Grape Escape - Australia

Palm Cove, Queensland, Australia
Monday, January 20, 2014

We have been so fortunate today on several fronts, as will become apparent. It was the obligatory early start and we were collected from the villa this morning at 7.45 and as part of a small tour group we set off up the coast road towards Port Douglas and the Daintree National Park. Our guide was a typically laconic Aussie called Matt, with a blond ponytail most girls would kill for. He asked us where we were from and on realising we were from the mother land said 'Aw, thought you'd come and check up on the colonies did yuh?! Make sure you give Liz a good report of us'. I'm sure you get the picture and immediately we knew we were in for a good day.
The drive up to Port Douglas hugs the coast and the views are yet again spectacular. The sun shone, it was as clear as a bell and the Coral Sea was like a millpond, scarcely a ripple. Matt explained how unusual this was for the time of year and that no rain and views are virtually unheard of in January. See what I mean by fortunate.
By 9.30am we were on the Daintree river for a short cruise. This is the beginning of the National Park and whilst we were on the water Matt took the 4wd over the river by ferry, which is the only way to cross, as there is no bridge and to drive round would take a day. The river was named by a British Geologist by the name of George Elphinstone-Dalrymple ( could only be British), who was sent up to Ccoktown to develop the port to export gold. He soon realised this was a nonstarter and started to explore, looking for other options. On coming upon this navigable river, he promptly named it for a friend and fellow geologist, Richard Daintree and so the name became synomous with this part of the world. The tropical rainforest grows right down to the river and the edges are clothed in mangroves. There are over 30 species growing in the Park, although I would have to say, seen one mangrove seen ‘em all. They look pretty alike to the untrained eye. We spotted a snake basking in an over hanging tree, nesting birds of varying sorts and joy of joys a small estuarine crocodile sitting log like on a pad of floating vegetation. Again, we were lucky, as crocodiles are not usually visible at this time of year. After an hour or so we picked up Matt and the vehicle on the other side of the river and drove on through ever denser tropical rainforest. The road, which on the map appears to be a proper road, narrows down to little more than a track. We stopped for a rainforest guided walk which was fascinating, having someone pointing out things we would have never realised the significance of had we been alone. We found a nutmeg tree, saw cycads hundreds of years old and started to understand the complexity and origins of the forest under Matt's direction. This is the oldest original rainforest on the planet and things have remained unchanged here since the days of the dinosaurs and beyond. It is an amazing concept. The Aborigines have fed themselves and used materials from the forest for hundreds of years, with little lasting effect as they only take what is necessary. I wish the same could be said of us 'colonials'. One beautiful red cedar tree has been felled to the point of there being only a handful left, in the hundred years from the 1860s.
Those of you who have visited Australia will be accustomed to the idea that rarely is the correct name used in conversation for anything. Everything and I mean everything is abbreviated, nicknamed, initialled. You do struggle to get your head round the slang at times. During this walk Matt kept referring to 'the indige'. It took us a while to get his drift and understand that he meant the local (indigenous) Aboriginals. Can you imagine the outcry at home if such a casual term was uttered. I think Sir Humphrey's phrase may have been something like 'the local native population whose existence is presupposed to have predated the arrival of the Colonial Era'.
The Queen's English does take on a different guise here!
Lunch was taken at the Raintree cafe and to our astonishment Matt cooked steaks on the Barbe, an array of salads was produced and we sat down to a sumptuous feast, which was most unexpected. There followed Kangaroo feeding as the Cafe owners have two pet big reds. Would you believe these are the first two kangaroos we have clapped eyes on in the 6 weeks we have travelled Australia and are millions of them out there. They are the most unusual creatures close to. Certainly not pretty, awkward unless springing at full speed and yet remarkably dexterous with their 'hands'. They have a real character about them that somehow epitomises all that Australia is about.
We moved on, passing fields of Camellia Chinesis, or to you and I, tea bushes! Here is the Daintree Tea company, the produce of which we had the opportunity of sampling later on. We now set off down the 4WD Bloomfied Track, an unmade road, typical of many throughout this vast land. Our objective was the pristine Emmagene Creek and it's natural swimming hole. We had been advised to bring swimmers. As you might imagine, changing facilities are somewhat lacking in the rainforest and this is no smooth bottomed pool! Not surprisingly the only takers were three of the guys, who could swim in their shorts. It was a stunning spot however and whilst we took everything in, Matt made Daintree Billy Tea (it was very good) and produced traditional damper (also surprisingly good). He commented on how he would demonstrate the Australian tea ceremony, which had similarities to the complex and ordered Japanese version. The billy can is boiled over a camping stove (no fires allowed in a National Park), Matt glanced cursorily round grabbed a handful of tea and threw it in, with a 'that should do it!'. When it came to straining the brew, due to the lack of a tea strainer (the standards of these colonials!), he explained they used centrifugal force. Ok, interesting thought, very scientific, now where is that centrifuge when you want it? As with everything here, simplification is the name of the game. He grabbed the billy by the handle and swung it round his head to separate tea and leaves. The mothers amongst us were aghast, but of course it worked like a charm. Not that I suggest you try it in the kitchen with the teapot! We sampled tropical fruits grown in the locality, some we knew, others not and a jolly half hour passed.
The return journey began and we visited Cape Tribulation beach on the way back to the ferry. This is the spot where two world heritage sites meet i.e. The Daintree Forest and The Great Barrier Reef. It is an amazing sight. The bay and it's famous headland were deserted apart from us. I couldn't believe we had it all to ourselves. Cape Trib (the local abbreviation again!) was named by Lt James Cook, when his ship The Endeavour was grounded on the reef off shore and he wrote in his log of the 'trials and tribulations of the following days, as the crew battled to re float the ship and keep her afloat, until they could repair the damage. A testing time no doubt, as in those days most sailors couldn't swim. It was considered unlucky and so failure to save the ship would have been disastrous for the captain and crew. Interesting to think that there may have been no triumphant return for the Lt, who was subsequently made Captain James Cook having claimed New Zealand and Australia for GB. On board, as resident botanist was Joseph Banks, who named so many native plants during this voyage, bringing back to England drawings and seeds that are preserved at Kew to this day. Consequently, Cook named the headland Cape Tribulation and at Cooktown, the river, Endeavour.
The day had one more stroke of luck to deliver. Just down the road from Cape Tribulation we had the good fortune to see a Cassowary in the wild. Only 15% of visitors have this joy and we were suitably thrilled to be amongst them. They are the most unusual birds. This one was a juvenile as it's cockade had yet to develop. They are flightless birds and the Daintree is one of its last strongholds. Their feathers are reduced to long soft quill like structures of a blue/black colour. The head is blue and green with a red wattle and it has long legs and three very long toes. They do resemble an emu, but are more beautifully coloured. Truly a bird of a prehistoric rainforest and a magnificent sight.
To recover, Matt took us to the Daintree Ice Cream Co. Here, organic ice cream is made using tropical fruit and nuts grown on the orchard. We purchased a tub containing a scoop each of macadamia, apricot, wattle seed and jack fruit ice cream. They were all delicious and gratefully received in the heat of the afternoon.
The ferry safely negotiated, remainder of the journey back to Palm Cove was uneventful I'm pleased to report. No one could have stood the strain of much more! We arrived back hot, tired, sweaty , but exhilarated. Billy Tea Safaris are the tour group to go for if you find yourself in this neck of the woods. They certainly deliver a day with a difference and a refreshing dip in the pool on our return was the perfect end to a brilliant expedition.Read more