After returning from my diving adventure (and having difficulty with my equilibrium after 4 days aboard a rocking ship), I wanted to hit the road again. This time north, toward Cape Tribulation and Daintree Rainforest. I decided on a tour that included a wildlife park (because all I wanted was a picture with a koala), a cruise down a river to spot crocodiles, a hike in the rainforest, and a stop at Cape Tribulation. Below is a picture of the first bend after leaving Cairns. Cairns reminded me of Manoa Valley, Hawaii. It was surrounded by mountains, humid, and rained for just a bit almost daily. Overall, one of my favorite places on Earth so far.
Upon entrance to the wildlife park, I heard hysterical laughter. Much to my surprise, it came from these crazy Kookaburras. If these birds were located around the world, it would put people in much better moods. They cackle and carry on like middle schoolers in health class.
Here it is...the photo I was dreaming about. I had the chance to hold a koala. I was super pumped to get the chance, since there are so many rules about how long they can be "working", who holds them, etc. Their fur is really dense and super fluffy. I've never felt anything quite as plush. Their claws were long and scary, but their hairy ears made them so cute that I almost forgot about the creepy claws. Honestly, though, they stink and aren't super friendly. They don't like to be held, because they prefer to sleep in their tree for about 20 hours a day. They don't drink water, because they get enough from the eucalyptus plants that they eat. So, they don't have much energy at all. Let's just say, they couldn't run from me if I saw one in the wild. Which, is probably why they were hunted so close to extinction.
This little rat wallaby was super cute. He thought that I had some food, but I tricked him...I just had a camera ready to snap his photo. Look at his little hands, ready for a boxing match!
It was amazing to see these bright birds just flying around, like it's normal or something. Well, I guess it is normal to have colorful birds in the rainforest, but surprising for someone like me that's only seen birds as colorful as yellow finches.
After the wildlife park, we headed to the river to track some crocodiles. I didn't expect much, since they blend in so well to their surroundings, and the constant troll of boat motors would most certainly detour any serious action.
Along the river, we did get an interesting tour of the local plant life. Daintree Rainforest is the oldest, continuously surviving rainforest in the world, which came as a surprise to me. It's also a World Heritage Area. This rainforest contains examples of animals and plants from 8 major stages of the Earth's evolution, essentially beginning with a time 500 million years ago. This includes trees such as this one seen along the riverbanks.
It also includes groves of mangroves. Mangroves are the connection between the two World Heritage Areas here, the Great Barrier Reef and the Daintree Rainforest. This is the only place on Earth where two sites meet.
Unfortunately, I didn't get to witness a crocodile attack like that on Animal Planet, nor was I able to wrestle one away from the boat. However, I did get to see this little guy hanging out along the river. Apparently, he was hiding from bigger crocodiles, because they have exceptional smell in the water and would track him down and eat him up. I would have never seen him without the help of our tour guide. Seriously, can you see how well he blends in with his surroundings?
After leaving the river tour by means of the Daintree River Ferry, we headed to this lookout, to see the river from above and get a glance of our destination, Cape Tribulation. I loved how lush everything was here. It reminded me of how the woods in Illinois look after a good summer rain. After leaving the lookout, we even saw a wild cassowary cross the road.
We stopped for a picnic lunch, which gave me a chance to take some pictures of the local plant life. Here is a fern, which number in the billions here. Everywhere you look, there are ferns.
I have no idea what most of these plants are, but I thought they were beautiful and unique.
The road signs letting me know that I have no Earthly idea where I actually am.
Another interesting plant.
I have no idea what this is, but there are small orchids growing out of the bottoms of these plants. I'm sure my mom with either know or find out shortly what these are actually called.
I'm adding this sign to my album of bizarre signs. I was told that when they first put this out, there was an increase in accidents, but after they took it down, the locals were so upset that they ended up putting it back up again. The goal is to preserve the number of cassowaries in the area. These flightless birds are usually shy, but can become very aggressive. They have a toe with a dagger like nail that is 5 inches long and they have a ferocious kick. People and their pets have actually died from encounters with these birds. But, they are super ancient and endangered. And, if you ever get the chance to see one, you will feel like you are looking at a bird who has roamed the Earth with the dinosaurs.
After lunch, we headed out to hike in the actual rainforest. We came across this tree that was so totally unique that I had to take several pictures of it. I'll only share one with you. The inside of the tree was hollow, but it had three larger sections, almost in a triangle with all these little sections connecting in the middle. It was leaning so far sideways, that I could have walked up the side of it. Amazing!
A different type of palm tree.
On the boardwalk, leading up to the hike.
I love seeing things in nature. One minute you are walking and the next you are jumping 3 feet into the air because you've ran right in to this guy.
Can you see the HUGE insect here? They were all over, and honestly difficult to photograph because of the nature of the insect. They camouflage themselves on trees throughout the rainforest, and come in many different colors and patterns. Hint: look between the leaf on the top and the leaf on the bottom, he's going up and down.
Since summer in Australia is stinger season, we had to be aware of the dangers in the water. The most dangerous are the box jellies, which I did not see, thankfully.
Ah, Cape Tribulation, named so because Captain Cook ran the reef in 1770 and named it according to the place where all his troubles began. It only has a population of 101 because it is so difficult to access. In fact, the road here was only completed in 2002 and remained a 4x4 track until 2011, so I was lucky to be able to tour up here. The beach here was stunning and next time I might even stay a few nights at the hotel located within walking distance.
The beach was filled with patterns such as these. They were all cocentric circles made of these little balls of sand. It's hard to visualize, because the balls of sand were slightly larger than ballpoint pen tips. After studying them for awhile, I discovered that they are made by these tiny crabs that run around, almost unseen. They roll up the sand underground, then pop out of their holes with the balls. I'm not sure how they get such pretty designs, but I'm almost positive it's not just luck. There has to be some explantation for their patterns.
Here is the tip of Cape Tribulation. It's here that the oldest self-sustaining rainforest meets one of the first World Heritage Areas, The Great Barrier Reef, which itself is amazing.
No comments:
Post a Comment