Archipelago Port Douglas

... Colin to see the Rainforest up close and personal. A special 4WD bus came to pick us up at about 8:15 am and we were on our way. Our tour guide, Matthew, was witty and very knowledgeable about the area. He provided informative and interesting commentary.

The tour began with a one-hour Daintree River Cruise. Unfortunately, because it was high tide and very hot, we did not get to see much wildlife. We did see one baby ...

... and there are several signs reminding people the road is only there to provide access and to expect difficult driving conditions (although the road is now just about surfaced the whole way, a relatively recent innovation).
As we neared our destination we were diverted by the lure of Floravilla’s ice cream, made on the premises from local exotic fruits. There was a daunting array of flavours to choose from and Jen’s banana, ginger and coconut was quite delicious ...

Today was an important day! the Kombi got 4 new shoes (and a wheel alignment) and she looks fantastic. She also got a new number plate for the bikes (made of cardboard, not as good as our first one, but will do the trick till we get home).

After getting the tyes we headed off to Palm Cove. Nice, nothing special, have heard a lot of people raving about it but maybe we got it on a bad day (its cloudy and ...

Well we got up this morning and decided to go on a cruise. We'd been thinking about it for a while but hadn't decided when. Got a deal the kids for free which was lucky considering how much the adults cost. It was departing from Cairns so did the trip there and got there just in time. Forgot to pay the parking and realised not long after the boat pulled out. Luckily when we got back only a ...

... out in a tree in the middle of Port Douglas. - Had breakfast with the birds at a wildlife sanctuary - Hand fed the roos at the sanctuary - Jim and I had a romantic dinner at a restaurant called nautilus--it's in the middle of the town, but you walk up this path and all of a sudden, you're in the rain forest. Very cool. www.nautilus-restaurant.com.au - Took a skyrail cable car from Cairns over the ...

... highlight of the tablelands, didn't impress us that much, however it was a pleasant stop to stock up with noodles, our everyday nutrition portion. There are many national parks around Atherton tablelands and one could easily spend a week over there. Unfortunately, we didn't have more time left to explore this extraordinary region but at least could observe the landscape while driving, offering banana and sugar cane plantations, pine forests and beautiful ...

... forest forms a roof over the road and we seem to travel through a tunnel of vegetation. The road was contructed as late as 1962. Prior to  that all transportation was by sea. We stroll on Four mile beach and a hike in the jungle before we return to Cairns again. På svenska: Lördag 2009-03-14 Orörd regnskog vid Cape Tribulation Hallå där! Cape Tribulation ligger 150 km norr om Cairns. Området från Daintree Reiver ...

... tea for breakfast and a nut bar for lunch. Then make my way back to Roma Street to catch a train back up to Bunk. My feet hurt like hell but it was worth it. I think Brisbane is a beautiful city. When I return to my room, the girl that hasnt left the room yet, is STILL in the room. I guess people who are here long term are gonna have days off, but these hostel rooms are nothing you would want to spend any time in, so I just dont get it!! In the evening I head out with Richard and Lili ...

... found out he was originally from near Newquay in Cornwall!! He knew all the places we've been to at Easter!! He was still an inbred hippy though! We did just go anyway and made it to Lakeland before we ran out. We have been hearing about loads of bad storms in the South, but we haven't seen a thing here. It's been hot & sunny with clear skies up North. Lets hope they are getting all the rain out the way before we get there. We arrived in ...