Cape Trib

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Got up early (aka 6am) to be ready for pickup at 7 from Njoy to go on our overnight trip of Cape tribulation the Daintree Mountains.

The bus came and I was hopping to get some sleep on the way up and then realized, i didnt just pay heaps of money for this trip to sleep. Ill sleep when im dead or back in the States (whichever comes first, hahaha). So I sat with Alyssa and chatted until everyone was on the bus and then the driver made us get to know each other.

First we drove to our first hiking spot at the Mossman Gorge which originally belonged to the Kuku Yalanji Tribe. Before going on the walk by ourselves (the bus driver didnt feel like coming I guess) we were told to watch out for Casowaires and Stinging Trees (L); "Avoid stinging trees. These plants are found at rainforest edges. They grow to approximately 3-4 metres high and have large, heart-shaped leaves with serrated edges. DO NOT TOUCH these plants as it will almost certainly result in a very painful sting. If you are stung, seek medical advice."

I really wanted to see one, just see one. But i wasnt really sure how to tell them from all the other foliage in the forest and I wasnt about to stick my finger on each plant I saw.

Here is some of what we saw on the hike.....









This is a super sweet as tree and is called a Strangler fig Tree. A seed is dropped and lands in a nook of another tree. These seedlings grow their roots downward and envelop the host tree while also growing upward to reach into the sunlight zone above the canopy. In the end the strangler covers so much of the original tree that the original cant get at the nutrients it needs and dies/ disapears so that it makes a really cool pattern.





















We were told we only had like an hour so after we saw where we could go swimming (didnt take a photo or go in, way to cold), checked out the cool over looks on the river and walked the suspension bridge we had to head back to the bus.

On the way back to the bus I ran into what looked like a very knowledgeable man. I was on a search for a Buff Breasted Paradise King Fisher and I thought I would ask him if there are any around these parts. This bird is my brothers most favoritest animal ever and they are only really found in Queensland. He said that there werent really any at the Daintree forest but I might be able to see some when I go more north.

On my way to the bus I also found some cool looking plant called the Wait a While.
Wait-a While characteristics:

• Clumps are formed from a gathering of a few stems which develop in chaotic tangles of twenty to one hundred metre long canes.
• The older smooth canes can be used for weaving, tying and construction purposes.
• The stems have compound leaves which also have prickles that protrude vertically on the leaf edges and stalk.
• These hooked stems are known to catch on to people's clothing, giving it the common names - Wait-a-While, or Lawyer Vine.

It sure is mad nasty looking.

I finally got on the bus and we drove to our second destination, a zoo. : ) god how i love zoos











L->R: Parrot I made friends with, Huntsman spider which was like three inches or more, flying squirrels i think?









L -> R: Parrots, boy and girl. Some animal I have no clue. Female Kanga with baby in pouch. She was really enjoying the rub down I was giving her neck.











L -> R: Iguana, Boa Constrictor, Lizard (yes there is a head if you can find it)












L-> R: Emu eggs, Bugs bugs bugs

There were heaps more animals (like crocs and castuaries etc) but Ive taken a bunch of animal photos on my trip in sydney so I didnt want to use of my camera storage with the same animals again.

After the Daintree Zoo we got back on the bus and drove to a fantastic outlook called Walu Wugirriga (aka "look about" in Indigenous). It was great because you could look at the map of what you were supposed to be seeing and then look up and there it is!

It was a bit cloudy so all you could really see was: Alexander foothills, snapper island, Murray Prior Ridges, Daintree River. There was a bit more that you could see being there but it didnt really capture on camera bc it was so faint.


More pix from the lookout area.

Center is a Palm Fan- Indigenous people use it to tell when a strong storm (ie hurricain) was coming because when the wind got above a certain knot then the fan would close.









L: this is a giant fern called a king fern. just fyi







After chilling at the lookout for a bit we got back in the bus and on the road again. We took a moment to draw in one of the most famous graffiti. This sign is of a Cassowary says at the top, "Chill out, not flat out" (its chopped off in my pic). It was a speed bump sign that was converted to bring awareness of ppl hitting cassowaries on the road. The artist wanted to copy right his work but well you cant copy right something that is graffiti and not supposed to be there in the first place. People have then put it on t-shirts and all sorts of stuff.
We stopped off at our last stop for the overnighters and went on another walk.




L->R: A Strangler tree. A fern Basket. A Walking Tree that will actually move after a while to better lighted area or water.

L: cool trees and their roots, the roots are amazing.



R: The original species of Eucalyptus. Eucalyptus are super big in Australia, being one of the most plentiful types of trees. On this one you can see the fruit.





After this the day trippers were dropped off to have lunch and us overnighters were brought to our accommodations. We got in and was starved. It was 2pm and we hadnt eaten at all. The place we stayed was closed from 2-230 in the kitchen so we waited in anticipation as our stomachs ate us. Finally we got lunch (delish sandwich) and then went to the beach. I put my towel down in the sand like is typical and walked around in the water a bit. I then came back to my towel and it was soaking wet! apparently the sand was really wet and just laying on it it was drenched. I decided I would just lay on it anyway and read my book. It was about 5is when I packed up my drenched towel and book and me and Alyssa headed back. I decided to take a shower bf dinner and she worked on some journaling, anu was napping inside.


At about 630 we went to dinner at the lodging. There really wasnt anything around us so we had to eat there. I had a good bowl of pasta and afterwards I grabbed some randoms (two boys who were from italy and england) and we played monopoly until anu wanted to go to bed. Alyssa won. I really didnt want to pack it in yet so I went to the tables outside our cabin and started working on writting postcards. Alyssa came and joined me.

I had made friends with one of the guys who worked in the kitchen here, Nick, and as he was walking from the kitchen he stopped and had a chat with us. A chat turned into a long as talk that went on until 2 am. It was really fun talking with him, getting yelled at for being to loud, seeing more hunstman spiders, and drawing in my planner. He made me a nice little page...
Take note of the cute hearts around my name :) lol
He told us that he would try and wake up in the morning bf our bus came at 2pm and he would take us to some amazing watering holes that you had to drive too. Totally excited, and i figured we had a good chance that he would come back to get us seeing as how he seemed to like me.