Chasing Waterfalls

Day 23
Today I went to Cape Tribulation and Daintree Rainforest which are popular places to visit when in Cairns. The day started with a stop at the animal sanctuary in Port Douglas where I saw several kangaroos with babies in their pouches and being fed by their mothers. It was so precious and really cute to see. We then made our way to Cape Tribulation and went for a walk in one of the rainforest national parks in Daintree called Mossman Gorge (we walked really slow and didn’t go too deep in which was disappointing, there was only one other girl my age, others were older or families with teenagers). We stopped for lunch and the tour guide showed us 2 big spiders on the fence in the parking lot; Australia has a lot of deadly spiders. Lunch was at Cape Tribulation Beach House, it was included on the tour and we had several options to choose from. I decided to go with the kangaroo steak (stepping out of my comfort zone). Kangaroo is similar to steak but it was very gamey. I felt guilty eating it after spending part of my morning hanging with baby kangaroos so I didn’t eat all of it. After eating we headed down to Cape Tribulation beach to walk around for a half hour before getting back on the bus. We had extra time so we were able to stop at a local fruit farm that makes their own ice cream and gelato onsite. I got to try 4 different flavors in a cup and it was incredible. We returned back down to Daintree River where we went on an hour long river cruise to spot crocodiles and see other wildlife (we did see a couple of crocs but not many). On this tour we headed up spending a lot of time on the bus due to everything being so far apart but parts of it was a beautiful coastal drive and other parts were surrounded by rainforest so there was still plenty to see from the window. When I got back into town, I grabbed dinner and hung out in the hostel relaxing a little before going to bed.

Day 24
Today I went to Atherton Tablelands, a region of rainforests and waterfalls. This was another early morning, I got up at 6:45am to walk and meet my tour group. Unfortunately, it was pouring out but it actually ended up working out great because the waterfalls were in full effect. Our first stop of the day was at a rainforest where we went for a walk and then had morning tea and biscuits at a couple of picnic tables under a gazebo. We were all soaking when we got back onto the bus. Our next stop was Josephine Falls, which has a huge waterfall and then a flat rock in the water that is used as a natural water slide that you can slide down when swimming. Due to the weather the falls and water flow was very strong and we were unable to go swimming here. It was still amazing to see, and crazy to hear how high the water levels had gotten overnight because of all the rain. We then got on the bus and went to Milla Milla Falls, this waterfall is famous for being the location they filmed one of the herbal essence commercials. You can’t visit here and not take a picture flipping your hair in the water. Since the weather wasn’t great, we were the only group here. The rain didn’t affect the swimming conditions here so me and a couple other girls decided to get in for a swim. The water was pretty cold and it was very rocky making it difficult to walk into without hurting yourself. We got our hair flip pictures, swam next to the waterfall and then got out to have lunch which was an assortment of different deli meats and veggies to make sandwiches. We stopped to see the Cathedral Fig Tree (an enormous 500 year old strangler tree) to take some quick pictures. Our last stop of the trip was to Lake Eacham, which has beautiful blue green water and has a freshwater crocodile in it that has been sighted on very rare occasions. Some people choose to go for a swim, I decided to take a walk around the lake to take in the scenery. It was a beautiful walk through the woods with views of the lake peaking out here and there. We had another snack before getting onto the bus to head back to Cairns. On my walk I managed to get bit by a leech between my second and third toe. When leeches bit they insert an anesthetic and anti clotting so you don’t feel that you got bit and it bleeds a lot. By the time I noticed the leach had already fallen off my foot. Very strange. The beginning of the day was very wet but midday the sun came out and it actually turned out to be a great day. When I got back to the hostel I packed my bags because I was leaving the following day.

Day 25
I checked out of my hostel and facetimed Kelly before getting on my shuttle to the airport. My flight to Melbourne left at 2:30pm and landed around 7pm so it was a day of traveling. Once I landed I grabbed a bus to the city and then walked 20 minutes to my hostel, which was right near Chinatown. I stayed in a 16 person dorm with a lot of long timers staying there so people’s stuff was everywhere. I got settled and went to bed in probably the worst hostel bed I have ever stayed in; the springs were coming out of the mattress.Read more