In the morning, our hosts had laid out a gorgeous fruit plate: papaya, grapes, kiwi, apples, oranges, mandarin and the sweetest pineapple ever. A lot of fruit is grown in the region, and our plates benefitted. There was also toast, jam, cereals, and a pot of hot coffee all enjoyed with a lovely view of Thornton Peak in the distance. We talked to a couple from Switzerland who were heading through Australia in the opposite direction, so we gave them a few ideas about Darwin and Perth before they head out. Then we spent an hour or more chatting with our hosts. He told us of some of his adventures, and how he and Glenda had ended up in Cow Bay. His philosophy on life, his own and the current state of the world seemed quite close to our own, and it was a pleasure to both share and commiserate before we travelled on.
Just north of Noah Creek and the Noah Beach camping area, and into Cape Tribulation proper, we reached the Marrdja Boardwalk where we had another walk. The mangroves here were beautiful and full of life, and there was a lovely view of Noah Creek. We wandered for a while before checking in and dumping our bags at Cape Trib Camping. We had reserved a safari tent for a couple of nights, and it was spartan but comfortable, raised on stilts and across from the unpowered campsites. Cape Trib Camping is just a few meters from the beach, so we head straight there and had some lunch, relaxed and read for a while. We were able to walk out and see just where “the rainforest meets the reef,” as some of the fringing reef exposed at low tide. Thousands of crabs make various-sized holes with the sand they dig out in tiny balls, in amazing patterns around each hole.
In the afternoon we drove up to the end of the paved road, and Kulki Beach and Lookout. The views were beautiful, but this seemed to be the prime tour spot, and the area was swarming with day-trippers, their guides shouting how many minutes they had left before it was back on the bus. We got to the Bat House soon before they closed, and had a very educational walk on which 49 points were explained about the rainforest regeneration project that had been started over a decade ago. The land had been taken back, and was in various stages of a process to bring the forest back to its natural state. With more time we would have loved one of the longer hikes, around Mt. Sorrow or Thornton Peak. Instead, we head to Daintree Ice Cream Company and shared a 4-flavor sampler of mango banana, wattle seed, soursop and raspberry.
ps- We figured out that being a castaway and cracking coconuts his HARD work!
More Daintree pics
