Our trip up to the rain forest of Cape Tribulation for some croc spotting in natural surroundings certainly lived up to it's name, ponchos at the ready, it pretty much chucked it down all day. At the moment we are in the season known as the 'Build Up' season prior to the wet season. It's around 90% humidity and a fair bit of rainfall occurs most days with flooding in some parts.
We then jumped onto a boat for a Daintree river cruise - Croc watch !! Boarding advice given - 'Whatever happens do not lean out of the boat'. It was certainly highlighted this wasn't zoo type conditions, and all rivers and lakes in these tropical parts are deemed croc inhabited, all definitely very wild and therefore extremely dangerous. The Daintree River is very wide but very shallow. 500mm in the centre at low tide. Perfect for saltys. The river is 10kms from the ocean. Tree snakes, non-venomous though, hmmm, hang from the Mangrove trees that line the river. Again perfect for those saltys to sneak about in looking all very dangerous. We did manage to spot one!
Some quick croc facts:
The Oz salt water croc, known as the salty, is deemed the ultimate ambush predator and normally hunt in or around the waters edge. They grow up to 7 metres long and can hold their breath for 4-5 hours. They are strong enough to project their whole body weight completely out of the water to capture any passing prey. Attacks on humans are rare, last year there was none but the year before there were 5 in Oz. All attacks have been river based, and all on locals. Saltys are known to swim hundreds of Kms out to sea to hunt.
The journey up to Cape Trib was on the Captain Cook highway which hugs the coastline and was windy to say the least. Shame that the beaches contain the dreaded box and erigangy jelly fish. Safety catch nets are provided for swimming areas, not sure though if these would keep out those saltys though!! Cape Tribulation is the only spot in the world where two natural world heritage sites meet, rain forest and reef. In the wet season it isn't uncommon for a metre of rain to fall overnight, cutting off access. The forest contains 3500 different types of plants and is thought to be the oldest rainforest in the world. The forest contains the highest number of the worlds most endangered and at risk of extinction natural plants and species. We did a boardwalk through a part of the rainforest looking out for snakes, spiders and anything else that could take a bite!
Cape tribulation was was given it's name by Captain Cook after his ship ran aground on the GB reef. Could Cookie be tagged as the first tourist to vandalise the reef ?
On route to Cape Trib beach we pulled in at the Jindalba boardwalk. A 3 kms walk that traverses through the forest slightly above the forest floor. Some great wildlife and plant species on view but every noise from the bush got you thinking. What the *!*? is in there and is it on route to eat us !!
Just off the Cook highway the Walu Wugirriga (Alexander lookout) it was just possible through the low clouds to see where the rain forest and Daintree river meets the ocean and the great barrier reef. Great views also of the Alexander ranges and Snapper island. Still raining !!
We stopped at Mosseman gorge. At the end of a newly opened suspended causeway the mountain rains are tamed as they tumble over huge granite boulders to create a cool fresh water clear swimming holes of Mosseman Gorge. Getting in was cold and the general feeling seemed a bit crazy at first, crocs still on most peoples mind, but as the sun broke through the high tree canopy all seemed pretty good.
Our trip up to the rain forest of Cape Tribulation for some croc spotting in natural surroundings certainly lived up to it's name, ponchos at the ready, it pretty much chucked it down all day. At the moment we are in the season known as the 'Build Up' season prior to the wet season. It's around 90% humidity and a fair bit of rainfall occurs most days with flooding in some parts.
No comments:
Post a Comment