We’re here in Port Douglas, Queensland, Australia. It’s situated on the northeastern coast and includes a massive rainforest, a massive coral reef and is warm/hot and humid…just right!
We originally thought this part of our journey would be a time to relax on the beach or by the pool and read books and do not much of anything. The weather hasn’t cooperated very well on that front so we’ve tried to be a little more active than planned. It’s all good, however, because we’ve seen and experienced some really neat things thus far.
Our first excursion was only a short trip up the road to an Aboriginal village where the Kuku Yalanji people live and operate a modest rainforest walk with one of the local guides who explains the flora and fauna found in the rainforest.
I’m so glad we did this first because there are sooooooooooooooo many plants in the local forest that can hurt, trap, maim and kill you found in these local forests. The Kuku Yalanji have lived and thrived in the rainforest using the forest resources for food, medicine, shelter and weapons. We learned about things like the Tar Tree that oozes black sap that, if touched, will eat into your flesh and rot it away. We learned about the Wait-a-While vine that is used for catching fish, building huts, eating and more. It’s aptly named because it has tiny barbs all over it that will hold onto whatever (or whomever) it brushes up against and you have only to “wait a while” until you can figure a way to get free of its hold. We learned about the Stinging Tree that has spines and hair all over the leaves that causes lots of pain if touched. Horses have been known to die from contact with this deadly plant.
We also learned about some good plants that won’t kill you such as the Soap Tree. You can crush the leaves of this tree and mix it with water in your hand to make a very nice lather that leaves your skin soft and very clean. The twigs of the tree can be snapped and peel the bark back to get a lovely spearmint-like scent that can be used for medicinal purposes.
Many of the fruits in the forest are poisonous but the Aboriginal people have learned how to prepare them so that they can be eaten safely. This information has been passed down for many many generations.
We saw some paintings left from the Kuku Yalanji ancestors that depicted some of what they might have seen while living in the forest and near the ocean such as kangaroo, stingray, turtles, and Cassowary, a bird that is now on the endangered species list but can still be seen in this area from time to time.
During our walk, our guide told us that he is a shaman and was taken by his grandfather and grandmother to be raised. I think that was because he was determined to be of shaman orientation early on and his grandfather was also a shaman and therefore wanted to pass on his wisdom to him. It sounded like he had a great life growing up with his grandparents and learning the ways of the forest and practicing how to heal others with his gift.
After our guided walk, we were treated to a didgeridoo lesson. This instrument is made from a branch from a tree (I forget now which one) that has been hollowed out by termites, leaving a tube though which you can make wonderful sounds. We learned that the didgeridoo is only played by men. Women can only play the hand sticks or sing. So, after a song from the expert musician, John was invited to play the instrument. It was great fun to watch John blow a raspberry and make the instrument come alive…well, sort of.
After tea and goodies, we were on our way. Truly happy to have taken advantage of this opportunity to learn a little about the indigenous people, their culture and traditions.
Next day, we decided to take a trip further north to the rainforest and to learn a little about what makes it so special and unique. We would also include in this trip a boat ride down the Daintree River where thousands of saltwater crocodiles live, breed and feed. Cows, dogs, little boys, tourists, it matters not. If they can catch it, which they are very good at, they will eat it.
Apparently a little boy WAS eaten a few years ago, but only after his little dog was eaten first. Never stand too close to the water’s edge, I say!
We took a very short ferry ride across the river, safely snuggled inside our car and made our first stop at the Daintree Forest Discover Center where we learned about the rainforest from the ground all the way up to the treetops where we could see the thick canopy of trees that shelters all the teaming life below it.
Some of the things we say were the elusive Cassowary. What a strange looking bird. It stands almost 6 feet tall and has a blue head, red goblet and a bony crown on its head. It’s almost extinct in with fewer than 1200 in existence so it was a real treat to see one wander by as we were observing the rainforest.
We also saw a Golden Orb spider female spider that, legs expanded, is the size of hand or larger! She’s got bright yellow on each of the joints on her legs and was making a web right near the walkway. How convenient! Apparently, her web is so strong that it can catch small birds. She mates with many much much smaller males and thanks them for the experience by promptly eating them! I’m itching all over just typing this!
At any rate, we saw only a fraction of the animal and plant life that exists in the rainforest but we got a good overview of it though this well done Discover Center.
The rest of the trip was spent mostly in the car driving up the rest of the way on the paved road to Cape Tribulation which was named by Capt. James Cook when he came there on his sailing ship and tried to find safe passage around the coastline.
A beautiful coastline it is but, by now, we’re a little drunk on beautiful coasts lines having spent 3 months in NZ drooling at them there. So, we headed back to the Daintree River where we would catch a boat and try to see one of the many saltwater crocodiles living there. What fun!
We did see one but the tide was high and that’s not a good time to see them. Fortunately, our ticket allowed us to have unlimited time on the boats over three days so we decided to come back and try again. What a good decision that was because we ended up being there at low tide and having the boat and guide to ourselves. This trip, we did see about 6 crocodiles of all sizes. Two of them were very large males, basking on the banks storing up the heat in preparation for the “cool” night to come. We saw Scarface, named because of a dual he and another croc had in which his face was deeply scared. Apparently he fared better than the other croc because that croc hasn’t been seen since. We also saw Fat Albert who was even bigger than Scarface and was considered to be the alpha male in the area. He was very fat and the guide said he’d seen him take a dead adult cow and shake it to pieces. That’s a big croc!
So, that’s our adventure to date. We’re waiting for a good weather window (it’s been raining and windy!) to go out to the Great Barrier Reef and spend the day snorkeling. I’m sure I’ll have a tale to share then and hopefully some pictures, too.
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