Rain forest and Cape York Peninsula

We weren't sure whether we'd be able to visit many of the mainland sites once we continued north next year due to generally poor anchorages so once again we decided to give ourselves a land fix for a few days and have a totally different experience.
We hired a small Hyundai Getz on the 11th. and headed into Cairns to do some errands which hadn't been practical to do by bus. We purchased a water filter for filling from shore sources, some more filters for the watermaker and most importantly a Racor fuel filter to take impurities including water out of the diesel as we fill the tanks. This latter is more for next year when we might take on suspect fuel from depots in Indonesia.
After lunch in Cairns we then set off north via Smithfield where we bought some food for dinner and then carried on past Port Douglas and through Mossman to the Daintree River where we took the car ferry. This is at least as large as the Opua car ferries but it is pulled across the river on two large steel hawsers. $12.50 each way and as they carry up to 20 odd cars each trip we reckoned it must be a very lucrative business, especially since each trip is only 10 minutes.
Once over the river we were well into rainforest territory and we continued north over the Alexandra Range towards Cape Tribulation which Capt. Cook named for all the problems he had on this particular stretch of coast. More of that later. It was a very pretty drive over the range on a sealed but very narrow and windy road until we reached the Crocodylus Resort which is a very basic eco resort in the heart of the rainforest just south of Cape Tribulation. Our accommodation was a room with a double bed and 2 singles (for families) and the outside cladding was shade cloth with a PVC roof. Mosquito nets over the beds which were actually not necessary. We cooked our dinner in the communal kitchen and imbibed a quantity of red wine!! The communal kitchen/dining/sitting area was very large and open to the elements except for an extremely large tent like roof. It all took a bit of getting used to but was clean and everyone very friendly. During the night there were lots of unexplained jungle noises (!) and some nocturnal bird made a huge noise at about 3 in the morning. Probably being chased by a crocodile!! It rained quite heavily at some stage. But a very comfortable bed.
Anyway, we survived the night in the wild and awoke to have a cold shower at 0630!! Bit of a shock to our systems but then felt much more refreshed. We hung around until 8 when we both had bacon and eggs (cooked for us in the cafe kitchen)which were very good. We met 2 very interesting couples while there including 2 nurses (Bill and Terre) and their 3 daughters. They are from Melbourne and lovely people. Also our neighbours during the night - Matthew and Jill. We eventually took our reluctant farewell and motored back to the Daintree as the coast road north is impassable unless one has a 4WD. Beautiful drive mostly under forest canopy with the dappled morning sunlight filtering through.
When we went across the river on the ferry once more we passed huge lines of traffic heading north - many very serious 4WD's with snorkels and businesslike roof racks with water and fuel containers thereon. We then made a mistake and turned towards Daintree Village but that turned out to be a dead end and we belatedly realised that we needed to return to Mossman before heading towards Cooktown on the much refurbished inland Mulligan Highway. About 300 kms from Mossman. The weather had become fine and once again we had a very pretty drive initially through some lush countryside and up onto the higher and drier tropical grasslands which typified the rest of our drive north. The road was excellent and for quite a distance had a posted speed limit of 110 kph. The terrain was dramatic with some very steep ascents and descents as we passed over some minor ranges of hills. There were some spectacular lookouts and then about 20 kms from Cooktown we came across the Black Hills which are composed of very large piles of weathered granite boulders which are black from the lichens growing on them. It is forbidden to try and climb the hills because a number of people have disappeared without trace when they've fallen into underground caverns caused by hundreds of years of water erosion. It's a very mystical place for the local Aborigine people and it's easy to see why. We then drove into Charlotte St., the main street of Cooktown and found the Seawiew Motel which was comfortable and conventional after the eco lodge of the previous night!!
Cooktown consists of museums, old pubs and the Endeavour River waterfront which is picturesque as long as you don't forget that there are crocodiles lurking beneath the murky water! We found the West Coast Pub (apparently named after the West Coast of the South Is.) and had a meal there. The manager it turned out was a NZ'er who had run the RSA in Birkenhead in Auckland - not far from where Jim had lived for 15 years on the North Shore of Auckland!! And he owns a house with his brother in Warkworth! Talk about a small world but we are constantly coming across similar examples.
The following day (Friday) we wandered about Cooktown and visited the excellent local museum. Gold had been discovered nearby in the 1870's and there were fascinating accounts of the hardships of the time. There was no contact with the outside world except by sea - Cooktown was very much cut off. It seems no-one became rich prospecting for gold which soon ran out in any event. There was a large Chinese population as well and they suffered the usual prejudices rife at the time. We went up Grassy Hill where the Great Navigator himself had stood to survey the surrounding waters. This was after H.M. Bark Endeavour had run aground on Endeavour Reef, a little to the south. Cook was very fortunate not to have lost the ship completely as they hit the reef about 11 at night and then spent 23 hours there as they lightened the ship as much as possible by jettisoning cargo and in particular the cannon which have now been all recovered and which are all in various museums. They managed to kedge her off and then set sail for the Endeavour River pumping furiously where they careened her on the bank with the crocodiles while they spent a few months repairing the damage which was considerable. This occurred right where the town stands today. There is an annual re-enactment in June every year to commemorate Cook's involuntary arrival.
Then a lovely dinner at an Italian restaurant whose owner came from Italian immigrants to Melbourne and who for many years had operated a restaurant in Logan St. Giovanni was a great guy and made us very welcome.
Then early to bed in preparation for the trip back to Cairns on the morrow. 350 kms - this is a big country. We would have liked to have gone further north up to Cape York but that definitely is 4WD territory and will have to wait until we go up there on the boat next year.
Love from us again.........
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