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  • Day 59

    Day 59 - Putting The Rain In Rain Forest

    April 7, 2017 in Australia ⋅ 🌬 28 °C

    It's still raining. If you're getting sick of hearing about the rain imagine how we feel. In fairness it has generally switched to showers rather than a constant drenching which has its own fun of switching rapidly between putting on the unbreathable but waterproof layer of the 'North Face' and whipping it off again as soon as humanly possible but does give gaps where you can run to the toilet without an umbrella.

    We weren't really sure where to head today but with some helpful advise from cheerful Lynn at the campsite we headed out to Mossman Gorge. It's an area of rainforest which unsurprisingly is also is home to a gorge. We shuttle bused up and set off on the '45 minute' walk. Even without the photo and geocache stops I'm not entirely sure how anyone, except maybe one of the those mountain goat-esque hill runners, could manage it in that time. It was a very enjoyable walk but it took us an hour plus. I am on high ankle alert on these walks which probably makes me even slower but no one wants to rescue me, covered in mud, from the middle of a rainforest path. I'm also becoming a rainforest pro now and stopping to notice leaf shapes and growth patterns which I narrate to an enthralled Matt (at least I like to pretend he's fascinated). Ok so maybe you could do it in 45 if you're not me. This section of forest had some insane ancient trees growing stably at near 45° angles. The vertical panorama tips Mr Smarty gave m us as Angkor Wat have come into their own in the rainforest.

    With muddy legs we made it back to the van (now more known affectionately as the Sweat Box - or 😅 📦 Dad, I know you mainly speak Emoji now). I whipped up sandwiches in the back before we headed across the Daintree river on the ferry (the only way to pass). Ferry is a loose term. It's a floating platform on a rope winch which crossed from bank to bank in a matter of minutes. No sea sickness tablets required. From there we drove the roads to Daintree Discovery Centre via a viewpoint where the only view was a misty mountain.

    The Discovery Centre was fantastic. Lots of boardwalks and towers have been built in a section of the rainforest so you can wander around easily. And there's an audio tour! And a roaming guide to ask geeky questions to! Even Matt's getting into it and spotted a huge butterfly and some brightly coloured birds. It did however pour down for the duration and although the rainforest provides pretty decent protection the jackets had to remain firmly on. I'm still desperately hoping to see a Cassowary but no joy yet. We did however see a (captive) snake drinking from a water bowl which was cool. Less cool was the big dinosaur models they've put in which move on a sensor when you walked past making me jump out of my skin more than once.

    By the time we were done there there was little time for much else so we headed back to Port Douglas and had dinner at a superb fish restaurant at the marina and a quick drink. We have a 6 hour drive tomorrow so we called it a fairly early night.
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