Rainforest Tour Day

Today was another tour day to see the sights around Port Douglas. It was also another HOT and humid day around 100 heat index. We boarded our bus with tour guide Tony of Tony's Tropical Tours with 5 other people visiting from England. Here is a description of our tour spots including the Daintree Rainforest, Mossman Gorge and Cape Tribulation:

An exclusive Rainforest wilderness experience with our first stop at the renowned Mossman Gorge, and an introduction to this unique world heritage area awaits you with a guided walk and photo opportunity, then onto the Daintree River to join a river cruise, home to a diverse ecosystem and the elusive "Estuarine" crocodile. Observe stunning native and migratory bird life, butterflies and breathtaking scenery.

Crossing the Daintree River we journey to Alexandra Lookout to enjoy sweeping views extending from the Daintree River Estuary to the Coral Sea, then onto Noah Valley, a World Heritage Listed private property which supports some of the most spectacular, pristine rainforest found anywhere in the world.

Take a stroll along "The Stairway To Paradise" and view one of the most primitive flowering plants still existing, and enjoy a refreshing swim in the crystal clear rainforest stream, while our barbeque lunch is prepared in our unique setting, a private treehouse surrounded by rainforest.

We then make our way for an interpretive guided rainforest walk in the heart of the Daintree rainforest. Noah Valley is acknowledged as a 'refugium' where plant species have survived undisturbed for millions of years with numerous species not known to exist anywhere else.
We follow on to Cape Tribulation, with a stop at Kulki Lookout for unsurpassed views of the rainforest and beach, being the only place in the world where two world heritage listed areas meet, then, if time permits onto the Daintree Ice Cream Company, before making our journey home.

The Daintree Rainforest was wet and tropical but we learned a lot about all the plants there. As usual with Australia there were several deadly animals and plants in the rainforest but we managed to avoid them all (whew..). The Rainforest is listed as a World Heritage Site which catalogs, names and conserves sites of outstanding cultural or natural importance to the common heritage of humanity. To see a list of the World Heritage Sites in the US click here: List of US World Heritage Sites.

Our guide was knowledgeable and pointed out some of plants and trees in the rainforest that have been around since the dinosaurs. Many of them only exist here in this rainforest. Half-way through the tour we got to cool down by taking a swim in the rainforest.

After our swim we start the long drive back as it started to rain. We noticed markers along the road throughout the tour route that marked how high any standing water was in the area. Usually February is the wettest month (avg of 20 inches of rain in Feb) so the tour guides have to look at the water height to determine if they can safely cross the road. Luckily for us, this is the driest "wet season" they have had here in 75 years! We have had nothing more than an quick afternoon shower since we have been here. It's been great for pool weather and relaxing!

Tomorrow we head back to Sydney!