PORT DOUGLAS - MOSSMAN GORGE. July 2014

Glenn and Paul took the opportunity to play golf in the Saturday competition in Mossman and loved it of course! The rest of us went to the market and bought the most delicious local produce. We came home with custard apples, dried mango, rockmelon, chilli, mango and coconut dukkah, cassava slices and other delicacies. I had fresh coconut water in the shell too which I haven't had for ages.

The market was in the grounds of the historic church which had beautiful stonework and mosaics.

Market day in Mossman. I love the contrast in the photo and the harmony of the roof lines!

We drove out to Daintree village where many people start a croc-spotting river cruise and thought the caravan park, overlooking the boat ramp looked sublimely peaceful.

The following day we went to Port Douglas to buy fresh prawns from the trawler moored at the jetty and then went down to the point and sat on the rocks to eat them. The Sunday market was just finishing up and there were many colourful people to watch.

The young couple in the distance had rigged up a tightrope between the palm trees and were attempting to walk it. They were pretty good.

There was rain about so the tourists were out in numbers in the shops. We drove past Hibiscus Lodge where I spent four great days with the Gosford Girls a few years ago. It rained then too, but hey, it is the Wet Tropics!

MOSSMAN GORGE

This would be one of the many highlights of our trip. The rainforest is magnificent!

There are many information boards through this very accessible forest which detail the various methods used by plants in their life or death struggle to reach the light.

I have agreat affinity for rainforests having spent many of my formative years in Wingham on the Manning River, with a pocket of temperate rainforest at the end of my street. I spent many hours running along tracks, swinging on strangler vines and climbing giant fig trees. The cool, damp, rotting floor of the forest, the silence and tranquility of that special place, is imprinted on my soul.

 

WONGA BEACH - DAINTREE NP - CAPE TRIBULATION

We drove to Wonga Beach and the Peninsula Caravan park between Wonga Beach and DaintreeVillage. I must admit it is pleasant to be in parks for a change from free camping, and able to enjoy the luxury of showers and washing machines and water on tap.

On our first day, we caught the ferry across the Daintree river and drove north to Cape Tribulation, where Captain Cook holed his ship and was forced ashore .... hence the name. What a sight would have greeted him as the rainforest is so dense, right down to the ocean, and full of unfamiliar animals and birds.

We then drove part of the rugged Bloomfield Track to Emmagen Creek and onwards towards Cooktown. There were Swiss tourists swimming in the waterhole at the creek here but we didn't venture in. It was a bit cool for swimming but the crocodile warnings were enought to keep us out anyway.There were turtles and fish in the water and we watched some young guns on bikes speed through the rough rocky crossing. How they stay upright on two wheels beggars belief!

Walu Wugirriga Lookout. ... moisture laden air

 

Thornton Beach.

We had never seen this type of worm casting before. After the pile is made the worm goes back through the centre of the pile into the sand.

The impression in the sand is what is left after the tide washes the pile away.

Crab holes and patterns.

As we drove there were speed bumps and warnings of cassowary crossing the road but we are still to see one. They are endangered and we've been told we will see some around Mission Beach.

 

LAKE TINAROO -22.7.14 - MAREEBA

At Atherton we bought fresh fruit and veggies and asked about camping in the Danbulla NP/state forest. The road in was very pot-holed so it was a slow trip into the DOWNFALL CREEK CAMPGROUND on Lake Tinaroo. There are about six different camp grounds around the lake which is beautiful. There are uninterrupted views of the water and screening vegetation between sites which teem with bird life.

On our 4th day we drove around the lake through the forests, to check out the other camp areas. We got to The School Point campground and met a delightful young couple who had driven out from Cairns to celebrate his 30th birthday. They were camped on site 4 with magic views down the lake. The beauty and serenity of the place was almost indescribable.

After leaving our lovely spot on the lake we drove north to MAREEBA ( where the rainforest meets the outback). Our first stop was fresh supplies and then a visit to Coffee Works where we sampled and bought delicious Black Mountain coffee beans. The barn-like shop is huge and houses museum pieces, gifts, restaurant and tastings of liqueurs, chocolate and at least 25 blends of local coffee. It was our first retail therapy for quite awhile.

We followed the Peninsular Development Rd north through Mt. Malloy, Julatten and onto the coast just north of Port Douglas, through spectacular country and down steep winding road as we came off the Atherton Plateau.

We ended up in the Peninsula Caravan Park between Wonga Beach and Daintree Village. We booked four days to allow ourselves time to see the sights. The country-side is lush with cane fields and rich soils in every direction and frequent showers of rain.

 

RAVENSHOE

This was the first substantial town we encountered after so much outback travel.

The surprisingly generous visitor centre had a rainforest theme and great textile works on display. The fabric leaves were the inspiration of local textile artist Tess Daughtry who died in 1988.

There was also an excellent gallery with information and artifacts relating to local Aboriginal people.

Just out of the town were the Millstream Falls, reputedly the widest, single drop waterfall in Australia. It is so refreshing to have left the dusty, arid areas behind, and to travel now in lush tropical parts of Queensland.

Near the falls was an WW11 historic site where soldiers were trained for and rested from SE Asian battlefields.

From there we drove through picturesque countryside past Windy Hill where the giant wind turbines whirred and the black and white Fresian cows grazed on the hillsides. The weather was sunny, with a gentle, fresh breeze blowing as we headed down the long, winding descent towards Atherton.

At Atherton we bought fresh fruit and veggies and asked about camping in the Danbulla NP/state forest.