Port Douglas: Daintree Rain Forest

We booked a day trip with Gary's Safaris. The specific trip that we booked does not exist anymore, as the times and distances involved were cutting things a little too close, but they have various other tours available. Our tour ended up being all right.

We started with an early morning hotel pickup in Port Douglas, and began the drive to the Daintree Rain Forest. On the way we passed through the town of Mossman and went by several sugar cane fields. It was harvest times, so we saw fields at the height of their growth, fields that had just been cut, and one field that was being harvested as we passed. There were birds circling ahead as the harvester's disruption tends to release a buffet of bugs, mice, and snakes. There is a small railroad just to get the sugar cane from the fields to the mill, so we saw the tracks and rail cars as well. We could also see exactly where the cutoff for Mossman Gorge was, though we did not go there.

Through the town there are several cassowary statues. As important a figure as it is in the ecology, the cassowary population had plunged to around 54 in 1993. Currently the population is estimated at around 500, which is a huge improvement but still a fairly vulnerable population. The locals do really care, and as our guide, Ian, would talk with various other people they would mention sightings, and the progress of orphaned birds. We did not see any live birds, but that is fairly normal. Sometimes you get lucky, but generally they are fairly shy, and probably better off with less contact.

You take a ferry across the Daintree River to get into the forest, and from there the roads go up and down and twist around. I was glad we had Ian driving, especially since every time a car pulled in front of us, I was expecting a head-on collision until I would see it was going in the same direction as us. It is just weird being on the left side of the road.

Several people live in the forest on small farms, which is allowed as long as they follow the rules protecting the environment. They do have a reputation for being kind of hippies, possibly with some crops that are not strictly legal. Ian says whenever there is a brush fire everyone goes out and inhales.

In the rain forest there are several signs for cassowary crossings. There are also several enormous speed bumps dotted with other bumps. These not only slow you down, but also make a noise to warn the birds that there are vehicles around. Because some warning is in order, there are signs warning of the speed bumps that basically show a thin rectangle with a semi-circle above it to designate the bump. In many cases there is a cassowary crossing sign and a speed bump sign on the same pole. My assumption is that someone saw this, and imagined how the bump part could kind of replicate a cassowary stomach, and came up with this very special sign. Regardless of origin, it is funny, and has a valid point. This picture is also significant in that it is the only time I was caught on film for this trip. I got myself in the mirror without realizing it.

I also found the other warning sign amusing. We were not there during stinger season, so that was not a concern, but I still enjoyed the warning sign. There is a bottle of white vinegar there for emergencies, but they add blue dye so people don't steal it for cooking.

The section of beach you see shows where the rain forest meets the reef. The rock is the old Great Barrier Reef, before the water receded and the rain forest grew out to it. The natives considered it a very mystical place, and called it Kuji, where the spirits walk.

We walked through the forest and over Myall Beach, then met up with the couple who went tree surfing (which we did not do) and they took us to lunch at Whet. We took in some more views, then headed over to Cape Tribulation Exotic Fruit Farm for the fruit tasting. At the restaurant, the farm, and the ferry, pretty much everywhere, Ian knew everyone. I suppose in the tourism business you have to, but it does seem like a tightly knit community. It is mainly full of people who tried passing through but couldn't leave or felt they had to come back. They call it getting cape-trapped.

In the picture you can see pummelo, key lime, kaffir lime, black sapote, sapodilla, soursop, malay roseapple, star apple, and I think we have a sweet sop in there too. We tasted all of those (only juice from the limes) plus baked breadfruit and frozen jaboticaba (it is very refreshing to take a frozen one and just suck on it). I have always been curious about breadfruit, so that was nice to try. The really squishy looking one is the black sapote, also called chocolate pudding fruit. It looks like chocolate pudding, but then people expect it to taste like chocolate, and it does not, so they are disappointed. It isn't bad, but it is more of a brown sugar flavor, I guess. I would try any of them again.

Our final stop was crocodile spotting on the Daintree River with Bruce Belcher's One Hour River Cruise. It was a bit like the jungle cruise at Disneyland, only real.

The Daintree River is about 140 kilometers long, with a population of about 70 adult crocodiles. So, I guess one croc every twenty kilometers isn't too bad, but I didn't see anyone swimming. We saw three, plus an enormous python hanging in a tree, and some birdlife, including one tiny kingfisher.

I had not yet worked out how to use the zoom on the camera, so I don't have any great pictures of the crocodiles--just some long shots. However, one of my favorite things about the river is that there where beach hibiscus all along the banks, and the blossoms would drop off and float along the river, so here is a picture of one of the trees as well.


http://www.garyssafaris.com.au/
http://www.capetrib.com.au/
http://www.daintreerivercruise.com/

Port Douglas: The Rainforest Habitat

I have already written a bit about the Rainforest Habitat from the field, but I wanted to add some details and some photos. For the previous post, you can link directly to http://sporkful.blogspot.com/2008/09/port-douglas.html.

For their official site, visit http://www.rainforesthabitat.com.au/.

The big attraction here was that we could hold the koala. Most places where they offer koala pictures, you are just near the koala. Here it actually rests on your arms, though they do it so quickly that I don't actually have a memory of it. The problem is that they are taking your photo and they are trying to get you to look and smile. I would advise focusing on the koala, because it just goes too fast.

They are adorable creatures, but not terribly social and cuddly. Also, They sleep twenty hours a day, so they aren't very energetic either. We were lucky because as they were doing the keeper talk Gumnut woke up and started showing off a bit, growling and asserting his male dominance (they are fairly territorial), so we got a good idea of how they move and sound. They do not sound like they look. They make very guttural noises, that sound like something bigger. It's kind of like a cross between a pig and a bear, if you can imagine that.

I am including a picture of him, and some of the crocodiles. The crocodiles are impressive to me in terms of just how invisible they can become. The next day on our river cruise, it was even more apparent, and the ones we saw there were not even trying to hide. One apparently grabbed a camper in Queenstown the day before we left Australia. I say apparently because they did not find any remains. You need to respect them.

I also have a picture of a cassowary. These highly endangered birds make the rainforest what it is through their seed distribution. They are also pretty good in a fight. You might think it is the bony crest on their head, but those claws are also very powerful.

I considered the Rainforest Habitat to be a good value. Regarding the Breakfast with the Birds, that was also good, but you need to remember that it will be pitched combat with the birds and decide if you are up for it. Regardless, they have some great animals, you get in close, and the keepers were really knowledgeable about the animals. If you are in Port Douglas, it is worth a visit.