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We woke to the sound of Tanias alarm going off in five minute intervals between 6 and 6.30, as our tour for the Daintree rainforest was due to pick us up at 7.30. We filled our backpacks with everything but the kitchen sink and headed for a quick breakfast prior to pickup. We guzzled down a few scraps of breakfast, stole some donuts from the buffet and shoved them into our backpacks for the day ahead.
We were picked up in a family wagon by Rob from Tonys tours, who introduced us to our new famiglia for the day. A couple of old girls (Aussie teachers from Warnambool) and another husband and wife ensemble from Canada who were also teachers. We began the day at the gorgeous Mossman Gorge, a site that has now been returned to the original indigenous peoples of the area. A bit chilly under the canopy, but a refreshing walk along the boardwalks to the river flowing through the gorge. Wildlife wise, some platypuses were spotted by others nearby, however the extent of our wildlife spotting included a golden orb spider perched in her web in all her repulsive golden glory. The b**** looked proud up in her web, showing off her creepy handiwork. Apparently shes been there for a few weeks now. It would be a shame if a native bird were to come and rain on her parade!!
After the gorge, we headed to the mouth of the Daintree forest, beginning at Daintree River. We hopped on a river cruise with its bogan captain and his buddy Jed (a staffy), who kept a watchful eye on the waters and barked at passing speedboats. During the course of the cruise we spotted 2 large crocs, a baby (2 year old) croc by the river, a couple of tree pythons baking in the sun and a frog mouthed owl. We also heard some bad jokes by the captain and spotted an illegal tour operating out of a speed boat, but aside from the latter it was a great experience. We were taken to a heritage listed private property called Noahs Valley. The rainforest was gorgeous, with complex layers of native and prehistoric plants, you almost didn't know where to focus your attention whilst walking through. Our tour guide Rob was a wealth of knowledge, he was patient but a smart ass. Our kind of person really. He answered any questions Tania and I had which we naturally fired at him from all angles. While walking through the rainforest, he told us if we saw a Cassowary to not make any sudden movements or noise. He then looked directly at me and said "And no european waving of the hands". It didn't take long to establish that we would be the easy targets of the days banter.
Rob pointed out every poisonous berry and dangerous plant in the region, following each up with a horrific story of the naive humans who have attempted to consume/touch them in the past. We were then questioned on our survival strategies should we be stranded in the rainforest. I thought my chasing and roasting of a bush turkey was genius, but apparently I lack the foresight that they lay eggs, which I could use as a consistent source of protein. I've always put out a decent spread for every meal, why stop in the rainforest hey?
So once it was established that I would last a whole 5 minutes in the rainforest if left to my own devices, I made sure I didn't dordle and kept at Robs heels the entire tour. After a few more stops in the name of sight seeing, we arrived at Cape Tribulation. Where the beach meets the rainforest is its claim to fame and boy does Cape Trib deliver. Aside from the bare footed children running around the rainforest floor (some seriously slack parenting), people smoking and butting out cigarettes on heritage listed land and tourists stopping their cars in the middle of the road to get out and take a photo of bats on a tree, Cape Trib is truly captivating.
We headed back en route to the famous Daintree icecreamery, which Tania and I personally think is overated, however that may be due to the innate icecream snobbery we possess as Melbournians. The trip back home was to the backing track of great beatles hits and aussie number ones, as we attempted to teach our fellow Canadian travelers about Aussie culture. We farwelled our new travelling acquaintances and thanked Rob for an awesome day, whilst he thanked us in return for being his entertainment.
Knackered from a long day, we decided it was not worth a trip into town on the trusty Port Douglas shuttle, so we settled for the "Interactive Dining" malakia that the hotel were offering. Interactive dining my ass, theres no need to sugar coat it, it is what it is, a buffet. What we consumed in the next 20 minutes would surely be eligable for the guiness world records. My tally involved a whole mortein bay bug, 6 fresh mussles in their shells, a scampi, a whole fresh crab, a side of potato salad and some green bean salad. Tanias tally was looking similar at that point and we had not even dared to approach the hot food. Throw in a jug of Sangria, a waiter who had no idea what he was doing who we named "Jose Jarabingero" due to his assumed Latino heritage and it all went downhill from there. We ate like well oiled machines until we were honestly considering if our bowels may rupture. We rolled back to our rooms and settled in for some seriously bad indigestion.
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