategically placed potholes and occasional corrugations.
Then quite suddenly the road climbed out of the rain forest and up into the hills. The day grew lighter as we rose above the tree canopy and then there was the sea.
After the briefest of ocean views across what is known as Cape Tribulation, it was a long descent until the road gave out and we took the ferry across the Daintree River.
On the other side we stopped so that Kim could buy some vanilla beans, a process that lasted nearly an hour, mostly to do with the education that went with the purchase. Apparently vanilla beans are green until picked. It takes quite a while for them to ‘ripen’ and go black. Here’s today’s interesting fact about vanilla beans grown anywhere outside their native Mexico. They have to be hand pollinated as the natural pollinator (the Melipona bee) exists only in that country.
Spot the beans – clue, they’re on the right of the plant.
Apart from signs warning to be aware of cassowaries (we didn’t see any) there was little of interest to see until we arrived at Port Douglas. Lunch was freshly caught and cooked prawns and a bottle of pino gris which we enjoyed whilst taking in the view.
That evening we played tourist and took a fake paddle steamer boat ride up the river. The trip turned out to be great. The lady skipper knew exactly where the wildlife would be found and provided an amusing and informative commentary as we progressed gently upstream passing the mangroves and behind them a variety of large native trees. It wasn’t long before we saw whistling kites and then a large male salt water crocodile was spotted. The beast was, so we were told, was 3.8 metres long and came with the warning that it was not a good idea to lean over the side of the boat to take photos. We needed no encouragement to comply and Kim took these shots from a position of relative safety, which was quite close enough.
Then along came a female saltie, a little smaller but just as scary.
The next thrill was a sea eagle that snatched a large piece of fish from the water with its talon and flew with it to a nearby tree. For me that was a very dramatic and special sight.
The sun set in a blaze of colour as we docked and made our way back to camp after a memorable evening.
Sunday morning in Port Douglas is market day and of course Kim wanted to check it out. We didn’t buy much but did end up with a wonderful concoction of coconut, ripe banana and honey. Kim drank the coconut juice and we shared the rest. Yum.
Now northern Queensland is the land of constant sunshine – except that it isn’t! There are two seasons here, the wet and the dry. However, we have been told that this is tropical rainforest country and that really means the wet and the not quite so wet. Evidently the seasons are a bit screwed up at present as it’s very wet and cold, which is almost unheard of this far north, especially when it should be ‘dry’.
Anyway it was back to the Captain Cook Highway heading south towards Cairns. We had some nice views of the sea, but it didn’t look too inviting as it was grey and rough. Signs warning against stingers, sharks and crocodiles were also a bit of a deterrent, so we followed the highway, camped overnight at Palm Cove where it poured with rain, and then on to Cairns where it also poured with rain.
Cairns is orientated towards young people seeking thrills and as we were not too inclined to take up bungee jumping, white water rafting, jumping off cliffs on a hang glider and other such forms of ‘entertainment’, we headed out of town to Kuranda to visit the Butterfly Sanctuary. No comments please about old age taking its toll – I know that already!
Kim took hundreds of photographs of butterflies. I deleted most of them as the insects managed to be just out of camera shot or out of focus. Moral, it’s not easy taking photos of butterflies. However, some turned out OK. Here’s a selection.
Not bad eh?
Returning to Cairns, we passed the Barron Falls, not much water even though we’ve had all this rain.
And there I’ll leave it. In the next blog we have something very special which concerns a most unusual Spanish gentleman.
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