Our fishing trip was a big success. Emma, who was vey sceptical about the whole thing, was the first to catch a 55 cm jewfish - we had to through it back in, because the limit was 60 cm. Thomas did actually hook a big stingray - but it was much too big and strong to pull out of the water - a big struggle before the line broke. In addition Emma caught 3 catfish; Thomas caught a black tipped reef shark and a catfish. I caught at bronze whaler shark and a catfish - and Paul also caught a catfish. We saw dolphins and would probably have caught more if we had stayed near the dolphins - but the water was a bit too rough for Emma and me.

After our fishing trip we went to visit a Barramundi farm where they worked hard to ensure the survival of the Gulf Barramundi. After the roads to Karumba have been sealed fishing tourism has increased. A barramundi can grow up to 180 cm, but you can only keep the ones 60-120 cm. We were told that many Australians eat Barramundi at Christmas time - but because this is the off season for catching the fish in Australia, as this is their breeding season, the barramundi sold in the shops around Christmas time is actually from Thailand. The Queensland fishing industry has fought to keep Barramundi as referring to the Australian fish - because Barramundi is an Aboriginal word, meaning "big scale" - unfortunately they lost, so you can buy Thai Barramundi as well.This seems very unfair.

At the farm, they breed the fish and when they are 3 weeks old, they are put back into the gulf and the lakes. All Barramundi fish start off being male, after a while, they seek saltwater and some of them change to female.

We fed the fish and it was quite fun.

In the late afternoon we went for another cruise to spot wildlife and crocs. It is the wrong time of the year for croc spotting. In the winter the crocs come out of the water and warm themselves on the shore, but when it gets warmer they stay in the water to stay cool - so we didn't see any crocs. We did, however, see a lot of birds and thousands and thousands of fruit bats, while we enjoyed the sunset, a glass of wine, prawns and tropical fruit.

We have also come across other animals, such as frogs - ever since Gregory Downs on the way between Mount Isa and Lawn Hill, I now flush the toilets before I go. Thomas was the one who discovered that frogs like to hang out under the rim of the toilet here in the tropics. For a while, we didn't think Thomas was ever going to go to the toilet again.

Mosquitoes are another issue. Both Ross River and Dengue Fever are present in parts of north Queensland - hopefully we won't catch either.

We haven't had any mobile connection since last Saturday - only Telstra NextG works, not Telstra G which is what I have - or it's the other way around. Optus has been hopeless, except for Alice Springs.

Friday morning we left Karumba and headed towards the East coast. When we reached Croydon we ran into a bushfire on the road to Georgetown, which was the road we were heading - it was almost in town. We asked a truck driver how came through and he said it was possible to get through so we started off, driving out of town - but suddenly we had fire on both sides of the road, so we quickly turned around and went back. We stayed in Croydon for another 3 hours watching the local fire brigade (2 people) working hard together with all the volunteers. Even the mayor was out fighting the fire. It was very scary. After three hours, it seemed to be more under control so we decided to give it a go, as we didn't particularly want to spend the night in town. It was still burning, but not close to the road.

Due to the fire, we arrived at Undara National Park later than expected. The next morning we went on a 2 hour tour of the Lava Tubes, until recently, the longest in the world. We met a Danish family on the tour. It turned out to be relatives of Erik and Jessica, who we know through the Danish School in Melbourne - what a small world.

After the tour we continued on to Cape Tribulation. We had mobile connection for about 1 hour before we lost it again. The scenery was suddenly extremely green - and the cows had a lot of green grass.

Cape Tribulation - Tropical Queensland, what a beautiful place. When we arrived it did rain a bit - 5 minutes at the time - but since, we haven't had a drop. Saturday we went on a croc cruise up Cooper River and we did see two saltwater crocodiles. A four meter long male protecting a nest on the river bank and a female croc in the water. We are staying at a caravan park right on the beach - but unfortunately we can't swim, due to crocodiles and now also stingers. It is hard, especially for Thomas, to understand that such a beautiful beach can be so very dangerous.

Sunday we sent Emma and Thomas on a bus which took them on a two hour jungle surfing tour. They swung from tree to tree through the rainforest like monkeys. Check it out at www.junglesurfing.com.au According to Emma and Thomas it was fantastic and they learnt about the trees of the rainforest and the blue butterfly which is a sign of a healthy rainforest. Paul and I went for a walk along the beach and through the rainforest - quite spectacular and peaceful!

Sunday afternoon we participated in exotic fruit tasting. This was, of course, Emma's wish and it was quite fun - although I do prefer watermelon and oranges to theses very peculiar fruits - they were so peculiar that you cannot buy them in shops. We also walked through the orchards to see how they grow. One of the fruits was the miracle fruit which makes you unable to taste sour things - the lime we had afterwards was therefore quite sweet.

Emma loves Cape Tribulation - and has, more than once, said that she will be back.

Monday morning we went on ½ day cruise out to Mackay reef, about 22 Km from the shore - it only took 30 min. in a very fast and fun boat. We went snorkelling and WOW - the water was 27 degrees and it was beautiful. We saw Nemo fish and Dory fish (from the movie), we saw and touched turtles and stingrays (didn't touch these), some with blue spots. We saw parrot fish in every colour of the rainbow, blue starfish and the most beautiful coral. We were so close we could touch it. We had to wear stinger suits, because the stinger season has started - but there is no sign of stingers yet.

This morning we packed up, left our caravan at the caravan park and drove along the Bloomfield track to Cooktown a pretty 4x4 drive through the rainforest and a few rivers (most are still dry). At every single beautiful waterhole on the way, we saw crocodile warning signs. Thomas is extremely frustrated. We are therefore staying at a motel with a swimming pool. Cooktown is a very historical and pretty town. Today only 3000 people live here, but in 1888 30000 people lived here, among those 18,000 Chinamen, who came due to the gold rush. We had fish and chips for lunch at the wharf, visited the Captain Cook Museum and all the lookouts. Tomorrow we will take a detour out to Hopevale (an aboriginal community) to have a look at the Art Center, pass the Endeavour falls on the way, before we head back to Cape Tribulation, pick up the van and continue to Port Douglas or Cairns. However we feel.

Danish:

Vores fisketur var en stor succes. Emma var meget skeptisk, men var den første til at fange en 55 cm jewfish - vi var nød til at kaste den tilbage, da grænsen var 60 cm. Thomas fik en stor rokke på krogen - men den var alt for stor og stærk til at trække i land, men han trak en haj i land. I alt fangede vi 9 fisk, hvilket vi selv var godt tilfredse med. Vi så delfiner og ville formentlig have fanget mere, hvis vi havde opholdt os i nærheden af disse - men bølgerne var lidt for høje for Emma og jeg.

Efter vores fisketur besøgte vi en Barramundi farm, hvor de arbejdede hårdt for at sikre overlevelsen af Barramundi-fiskene i gulfområdet. Efter at vejen til Karumba er blevet asfalteret er fiskeri turismen steget voldsomt. En barramundi kan vokse op til 180 cm, men man må kun beholde, de der er ml. 60-120 cm. Vi fik at vide, at mange australiere spise Barramundi ved juletid - men fordi der på dette tidspunkt er fiskeriforbud mod at fange Barramundi i Australien (ynglesæson), er den Barramundi, som sælges i butikkerne ved juletid fra Thailand. Den australske fiskeindustri har kæmpet for at få patent på "Barramundi" som en australske fisk - da Barramundi er et aboriginal ord, som betyder "stor skala" - desværre tabte de, så derfor kan man købe Thai Barramundi . Dette synes lidt uretfærdigt.
På Barramundi-gården opdrætter de fiskene, og når de er 3 uger gamle, bliver de er sat tilbage i hav og søer. Alle Barramundi fisk starter livet som hanner i ferskvand, efter et stykke tid, søger de saltvand, og nogle af dem skifte til køn.
Vi fodrede fiskene, og det var ret sjovt.

Sidst på eftermiddagen tog vi endnu en båd-tur. Denne gang for at spotte dyreliv og krokodiller. Men det er det forkerte tidspunkt af året til at se krokodillerne. Om vinteren kommer krokodillerne ud af vandet for at varme sig på bredden, men når det bliver varmere opholder de sig i vandet for at køle af - derfor så vi ikke en eneste krokodille. Vi så dog se en masse fugle og tusindvis af flagermus, mens vi nød solnedgangen, et glas vin, rejer og tropiske frugter.

Vi er også stødt på andre dyr såsom frøer - lige siden Gregory Downs, på vej mellem Mount Isa og Lawn Hill, er jeg begyndt at skylle toiletterne før jeg gør brug af dem. Det var Thomas der opdagede, at frøerne her i troperne, godt kan lide at gemme sig i toiletterne, oppe under kanten. Jeg troede aldrig Thomas ville gå på toilettet igen efter han så 3 frøer blive skyllet ned i toilettet!

Myg er et andet problem. Der findes Dengue Feber i dele af det nordlige Queensland - forhåbentlig bliver vi ikke smittet.

Fredag morgen forlod vi Karumba og kørte mod øst kysten. Da vi nåede Croydon var der skovbrand på vejen til Georgetown, som var den vej, vi skulle - branden var meget tæt på byen. Vi spurgte en lastbilchauffør, om det var muligt at passere og han sagde, at det var OK, så vi begyndte at køre ud af byen - men pludselig brændte det på begge sider af vejen, så vi vendte hurtigt om og kørte tilbage til byen. Det lokale brandvæsen (2 personer) arbejdede hårdt sammen med alle de frivillige på at slukke branden. Selv borgmesteren var ude at bekæmpe ilden. Det var meget skræmmende. Efter tre timer, syntes det at være mere under kontrol, så vi besluttede at tage chancen og komme ud af byen, da vi ikke ønskede at overnatte i byen. Det brændte stadig, men ikke tæt på vejen.

På grund af branden, ankom vi til Undara National Park senere end forventet. Den næste morgen tog vi på en 2 timers guidet tur i Lava tunnelerne, indtil for nylig, de længste i verden. Vi mødte en dansk familie på turen. Det viste sig at være familie til Erik og Jessica, som vi kender gennem den danske skole i Melbourne - hvor en lille verden.

Efter rundvisningen fortsatte vi til Cape Tribulation. Vi havde mobil forbindelse i ca. 1 time, inden vi mistede den igen. Har ikke haft forbindelse siden sidste lørdag. Landskabet var pludselig meget grønt - og køerne havde en masse grønt græs.

Cape Tribulation - Tropiske Queensland, hvilket smukt sted. Da vi ankom så det ud som regn, men det holdt kun i 5 minutter og vi har ikke fået en dråbe siden. Lørdag tog vi på en krokodille cruise (igen igen) op ad Cooper floden og vi så sørme to saltvandskrokodiller. En fire meter lang han, der beskyttede en rede på flodbredden og en hun krokodille i vandet. Vi bor på en campingplads direkte på stranden - men vi kan desværre ikke svømme, på grund af krokodiller og nu også meget farlige brandmænd. Det er svært, især for Thomas, at forstå, at sådan en smuk strand kan være så farlig.

Søndag satte vi Emma og Thomas på en bus, som tog dem på en to-timers jungle surfing tour. De svingede sig fra træ til træ gennem regnskoven som aber. Check det på www.junglesurfing.com.au Ifølge Emma og Thomas det var fantastisk sjovt, og de lærte om træerne i regnskoven og den blå sommerfugl, der er tegn på en sund regnskov. Paul og jeg gik en tur langs stranden og gennem regnskoven - ganske smukt og fredeligt!

Søndag eftermiddag deltog vi i prøvesmagning af eksotiske frugter på en eksotisk frugt farm. Det var naturligvis Emmas ønske, og det var ganske sjovt - selv om jeg foretrækker vandmelon og appelsiner frem for disse meget ejendommelige frugter - de var så specielle at man ikke kan købe dem i butikkerne. Vi gik en tur gennem plantagerne for at se, hvordan de vokser. En af de frugter vi smagte, hed mirakelfrugten. Den bevirkede at man mistede evnen til at smage surt - den lime-frugt vi fik bagefter var derfor ganske sød.

Emma elsker Cape Tribulation - og har mere end én gang sagt, at hertil vender hun tilbage en dag.

Mandag morgen tog vi på ½ dages tur ud til Mackay Revet, omkring 22 km fra kysten - det tog kun 30 min. i en meget hurtig og sjov båd. Vi snorklede og WOW - vandet var 27 grader, og det var smukt. Vi så Nemo fisk og Dory fisk (fra filmen), vi så og rørte skildpadder og rokker (rørte ikke disse), nogle med blå pletter. Vi så papegøjefisk i alle regnbuens farver, blå søstjerner og det smukkeste koralrev. Vi var så tæt vi kunne røre ved det. Vi havde en speciel dragt på, som beskyttelse mod brandmændene, da det desværre er sæson for disse - men de er ikke blevet spottet endnu.

Her til morgen pakkede vi sammen, men efterlod vores campingvogn på campingpladsen og kørte langs Bloomfield jordvejen til Cooktown en smuk 4x4 tur gennem regnskov og et par floder (de fleste er stadig tørre, men vi kørte nok igennem 3 - derfor lod vi campingvognen blive tilbage). Ved hver eneste smukke vandhul var der advarselsskilte mod krokodiller. Thomas var meget frustreret. Vi er derfor indlogeret på et motel med en swimmingpool. Cooktown er en meget historisk og smuk by. I dag er kun 3000 indbyggere, men i 1888 var der 30.000 mennesker heriblandt 18.000 kinesere, der kom på grund af guldet. Vi fik fisk og pomme fritter til frokost ved havnen (det skønneste turkis blå vand - og så lige krokodiller), besøgte Kaptajn Cooks Museum og alle øvrige seværdigheder. I morgen tager vi en afstikker ud til Hopevale (et aboriginal samfund) for at se deres kunst center, og passerer Endeavour vandfallende på vejen, inden vi kører tilbage til Cape Tribulation, henter vores campingvogn og fortsætter til Port Douglas eller Cairns.