Day 8-9: Winery & Camping (part 1)

On Day 8 Phoebe and I had an errand running day to prep for camping over the weekend with Liam. We stopped in to a little winery not far from Phoebe and Liam's house to try their Mango liqueur. There were lots of other flavors and I was willing to try them all if I had to.

 

interesting hanging flower vine

The next day Liam, Phoebe and I got ready to embark upon our weekend of camping at Cape Tribulation. We started the day with breakfast at Junction in Mossman town center, and I had the most delicious eggs Benedict.

We then moved on to complete our drive. It was a gorgeous drive up the coast to Cape Trib. There was a beautiful canopy of trees above us the whole time and the winding roads through the rain forest were truly majestic.

on the road... that's right, I'm on the left side of the car...

side mirror pic

our courageous driver

Along the road there were plenty of look outs to stop and take some pictures. Beautiful views of the ocean.

Karate Kid!

We also stopped along the way at the Daintree Discovery center. The Daintree rain forest is one of the largest rain forests in the world and is home to some of the most unique plant and animal life. The discovery center was a collection of exhibits and sanctuaries for some of those plants and animals.

the walkway high above the rain forest floor

camouflage

a smaller tree growing on a larger tree

tree hugger

Australian seeds and berries... the blue fruit is for Cassowaries to eat.

Phoebe and a Cassowary statue

Cassowary love

there is an actual fruit called Idiot fruit

The Thunderbird is also known as the "demon duck of doom"

After the Daintree Discovery center, we crossed a rive on a ferry boat and then continued our journey. For lunch we stopped at a cafe along the side of the road. It was seriously the worst lunch I think I have ever had. I got a Chicken sandwich with Avocado, which was mostly gristle and browning avocado. For the first time I sent a meal back at a restaurant. My second meal, however, was no better.
After lunch we sought directions to a Blue water hole, but alas the directions we were given were not very good and we got a little lost and never found the hole. Instead we continued on to our campsite to regain our barrings and then continue to explore.
One thing we kept seeing along our journey were signs for speed bumps and Cassowary crossings... then near our campsite, we found this sign:

someone turned the speed bump sign into a dead Cassowary

When we got to the campsite we set up camp. Phoebe and Liam only had a two man tent, so Liam borrowed Karla (their roommate's) swag to sleep in. It was supposed to have structured poles to allow it to pop up, but they were not in the package (turns out Karla had no idea there were even supposed to be poles), so Liam basically had a glorified sleeping bag to sleep in.

Liam in the swag

Phoebe in our little tent

After we had our tent all set to go, we took a short walk through the rain forest (literally several steps) to the beach. I don't think I have ever seen such a breathtaking open beach. There were no people and it stretched for miles!

Cape Tribulation. Named because Captain Cook's ship, upon discovering Australia, had quite an unfortunate time here.

 Jumping beach pictures

We changed into our swimsuits to get some sun and spent some time reading on the windy beach

After a little bit of relaxing, we decided to ask the campsite if they new where this blue water hole was. It was the strangest thing, when we asked the lady at the front desk if she knew where it was and in an oddly quick response she said, "no". Not "no, I'm sorry I can't help you" or "no, we get asked a lot, but I can't tell you", but just simply "no" as if she didn't want to talk about it cause it was too painful. haha. I don't understand exactly what was going on, but Liam and Phoebe and I found it to be the creepiest and most hilarious conversation. This was the first of many off exchanges with the local people in Cape Tribulation.
We did find a small secluded creek where we hung out for a bit. We had leaf races (which I proudly won)!!

the rock Liam is standing on looks like a turtle!

Go leaf!!

We had dinner at Whet, a restaurant near the campsite.
When we got back to the campsite it was late at night. We walked out onto the beach to take a look at the stars before heading to bed. I cannot describe to you how incredibly beautiful it was out there. This was one of the best moments of my entire time in Australia!! It was like I was standing in the middle of a planetarium. It seemed almost fake. Since there were no town or city lights for miles and the ocean stretched on to infinity, you could see the starry night sky dipping into the ocean along the horizon. The moon was not yet out and so I could hardly see steps in front of me. All I saw were stars and I swear I could see every single one of them. I don't think I will see anything so beautiful in all on my life!!