Another great day, this time exploring the world's oldest rainforest, the Daintree. This region of Queensland's slogan is "Where the rainforest meets the reef" and its easy to see why. Both the reef and the rainforest are World Heritage sites that you can visit as day trips from Port Douglas or Cairns.
It was another early start, but we found a bakery where the locals purchased their bread for the week. Ashley was especially impressed with the "mini loaf" idea and wishes it would spread to the US because we can never finish a loaf before it molds. We enjoyed the still warm croissants in our room as we packed for our tour.
Pete, our guide for the day, picked us up at 7:30 in his 4x4 Land Rover Discovery complete with snorkel and radio/intercom for his commentary on the tour. He runs Heritage & Interpretive Tours which specializes in private tours (2-6 people) in and around the rainforest. Pete is easily in the running for most interesting person. He grew up in Kenya, was initiated into a tribe, was a tracker for safaris, established and ran tea plantations in Tanzania and Papua New Guinea, and now has lived and worked in the region as a guide for 17 years. His wife of 52 years assists with the bookkeeping, baking (delicious cookies), and packs the hearty lunches for Pete and his guests.
To start the day, he took us to a colony of 1600 fruit bats, which are several times larger than the insect eating bats of the US. They were sleeping in several trees, so Pete took Ashley under one and told her to clap three times. The bats in and around that tree started making a chorus of noises and squeaks as we watched them move in the trees and a few fly to farther trees.
After the bats, we began the drive to the Daintree. Pete suddenly pulled off the road and brought out close-up pictures of a mountain we were facing. This mountain had special meaning to the indigenous aboriginal people called the Bama, with a cleared rock section as the Protector and a larger, but separated section as animals of the forest. We soon continued the drive as Pete shared information about Dream time, the Rainbow Serpent (creation story), and some of the important locations in the area. Already, we could tell this was going to be a good trip.
To enter the Daintree, cars must cross the Daintree River on a ferry. We noticed multiple large signs warning you not to swim in the river due to saltwater crocodiles. Once across, Pete led us into the rainforest where he would lead us on a 2 hour interpretive hike.
Our first stop was at the Mount Alexandra lookout. We hopped out of the 4X4 and Pete began talking about the environment and surrounding area, including Port Douglas in the distance. It was a nice view of the ocean and along the coast, so Pete volunteered to take our picture. He was soon walking through bushes and plants trying to find the best spot for him to stand to take our photo.
Immediately after our photo op, Pete was began walking around the parking area looking for items of interest. He pointed out nuts, small fruit, starburst ants, camouflaged insects, and plants with seasonal significance to the aborigines. With the promise of even better nature ahead, we climbed back into his vehicle and drove on to the hike.
The hike was along an old, abandoned 4X4 track where someone once lived. After only a few hundred along, the bush soon enveloped the trail and took on the look of a game path.
Pete continued on ahead through and over the ferns and logs until he stopped abruptly and told us to listen. It wasn't until this point that we realized the rainforest was very quiet. Few birds lived here year round because of the scarcity of fruit and nuts, meaning few chirps and songs could be heard. The main prize, if we were lucky, was to see the Cassowary. It's the world's largest flightless bird, but was also known to be very dangerous due to it's claws.
After the brief moment of silence, Pete began stopping more frequently as he identified something to share with us.
What the rainforest lacked in birds, it made up for in insects. Many varieties of ants, termites, caterpillars, spiders, and more could be spotted if one looked closely. One added benefit was that this rainforest had few significant poisonous creatures, which came as a shock to us with Australia's reputation for deadly snakes and spiders. As Pete described it, the Daintree was one of the most forgiving rainforests in the world.
During the hike, we sampled local delicacies such as ants (even Ashley), berries, and flowers. Pete was sure to point out and explain the medicinal properties of flora along the way. If we were to ever be stranded in the Daintree rainforest, we had a chance at surviving for a little while since we now know how to treat a toothache, bandage a wound, treat a mossie (mosquito) bite, a jellyfish sting, and what to do (or not to do) if a leech attached to your eyeball. He was also full of interesting fun facts and stories. Did you know that termite burps (they can't fart) contribute to carbon emissions?
Eventually, we came to a dry creek bed and shallow pool. This was typically flowing this time of year, but the heavy rains had yet to start. Fortunately, it meant crossing was a breeze. A few minutes later we came to a large tree with huge supporting buttress roots above ground. This was Pete's favorite spot, and he took a few minutes to explain his spiritual connection here.
Opposite the buttress tree was a hollowed out fig tree. These trees are perfectly adapted to the competition for light in the rainforest. They germinate high up in the canopy in other trees and send down a thin root to the ground. Once anchored, it begins growing. Over time, the tree surrounds the host tree and kills it off, often leaving an accessible hollow center. The aborigines of the area used to place bones of their ancestors in these trees, and when the European settlers first came through they had thought erroneously that the trees killed people. Before Nate could ask if he could climb in, Pete offered to take both of our pictures inside the tree.
After the morning hike, we enjoyed a spot of tea and cookies at the 4X4. Our next stop was further north past Cape Tribulation where we would eat lunch on a secluded beach.
Along the drive, Pete shared more stories of the area and of himself. One of our favorites was of a local artist who was drawing 'before' and 'after' cassowaries on the speed bump signs. The government initially tried to resist and would clean the signs frequently, but with enough local support they finally agreed to permanently leave some as is.
Our lunch spot required a short hike down a tree covered steep slope, but the view and seclusion more than made up for it. We found a mangrove tree that provided shade over some rocks and quietly enjoyed our lunch. Pete even pulled out a wooden Aboriginal toy and demonstrated how the kids used it.
The beach was beautiful and the water seemed inviting, but we weren't able to swim due to the deadly box jellyfish that inhabit the coast this time of year.
In the afternoon, Pete led us on another interpretive hike through mangroves and along the beach. We really enjoyed our time with Pete in the rainforest and learned quite a bit along the way. Tomorrow should be a relaxing day on the beach and around Port Douglas.
No comments:
Post a Comment