The last two days were exploring days. On Saturday we visited all the beaches north of Cairns before reaching Port Douglas and on Sunday we planned to drive all the way to Cape Tribulation.
Our beach day was great...luckily the sun was out and we could really enjoy the views of all the beautiful beaches. The 6 beach towns/villages are not connected by a coastal road. One needs to access each of them separately from the Highway, so this turned into a whole day affair. The white sandy palm-fringed beaches with some rocky outcrops really are inviting, however the stinger and crocodile warning signs curb ones enthusiasm to splash about in the waves. On every beach there is a netted stinger-free swimming area, so that one can cool off in the water. The stingers are jellyfish with tentacles up to 3 m long, which can kill you in a matter of minutes. So not something to take lightly. Trinity Beach is my favourite beach town...the village neat and inviting and not too upmarket. On the way home we went past the Esplanade in Cairns, watched the youngsters at the skatepark (again really really amazing) and went for a swim in the lagoon pool. Clint definately got in touch with his feminine side...walking through town in his sarong skirt !
On Sunday we drove past Port Douglas to Daintree, intending to drive to Cape Tribulation 128kms from Cairns, but a 3 hour drive. It is a beautiful coastal road with idyllic palmfringed beaches, dense rainforest enclosing the road and lots of signs warning you about crocodiles ! We got as far as the ferry crossing in Daintree and on the advice of some german youngsters did not carry on to Cape Tribulation. They felt, as we did, that the cost of the ferry is not worth it, as the landscape for the last 40kms to Cape Tribulation is not much different to what we had experienced up to that point.
As an aside ...I am sure there are no young people left in Germany, they are all in New Zealand and Australia. Clint and I are amazed at the amount of young people travelling and how long they travel and how many countries they have been to. How they manage to afford it is mindboggling...as although they spend less on accommodation, they spend much more on partying and alcohol. Most of them are really friendly, helpful and fun to chat to. We have noticed, that on most activities we are by far the oldest people on the trip and that it is much easier for the youngsters to make friends on their travels...there are just so many of them !!! Bit more tricky for Clint and I to meet people ...locals or travellers. Staying in backpackers is just not feasible...most of them are really just youngsters and that just makes us and them feel uncomfortable...and we do struggle a bit with the noise ! Just not the party animals we would need to be ! Just love the vibe of the youngsters we have met and chatted to - and so impressed by their adventurous spirit and daring ! Even more impressed now by Ricki's gap-year travels !!!! Think of her so often when we see the young travellers around us.
Oh well, we went to Mossman Gorge instead ...which is a river flowing over huge boulders through the rainforest. Beautiful environment, with vibrant blue butterflies and lotsof mosscovered boulders and trees creating magical vistas everywhere. We seem to be the rainmagnets. As we reached the Gorge (one needs to take a shuttle to get there) the heavens opened for a deluge of note. In about 10 minutes we were totally drenched by the walls of water...so we completed our short hike in the rain. We watched a bit of a rescue operation happening in the pouring rain. A young woman seems to have slipped and split open and shattered her kneecap, on the other side of the river. The emergency personnel were trying to get across the turbulent river to get to her and then also work out a strategy to get her across the river. Felt very sorry for her, as I think that she was in a lot of pain with lots more coming with a very bumpy trip over the river rapids. We did not stay ...but definately want to come back to enjoy this environment wit some sunshine. The rainforest really is spectacular.
As we left the Mossman Gorge we left the rain behind us to enjoy 4 mile beach in Port Douglas in the sunshine. Port Douglas is an up-market and quaint town 63km north of Cairns. The yacht harbour on the one side of town and the palm-fringed beach on the other ...gorgeous. We decided that we needed some exercise, so took a brisk walk of just over an hour along the beach ...and did not manage to cover half of it. Beautiful spot !

Well, and today was THE day ! We were off early to board the Catamaran for our trip to the Great Barrier Reef ...90min cruise out to the reef to the snorkeling/diving spots. Luckily the weather played ball ...little wind and slightly overcast, but as we got to the snorkeling spot the sun came out. The snorkeling was out of this world in both the spots that we were dropped at...just like swimming in an aquarium. On Saturday night we had gone to a talk called Reef Teach, run by an ex-South African Marine Biologist, who is really passionate about his field of expertise. He gave us so much information on the types of coral, fish and interaction amongst the species, that our snorkeling experience was incredibly enhanced...as for once we actually knew what we were looking at and what to look for. Definately recommended ! Swimming with a turtle and watching her eat a jellyfish was definately a highlight, after becoming a bit blase about the many big and brightly coloured parrotfish. Big shoals of fish of all sizes and individuals of all colours, colourations and species...just too beautiful. Even more amazing than the fish though, are the amazing coral gardens, made up of so many different textures, colours and shapes. Some of the coral rocks are huge and with a growthrate of 5mm per year, they must be 100s of years old. Quite a thought ! Also, did you know that coral is actually made up of millions and millions of little jellyfish anchored together ?! So it really is a living reef which is changing all the time. How amazing to be able to admire this natural wonder of the world ! We feel extremely priviledged. Such an amazing trip ...especially as I managed to enjoy the whole day out on and in the water without becoming sea-sick ! I think there may be hope for me yet ! Hopefully we'll get another opportunity to snorkel this week.