Swingin' on vines and such...

So after rejuvinating briefly from a day on the Great Barrier Reef, our group woke up early, 6:30 am, to depart on a day tour of the Daintree Rainforest. Although slightly rainy again that day, the views of the ocean were unbeatable, and the pristine natural setting around us was incredible and seemed to go on forever. I was very excited about going through the Daintree Rainforest because it is extremely well known in Australia and around the world as one of the oldest rainforests in the world! We started at the Mossman Gorges, which are supposedly very dangerous, especially since the water in the area was so high from the rainy season. As we walked on, I was so amazed at the amount of trees, flowers, and plants that I had never seen before! There were vines that snaked up trees like they were painted on. I must have seen about 30 different types of palm plants- some as small as my hand, some as large as my whole body! I saw ferns that were 30 feet tall, and green plants that grew spikey red thorns all over their body!

After walking around the rainforest for a bit, we stopped for a while at a wildlife reserve that seemed to be in the middle of nowhere. We saw a Cassowary, which is the 3rd largest bird in the world next to the Ostrich and the Emu, and looks like a dinosaur with his blue and red coloring. Apparently they are very dangerous birds and can kill! We also saw the crocodile pen at feeding time, and watched a 12 foot long, 20 year old Croc climb out of the marsh onto land, which was pretty frightening! The highlight of the nature park, however, was the field of Kangaroos!

Our guide said we probably weren't supposed to enter the field, but there wasn't anyone around and it wasn't blocked off, so he said we could go in. Our entire group crowded carefully around the Roos as if they were celebrities that we weren't sure were real! We pet them and they loved it! the first that I pet was medium-sized - about 2 feet tall- and when I scratched under his neck he tilted his head back and closed his eyes because he liked it! I was in heaven! Their fur isn't very soft- it's actually kinda bristly and short, more like a dog than a cat. I also pet a large Kangaroo that I was pretty nervous about going close to, and then there was the baby roo! One kangaroo, the smallest there was, only stood about a foot tall! When I crouched down to get close to him, I reached my hand out slowly to pet him, and he reached out with his little paw and grabbed my hand, pulled it to him, and started to lick it! I was so happy!! I'm sure he liked the salt on our hands from sweating in the humidity. It was still one of the highlights of my week!

We then went to eat lunch at Cape Tribulation Beach, a name that represents the trouble which James Cook (the equivalent of Christopher Colombus in America) encountered in this area, which was one of the first places where European settlers landed. He named the beach Tribulation, meaning Trouble, and the mountain in the rear Mt. Sorrow because of the men lost in conflict with aborigines, at sea, and from sickness. Despite the negativitity in the name, the area was absolutely beautiful! There's something that I truly love about wide-open, secluded beaches that show how small I am and how wonderful small sections of the world can be. With mountains on either side, a huge section of mangroves, and water that may as well have been coming from a hot tub, I could have stayed on that beach for hours. Instead, our group moved onwards!

Our final stop of the day was at a Crocodile spotting tour! Our huge group climbed aboard a few big boats on the murky Daintree River and took an hour long boat ride in search of some large reptiles. We only saw a few, however, one was about 14 feet long and dangerous, so we were told to try to be still and quiet. Besides that one big guy, however, we didn't see much as far as crocodiles go, but we were able to enjoy the beauty of the river. The clouds, full of rain that day, hung low and partially covered the mountaintops. The air was misty, and the area was quiet except for the sound of the water and the birds along the river bend. We saw a great blue heron waiting for dinner in the reeds, and saw a few brightly colored birds and a small python!

This was only the first part of our excursions into the wonderful, enormous rainforest, and I'll write more about our 3rd day tomorrow!

A quick side note, however, I was told on our trip about a huge difference between trees in America and trees in Australia! These differences, of course, aren't geographical but happen because of the climate! We saw a tree trunk on one of our walks through the forest, and our guide noted that there aren't rings on trees in Australia! The four seasons in Vermont and climates like our create rings in the tree, but in areas that don't have four seasons, such as the Daintree Rainforest, which only has a wet and dry season!