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We spent on night in Mission Beach staying at a motel where the host and hostess (Bob and Angie)were unbelievably friendly - even plying us with free cold beers and their life stories while we lazed in the pool and played ball with their little dog Angel. Mission Beach is at the edge of the tropical rainforest region and we were serenaded all night by some particularly noisy frogs and other jungle noises. I also managed to get bitten copiously every day despite liberal applications of repellent. I'm really not sure how the Aussie mozzies will maintain their supply of type A blood once we fly out on Wednesday.
The next day we drove to Port Douglas along the most beautiful coastal drive with the road running alongside sandy beaches, with sparkling seas edged by palm trees. I loved Port Douglas, although I'm not sure how much that was influenced by the fact that we had managed to arrange a really good deal and were staying in a 4* hotel. It was bliss - I spent the whole time swanning around in the complementary bathrobe and slippers, trying out all the free potions and lotions and making the most of the space with our own sofa, his and her wash basins and emperor size bed! There were sunbeds around the cascade pool and pool towels were provided. To top it off we went out to eat for a TREAT and had the most delicious meal - coral trout! It was only the shopping which persuaded me to leave the air conditioned comfort! Port Douglas is quite smart with some classy shops and bars and a 4 mile beach. Not bad all in all!
From there we drove north into uncharted territory in the rainforest until the sealed roads run out and only 4WD vehicles can go any further. The region is called Daintree. We walked all the routes around the Mossman Gorge which was truly spectacular with a raging river running through the densest rainforest but since it was pissing down big time we got absolutely soaked - my feet were squelching around in my shoes and our lower halves where our pac-a-macs didn't cover were just sodden. It reminded me of our family trip to Dartmoor (although not as cold!). To add insult to injury the moment we sploshed back to the car 2 hours later the sun came out!
We took a couple of crocodile spotting trips along the river. Roger really got into the spirit of the thing and was a little downcast when his crocodile turned out to be a "logodile" and his crocodile nest to be flood debris! The skipper (Lex) was a real character and when we could understand him (which was pretty infrequently) was a mine of information. He enjoyed his odd practical joke and chortle away when I fell into his trap of coming to look at some shy fish who promptly spat all over me making me shriek. They were archer fish which I remember from Indonesia - they spit at insects to knock them into the water. He also sneaked up behind one of the young ladies who was fixedly gazing into mangrove roots to spot a croc and tapped her on the hip with a plastic crocodile - she shrieked louder than me! Anyway we did manger to spot about 5 crocodiles - one of which was a giant - and also saw quite a bit of other wildlife.
It really is isolated where we stayed at Cape Tribulation - they have no electricity, Mobile phone network or terrestrial TV. The upside was that they had satellite TV so we were able to set our alarms for 3.30 in the morning and watch England put France to rights in the 6 nations! We had a lovely breakfast in the most lovely spot on a deserted, palm fringed beach looking out at an island. (see photo) The only drawback is that you can't go into the sea because of the risk of jellyfish (November to May) and saltwater crocodiles all year. We really explored the rainforest walks including aerial and canopy views and at one centre had the use of audio guides which were really interesting. So if anybody wants to know about epiphytes or strangler figs or the various types of mangrove - ask away. We didn't manage to see any Cassowaries unfortunately - they are a rather rare cross between a dinosaur and ostrich whose last remaining habitat is this part of the world.
We have now returned to Cairns where we have 2 days left of our Oz adventure before we head to Lord of The Rings country.
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bec Sounds wonderful. I continue to be extremely jealous!