Driving to the Daintree

We had a pretty low key morning packing up and headed off from Kuranda just before 10. It wasn't long before we got our first glimpse of the beach. A huge reminder of just how far we've travelled. The lush green Rainforest gave way to sugarcane fields. We stopped at Mossman for a couple of new tyres ($$ouch) then kept going towards the Daintree.

We reached the ferry across the Daintree River. The girls were a little apprehensive about driving the car and caravan onto a boat. $37 for a return ticket (no specific return date). They fit about 12 cars plus two camper trailers and our caravan and the trip took about two minutes. I'll admit I was more than a little excited to reach the other side. Going to the Daintree has been something I've wanted to do since I was a teenager. As we drove off the boat and up the narrow road through the stunning rainforest I was teary knowing how much Pete would've loved being here and how happy he would've been for me.

There was no warning about just how narrow the roads were. The first 10km are terribly winding and the van would've taken up the full width of our side of the road. A bit scary when you have a truck coming down the opposite side!

When we arrived at the Lync-Haven Rainforest Accommodation we were greeted by several snakes on the ground and 4 Eclectus parrots sitting out on the backs of chairs outside the restaurant/office. Once we set up we went back for a late lunch and had a better look at the wild life. On the way back from lunch we had a looked at several aviaries of rescued and donated birds and their area for rescued wallabies. Before we got back to the van we bumped into the owners who were walking their two pure dingoes. We weren't able to pat them but the owners were very knowledgeable. Apparently it's estimated only 5% of dingoes in the wild are actually pure breed dingoes with cross breeding with wild dogs their biggest threat.

We spent the rest of the afternoon doing washing and looking through pamphlets of things to do in the area. We took a walk around the small caravan park area then through one of the shorter rainforest walks on the property. It's so beautiful up here. The sounds, the smells, the thick, never ending trees and the massive variety among them. It's incredible.Read more