Day 65 – 75 Far Northern Queensland

On Wednesday 5th October we reached the coast of Far Northern Queensland (FNQ). Our first stop was Cape Tribulation – where the thick Daintree rainforest meets the ocean and the Great Barrier Reef. What can we say, we loved Cape Tribulation and didn’t want to leave. We explored the rainforest by hiking/climbing to the top of Mt Sorrow. A decent climb we shall add. It may have “only” been 3.5km one way, but the 680m incline was steep. The wood fired pizza sure tasted good afterwards. With sore legs from the day before, we jumped on a half day snorkeling tour with Ocean Safaris. It was a windy day and we got to enoy a thrilling ride out to the reef. So much fun followed by great snorkeling around the Undine and Mackay reefs. The ONLY downfall at Cape Trib; we couldn’t swim at “our” beach due to salties (crocodiles).

We travelled north trough thick rainforest on a VERY STEEP dirt roads to Cooktown, Cape York. This was where Captain Cook first went ashore in the 1770s. A picturesque little town situated on the mouth of the Endeavour river, surrounded by mountains and stunning beaches. Again, awesome beaches and soft sand under our feet, but no swimming allowed, ‘cause those salties are sneaky bastards.

Next stop – south again to Port Douglas. We didn’t expect much to be fare and was excited to find one of the prettiest towns so far. AND! Finally there was a “safe to swim” beach, even better, it was a stunning four mile long beach. We hadn’t had enough of the Great Barrier Reef so we went on one more snorkeling tour, this time to the stunning Opal reef. What to say, it was amazing. We also enjoyed a sunset river cruise with “Lady Douglas”, exploring the only salt drinking trees, the mangroves, and also spotted a saltie (yes, they are here too, but the Four Mile beach is still safe, kind of).

It was time for Cairns, but only for a quick stop. There isn’t too much to say about Cairns, it feels more like just another city. People travel here mainly to access the Great Barrier Reef, and we had already realised that the snorkeling and access to the reef was better done from Port Douglas so no need for that.

Before leaving the Wet Tropics, we travelled through the Atherton Tablelands again, to the Paronella Park. WHAT A DESTINATION! This park was built in the 1930s by a Spanish fellow named Jose Paronella. His only dream was to build a castle, and so he did, in Mena Creek, Queensland. He made it in to a park with ball room, cinema, tennis courts and a love tunnel. With help of a hydro electric engine, he used the waterfall to power the park, which was probably the only powered location in the area at that time. No one believed he could do it, but he did, and so the ‘ruins’ now reminds us all to fulfill our dreams. The waterfall is still lit up at night, the same way it was during its glory days.