Like wow (Port Douglas, Queensland)

Thanks to one of my favourite Australian bands the Hoodoo Gurus for today's post title. Why you ask dear reader? Patience, in time all will be revealed and my apology for late. Yesterday was a big day at the end I needed a drink to recover. Wow.

The weather continues to be perfect. Sometimes there is a little cloud in the morning but it always clears to blue skies and the humidity hovers somewhere around the 60% mark. It was an early start today because we had to be on a bus at 8:20am with 8 other intrepid souls for a day of exploring FNQ (Far North Queensland) with Tony's Tropical Tours.

There was another couple from our Hotel, also from Sydney and a couple from Melbourne who were staying at the Sheraton Mirage and the final members of our party were a mother and her two adult sons from Adelaide. Now, if we followed stereotypes, which group would be the focal point for jokes? No prize if your answer was Adelaide. Wow.

We've done the reef several times from several different places, twice from Port Douglas, so we thought a tour of the land might be the place to begin our sight seeing. This tour is popular because it is a full day itinerary and caters only to small groups. In hindsight, Jayne wasn't particularly impressed because there wasn't anything on tour we could not have done or organised ourselves, however, the point was we didn't have to do anything. Also, we do not have a car up here, so that would have been the first hurdle.

Our guide, Steve, is a very affable and knowledgeable person, although his stories of 'Captain Cook' and his exploits have devolved more from the Cook legend and a whitewash of history rather than reality. I guess he is catering to his audience because Lieutenant Cook wasn't nearly as successful as he was painted. For a more interesting perspective of the history of Australia, might I suggest you invest in Girt, An Unauthorised History of Australia, by David Hunt.

Cute caterpillar

The first stop was Mossman Gorge. We had a guided walk around the track and saw some interesting plants, bugs, lizards and a sizeable red bellied black snake. The river looked beautiful but apparently a swim in it could be fatal. Crocodiles. It didn't seem to deter some people and there were plenty of fish in the water as well. Standing on land we were assailed by swarms of March flies (I know, it's December right). The game became, kill a March fly and throw them to the fish. Great game, if you are fish and not being bitten by the flies.

Fish

Boyd's lizard

Random vista

The next stop was morning tea, although I wasn't entirely convinced I'd walked far enough to enjoy the homemade muffins and choc chip biscuits, but I reasoned with myself that the day was still young. The muffins and biscuits were beautiful and the Daintree tea was a nice accompaniment. 

A cruise on the Daintree River searching for crocodiles was next. Our captain Ray was every inch the stereotype of a laconic north Queenslander. He told stories in a typically understated Australian way, like the time a crocodile jumped into the boat and the French tourists on board wouldn't even hold his dog so he could throw the croc back into the river. The stories were interesting and were interspersed with commentary about the local flora and fauna. Alas, the search for the big crocs was to prove fruitless and the best we could find was a 10 month old hatchling. It wasn't even big enough to make a decent belt, let alone a hand bag.

Somewhat disappointed and a little wet (we copped the spray in the front of the boat), we were dropped at the 'cable ferry' crossing. Back in the day we would have referred to it as a 'punt'. In the air conditioned comfort of the bus we made our way to Alexandra Lookout. The views speak for themselves.

It was time for another walk through a section of the rainforest. The difference this time is that it was private property. Apparently that corrupt, gerrymandering genius Joh Bjelke Peterson made a valiant attempt to sell the entire rainforest. This decision was overturned by UNESCO and the government was ordered to buy back all the land - but not everyone sold. Hence we ended up on private property on another wander through the scrub with Steve providing interesting details about various plants and animals. It was at this point that we began to realise news must be slow to reach Adelaide as every tidbit of information was greeted with a "wow" and the really interesting stuff brought the group to a standstill as details were recorded on her phone for later review. Wow.

Rain forest

We survived another walk through the forest where upon Adelaide remarked, "wow" and were driven to lunch. It was a BBQ with steak, fish, salad, fruit and damper. Very nice. One guess as to which of our tribe had dietary requirements? And people wonder why other Australians laugh at people from Adelaide. Wow.

After lunch it was time for a swim in the river that runs through the Noah Valley Rainforest. To get to the pool you needed to negotiate about 40 metres of bush track. There is a metal ladder to encourage safe access to the water. It was a shock to the system at first, but didn't take long to adjust. The water was crystal clear and there were plenty of fish. A refreshing detour amidst the humidity. Jayne decided that changing and getting dry in time for the next leg of the journey was too much effort. She got to mind the thongs.

Back in the bus, Adelaide was lamenting not being able to get changed. Steve assured her that she could change at Cape Tribulation. We arrived at the Cape, Adelaide was directed to the change rooms, the rest of us were shown the beach and the track to the lookout. Here we met the peppermint stick insect made famous by David Attenborough. It is an iridescent green colour and has the ability to spit a peppermint scented poison about a metre at predators. Apparently the poison can blind you. Steve, being the brave tour guide he was, gave a couple of copulating insects a rub. Nothing. Maybe the rub became a part of the motion. He tried again and was duly squirted on the finger with a sticky white substance. Nope. I have nothing to say. Nothing to see here people. Read on. It was just another friendly Australian animal trying to kill or maim. Safely bypassing the orgy of stick insects we walked to the look out and snapped a few photos and then headed for the beach.

On the beach, Sydney, Adelaide and Melbourne ended up together at one point with the sons of Adelaide, but no Adelaide. The groups broke up and drifted down the beach. We stopped to watch a sea eagle and a sea turtle, inhabiting different parts of the world of course and then began a slow walk to other end of Cape Tribulation beach. We didn't make it far before relay calls from Steve via Melbourne called us to a halt, we then called the other Sydney-siders back, and the brothers Adelaide were also reigned in. It then dawned on our intrepid guide that we were missing one of our number. And so the search began. Back to bus for the travellers, Steve ran to the look out and back to bus. No Adelaide. At this point, one of the Melburnians reminded Steve that, at the commencement of the day, he had said it was "OK to lose one person". Onto the bus, onto the main road, no Adelaide. Back to the car park. Steve was getting increasingly concerned that she may have taken a track up the mountain by mistake. You would have to be pretty stupid to do that, I thought. Um, wow.

Perhaps, I suggested, she may have walked down to the far end of the beach. The sons set out for the beach and Steve made for the track up the mountain. Thankfully he had not progressed very far when the sons found mother returning from a walk on the beach. Wow. We were fortunate.

Calm restored and back in the air conditioning, Steve drove us to the Daintree ice-cream place and regaled us with mythological stories of "Captain Cook". Wow, came the comment from the back of the bus. Following the details of how Cook died on a Hawaiian beach, Adelaide immediately asked, "So, how did he die?" The story was retold. Wow. Just wow. The ice cream was interesting. You can only buy a serve of all flavours on offer on the day. No choice. Today we had a scoop of passionfruit, coconut, wattle seed and soursop. I still don't know what soursop is but it didn't kill me. I wasn't there to hear what Adelaide thought of the ice cream, but I'll bet it was, "wow". That was her reaction when she discovered that was the only place on the world you could buy that ice cream. 

The return drive was reasonably quiet and uneventful. We hadn't see a croc of any note and a cassowary sighting proved equally elusive as we wound down the mountain side. The Melburnians were returned safely to the Sheraton and, despite the odds, we deposited all three Adelaidians at their hotel. Wow. It could have been a wipeout. Given the lady's name was Grace all I can say is: amazing (come on, think about it). Wow.

It was after 5:30pm when we arrived at the hotel, a long day in more ways than one. Time for a beer by the pool and an opportunity to relax without inane questions. Wow.