Tropical Cape Tribulation

My entire knowledge of Cape Tribulation came from a post on Vagabond 3 entitled, “Don’t Panic: How to Survive Cape Tribulation.” I knew it was a tropical rainforest, but past that was ignorant. But a 2 day 1 night visit was included in my Fraser Island and Whitsundays package, so for the hundredth time on this trip, I said, “Why not?”

Just as I knew nothing about Cape Trib, I knew next to nothing about the tour I had signed up for, including what to pack and what we would be doing. Thank God one of my hostel mates clued me into the fact that I had to cook my own food. At 7:45 a.m., we were picked up by the Tropics Explorer guide to make our way to the UNESCO-listed Daintree Rainforest.

We had a quick breakfast in Daintree Village before going on an uneventful river cruise. We didn’t even spot one crocodile! After a walk through the rainforest where the mosquitoes were bloodthirsty, we were dropped at our respective hostels, mine being the infamous PK’s Jungle Village.

After tossing my bag in my dorm room, my new friends and I walked down to the Miller’s Store swimming hole, with mirror-like water away from the saltwater crocodiles and a rope swing. It felt good to cool off in a place you weren’t at risk for a croc bite or jellyfish sting.

We wandered onto the beach but didn’t get in because of the aforementioned stingers, but it was how you picture a deserted island, aside from a few guys playing cricket. I cooked myself a pasta dinner and spent the rest of the evening in the Jungle Bar, taking advantage of happy hour and listening to the rain. As the chef told me, “They call this the rainforest for a reason!”

At lunchtime the next day we were picked up by a new guide to make our way back to Cairns. En route, we bought overpriced ice cream in every flavor (Guinness, sweet potato-ginger and chilli chocolate, just to name a few) and stopped at a zoo where I got to play with kangaroos, emus and saw from afar saltwater crocs and cassowaries. Didn’t want to get too close to them…