Cape Tribulation

After a quick overnight stop in Cairns we travelling even further north to Cape Tribulation. First stop a riverboat cruise on the Daintree river looking for crocs! The first one we saw was tiny, sitting on a tree stump sticking out of the water, and I was a little disappointed. However then we saw a much larger croc half submerged in the water which was pretty impressive. Then we saw an even bigger one right by the edge of the bank, it was so good to see crocs in the wild, needless to say I kept my limbs in the boat at all times! After the cruise we headed farther into the Daintree National Park for the Marja botanical boardwalk, a half hour walk through the rainforest. We saw strangler fig trees that find a host tree to put down its roots and then slowly drains it of all its nutrients so it dies. We arrived at our hostel in Cape Tribulation in time for lunch and to spend the afternoon relaxing on the beach. The following day we took a walk to Emmagen Creek to a swimming hole, as there aren't many place to swim at Cape Tribulation because of all the crocs! After an hour and a half hike we reached Emmagen creek only to find the swimming hole wasn't as picturesque as we were led to believe. Anyway we were so hot and sweaty after our hike we jumped in to cool off. We got talking to an English guy and his son in the swimming hole who were staying at our backpackers and so caught a ride home with them. Cape Tribulation is advertised as where the reef meets the rainforest, it certainly is a spectacular spot. The following day we took the tour bus back to Cairns stopping at the Alexandra range lookout, crossing the Daintree river on the ferry, before stopping at Mossman Gorge, a really nice swimming hole with rapids. Finally, we stopped in Port Douglas late afternoon for a wander up and down the main street and a peek at the beach. It was the busiest beach I've seen so far on the east coast, there are usually just a few people dotted around but this one was packed! Port Douglas reminded me a little of Byron Bay, small but a bit more upmarket. It was good to get out of Cairns and see the Rainforest, it's so beautiful.