Daintree National Rainforest and Mossman Gorge

On Thursday, we drove north of Cairns to visit Daintree National Rainforest and Mossman Gorge. As we were making our way out of town, I was struck once again with the beauty of Cairns. When I described Cairns previously, I forgot to mention the mountains. While the ocean borders Cairns to the east, the mountains form a backdrop to the west, making Cairns a very picturesque town nestled between the rolling waves of the Pacific on one side and the mountains on the other. Today we drove in the same direction as yesterday, toward Port Douglas, but went a little farther north. Mossman is about 77 kilometers (about 48 miles) north of Cairns. Mossman Gorge lies within Daintree National Rainforest.

Daintree is an area of steep mountain ranges, ancient rainforests, and streams/rivers of crystal clear waters. The first thing we did was to take a tour, called a "Dreamtime Walk". The tour was led by an indigenous guide. Our guide's name was Rodney, and he was part aborigine and part Irish (yes, a very odd combination). Our tour consisted of a small group of 10 people - besides Tom, Tricia, Joe, and myself, there were 6 other people. Of these 6 people, 2 of them were from Pennsylvania. Small world. The tour consisted of walking in the Rainforest along secluded trails, stopping every so often so Rodney could enlighten us about his culture, the natural surroundings of the rainforest, and the special relationship the indigenous people have with their environment. We learned a lot about the heritage, ancient culture, and traditions of the local people; this particular group of aborigines are known as Yalanji. Rodney also gave us a demonstration of using ochre paint in the aboriginal tradition of painting their skin. At the end of the tour, we were treated to a sample of Daintree tea and muffins. After the tour, we walked through the Mossman Gorge area, where we saw more interesting flora and fauna.

We found a nice spot on the banks of the Mossman River to enjoy a picnic lunch, so we spread out a tablecloth over some boulders, and enjoyed some sandwiches that we brought from home. While we were eating, a turkey came right up to us and gave us a sad, hungry look, hoping we would throw some food his way. Of course, we didn't, but he hung around anyway, just hoping to sneak something when we weren't looking.

After lunch, we went for a cool dip in the peaceful waters of the Mossman River (which the locals promised us did not have crocodiles). The water was refreshing, and the view from the middle of the stream/river of the steep cliffside of the Gorge and the valley emanating from it was absolutely breathtaking.

On the drive back to Cairns, we stopped to collect some mosquito larvae. Yes, you read that right, we stopped at a lagoonal area off of the beach on the Pacific coast to collect mosquito larvae. Why did we do that, you might ask? My brother-in-law Tom is an entymologist who does malaria research, and he decided to mix a little business with pleasure. When we approached the beach area from the car, there were danger signs warning of crocodiles in the area. So we kept a careful watch, but no crocs out today. Whew! Just another day in the beautiful country of Australia, a land of many natural scenic wonders!!!