01./02. February 2018

Cyhoeddwyd: 03.02.2018

Tanysgrifio i'r Cylchlythyr

Hello 👋🏻

01/02/2018: After only a little sleep, I was picked up on Thursday at 7:00 am because I had signed up for a tour to the Daintree Rainforest.

We drove along the coast to the rainforest, the Daintree Rainforest. It was a really nice drive, you could see the mountains and the sea everywhere. Since it is currently rainy season, we were very happy about the sunny day. 😊☀️ In between, we saw wild wallaby kangaroos!

Our actual trip started with a boat tour on the Daintree River.

During the ride, we saw wild crocodiles and snakes, two of the animals that I'm actually the most afraid of, or rather respectful. It was very encouraging to hear from the tour guide that crocodiles only eat stupid people. 😅 Did you know that crocodiles can hold their breath under water for up to seven hours? And that out of 100 eggs, only one survives? There are a lot of natural dangers like floods during the rainy season or natural predators that greatly reduce the survival chances of the little crocodiles. When I heard that and then discovered a little baby crocodile, I almost felt sorry for these otherwise rather scary animals. 😅 Take a look if you can spot the tiny creature, the photo is not very good:

So tiny!! 😍

After the boat tour, we had the actual rainforest tour, which was unfortunately very touristy. You could tell by the guide that he does this tour four times a week, he was not very enthusiastic and almost ran to finish as quickly as possible. I found that very sad, especially since I remembered my jungle tour in Ketambe, Indonesia very differently and much more original. I tried to make the best of it, absorbed all the smells and sounds and admired these beautiful trees as much as possible:

It felt like being in a tropical house at the zoo, except that this was the real rainforest. 😋 I was able to discover squeaky green frogs, colorful birds, and disgusting spiders.

After the hike, we had a lunch break with BBQ. While we were waiting for the food, we were allowed to feed little wallaby babies, just look at how happy the little one looks!! 😍

I can't get enough of the animals here.

After lunch, we went to a beach, which was sooo beautiful. But unfortunately, swimming in the sea is forbidden here in the north of the east coast, or rather, it is recommended not to do it because of the crocodiles and jellyfish. So we only had a walk along the water. Also nice! 😇

As a conclusion to the tour, we were allowed to try some crazy ice cream before heading back to Cairns. There were four different flavors:

This is what the jackfruit, which tasted like banana, the coconut ice cream, the soursop (?), which tasted like lemon, and the seed of an acacia, which tasted a lot like chocolate, looked like:

Back in the hostel, I was very tired, maybe I should have taken a day off. But I want to make the most of my time here!

02/02/2018: Today started super hectic. At times I thought it was about time that something didn't go according to plan. Today my journey to Magnetic Island was supposed to start. For this, I checked out of my hostel at half past six and marched with all my luggage in sweat-inducing 28 degrees (so early in the morning!!) for 20 minutes to the bus stop. When I arrived there, unfortunately, I didn't see a sign for my travel bus, so I asked a bus driver of the city buses who was on a break there. Maybe he really didn't know any better, maybe he was just having fun with the stupid tourists. In any case, he said: "The Premier bus? No, it doesn't depart here. You have to go further down the street." I still had 20 minutes left before the bus was supposed to leave. I thanked him politely and started running. I couldn't find a bus stop anywhere. 10 more minutes. I asked passersby if they knew where the bus stop for travel buses was, they sent me further down the street. I ran further. 5 more minutes and still no bus stop in sight. Sweat was pouring down my arms and legs in streams. NOT NICE, I tell you! 😄 Finally, I had the brilliant idea to call the bus company. They told me that I was right, I was just too early at the bus stop. I asked if they could call the driver. No, they said, I should run. I had 2 minutes left. I started to black out and was already considering what I would do with the day if I didn't catch this stupid bus. Panting, I turned the last corner and saw my bus just leaving. I waved and ran towards the bus, which THANK GOD actually stopped and let me on. Such unnecessary stress in the morning! 😄 Phew. In the bus, I emptied my water bottle and tried to control my breathing. How lucky I was in this unfortunate situation!

The bus ride went smoothly, luckily, so I could catch the ferry to Magnetic Island on time. It's really nice here and I'm relaxing from my involuntary workout. 😅💛 I'll tell you more about the island next time!

Take care! 💛