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Monday, June 22, 2009

Cape Trib and Hanging in the Canopies

Today we drove up from Port Douglas, up through the road where rainforest meets the sea, to Cape Tribulation. We crossed the Daintree River on the barge, and drove through fields of sugar cane, dwarfted by mountain ranges. Such a beautiful drive.

Driving past all the sugar trains had Darryl Braithwaite in my head instantly. We took at walk on the near deserted beach at Cape Trib, before a quick snack at the pharmacy in the middle of rainforest, where we were being met for our mornings activities.

Picked up in a 4WD, with a family of four and a couple, we were driven through the forest and mountain, to find our starting point for Jungle Surfing. The 8 of us were soon strapped into harnesses, complete with character hard hats, but two joking guides, who then too us up to the first of 5 platforms.

Melissa, being branded Lara Croft by her hard hat, was selected to fly through the air among the canopy of the rainforest first, flying fox style.

WonderWoman, um, that would be me, was up next, hooked up in full safety gear and instructions, before being flown over the rainforest floor on a cable from tree to tree.

Our guides catered to the fears of the kids, and one of the girls, in the group, with ease, and humour, and upmost professionalism. It was a safe and crazy adventure, flying through the air above the trees, learning about the area, how the platforms were placed, and a unique way to feel the life of the rainforest.

Once we had our feet back on the ground, we were returned to our car, and we started our drive back down South. We stopped at another gorgeous beach along the way, and at the Daintree Ice Cream Company, for ice cream flavours of the local and unusual plants.

From here, we drove back over the Daintree River, and into Mossman to the Mossman Gorge. Here, the rain started as we pulled in...which made us not so brave to take a dip in the waters of the gorge. It had grown a little cooler by then, but we walked through the paths to thr Gorge, to find a couple of people swimming in the icy waters.

Walking through the rainforest at ground level, the smells and sounds, we were taking in forces of nature at it's best, and least touched! A coffee and snack break back in Mossman itself, at the Junction Cafe, before driving back to Port Douglas.

With Melissa finding it very hard to switch off from her job, she had found herself telling a contact that she would met them for dinner tonight. Bringing me along for a free feed, we were picked up from our hotel, and greeted with drinks at the Sheraton Mirage. A full a la carte dinner, and much wine later, we had filled another amazing day up her in Far North Queensland.

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