41.-44. Day 26.10. - 29.10. Daniel & Cape Tribulation

Friday 26.10.

So today starts the first trip with María, Daniel and me. After a good breakfast, we went shopping and then to the Crystal Cascades behind Cairns. These are cascades of a stream that makes its way through a narrow gorge. There are also many beautiful small dams where you can swim and jump from about 8m. Since Daniel also loves adventure like me, we climbed the cascades and steep cliffs further up. But the most dangerous part was the current that existed in some places where we had to cross the river. Of course, we were both barefoot and in swim shorts, because who needs safety equipment there. Oh, I forgot. Chinese people of course need something like that, because we saw a Chinese couple who were canyoning with two guides. Daniel and I watched the whole thing a bit, and we felt really professional. Afterwards, we did some jumps from the rocks, including a backflip from me. However, I am always cautious with such jumps and we checked the safety of the lake below the surface beforehand. In the meantime, we cooked well in the car in the afternoon and grilled a very good chicken. And I have to say, María currently has pretty much everything you need (gas oven, pots, pans, dishes, etc.). Since it was starting to get dusk, we made our way to a sleeping place. During my day trip to Port Douglas, I saw a nice parking lot right next to the sea by the roadside, and this spot was our next destination. The advantage, free sleeping. The second advantage was that we were surprisingly very close to the sea, because only a small path of about 10m and you were at the sandy beach of Ellis Beach. We set up our tent in the parking lot and had a good dinner in the dark. But we also had to deal with some mosquitoes, which made the whole bustle a bit uncomfortable. After we were in the tent, we had a wonderful view, because we only set up the basic structure of the tent with a mosquito net. So we had a clear view of the treetops, bats, and a very illuminated and beautiful starry sky above us. We both talked about God and the world until we fell asleep.

Saturday 27.10.

After a very good and pleasant night, I woke up to Daniel and he told me about a wonderfully beautiful sunrise here on the beach. That made me a little jealous and I decided to always get up a little earlier from now on so as not to miss such beautiful opportunities. We had breakfast and of course a fresh fallen mango from the mango tree above us was not to be missed. When we wanted to pack up the tent afterwards, I noticed something crawling on my left shoulder and with a quick movement I brushed this something away from me. Luckily, I reacted quickly, because it turned out to be a huntsman spider. It was a smaller specimen, about 12cm, because this spider species can grow up to 30cm, but it is one of the least venomous spiders in Australia. So that was my first encounter with the dangerous Australian wildlife. Our journey continued to Port Douglas to the tourist information for Cape Tribulation and the Daintree Rainforest to plan. We quickly went shopping and then continued.

The road north was well traveled and partly overlooked with potholes. On the roadside, we also saw many railroad tracks, freight wagons, and many tractors, because the north of Cairns is one of the largest sugarcane growing areas. We stopped at a crocodile tour recommended by the travel agency, got on a boat, and there a very good guide introduced us to the plants and wildlife on the Daintree River. Unfortunately, we didn't see a crocodile, for which we originally made this tour. As compensation, we were offered a return ticket, with which we can take the tour again for free, hopefully with more luck.

We continued with a cable ferry across the Daintree River and then the road north. While we were waiting for the ferry, we also saw the classic 'No Swimming - Crocodiles!' warning sign, which is signposted in many places in northern Australia.

When we found a nice restaurant and a small swimming hole on the roadside, we made a stop. The small pond was not very inviting for swimming, but still a very beautiful area, so we ordered a crocodile burger at the small restaurant. Life is really secluded above the Daintree River, no mobile phone reception, no piped water supply, and no power lines. All the electrical energy is generated with photovoltaics and diesel generators. While we were waiting for our burgers to be prepared, Daniel couldn't believe his eyes when two guys he knew made a stop at the same restaurant for a coffee. Cristobal from Chile and David from Spain had celebrated with Daniel in Cairns a week before and then worked on a farm. But they were on a short trip to Cape Tribulation for the weekend. So we quickly started talking and I was able to refresh my Spanish skills a bit. Since the two didn't have a strict plan and didn't have to return the car until Sunday, we decided to drive together to the Cape and spent the night at a campsite there. The Cape itself was nice, but not incredibly impressive to me. Up here, the rainforest meets the Great Barrier Reef directly. When we arrived at the camp, we first set up the two tents that María had in stock, and then we went to the pool. Swimming in the sea is strictly prohibited up here, of course because of the saltwater crocodiles. In the pool, we played volleyball with a knotted pool noodle, and the loser owed a jug of beer. Of course, Daniel and I defeated the other two guys and after showering, we went to the bar for a few beers. Since we were all very hungry, we made noodles and a good tomato sauce for 4 people and enjoyed the meal with wonderfully cool beer. I had taken a larger box with styrofoam inside from Matthew in the days before, and this served as a refrigerator for ice-cold beer, a wonderful feeling. During dinner, a possum passed by, which had smelled our delicious food and would have liked a few bites. Since this possum was very trusting, I named it Paul, and Paul came by for a short visit several times throughout the evening.

The evening lasted a long time, and after discussing many topics such as the Spanish Revolution, World War II, sports, and the eternal topic of women and experiences, we went to our tents to sleep at 2 o'clock. Like the last nights, we slept under the open starry sky in the mosquito net, and it was simply marvelous.

Sunday 28.10.

In the morning, we woke up to probably the most wonderful sound, a couple in the neighboring tent having sex multiple times. That reminded both of us how much we miss our respective girlfriends. After a good coffee, a hearty breakfast, and a shower, we said goodbye to Cristobal and David and started our way back. Shortly after crossing the ferry, we went to the crocodile tour and made use of the return ticket. There, we experienced the same tour, and we also saw a wild female crocodile sitting on a sandbank. With its mouth open, the crocodile cooled down in the breeze.

Between Port Douglas and Cairns, we stopped at Hartley's Crocodile Farm, a wildlife sanctuary. There we saw many crocodiles being fed from the boat. These crocodiles were all captured because they had done something 'naughty'. But with stories like a woman throwing sticks for her dog at the beach at night and her dog then being eaten, 95% of the time the human is responsible due to carelessness. We also watched a crocodile show, which also emphasized the dangers and characteristics of crocodiles. We then went to the kangaroos and wallabies, which we were looking forward to, and there were so many, like in a petting zoo. We could feed and pet the kangaroos and take many photos. What impressed me the most was their long muscular tail, as kangaroos can balance their entire weight on it. There were also emus and cassowaries kept in enclosures. Emus are very fast land birds, similar to ostriches, but cassowaries fascinated me. They are also large land birds, unlike emus, they have a black feather coat and very intense colorful neck patterns and a curved horn on their head. This bird captivated me, and its elegance and calmness also showed during feeding. We didn't visit the koalas, because $25 for a long wait behind many Chinese tourists and then a photo was not worth it to both of us.

So, we drove back towards Cairns and set up our camp again at Ellis Beach. On the way there, we saw the police collecting various dashcams from the roadside, because a young girl, a Cairns resident who lived two streets away from Spencer's, was murdered on Friday night. That was certainly a rather uneasy feeling. After dinner, we strolled along the beach with flashlights and saw many ghost crabs glowing fluorescently. And then we went to bed under the sparkling starry sky.

Monday 29.10.

In the morning, we set an alarm clock for 5:30 to get up on time for the sunrise. Armed with our camping chairs, we sat on the beach of Ellis Beach and admired one of the most beautiful sunrises I have ever seen. Peeking out over the sea, it was simply wonderful to watch. After a good breakfast, we drove back to Cairns and booked a diving course for Daniel, who only wanted to dive for one day. I registered as a hostie on the ship Reef Encounter and then Daniel booked his Greyhound bus ticket for his trip along the east coast down. Afterwards, we went back to the Crystal Cascades and had a relaxed afternoon. In the early evening, we arrived at Spencer's, because I had arranged with Matthew that we could camp in his garden for one night. When we arrived, we played a bit with the two children, talked to Matthew and a neighbor about the murder, and that the murdered girl was the girlfriend of a neighbor. After a quick shower, it was time to go to bed because we had to get up early.