Daintree Rainforest/Cape Tribulation 11/5

Whilst staying in Port Douglas we took a drive to the Daintree Rainforest and Cape Tribulation which is a World Heritage Wet Tropics listed area. We also visited Mossman Gorge. We were having typical tropical weather, cloudy and stormy one minute and sunny the next.



We ended up driving through the clouds as they were so low just after we had crossed over the crocodile infested Daintree River by small car ferry.



We took a walk through the rainforest keeping an eye out for the strange looking bird known as the Cassowary. The Cassowary resembles an Emu in its shape and stature but has a blue head and a comb on the top. They are also fairly dangerous creatures and can be aggressive if encountered. They have claws that are extremely sharp and quite capable of ripping open your stomach if they so wished. Thankfully we didn't come across any strays on this walk.



We drove onto Cape Tribulation. This is the only place in Australia where the Reef meets the Rainforest and it is a phenomenom that occurs very rarely any where else in the World. The name Cape Tribulation comes from the fact that Captain Cook's ship hit a reef here.



Here we had the worst of the tropical weather for the day. We walked along the beach in the sunshine, spotting a totally naked man strolling along the shoreline with his shorts draped casually over his arm (hence the amused smile). Then two seconds later the sky changed again and we were drowned by a sudden downpour of rain.



This is Cape Tribulation Beach from a viewpoint in the forest.



On our way to Mossman we pulled up to take a look at Thornton Beach. As you can see it was totally deserted. It was a lovely beach but every beach in this area has a warning sign that makes you think twice about staying too long. Beware of Crocodiles at the waters edge !



This is Mossman Gorge. It is a very popular natural attraction in Far North Queensland and is the subject of many professional photographers work all over Australia. Again the sun had disappeared for us but the Gorge was in full flow.



Last time we visited Mossman Gorge on one of our earlier trips to Australia there was hardly any water in the river. On that trip we clambered over the larger rocks without hardly getting our feet wet and sat on them in the sunshine.