We arrived in Port Douglas from Cairns around 8 before hopping on another bus to get to the Daintree!
We wandered around the rainforest for about an hour, looking at lots of plants (some over 1,000 years old!) and plant species, although sadly not many animal species.
This tree is over 1,000 years old!
Our guide, Mick, had told us that we needed to be on the lookout for Cassawaries.
WHAT on Earth is a Cassowary??
Cassowaries are one of two species of flightless birds endemic to Australia (the other being the Emu). They somewhat resemble ostriches, although they have several distinct features which include a very colorful head/neck, a waddle similar to a turkey, razor sharp talons on their feet, oh, and a large "horn" looking growth on the top of their heads:
Image from Google Images
Mick told us that they are usually not dangerous, although, if they feel threatened, their claws could basically decapitate you. Awesome. What in Australia CAN'T kill you? He also told us that there are currently only somewhere between 1,000-1,800 Cassawaries and they are currently on the extremely endangered list. Here are some interesting facts about Cassawaries:
- While Cassawaries "horns" look sharp, they are actually incredibly soft. To the touch, they have the same level of strength as styrofoam!
- Since their ears are so small, the "horns" are thought to be used to deflect sound down into their ears, improving their hearing.
- Female cassowaries are fairly nomadic while males remain in the same territory for most of their lives.
- When females are ready to mate, they go to a male's territory. After laying eggs, the males are responsible for raising the eggs and teaching the young to survive.
- Cassowary young stay with their fathers until 2-3 years of age, after which they go off, either in search of their own territory (males) or to wander and find mates (females).
Quite interesting...but unfortunately we didn't glimpse any today... but we did see some signs warning drivers of Cassowary crossings on the road...
This sign was originally warning about speed bumps... but locals added some nice "before" and "after" shots of Cassowaries....
After driving further through the Daintree, our next stop was our Crocodile River Cruise!
We were pumped about our river cruise and seeing salt water crocodiles up close. While we had seen fresh water crocs in Africa (a la our adventures in South Luangwa National Park...), saltwater crocs are MUCH bigger (they can grow up to 20 feet long!) and pretty ferocious!
So we set out on our river cruise with high hopes... which quickly deflated as our guide told us that it's pretty rare to see wild crocs this time of year. That's because they normally come out of the water only to sun themselves on the rocks to warm themselves up. However, when the outside temperatures are around 90 degrees (as is the water temperature), it's not as necessary for them to come out...which leads to...some disappointed tourists searching for hidden crocs. Womp womp.
Despite not seeing any crocs, it was still a beautiful, albeit HOT, day on the river for a nice cruise :).
Mangroves on the river :)
From the river cruise we headed off to lunch at a beautiful secluded spot along a babbling brook where we were able to canoe (for about 10 minutes) and eat a delicious meal of ham sandwiches, salads, and salmon. Yum! Also at our lunch spot we got to hang out with lots of baby turtles :)
While stopping for lunch I realized what time it was - about 9 pm in New York...or time for PASEsetters! For those of you who don't know, before we left New York I had worked for an organization called the Partnership for After School Education (PASE), an organization dedicated to supporting and strengthening afterschool programs in New York City. Every year PASE hosts an annual gala to honor extraordinary individuals who exhibit true devotion to the lives of young people during out of school hours. For the last 4 years it has been one of my favorite days of the year, honoring these incredibly deserving afterschool professionals as well as celebrating PASE's role in strengthening the afterschool field. Standing by the river it was definitely a time of reflection for me to consider the crazy way the last few months of our lives has played out. I miss PASE and my wonderful PASE family, but I'm also so grateful that Jon and I have taken this opportunity to explore the world and expand our horizons. Here's hoping this year's PASEsetters was as incredible as the last four and that hopefully I can catch another event in the future :).
(PS - if you're interested in supporting quality afterschool in NYC you can check out PASE's website at www.pasesetter.org!)
After leaving lunch we headed off to Cape Tribulation - the exact point where the Daintree meets the Great Barrier Reef. And it was pretty darn beautiful:
While the Cape is absolutely beautiful, it was SUPER hot out with little shade near the beach. While tempting to swim, Mick had told us to be sure not to go in or near the water becauseeeeee....it's box jellyfish season!
Ya think they're a little concerned about warning visitors not to swim?!?
Box Jellyfish are THE single most deadly animal in the world. Relatively translucent with tentacles that can reach up to THREE METERS (9 feet!!) in length, I'd say it would be a good idea to stay out of the water. Mick told us that it would only take one foot of one tentacle touching you for about 10 seconds to supply enough venom to your skin to kill you. NO THANK YOU. Soooooo instead we stayed out of the water and enjoyed the views before taking a quick restroom break where we found.... HUGE golden orb spiders!
I have seen some big spiders in my life, but NOTHING like these before!! The spider's body itself was probably around 3 inches, wherein its legs made it probably around 8 inches total in diameter. FREAKIN TERRIFYING!!!
After that I was quite glad to get back on the bus (although I must admit it was SUPER cool to see spiders that big!) Back on the bus we stopped at a "biodynamic and organic ice cream shop" (I got hazelnut chocolate and Jon got pumpkin ginger...a little different...) before our last stop at the Alexandra Ridge Look Out:
From the lookout we could see quite a bit off the Eastern Coast of Australia, from Cape Tribulation all the way to Port Douglas. After stopping at the lookout we began our LOOOOOOOONGGGGGGG journey back to Cairns, again switching buses in Port Douglas. Our new driver, Greg, was QUITE chatty and enjoyed telling us just how far away from the city our hotel was (I timed it. It was literally 7 minutes outside of town.) Regardless, it took us from 5:30 until 7:45 to arrive back at our hotel and we were fairly tired. We walked next door to get fast food from Red Rooster (pretty delicious - similar to Wendy's) and then checked our internet and updated our blog for a while.
Time for bed - headed to Sydney in the am!
Jess' and Jon's highlight of the day: Cape Tribulation
No comments:
Post a Comment