Daintree Forest

I cannot claim to have been in the rainforest before. From Cairns it only takes about 2-3 hours, so I'm off and away.

I took six days to drive from Cairns to Cooktown and back (Cairns - Cooktown approx. 350km).

My travel partner Fabio, an Italian I met at the hostel, and I are traveling along the coast to take in as much of the landscape as possible.

I am simply overwhelmed by nature. One breathtaking beach after the other, and they were all deserted. You can walk for kilometers along the beach, enjoying the sun and the tranquility, it's simply wonderful. Of course, there is a reason why you don't encounter any people. In northern Queensland, hardly anywhere is it safe to enter the water, as crocodiles are present there. During the day, unfortunately, I did not see any, but at night in the dark, we could clearly see eyes in the water... So quickly away :)

Seeing the stars and the Milky Way from the beach at night left me speechless, I have never seen anything like it before.

The rainforest itself is also incredibly impressive. Ancient, gigantic trees and plants. There are hiking trails through the forest, and if you're lucky, you might see a cassowary (a huge bird that resembles an ostrich).

Yes, I also saw one when driving along the road in the car - a huge bird, totally calm and beautiful. Unfortunately, we didn't manage to take a photo, Fabio was a bit overwhelmed in the situation :D

In the Daintree Forest, there are plenty of lakes and rivers, even waterfalls. In some lakes, you can also swim, like in the Blue Pools. It's so wonderful, blue water, crystal clear, and the surroundings are like paradise - after two days without a shower, this swim is a particularly nice change.

At the end of the Daintree Forest, we ended up in a bed and breakfast, not to sleep there, we always slept in the car. No, Fabio has been here before, and we visited the couple he stayed with back then. Simply lovely and nice people who invited us to their open-mic night. A particularly great local night I was able to experience. Great food, a few beers, and music, poetry, and jokes - a fantastic ending.