Cape Tribulation and The Daintree Rainforest
Cape Tribulation was named by British navigator Lieutenant James Cook on 10 June 1770 (log date) after his ship hit a reef as it passed over it, north east of the cape, at 6pm. This made Cook pull away from the coast, looking for deeper water. At 10.30pm, the Endeavour hit a reef almost sinking Cook's ship, on what is now named Endeavour Reef. Cook recorded "...the north point [was named] Cape Tribulation because here began all our troubles".[4]
In the 1930's some European settlers started arriving in Cape Tribulation, but they found the rainforest environment a difficult place to get established. Various ventures such as fruit and vegetable farming, fishing, cattle, and timber cutting were started and abandoned over the years, and having weekly barges as only transport in and out was another handicap. In the 1960's a rough track was bulldozed and the first vehicle access created, although the road remained a four wheel drive track until the early 1990's. In 2002, the road was finally sealed all the way to Cape Tribulation and in early 2011 the last bridge was built creating year round all weather access to Cape Tribulation for the first time.
We spent the last two days exploring the Daintree and Cape Tribulation, two days was not enough. We drove straight into the Daintree Village and grabbed lunch, Lee and the kids were pretty boring, but I thought I would be adventurous and get into the feel of the environment a little, so i had a crocodile burger! It was really nice, quite flaky meat and quite sweet.
We took a one hour cruise on the Daintree River which proved to be unbelievably exciting, we got a croc show that was a once in a lifetime experience.
After spotting a few on the banks we rounded the corner and saw a huge 3.2m croc sitting in the water with his head near the bank, it was clear even from a distance that there was something in his mouth. As we got closer we could see that it was a calves hoof hanging out of its mouth. The guide said he had spoken to the nearby cow farmer that morning and he had said he may have lost a calf the night before as their was a cow calling for it in the morning.
As we sat in the boat only a few metres away he brought half his body out of the water and thrashed his head around, a huge spray of water went up around him showing the amount of force in his head, he thrashed again, snapping the leg off and throwing the remainder onto the bank. He slowly sank beneath the water to swallow that then lumbered up the bank to grasp the remainder of the calf in his huge jaws and then back back down into the water. The boat guide drove us further up the river then and spotted some really small crocs, about 18months old. When we went back past the diner, he was sitting at the bank and all that remained was the calves head. The guide said he may have had his full but would sit like that holding on to what was left because he wouldn't want another croc to take it, he may even shove it under a log for a few days then come back and finish it. If he has had enough he will hide it but wont feed again for two weeks.
After this excitement we drove to Cape Tribulation and set up camp at the camp grounds 100 metres from the beach. We headed down to the beach for a quick look but it was time for dinner so any exploring had to wait till morning.
Back at camp we cooked dinner while the kids flew the kite, then sat around the fire toasting marshmallows. There were a couple of local aboriginal guys staying at the camp ground while they work on the roads, they were telling us some chilling stories about crocs and croc attacks and agreed that what we had seen that day was pretty amazing stuff to witness, even after their entire lives around crocs, they had not witnessed anything like that. They told us a story of a group of people related to the farmer whose calf we saw demolished, who on New Years Eve about 11 years ago were stupid enough to go down to the river in that exact spot. Two of the men were swimming in the river and two women standing in 18 inches of water on the bank. One woman turned to talk to the other and she was gone, all she saw was a ripple on the water, she didn't even have time to scream. Gone! After watching the power of this big lizard demolish the calf, we all have a whole new respect for the croc!
In the morning we got up and packed up camp, after a yummy breakfast we headed down to the beach. It was low tide and we were able to walk out among the exposed coral and explore the pools of water left behind. We spotted some beautiful bright blue fish, a couple of octopus, brittle sea stars and a pristine cowry shell.
We then walked up the beach and climbed up to the tip of Cape Tribulation. What a view looking down the beach, the rainforest covered mountains reach all the way to the palm tree fringed beach, it really is where the rainforest meets the reef. Mount Sorrow which looks down on Cape Trib recieves 10 metres of rain each year!
After a look around and a few pics we headed back down the beach to a path that leads over the cape to Cape Tribulation beach, this is a sheltered cove, perfect for a cooling swim before walking back. When we did get back we were all saying our legs were a little sore and we had perhaps done alot more walking then we realised, this was true as a look at the time shocked us to realise it was almost 3pm.
Next stop for a late picnic lunch was Mason's Shop, at the back of the shop is access to a beautiful crystal clear swimming hole, complete with rope swing. We had a nice swim among the jungle perch and turtles. What a great way to finish our exciting trip. Definately recommend a drive up here, try and allow 2 full days to explore at least! The scenery is spectacular, walking along the reef edge looking up the beach at palm trees and rainforest was truly beautiful, we could have been stranded on a tropical island!
Click on the link to check out all the pics!! Not suited for vegetarians.
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