Day 177 - Friday 23 June - Mossman Gorge and Daintree

Day 177

Friday

23 June 2017

Port Douglas – Mossman Gorge – Daintree

A long day began with a 6.30am alarm, but knowing what was ahead we were happy to get up and on with it. We had most of our things ready to go last night so it was only essentials this morning, though we did opt for a cooked breakfast, as we had been smelling the bacon cooking at various campsites for the last week.

Paul had the car packed and by 7.45am we were on the road and heading north to the town of Mossman about 20min away. We navigated to Mossman Gorge and parked in the large car park which was quite empty seeing it was just after opening time.

We made our way into the visitor centre and paid the $9.50pp for the bus that would take us on a further 2kms into the heart of the park. We didn’t have to wait long for it to arrive and we boarded, the only two riding the bus. I saw a rainbow bee-eater bird on a wire, so I jumped out quickly to snap a photo and then we were off.

The bus passes an aboriginal community before finally parking and then we were off hiking through the lush rainforest. We followed the signs to a small riverside beach to check out the view and then on to the Rex bridge to pass over the Mossman River.

Needing the walk, we decided to follow the circuit path through the tropical rainforest. It was a wonderful walk full of green trees, ferns and mosses. We wondered at the vines that crawled their way over everything, reaching high into the canopy; the huge fig trees that were sending their roots to the floor soon to envelope their host tree; the mosses that covered all surfaces, everything was just incredible.

As we followed the path through the bush, we stopped to listen to the sounds of the forest. There were many bird-calls and the occasional scratching and rustling of leaves but we saw nothing. We must have passed numerous snakes, lizards and tree kangaroos but they were all hidden to us.

We stopped to admire the variety of fungus growing on trees, the plaited vines and the fine green mosses that made the whole area feel like a fairy land. We made our way to a small creek where water tumbled between two rocks. We hung around for a while enjoying the view. Up until that point we had had the place to ourselves but as the day moved on more people poured in to the park. We were so glad we had made the effort to get up early, as the benefits were immense.

We checked out the final lookouts stretched along the Mossman River. The water was so clear and we could see fish swimming amongst the boulders that also rested in the water. It began to rain just as we were heading towards the bus stop, perfect timing.

We waited with others for the bus, watching it bring in another ridiculous number of tourists before we were driven back to the info centre. We did a quick browse of the art and then made it through the packed car park to our car heading further north.

We stopped in at a small beachside town to check out Newell Beach. We parked and walked along the sand, once again we had the palm tree lined place to ourselves, who would believe it. We admired the homes backing onto the beach, fantasising about winning lotto and spending months at a time in them. We checked out the lounges set up on the beach for afternoon rnr and we shook coconuts wondering how we might get into them to extract the good stuff.

After our walk we continued our drive on to Daintree Village. We stopped at the local hall, where we ate our lunch at a picnic table under a tree and when we were done we drove into the town and out the other side, following a scenic route sign. We passed over the Daintree River, stopped to admire the view of the mountains, river and the paddocks and then drove back in to the centre and parked.

Croc Spotting.. can you see it?

We wandered down to the jetty where we could stand at the edge of the river and watch the croc tour boats amble by pointing out the crocs on the banks. We then stopped in at the pub where Paul tried a new beer and I sat admiring the view, watching a Ulysses butterfly flutter by, my camera yet again too slow to pick it up as it floated away, damn!

We walked the main street, all of 50m, checking out various stores and what they had to offer; tours, art, food and artefacts. We then made our way back to the car and drove on, this time heading to where the ferry takes cars over the Daintree so that you can head on to Cape Tribulation. We will be using that one tomorrow.

We watched the ferry take a load over from a pontoon on the edge of the water, all the while I was watching for crocs that might pop up form unseen locations, fortunately none did.

We then made the hour trek back Port Douglas, parking at the marina so that we could find the Reef Sprinter company and pay for our snorkel tour. No one was in the shop front when we arrived, but with a few quick calls we had it all sorted and then it was on to Hemingways Brewery for another beer.

Knowing we needed to do more walking, we headed into town and walked the main street to Four Mile Beach, we then hiked it up hill to a lookout over the beach and dropped back into the main street from another road. We eventually meandered back to the car and then home once again to finally put up the feet.

We had a shower and then I got busy with the photos for today while Paul sorted dinner, which we ate heartily.

The night disappeared in a blur of green photos. I loaded bits on and then as my eyes began to close in front of the computer screen, I turned it all off and made it to bed, ready for another HUGE day tomorrow.