Please enjoy my quick run down of our trip. We had so much fun!! Even if the rain was a bit intense, we still made it work. Thanks everyone for the Birthday wishes!!
Day 1- To Cairns!
Left home around 6:30 with carry-on suitcases as luggage and said our goodbyes to the cats.
Took the light rail to the train to the airport. Had to take all the escalators up to the terminal. Self checked luggage through Qantas. Simple security and then some window shopping while we waited 2 hours for our flight. Found a book store with a cafe. Had some coffee, then sushi to make it through our three hour flight.
Airport water main in our terminal burst before we left so no water anywhere to use the bathroom or fill water bottles. Fine flight with free WiFi, breakfast sandwich, and movies.
Watched Victoria and Abdul and played Backgammon against the computer on my screen. Arrived in Cairns to rain around noon. Hertz Gold to the car asap.
Drove through Cairns to Palm Cove. Walked along the beach and jetty-croc and stinger warnings everywhere and vinegar first aide kits.
Ate lunch of burgers at cafe. Drove along the coast to Rex Lookout. “Roadside waterfalls” everywhere due to the heavy rains.
Arrived in Port Douglas at Air Bnb. Greeted by Batdog, an adorable staffy x.
Went to Four Mile beach in the rain. Got some coral. Read a bunch of brochures that were in the room to see if there was anything to add to our itinerary.
We had every location we wanted to see in Here maps and then just used that to get to place to place offline. We did have reception for most of the trip, besides when we were in Cape Trib.
Watched it rain on the pool. Played exploding kittens. Drove to the end of the peninsula of Port Douglas and went up to the top of the look out.
Went to the grocery store for peanut butter sandwiches and granola bars for breakfast, since cereal was the only option from our host.
Came back and met our host, Jo. He recommended us going to the beach shack for super where Brandon had us going anyways.
Had risotto and duck and spicy pizza and cocktails at the Beach Shack. Walked back to shower and bed.
Day 2 Friday Cape Tribulation
Got up and at granola bars breakfast and bag coffee (really good!!). Went back to the grocery store for bug spray which I forgot to pack.
Took off for Mossman Gorge Visitors Centre. Pouring rain, then brief sun-I put on sunscreen then poured again.
Tours of the Gorge were closed due to rain- flooded walkways. Went on to Sweet Treats Farm that grows and sells sugar cane and cocoa. Lots of flooding in fields along the road.
Passed lots of sugar cane fields and one banana. Lady very nice at gift shop. No tours and visitor center closed because of weather. Lots of cocoa, sugar cane and fruit products for sale along with John Deer tractors. Sugar cane harvester the coolest one.
Continued on North despite pouring rain. Had to take a ferry to get into Daintree National Park. Ferry guy was very confident that roads and ferry to remain open and this is all normal weather for the rainforest. Roads were much the same ahead as they had been on our way through.
Very confused to have to take ferry, but only way to get to Cape Tribulation, didn’t realize. River very murky and flowing fast. Hoping to see crocs at any stage, but waters too erratic for them.
Roads curvey and along the ocean. Waterfalls everywhere. Very peaceful and pretty. Some places where water across the road a few inches like on the way north.
Stopped at Alexandra Range Lookout-coast, tree covered hills and mist in the rainforest. Off and on letting up rain. Arrived at the Daintree Visitors Centre. Info about Rainforest, viewing platforms on every level, plants and animals. Cassowaries a big deal. Warnings all over the roads to watch for them.
Another learning centre with info on how old rainforest is and dinosaurs too. Rain pouring. Very happy for big umbrellas provided by Centre.
Very cool place with audio tour and lots of good learning. Would have loved to look closer at the Rainforest wildlife had it not been pouring. No real animals seen, just animatronic dinosaurs.
Bought cool 3d post card and cute animals cups. Off to Whet cafe and restaurant.
Drove for 30 ish min further North into Cape Tribulation. Cafe closed, but area with shops, another cafe and tourist center nearby. Ordered food and shakes at other cafe.
Heard from the employees talking that there was a landslide just north of the ferry and the ferry is not running. Concerned, but we are not heading that way for a bit.
Enjoyed lunch then took a path through the mangroves to the beach. Saw Cape Tribulation point and found cool coral and a crab on the beach. Only drizzling.
No Crocs seen, but warnings everywhere for them. Road tuned to gravel 1.2 k further north, we turned back south to Port Douglas.
Decided not to do any more boardwalks in the rain to not get dripped on more. Saw a lot of rainforest already. Some patches of flooding a few inches on the road. Windy turns and along the coast. Still waterfalls. Saw two adult female cassowaries. So happy to since warnings and crossing signs everywhere.
Also passed two rock slides, blocking the oncoming lane. Ferry open when we got to it. 🙂
Made it nearly back to Mossman with limited water on road and drizzle to pouring conditions. Then stopped in line of traffic. Fire Brigade man tells us road flooded. Should be better in a couple of hours… So we park and wait. Meanwhile all our neighbor car people get out to go investigate, barefoot with umbrellas.
I think this is how it is in Queensland. No one walking outside or in the grocery store had shoes on either. More people get out and walk toward the closure.
The internet entertains us and each other. We have water and granola bars and don’t have to use the bathroom.
Meanwhile Skyrail calls that the train for the next day is cancelled due to landslide and the train tracks being under water. We elect to do Skyrail both ways.
After about and hour people start coming though the other way. We thought it was clear. I think the fire Brigade people just left and they were chancing it.
So we all drive in the go into this water over the road. Brandon is a pro and we are fine. Then we hit the next area of flooded roads. More current and flow of water this time but not as deep.
Made it the rest of the way without incident back to AirBnB. Our Corolla is amazing! Lots of news of flooding in the area and more airport drama on the local news.
Quiet night of wine and peanut butter sandwiches.
Day 3 Port Douglas to Cairns
Got up early. Granola bars delicious bag coffee and cereal. Sun just rising and we left to drive South to Cairns. Few stops for morning pictures of the coast of the magnificent sun!!! Including Rex lookout where they do paragliding. Drove a little over an hour to our Cairns Airbnb to store our bags for the day. Returned our car to Hertz at the airport, then got an Uber to the Smithfield Skyrail Terminal. Still sunny!! Arrived way early, but better than late. Perused the gift shop, then got in lines to take the 1.5 hour gondola ride over the rainforest and range to Kuranda. Trouble at one of the towers and trips delayed a bit, guys were “working” on one of them as we passed.
One option was the Diamond View where the gondola had a glass bottom. No thanks says Brandon. He was scared enough with the height.
Towers were heilocopered in when building the Skyrail to not damage the rainforest.
Very unique plant life and the rainforest changes due to altitude on the range. Saw a few bright blue butterflies on the way. Barron falls was also in full flood and had a look at some old hydroelectric repair equipment for the power station nearby. The force and magnitude of the water was amazing. Awe-worthy. Was also off and on visible due to it misting.
Two stops to Skyrail to see the rainforest and the view. Did the second one on the way up to see the falls. First leg was with local Smithfield residents that came to see the falls.
Second leg was with a couple from the Sunshine Coast here on holiday too. Saw more butterflies and birds. All the different trees and plants were so cool. Went over the river, some roads winding up the range and train tracks from the closed railway. Arrived in Kuranda. Looked at the shops. Found some cool art, including a small paining of Sydney but Brandon wasn’t sold. Also cool, vividly colored beach scenes. Lots of souvenirs, opals, flowy outfits, cafes, and restaurants. Ate a bratwurst with all the fixings at a German restaurant, then dessert crepes and a cappuccino. Really good, strong, local roast. Sipping Duck. Homemade caramel sauce and B got Belgian chocolate. Tried to take the rainforest walk back around to the Skyrail Terminal despite being short on time, but we figured we could be late, as most Australians are. Path flooded at the creek and impassable 15 min in. Did see a bush turkey.
Did not do the touristy kid type bird world, butterfly world and koala tour. Too much money for tickets and not enough time. Walked back on the other side of main street. More art galleries, shops, and hotels (bars). Arrived back at the Skyrail 4 min late and found times on ticket do not matter. Still sunny and warm with a temporary light mist when up in gondola.
Got off at the last stop (first one going up) to check out the view and do the rainforest walk. Arrived back at the Skyrail station and called an Uber to get back to our AirBnB.
Showered and changed for dinner at this Italian restaurant that wasn’t very good, then mass at St. Monica’s Cathedral. I had imagined old, big, warm church, but it was built in the 1980s and had the AC cranked up. The stained glass creation stories were amazing. We walked around Cains CBD, the Night Markets, and saw the bats take off. We then walked back to our AirBnB.
Day 4 GBR
Got up really to pack the bag, enjoy the breakfast provided by our Airbnb hosts of bread, yogurt, nutella, juice, and a muffin. Then walked down to the marina. Sunny and few clouds in sky.
Checked in at Ocean Freedom desk in the marina lobby and then got on the boat. Took sea sick tablets as everyone instructed. Made our mouths very dry, but worth it to not get sick.
Boat took off at 8:00a. Crew did safety demo while we headed out to the reef. Then we got a beginner scuba lessons going over safety, signals, and important skills.
The first rule of scuba is to breath. We had to learn how to clear our masks of water, clear our regulator of water, and equalize our ears. We had two divers per instructor. Brandon and I were in Group one and the first two people in. We had stinger suits/weigh belts, dive vests with all our equipment and tank on, masks, and flippers. We jumped in and held onto the bar at the back of the boat to review the two skills we would need. Our guide towed us one on each arm around the Wonder Wall reef. I was panicking at first exhaling so I had to go up twice and calm down, then we were off. It is amazing to breath under water! Also the best way to see the reef. The water was a bit cloudy due to the weather and recent rains, but we were still able to see a few meters. We saw so many colorful fish of all sizes, a ray, clams, so many kinds of coral, and sharks. We were down for about 25 mins. It was so cool. Amazing to see and I recommend anyone who is medically able to do it!! When we got out, the air was cooler than the water and we sat and enjoyed the fun for a bit before we went back in to snorkel. We followed a guide at first to show us the shallower reef fish, and then went off on our own. Out boat tour had everything included; food, equipment, guides, etc. I feel it is the best way to go. Our boat also only took 75 people, and we only had 49 on our trip. The crew were very environmentally friendly and informative, and very safety conscious. A few people did get seasick since it was choppy and windy on the way out there and at the reef. Around noon, the clouds came back and it drizzled off and on, but no worries since we were wet anyways! The water out there stays nice and warm all year long. After our snorkeling, we came in and ate some pastries from morning tea. Turtles were surfacing near our boat so we got to see 3 of them. I did not get a very good picture of them though. Then they had a glass bottom boat ride, but with the high tides this time of year and the weather, the visibility wasn’t that good. Our driver was more entertaining with facts about the reef. We came back and ate lunch of salads, shrimp, chicken, and much more. They moved the boats to a different location. More sandy with a few shallow reefs. We went first diving again and saw even more including rays and a turtle. We still held on to our guide, since visibility was even poorer there. Still amazing. We got to touch the turtle, a sea anemone, and a jelly fish. We saw colorful fish and sea slugs too. Just an amazing experience!! I was so happy Brandon liked it and got into it. Maybe we will have to take it up as a hobby anytime we go places with reefs, or just back to Cairns! After returning our dive gear, we went out snorkeling again. You could stand on the sand in the shallow bits. Crazy to be looking all around you and see ocean, yet be standing. We got back on the boat and finally gave up our suits. The air was a bit chilly with the rains and clouds continued. We packed up and the boat drove the hour ish back to Cairns marina. Walked back to our AirBnB and showered the ocean off. We’re going to go out for a Birthday dinner, but was too tired. Ate peanut butter sandwiches. We have time tomorrow to go roam around more and continue to celebrate.
Day 5 Heading back to Sydney
Slept in. Ate delicious bread/cereal/juice/muffin provided by AirBnB. Packed up our stuff and stashed it in the corner of the common area. Walked 40 min in the hot sun to the Botanical Gardens. Also tried to find a famed dam, but couldn’t. Walked through the trails of the gardens, then one of the main gardens and the visitor’s center. Called an Uber to bring us to the other side of town for my Birthday Lunch. We picked a fancier restaurant by the marina to celebrate. I got drinks and the ribs and steak. It was delicious and I was so full. We walked back to the AirBnB to get our suitcases and then called an Uber to the airport. Cairns airport is very small and domestic security is a breeze. We checked our bags in at the kiosk and were off to explore the gift shops. We had some time to relax and then our flight to Sydney was easy. No video screens in the seats, but they did show Wonder on the pop down screens, so I watched that. We also had the choice of a chicken pie or sausage roll on the flight. We took the train, then light rail back to our apartment. It was such a fun trip and I can’t wait to go back and do more scuba!
