Another inaccuracy of Lonely Planet : the Coral Coaches Bus Line, which should take care of the transport from Cairns to Mossman, Cooktown and Cape Trib no longer exists.
At the bus terminal, Trinity Wharf, no employees of other bus companies knows anything. I therefore head to the tourist office, which reserves the trip with a private company, Sun Palm Buses; in the ticket price is already included the ferry on the Daintree River, which costs 20 Aud.
7/25
CAIRNS – CAPE TRIBULATION
At 7.00 we leave. A big bus takes us up to Port Douglas, downloading trippers here and there. The sea, on the coast, as mentioned above is brown. Already four years ago, driving on this road, I thought “what color is this??? there must have been a storm,” I now realize the sea is still brown, and this then must be the usual color , at least in the winter time.
In Port Douglas Hannu and I are the only ones left, and we are transferred on a minibus.
The driver, a former musician, a very friendly guy, takes us first to his house to greet his wife; on the way, he asks about our musical tastes, dusts off an old tape of Dire Straits, then, as a perfect guide, tells different stories about Australia and even stops here and there to let us take pictures (impressive the Alexandra lookout). I must say that the Australians are polite and nice people. Maybe they are not refined, at least most of them, but they are very easygoing. Funny particular, in a nation in which the inhabitants are convicts descendants, here nobody rips off the tourists, as it happens in many other parts of the world. It often happened that, when booking a service and paying in advance, I got back later some money because they realized they were wrong in calculations. They were often modest amounts of money, like 3 or 4 Aud, but it’s still something I appreciated, as it gave me a sense of warmth and security.
… And so, listening to “Sultans of Swing”, we ferry on the Daintree River, and penetrate into the rainforest. We see several signs indicating the presence of the cassowary, a very rare big bird, similar to the ostrich. During this season it is quite usual to see it on the roadside to feed of wild plums falling from surrounding trees. We are not lucky.
The Cape Trib Beach House is the place I chose, quite isolated, in fact the road is not even paved. I knew it would have been hard to find a place here with no reservation, and I booked via web two weeks ago; despite this, we will stay on the first night in a luxury bungalow (105 Aud) and on the second one in the double 70 Aud cheap one I had asked for.
The property is directly on the white Cape Tribulation beach. The sun is very pale. The restaurant has affordable rates. I ask the first fish and chips of the holiday, expecting a frozen sole greased and breaded, like in London, and I get a real 30 cm fish cooked on the grill and delicious. In the afternoon, the sun peeps, we explore area, a landscape of primeval beauty, a dense forest that seems to swallow us like a carnivorous plant.
Thera are various available activities, if one wants, and have money: trips on the reef (120 Aud), night jungle walks (40), beach rides (75), trips on the river to spot crocodiles, etc. etc..
A Swedish girl, speaking in Swedish, so I have to trust the translation, tells Hannu that night walks are no big deal, and around the kitchen same time we can see more animals. Signs anywhere warn to store any kind of food in the fridge or in the appropriate shelves in the kitchen. I forgot some bags full of groceries on the verandah of the bungalow when I go back I find it full of fat, brown furred rats, which have sneaked into my bags and feast gaily. What an idiot I was! I try to shake the plastic bags, and they do not move at all. Wherever in the dark I slide the light beam of the torch, I see rats running.
I need a man. Hannu, help !! The man comes to rescue me, and mice do not bat an eyelid, even look at him as if to say “what the hell do you want, let us eat in peace.” Hannu, with the manner of ancient Viking, strikes them with the torch, the only thing big enough that he can find around. Expelled the invaders, I run into the kitchen to save the remains of the food, but the bread and cakes are eaten away and I have to throw them. Sigh, farewell breakfast!
We are intent to cook our lyophilized Chinese dinner when a creature something in the middle between a marsupial and a rodent, sized like a big cat and hopping like a rabbit, makes its way among the tables, then it’s time for some pink and brown wild pigs, which run away as soon as we start to follow them to take pics. Since weather does not bode well, for the next day we decide to discard the reef trip, and we opt for horseracing.
7/26
CAPE TRIBULATION
It rains like hell. The horse ride is canceled. Too dangerous for the horses, they tell us. Not for us !!
Useless day, we spend it sleeping or reading at the restaurant, which is open air, so we hear the gentle sound of rain on the trees, and observe the drops of water trapped in the canvas woven by giant spiders among the bushes