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Pronounced "Cans", like 'Cans a Be-ah'. (Aussies don't pronounce 'R's')
We took bus and train ride to the airport, had bfast, then took a 3 hr flight north to Cairns. There, we rented a little red KIA and drove North an hour to Port Douglas. We checked in at our place for three nights, Mobray by the Sea.That evening, we had a burger downtown, then drove to the marina to see where we were going in the morning. Across the street we saw people staring at the trees and saw that they were bats. We then went to the supermarket (always fun) and bought breakfast snacks and drinks.
We had the option for going out on a smaller boat with only 30 or so people. There was really good snorkeling at tongue reef. Brownies and fruit were served when we got back on board.
The second place we stopped, Analy gave a guided reef tour. She could legally touch things that we couldn't. She lifted a coral out of the water which oozed mucas. She also waved her hand over a giant clam to make it close. Then she pointed out coral that is not colorful, but said it is not necessarily dead. The color will also come out at nite. Lunch was served when we we got back on board. It was a great day of snorkeling!
We drove less than an hour North to get there, then we had to take a shuttle bus to the trail head. The bus drove through a small aboriginal community. The hike was about a 3 mile loop through the Rainforest. We had lunch (meat pie) at the cafe.
Back in Port Douglas, we bought some beer and went to 4-mile beach. The weather was very hot and humid, and so was the water, swimming in the netted area.
At dusk, we went back to the marina to get pictures of the bats. We were told that they all fly to Daintree at sunset, so we stayed for that.
In the morning, we packed up and drove to Daintree Village. There was nothing there, so we drove back to the ferry crossing, and headed North to Cape Tribulation. Along the way we stopped at a couple of overlooks and boardwalk hikes into the rain forest, but none were as impressive as those we found at Mosman Gorge the day before. The area that we traveled though North of the Daintree river is very isolated. We saw nothing resembling a town The closest we came was a small cafe with a swimming hole close by. We finally arrived at our destination, a nice collection of cottages on a private property that also does exotic fruit tasting. We sat down to pay for our one night, and we happened to ask if our cottage was Air Conditioned. NOPE (even though the Booking.com page said it did)! So he gave us an out and an opportunity to taste fruit.
History Trivia: Cape Tribulation was named by British navigator Captain James Cook on 10 June 1770 after his ship scraped a reef north east of the cape. Learn more.
We decided to drive back to Port Douglas, but then as we got close, June got on Priceline.com and checked out places in Cairns. She found a good deal, so we decided to drive all the way back to Cairns. We had a nice meal in the hotel restaurant where our server 'Skye' told us the best places to visit in Cairns. I love her accent! Here is a recording.
After dinner, we drove out to the Promenade.
Travel tip for this area - One day is plenty to drive up and back to Cape Tribulation from Port Douglas. In fact, a day in Mosman Gorge was plenty for visiting the rain forest. That visit includes an opportunity to cool off in the river.
In the morning, we drove back downtown for breakfast, then we walked around the Promenade again. We checked out their free swimming lagoon, then had a couple hours before we needed to be at the airport, so we drove to the FREE Botanical Gardens. Unbelievable find!
We took the car back, got on the plane and flew to Sydney. The shuttle to the hotel was an hour late, and the hotel restaurant was now closed. We walked to a nearby Thai restaurant which was getting ready to close, but the young staff took good care of us. It was heaven-sent!
The next morning, there were two people in the worthless hotel restaurant and neither was a barrista, so we had no coffee. We eventually got to the airport, took the last swig of Gentleman Jack, and proceeded to the gate for the 14 hour flight home.
At the gate, we watched a young mother with her two little boys. The two yr. old was out of control as he ran around, poking and prodding at strangers. We made snide remarks as the mother talked on her phone, barely watching her son's antics. I casually mentioned to June what perfect karma it would be if we got stuck near this kid? Ha, good laugh.
As we were boarding the plane, the kid's dad appeared, and we figured that the mom had been trying to contact him on the phone. It was a giant plane with two aisles. Our seats were in front of the galley, so our row had only two seats across (normally three). And sure enough, the young family with the loud boy was directly in front of us. June, far more aware of her surroundings, was miserable. I didn't think it was so bad. I put on my headsets, watched movies, and sanded Jade stones that I bought in New Zealand. They served lots of meals (I lost track of how many) free alcohol, (YES, FREE!). I was happier than the proverbial Giant Clam on the GBR.