Day 15 - Queensland - Daintree River and Cape Tribulation

Day 15 - Spiky leaves
Originally uploaded by photog larry.

We rolled into Cairns around 4-5pm after the time change, and headed for the phones in order to try to find a place to stay. This was the one place on our itinerary where we had booked absolutely nothing. No room, no tours. Being accountants by nature, we started to panic at this point. We started calling the places in the lonely planet, and the first few places we called were booked up. Plus, we were running out of change, and couldn’t find a place that would give us any more. One last chance. Alas. A booking. So we hopped in a cab and headed over to Ryan’s Rest. A small hostel, outside of the main strip, but close enough to walk. We were greeted by a hostess who clearly spent a lot of time tanning, and she showed us the room and facilities. We unpacked, and then back upstairs to try to get some bookings. Crap. Office closed. Now we started to panic a bit, as we had no idea what was out there, and things were starting to close up. Luckily, as we went downstairs, we saw dirty hostess in one of the rooms. I guess she was dating someone / living downstairs in one of the rooms. So we politely knocked, and she told us she would help us out.
She made some good suggestions on tours, and started making calls to book us up. Next thing we knew, we were set up for the next 3 days. Sweet! Panic subsides.

Hungry, we headed to the mall, which was closing fast, and ended up eating noodles from this fast food place. One of the few times that I ate Chinese food out of one of those typical Chinese take out boxes that you see on TV, with the metal handles.

Anyways, no one cares about this crap. On to the first day trip.

Our first day tour got us up early in the morning to head to Cape Tribulation, north of Cairns. Our tour started with a bus ride along the coast, and a stop for a quick breakfast. Next was a boat cruise on the Daintree River, where we got to cruise around, looking for crocodiles.

Crocs are in my mind, the clear top of the food chain. They have been around for more than any other predator. They rule the areas that they inhabit without a doubt. The tour operator told us that the males are territorial, and have many lady friends in their territories. They fight the other crocs for territory. This is basically the only way that they die. When a younger croc comes in and fights the older croc and either kills the older croc, or beats him into submission, such that he leaves the territory. In those cases, the losing croc must find a new territory, or die of starvation. Apparently, their fights can go on for hours and days. Just bashing each other constantly with their tales…..

I love my zoom lens by the way. At one point, I was looking through my lens at a croc, and it made a sudden move. I flinched, before realizing that I wasn’t even close to the croc.

Anyways, after the river cruise, we headed up to the Daintree Rainforest and did a hike through the rainforest, and saw Cape Tribulation, where the rainforest meets the reef. It has some significance, as the only place where two distinct World Heritage Sites meet.

Anyways, after lunch, we did a little more touring, back to base camp, stopping in Port Douglas on the way back. Port Douglas is a small sailing town. Basically, it is Cairns for rich folk. Rich white folk. Sort of like Newport beach. OK. Seen it, move on. A cha cha cha.