We all had a great sleep and awoke to a busy morning of booking, researching, E-mailing and packing up our new rental car - a black Toyota Aurion. We bought a cheap cooler, filled it with provisions and, by 11:00 am, were on our way to Mossman Gorge. It's one of the most visited spots in the Wet Tropics. Part of the Daintree National Park, the gorge is the traditional home of the Kuku Yalanji Aboriginal people.

The Gorge was beautiful. We wandered down the path until we came to the swimming hole. Crystal clear water cascaded over large granite boulders, perfect for sunning ourselves! We tested out the water, finding it refreshingly cool and inviting. As we slid in, the current was just strong enough to give Margaret a workout and give the rest of the family several delightful floating trips from the falls to the pool. Despite a number of "roo" flies (horse flies, we call them), Connor said he could easily spend the entire day there and we all agreed. It was a lovely place. After our swim, we did a two km walk through the rainforest, stopping at several points to admire the amazing plant life. At the end of the walk, we had a second quick swim and then headed for Cape Tribulation.

We thought it would be quite a short drive; however, it was longer than we thought. We drove to a ferry, which we had to wait a while for, and then we hit a long windy road into the National Park and rainforest. We drove and drove and drove until it got dark. Just as we considered stopping to ask if we'd missed it, we saw a sign for the Cape Trib Beach House! Hurray!

The resort was lovely and although it wasn't cheap, it was affordable ($115 / night). We broke out our provisions and cooked pasta along with three or four other families and all manner of bugs, spiders, and frogs. After dinner, we joined a family of three from Grand Forks, BC for "Happy Hour" at the Sand Bar.

When we got back to our room, there were several Swiss 20-somethings sitting at a picnic table in our little outdoor lobby. We had the feeling we wouldn't fall asleep very easily so, since we couldn't beat them, we joined them. It was a lot of fun but got late fast. We didn't mind.