Cape Tribulation, Port Douglas & Atherton Tablelands
Charlotte managed to acquire a voucher for car hire which enabled us to upgrade out hire car from a little hatchback to a saloon. When we arrived, they had no saloons left so we had to make do with a double upgrade to a brand new Toyota Rav4! A modern, comfortable automatic 4x4 was the perfect way to drive up to Cape Tribulation and have an explore of the rainforest!
The drive was spectacular. Like a more tropical, more inviting version of the Great Ocean Road.
We were entering Cassowary territory; a large emu-like bird with an aggressive nature and a very large, dangerous claw!
One of the beaches that lined Cape Trib, which we stopped off at and had a walk around. The weather wasn't amazing, but the scenery was!
We found a rope swing
Mangroves! Potentially crocodile infested!
The sea! Potentially shark infested!
We also found a tonne of ants lifting a giant cockroach up the wall...
On the second day, we went horse riding through the forest and on the beach. We got up to speed on a fast canter along the sand and the forest tracks and it was exhilarating. Unfortunately, Charlotte's horse was a little lazy and simply did not want to run. So she had a slow stroll around the area instead.
We stayed at the Cape Tribulation YHA which were a group of awesome little forest huts in the middle of the trees! There was no internet and no phone signal. There was, however, a nice bar and restaurant area with a very cold pool! I did go for a brisk swim.
It doesn't look like it, but Charlotte and I are getting eaten by large aggressive mosquitoes in the above photo...
Just a little crocodile warning sign, nothing to worry about...
On day 3, we went for a crocodile watching expedition (in the rain!) on a boat along the river. We saw a couple of huge saltwater crocs and a few tiny baby ones.
After Cape Tribulation, we drove down to Port Douglas. We stayed in the YHA which was...interesting. It was a lovely hostel but full of long-stay French workers, who were extremely riotous and basically didn't sleep. So we didn't have the best night, but the area was nice!
After a couple of days strolling around Port Douglas, we returned to Cairns! The weather had picked up a bit by this point.
Once we'd re-entered Cairns and lumped our stuff back at the YHA, we made the most of our 4x4 and drove around the surrounding hinterland, known as the Atherton Tablelands. Our first stop was the town of Kuranda, which had a large, interesting market and was nestled in the woods It had a very hippie vibe, like a tropical Glastonbury.
This isn't a real wreck, but one from a film set. It was, however, a functioning plane in WW2.
Waterfalls at Kuranda known as Barron Falls - a little dry as it was the dry season, but during the wet season (summer) it's a raging torrent of water.
Taking a dip in Lake Eacham, a crater lake.
Charlotte in the gardens of Lake Barrine tea room, overlooking the lake.
Me admiring the cathedral fig; a giant strangler fig.
Another shot of Lake Eacham
