We set off at about 7am, stomachs crying out for food but never mind... The road was waiting. We were incredibly lucky with the weather. Incidentally it was the only 100% sunny day, how insane? Beautiful blue skies followed us up the coast, the heat of the sun's rays lifting our spirits tenfold! We had a little stop off at Rex Lookout on the way to Port Douglas, took some snaps, then hit the road again.
Port Douglas. In one word - wow. It was breathtakingly beautiful on the beach and harbour. Expensive but beautiful. Maybe not a backpacker's #1 destination given the price but definitely worth a visit only about an hour north of Cairns. We parked ourselves behind the aptly named four mile beach. Unfortunately breakfast prices at the recommended Hi Tide restaurant meant we had to mooch around elsewhere until we found a little spot doing breakie for $7.50. Why the hell not! Eggs, toast, flat white, and orange juice, all by a man called Dave. Ello Dave!
Continuing on we ventured down the street towards the wharf. You cross the grass, spot a white building in front of you, turn to your right and bam. The view hits you.
I could've realistically stayed there all day, lapping up the sun and taking in the scenery. I couldn't help but admire the man relaxing under the palm trees (or a woman practising yoga nearby), almost to a point of meditation it seemed. If we weren't pressed for time I'd have probably done the same.
We had back down the same road we came up on but this time spent a little time on four mile beach. It was beautiful although the water a little cold. I guess it was still pretty early...
Back on the road!
We continued up the road past Mossman (we were going to pop in on the way back to visit the gorge but it we decided to bypass) and up to the Daintree River where you catch a ferry over to reach Cape Tribulation. I think the ticket was $21 per vehicle or something along those lines and took <10 minutes to cross. Smooth! Once on the otherwise we hit the road up, up, and up, before hitting our first destination...
Now... I know a lot of people don't read this and those who do I am eternally grateful, but for the sake of preserving an area that isn't so graced with tourists I'll keep the name and location of this place low key. It's sign posted but for some reason it was empty. I don't think coach tours take you here which is probably a good idea. Just look at it:
Flawless natural beauty right there. I was quite literally gobsmacked with the view and even after seeing the more popular beaches this still resides as my favourite. There's a beautiful view of Snapper Island too... And a funny human being in front. Who invited her?! ;)
We met an Australian couple on there after we spent a little time frolicking in the water. "Don't swim/go in the water" they said, "the crocs are just down there". Yikes! We weren't too far from the mouth of the Daintree River of course, an area supposedly infested with both fresh- and saltwater crocodiles (the latter they call estuarine crocs these days as they can inhabit both).
I guess we should've read the sign right...?
We carried on with the drive and ended up at Alexandra Lookout or Walu Wugirrigi lookout. It was beautiful to see the lush green rainforest against the blue skies. In another photo, not shown here, you saw out approximate location compared to the river...it really wasn't far.
A lookout point wasn't complete without a photo of the gang. Tourist time!
Onwards to probably the most famous beach (or at least most visited), Myall Beach. Honestly, it was beautiful but not as spectacular as the other. Tourists flooded in as tour after tour brought them, the same story reiterated. It made me so glad that we were doing this off our own backs.
We left to try elsewhere, Cape Tribulation Beach next to find a lookout point. Unfortunately we couldn't find it so instead just explored the beach.
I was happy to find an information board on the marine parks with explanation of the different zones with regards to what activities are permitted/prohibited at each site...
Back to the beach...
I went to the mangroves on the right hand side to explore but mysterious sounds emitted from the rainforest creeped me out (croc anyone?!) so I scampered away.
I joined the boys further down the beach with an attempt to tan my pasty white stomach (my singlet tan is coming along nicely...) but there wasn't much to see up at the other end and with the sun quickly going down it was time to head back.
It really didn't take long. As aforementioned we bypassed Mossman Gorge but decided to grab a bite to eat at a local pub in Mossman. A little rough around the edges I was a tad wary of going in, I just wanted to blend in not stick out like a majorly sore thumb, but we bit the bullet and went for it. A huge portion of stew, braised beef cheek in red wine, mashed potato, and vegetables. Holy crap, we all actually had a mouthgasm it was that good and for $16 it was actually far cheaper than other options around the little town. Sweet!
Back to base we had a natter about our adventure, had a beer or two, caught up with the others, and head off to bed for the last adventure with the gang: waterfalls!!
xX
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