Everyone was a bit hungover from watching the rugby match the night before so we didn’t get a very early start. We stopped off to get some supplies in town and after we were done we hit the road and drove back towards Daintree National Park.
The CREB Track took us through the northern part of the forest the first time we were there. We missed a few of the main spots because of this. The plan was to spend a few more days in the Daintree so we could get to everything.
We arrived at Cape Tribulation an hour or so before sunset. We didn’t have a lot of time so we just chilled on the beach and went to the lookout to take some pictures. Cape Tribulation is one of the main attractions and some consider it the most beautiful part of the park.
Our next task was finding somewhere to camp for the night. The area around Cape Tribulation and the Daintree is pretty touristy. There is essentially a small town built there. So it wasn’t like we could just free camp like we were used to doing north of Cooktown.
We stopped off at Cape Trib Camping but it was very crowded and more expensive than what our friends had said it was going to cost. It was already after sunset by this point and we weren’t sure what to do. So we made the decision to leave that spot and move on towads another one fifteen minutes down the road.
It ended up being a good choice for us. The campsite was in really good shape and it even had a proper outdoor kitchen which is something we hadn’t seen for a long time.
We got to talking to the owner and found out that he runs an animal sanctuary on the land. He agreed to give our group and a few others a tour of what he had on site the next morning.
He had these really large pythons just hanging out in the front of the main building. They are mostly harmless from what he said. They rarely bite and even if they do they aren’t venomous. These are the types of snakes that like to bind around their prey and strangle them.
He also rehabilitates crocodiles and he had this really large female. Originally this crocodile was kept as a pet and it was in really terrible shape when he received it. The crocodile is quite large at this point. And even after roughly eight years the crocodile still makes attempts to attack him. Crocodiles don’t become attached or affectionate towards their caretakers. It sees everything in its territory as a potential meal.
He also had some dingos, which he takes on a walk nearly every day around the park. There are only a few pure breed dingos in the wild and people like the owner of the campsite keep these dingos in captivity in an effort to protect the gene pool. There are a huge number of stray dogs in the Australian bush and they eventually mate with the dingos. In this way the dingo gene pool gets corrupted.
We did a couple of walks after we left the campsite. There is a botanic garden right on the water and it was a really cool place to see all the different plants that grow in the area. The park is a rainforest as you enter but as you get closer to the water’s edge it turns into a mangrove forest. The trees that thrive in the rainforest can’t grow near the water because the salt content in the soil won’t allow them to.
Afterward, we went to a watering hole that was out the back of this restaurant for a swim. A really cool place with tons of rock sculptures that people set up. It’s much cooler in the rainforest (thankfully) but it was still super hot out and it was nice to take a swim and grab some food. Too many days making lunch and dinner without the proper tools can get frustrating.
We really didn’t do much else that first full day. We tried to check out the Blue Hole, which is a very famous swimming spot in the forest. But when we got in there it was all dried up. Unlucky really because it looks beautiful in the pictures I’ve seen. I guess you can’t win them all.
We ended up meeting these two girls and this one Colombian girl had an amazing van set up. She’d been in the country for some time (at least over ten years) and her story was pretty incredible. She started her own business and evenutally was able to sponsor herself for Australian citizenship. Then she saved up the money and built this apartment on wheels.
I’m telling you it looked like this girl had a studio in a van. You could rent something similar in New York City for a good chunk of change. And everything was brand new and customized to her liking.
All in all, she said it cost here about 30,000 Aussie dollars. Meaning the van itself and the work done to it. Not a bad deal in my opinion. I mean you have a home on wheels in a country that is set up for that kind of thing.
That night we slept in the park next to Myall Beach. Not the most pleasant experience. We got woken up in the morning by an angry local who wasn’t all that happy that we had pitched our tents there. So much for our free camping idea.
We got an early start anyway because our plan was to hike up Mount Sorrow. Probably the longest hike in the Daintree. We got out there at 7:30 or 8 o’clock because we wanted to beat the heat. But hiking in the rainforest is quite enjoyable because there is so much tree cover that the sun barely ever hits you.
The hike wasn’t super long but around the midway point, the trail becomes pretty fucking steep. The sun might not be hitting you but it’s still hot and climbing up this part was super tough. It’s so humid in the forest that you sweat like crazy. So we were sure to drink extra water.
It took us an hour and a half or two hours to get to the top I would say. There is a platform up there but we were told to go past the platform and hike a little further on until we got to the “danger” sign. The summit gave us a view of the beach and the surrounding area but it was only a 180 degree view. We weren’t on the tippy top so we didn’t have the 360 degree view of the forest that we craved. Still worth it though.
It had been a while since I climbed a mountain so it felt good to get back out there and tackle a trail. The boys felt that the hike was extremely difficult but I thought it average or a little above average. Compared to the hikes I did in New Zealand this was nothing!
We booked a campsite at Ocean Safari which was across the street from the park we camped at the night earlier. Simon and Kris, my friends from Byron Bay, were staying there for a few nights and we were happy to stay there too so we could meet up with them and hang out.
That night there was a small beach party just across the way. Not too many people to be honest but they got together these large speakers so there was plenty of music.
It was pretty funny actually. It looked like some sort of science project. There was this little motherboard and it was attached to various gadgets by what looked like thin copper wire. The whole system was being run on those small batteries that you might put into a power tool. It didn’t look pretty but it worked. Anything for a party, right?
We were out there until sunrise. That wasn’t my original intention because I was so exhausted from the hike earlier in the day but it kind of just happened like that. There was a huge fire and people were climbing the trees and getting the coconuts down from them so there seemed to be an endless supply of coconut water. We danced and we just talked. It got to a point where not staying up for the sunrise would have been a major let down. We were so close to making it.
The next day I was so exhausted I basically just slept in the hammock for the entire day. I was thankful to be in the rainforest due to the coolness and the shade provided by the trees. Kind of a recovery day for me.
The next day it was time to pack up shop and move on back towards Cairns. We stopped off at Alexandria Lookout and then a quick pit stop for some ice cream before making moves south towards Mossman Gorge.