“The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page.”
–Augustine (354-430)
After experiencing a few days scuba diving the reef I realized there was no way I could leave Cairns without a visit to the rainforests of Cape Tribulation. This area of north eastern Australia is “where the rainforest meets the reef”. Just when I thought the most amazing thing about Oz was its wildlife. I soon learned the botanicals where of equal interest.
My tour guide Matt picked me up at 7:00 am at the hostel in the 4×4 shown. We picked up a couple from Taz and a Kiwi couple. This was to be my tour group for the day. COOL! Nice and small. The day was to consist of trips to Cape Tribulation, Mossman Gorge and Daintree National Park
First stop was Cape Tribulation. We hiked into the deeps of the rainforest as Matt talked about the interesting and dangerous plant life. A firebush when brushed up against sends millions and trillions of small glass like shards into the skin. The pain is intense and lasts….get this…up to 3 years! Strangler vines that start as a dropped seed at the top of the rainforest canopy. They grow downwards engulfing and eventually killing the tree they attached to. Serrated vines that will give you a nasty gash if you are unluckily to walk across them. (major stitches required as some have actually bleed to death)
While walking through the forest the feeling was that a dinosaur would jump out at any time. It is truly a prehistoric rainforest. The pictures show the immense scale of some of the foliage. We stopped for morning tea and my first goanna encounter. Pretty big lizards. Upon walking out on the massive and intensely beautiful beach at the cape; I notice a jelly fish warning sign.
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