Australia Part 3 : May 21 - June 12

Cairns, QLD : Saturday, June 3, 2006

Today was another extreme driving day with an early 6:45 start. Like other parts of Australia, the road just seemed to go on forever. Unfortunately unlike some of the northern regions, the speed limits were much lower due to the many small towns and construction areas. As well we encountered the dreaded slowpoke Australian drivers on a regular basis, much to Brian’s frustration. He couldn’t figure out why they don’t at least do the speed limit! We passed kilometers of sugar cane, pineapple, mango, tomatoes, melons and numerous other crops. In between the fields and the towns were vast stretches of wild rainforest vegetation enveloping the hills that rose sharply from the highway’s edge. The temperatures began to soar along with the humidity. We were definitely traveling in the wet tropics.

Along the way we took a short detour up into the Paluma Range for a picnic lunch. It involved a drive up a stupidly narrow, twisty hairpin track with cliffs on one side and vertigo inducing drops on the other to get to a pretty set of waterfalls and creek. The air was much cooler at this altitude and we enjoyed a quiet lunch and stretch of the legs. We watched for the elusive cassowary but once again we didn’t spot one in the wild.

Back in the car again we headed north to our final destination in Australia, the tourist playground that is Cairns. (If you want to pronounce the name of this city like the Aussies do, you must call it Cans. Omit the “r”.) A city of over 100,000 people, it is a magnet for travelers with the nearby reefs, rainforests and beaches. We rented a house in Clifton Beach, north of Cairns and south of Port Douglas.

When we entered the house on #1 Turtle Close, we were very impressed or more accurately our mouths dropped open. First we had to enter through a double set of gates to park the car in the garage. The house was enormous with three large bedrooms and ensuites, a fully equipped gourmet kitchen, a laundry (yeah!), a huge sitting area with big screen TV, a dining room and all of it decorated in an understated south pacific/ Indonesian motif. As we exited through one of the many glass doors to the immense outdoor covered patio, we discovered the large L-shaped pool with the wooden bridge crossing over it to the unique thatched “Bali Hut”. It contained our third dining area, a BBQ and a third set of comfy lounge chairs. All of this was surrounded by lush tropical vegetation with brilliant flowers to give us complete privacy. By this point, the kids and my parents were stating quite unequivocally that they weren’t leaving the house while in Cairns. It was definitely a big hit and certainly one of the finest places that we have stayed on our trip this year. If any one out there wants to treat themselves to some luxury, contact: reservations@accomcairns.com.au. Our house was called Tropical Haven.

Needless to say, we couldn’t talk anyone into going for some groceries with us. So Brian and I headed to the nearby shopping center for some food by ourselves. We spent the rest of the evening enjoying the sights and sounds (birds, waterfalls and kids splashing in the pool) of the house. It was a terrific way to end a long drive.

Sunday, June 4, 2006: Cairns, Australia

It was impossible to get anyone too far away from the pool or lounge chairs today. Except for a short walk to the nearby beach, my parents were very content to relax on one of the deck chairs. Brian and I made a trip into the city about 20kms from the house. First we stopped at the very helpful visitor information center to pick up a variety of brochures and maps. Then Brian booked a three day, two night session on a live aboard dive boat for himself and Brennan for Friday. They would be able to do 11 dives during the three days.

Back at the house, we all enjoyed the pool, the internet access, and the Austar satellite television stations. We just chilled out for the rest of the day. Aaaah life is hard in the tropics…….

Monday, June 5, 2006: Cairns, Australia

We couldn’t let people get too comfortable during their stay in Cairns. So today we hopped in the car for a tour north to Cape Tribulation, part of the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area. To beat the organized tour groups, we made a beeline for the Daintree River and its ferry crossing. The ferry ride was only five minutes and as well we drove right on the boat without waiting on both trips. It was a beautiful albeit twisty drive through the densely treed rainforests once we reached the park boundary just on the other side of the river. We spotted lots of signs warning about cassowaries crossing the road but as much as we looked for one, we were skunked once again. At least I got a picture of the sign this time. In 1999, we flew past the only one back then before I thought about asking to stop for a photo. Today we must have seen a dozen signs, so conservation and protection of these rare birds has obviously been increased.

Our first stop of the day was at the Alexandra Range lookout where we got a spectacular view of the Daintree River flowing into the ocean. It really showed us how large the river is and how much it is affected by the tides. Historically the river was used to float large red cedar logs down from Daintree Village, established in the 1870s for the logging. Nowadays the primary boats on the Daintree are small cruise operators that take passengers in groups of 15 to 20 to look for the large estuarine (or saltwater) crocodiles that live in the river.

After the lookout, we continued onto the Jindalba boardwalk for a short 700m walk through the rainforest. There was so much to look at that it took us quite a while to finish the stroll. As well as the creeping vines, towering trees with spreading upper canopies and gigantic ferns, we spotted several species of birds and flowers.

We resumed our drive through the park to the Dubiji boardwalk, close to Cape Tribulation. It was about 1.2 km long and took us through three distinct vegetative zones. The first one was a rainforest; the second was a more open transitional area and the last one was very swampy with many mangrove trees. It was interesting to see them all so close together. Again it took us a while to walk through the trail because there was so much to see. I really liked the large, wavy buttress-like roots which looked like gigantic ribbons at the base of the trees.

Just a short way up the road was our farthest stop for the day, Cape Tribulation. It was possible with a 4WD to continue further up the coast on unsealed corrugated roads but we elected to stop here with our rented van. It was low tide when we arrived so we were able to wander quite far out into the bay. The sand was covered with small piles of rope-like sand wastes from the deeply buried clams. The sides of the bay were hidden by large tracts of mangroves which had most of their roots exposed and tangled in massive loops. The indigenous Kuku Yalanji people called this headland, Kulki. It got its western name from Captain Cook when he ran his ship aground on Endeavour Reef. It was incredibly beautiful sight.

By this time we were feeling a little “peckish”; it had been a long time since breakfast. In one of the brochures that Brian had picked up at the visitor center, there was a reference to the famous Myall Creek dog. So we stopped at the small takeaway in Myall Creek to try their celebrated offering. It was a one woman operation and she was very pleasant, making some adjustments so we could all try the hot dog. (After the weekend, her stock was low and she was out of hot dog buns. We got adjusted versions on kaisers instead.) So it took us a while to get our lunch but the combination of crusty bread, spicy sausage, bacon, fried onions and melted cheese was well worth it. Now dad figures he can whip up this specialty at home on his BBQ.

Feeling satisfied we headed back to the ferry. Unfortunately we were about 20 minutes behind schedule and we missed the 1:30 river cruise to see the crocodiles. We had been aiming for this time because the river was at low tide at 1:00. It was pointless to set out when the river was high because the crocodiles would be in the water and practically invisible. This is what happened to us in 1999. Instead we signed on for the 2:30 sailing with Bruce Belcher’s River Cruises and waited in their lounge area. The front desk clerk showed us the unique hiding spots of some local green lipped frogs. They liked to bury themselves behind the candy jars, cups etc on the display shelves. We would never have seen them without her pointing them out. Sometimes they jump into the coffee cups and give the tourists a good startle.

Our cruise ended up being an hour and a half because we had to go back up the river and pick up 14 passengers from a tour group at a different dock. On the way there, the guide took us to a bank where a humongous 5m long male crocodile lay sunning himself on the sand. He was the top croc in the river according to the guide. It was amazing. We have seen these creatures in zoos before but they seem so much more powerful in the wild. Even though he didn’t move while we looked at him, his strength was obvious.

After picking up the rest of the passengers, we spotted three more crocodiles. Two were young males and the third was a swimming female. We also got a sighting of a black feral pig on one of the islands. Occasionally these pigs are dinner for the crocodiles but generally their diets consist of fish and other marine life. Birds were also abundant and we saw kingfishers, papillion frogmouths, egrets, herons and others. About the only thing we missed this time were tree snakes which often hang from the branches over the water. It was a sensational trip.

By this time it was past four o’clock, so we headed back to our “mansion” in Clifton Beach. “Mansion” is how my dad refers to our rented house.

Tuesday, June 6, 2006: Cairns, Australia

To give everyone time to enjoy the facilities at Turtle Close, Brian and I planned a schedule where we alternated touring and relaxing days. So it was another pool, computer, television etc day. The only deviation from this plan was the production of a movie.

My parents were so infatuated with this property that Brian filmed my dad doing a travelogue ala “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous”. Then he edited the clips to produce a movie on a CD for them to take home with them. I think that they had as much fun creating the “masterpiece” as they did watching it afterwards. Now dad has some bragging rights.  ( NEXT PAGE )