Monday, Sep 24, 2018
Time to catch up on some homework before we head out for the day. Our master bedroom has a lovely deck off of it with a table and a hammock, a pretty decent spot to do your homework.
Morning homework time on the deck.
We decided to explore the tropical Daintree Rainforest. At around 1,200 sq km the Daintree is a part of the largest continuous area of tropical rainforest on the Australian continent. We didn’t have a specific plan as to where to go so we hit the road and figured it out along the way…
…what we figured out was to turn around and explore a different part of the rainforest then we were headed towards. We originally planned to drive the 2 hours or so north to Cape Tribulation, with a population of 330 recorded on the 2011 census. Getting there requires a 5 minute ferry ride on a cable ferry. When on the other side of the ferry services are limited. Our reason for turning around were the dark gray ominous clouds coming in over the ocean towards us, time for plan b.
Mossman Gorge in the Daintree Rainforest in Queensland.
Our other option was the Mossman Gorge. We drove past the turn off on the way to Cape Tribulation so we knew where to go. We arrived at the centre where you can catch a quick 10 minute bus ride to the start of the gorge access and hiking trails. Because Justin usually has to “mix things up” we started our hike on a trail that would be either at the end of the main trail or completely overlooked by some after doing the first loop.
The walk through the gorge was stunning even compared to what we get to experience living in our temperate rainforest on the Island. I always think that it’s hard to beat the experiences we get to explore on a daily basis at home so for a rainforest to be as breathtaking as this was a treat. Even with the odd stretch of passing other visitors on some of the narrow paths it was well worth the detour and missing our planned visit to Cape Tribulation. Max and Justin finished of the hike in the Mossman river. They traded their walking shorts for swim trunks and swam in the gorge. The water was fresh and Max was unsure at first but Justin told him that it wasn’t as cold as the water at Englishman River Falls last summer when we were camping when Max swam to one side of the river there and refused to get back in from the rock he was standing on to swim back to shore, sadly for him there was no other option so when talking him down (yes there were tears and crying) Justin grabbed him and threw him in the water. Max later thanked his dad, he said he probably would have still been standing on that rock if he hadn’t thrown him in.
The boys swimming in the Mossman gorge in the Daintree Rainforest.
We unfortunately didn’t see any Cassowaries in the rainforest but we did see some brush turkeys. We saw one brush turkey building a nest on our way back to catch the shuttle. A little info on them from wiki “They build large nests on the ground made of leaves, other compostable material, and earth, 1 to 1.5 metres (3.3 to 4.9 ft) high and up to 4 m (13 ft) across. Mound-building is done by a dominant male, and visited by a succession of local females, for mating and egg-laying. The male works tirelessly, collecting material from all around, and also diligently repelling rival males, which are keen to usurp his position. The effort involved eventually wears him down, and he will ultimately be defeated by a new king. The eggs are very large (90 × 45 mm), and the young are fully fledged on hatching. They can fly within hours, as soon as the feathers are dry. The eggs are hatched by the heat of the composting mound, the temperature of which is regulated by adding or removing material to maintain the temperature in the 33–35 °C (91–95 °F) incubation temperature range. The Australian bush turkey checks the temperature by sticking its beak into the mound.”
Click the link below to watch the turkey we saw building its nest. You may have to click on the thumbnail that comes up to start the video.
Video of bush turkey building a nest.
After our visit to the gorge was done we headed home. A break at the rental then bathing suits on and off to 4 Mile Beach, a 2 minute car ride away. It was a bit windy but the water was warm, the tide was slowly coming in so we had a couple hours there then packed up to find some take out dinner to take to the other side of the town where we could watch the sunset. It was a bit overcast but the sunset was still beautiful to watch. Not a bad way to end our second day in Australia.
On 4 Mile Beach in Port Douglas.
Sunset at Rex Smeal Park, Port Douglas.
