April 2 2018
We are in Port Douglas in the Queensland state also called North Queensland, Wet Tropics and Great Barrier Reef. It’s north of Cairns and in far Northwest of Australia.
Staying in a lovely hosted Airbnb for our three nights here – Sands Edge. We have one whole wing of their house with a king bedroom, spacious bath and sitting room with a TV with all rooms opening up to a lush courtyard with a swimming pool. Our hosts Paul and Sheila are great to talk with. In their previous life they owned a six hundred acre cattle farm in Victoria. Their house is in a gated neighborhood with lush tall vegetation. We can hear the sea which is beyond a thick forest of tropical trees. To get to the beach we walked through a path for five minutes. No swimming here and now walking the beach at night… crocodile territory.
Port Douglas is a busy upscale resort town with easy access to the Reef and to the Daintree Rainforest. Even though the town is bordered by Four Mile Beach on the Coral Sea, it’s not really on the water except for the Inlet at the end of town where the Sea meets a river and they have a lovely park area.
For a perfect tropical seafront in this area I would recommend Palm Cove where hotels and restaurants face a beautiful beach with the road and green space between them and the water. It’s about 30 minutes further South for day tours to the Daintree and the Reef.
The white boom around the only swimming area in the picture below is a stinger net to keep out the jellyfish during the summer stinger season.
The weather precluded a reef snorkle trip… 25 knot winds and big seas. No thanks.
We did a hokey tourist experience at Hartley’s Crocodile Adventures. It’s a way to see and learn about Australian unique animals and plants in a “zoo-like” setting. We saw lots of crocodiles of course as well as emus, wallabies, koala beara and other native birds.
There are several educational presentations about snakes and crocs that were rather entertaining.
This is what crocs will do when a raw chicken is dangled in front of them.
Amphitheatre
Koala bear in the wild. Don’t mind the electric fan.
Wallabie, small version of a kangaroo
Emu. Flightless bird
Apr 3 2018
On Tuesday we joined an all day tour of the Daintree Rainforest. This whole area is very tropical with low mountains and lush forests, sugar cane farming all bordered by the Coral Sea with Papua New Guinea being next closest land.
The Great Barrier Reef is about 30 miles off shore with dive and snorkel boats making daily trips, weather permitting. The reef and the Daintree Forest are both World Heritage sites.
Port Douglas is fortunate to sit on a four mile stretch of beach. However it is not advised to swim in the Coral Sea as the area has jellyfish and saltwater crocodiles. You see these signs everywhere.
We wondered why the warning is also in German on these signs. Apparently a German tourist was traveling with a tour group. Her tour guide said it was okay to swim in the sea in the Daintree area and she was eaten by a croc.
The Daintree tour took us into the rainforest as far North as Cape Tribulation to a viewpoint, not actually to the beach.
The Daintree Forest is thought to be more than a 180 million years old with some very ancient plant species. In comparison the Amazon is maybe 7 million years old.
We took a couple of nature hikes on boardwalks through the forest. Our guide Ben was very knowledgeable about the flora, fauna and local as well as world history. He pointed out things we never would have noticed on our own.
The highlight for me was seeing a cassowary bird which is a non flying bird that is considered endangered. One walked right past our group.
There are numerous signs in Australia for animal crossings – this one at a speed bump was a bit humorous.
Ben spotted this unusual insect called a Peppermint Stick insect. It’s a beautiful turquoise color and emits a peppermint smell when rubbed. It’s not a common bug.
A cruise on Cooper’s Creek looking for crocodiles. We saw one female. La di da. The real setting is pretty boring compared to the circus at Hartley’s Farm.
Australia has well defined walking trails and boardwalks that make it easy for everyone to see the natural sights.
The fig vines were intriguing. They start out as seeds dropped by birds at the top of trees. Then they shoot vine like branches down and wrap themselves around an existing tree. Eventually the inner tree will die after maybe 300 years and this is what’s left.
And I will admit that the Daintree Ice Cream Company was another favorite. They make ice cream from fruits grown on their farm. No choices. You get four scoops of the day’s flavors for $7.50. All good except the jackfruit which I gave to Bill.
Mossman Gorge is a popular swimming spot. It is land that has been long populated by local indigenous people who own and run their brand new Mossman Gorge Centre. A $12 shuttle ride takes visitors from parking lot into the forest where there are boardwalks, trails and places to swim in the croc-free fresh water pools.
