A Road Trip through Queensland, Australia - Part Two

We pick up our journey at the shipwreck S.S Yongala which is continuously voted as one of the best scuba dive sites in the world. This ship sunk over 100 years ago with all those on board losing their lives which meant not a lot was known about it for a long time. Due to its position in the open ocean, it is a haven for aquatic life from little playful clown fish to big menacing bull sharks. We started with a short 4x4 ride swerving around on the sand to get to the point where we were launching the boat. Luckily the seas were much calmer than our previous dive which meant I wasn't throwing up over the side of the boat every few seconds. On our first descent to the wreck we clung onto the guide rope waiting for the hull to come into view until suddenly a wave of fish and coral hit us. It was like swimming into a bustling city as huge shoals of fish brushed by us with the hungry Giant Trevally snapping at their tails. It was hard to know where to look, one minute a big Tawny Nurse Shark was below us and the next a couple of very venomous Olive Sea Snakes were swimming right in front of our faces. Just when we thought the dive was over we had another surprise when a huge Marbled Ray glided just inches away from Josh. He got to watch this gorgeous creature as it swam eye to eye with him and enjoy a moment of pure inquisitiveness. The aquatic life here is very successfully protected and this has meant they are much less afraid of people which definitely made the dive all the better. It was a fantastic day that will remain one of our favourites in Australia.

One aspect about Australia that has been fabulous are the campsites we have stayed in which have mostly been very cheap or free, including unbelievably beautiful spots right on the beach. Camping in our little wagon has been a dream come true too as it takes us minutes to have the bed set up and it's pretty cosy with the boot open as we watch the stars. We left one beautiful beach campsite onto the next over in Mission Beach with a stop at the impressive Wallaman Falls. On the car journey over we were delighted to get into the lush countryside and see lots of Wallabies jumping across our path and happy Cows standing strong in the road. When we got further into the forest we saw warning signs for the elusive Cassowary, a giant Ostrich like bird known for having huge claws which could slice you open in a heartbeat, although these shy birds are more likely to run away than get anywhere near a human. We arrived at the highest waterfall in Australia which has an impressive 250m drop and so much power you can feel the spray from the other side of the gorge. We hiked all the way to the bottom to see this beauty up close and were rewarded with a double rainbow! The setting for the waterfall is in one of the most ancient rainforests in the world and this was the first point up the coast that it started to feel tropical. 

We settled into another beachside camp, waking up nice and early with a sunrise walk along the coast line of Mission Beach where we spotted Turtles, Cockatoos and even a couple of Eagle Rays playing at the surface. We had entered into Crocodile territory so there were lots of warnings to be careful at the waters edge especially near creeks and estuaries where the Crocs like to wait. This can seem a little terrifying but we're not in Darwin yet, there are much fewer Crocodiles that you'd think and if you stay a good distance away from the water you'll be just fine. Next we headed over to Yungburra National Park to see some more natural sights and look out for Platypus. Our first stop was to a waterfall circuit where we got to see three beautiful falls followed by the magnificent Curtain Fig Tree standing tall in the middle of the rainforest. This is a type of Strangler Fig which starts as a seed inside another tall tree and sends many branches down to the ground, like a curtain, to finally overwhelm the host tree leaving an empty hole inside. It was enchanting but the lure of spotting some Platypus had us hike over to the creek where we wandered around looking for the little creatures. At first we didn't know what to expect then suddenly a tiny, brown shape floated up to the surface with a plop. We both looked at each other in disbelief that this little thing, about 30cm long, with poison spurs, a Duck bill and tail like a Beaver exists in all its weird cuteness. We spent ages watching them paddling around and dipping down to hunt for Shrimp, then delicately floating back to the top again.

We had a lovely stay in our wagon in a rainforest camp ground complete with resident snorting pugs (that is not a typo, they were indeed pampered pugs) and woke early to head over to Port Douglas. This town reminded us a lot of Noosa but a little more rugged with the gorgeous million dollar homes on the hillside. A big attraction in the area is the Mossman Gorge which is nestled in the Daintree Rainforest, one of the most ancient forests in the world. We walked around marvelling at the huge Strangler Fig Trees consuming their hosts and watching the water rush through the beautiful boulders. Interestingly a lot of the water in the Mossman River is collected in the mountains as condensed droplets that drip from the plants into the soil and then down into the mighty gorge. This is a very sacred place to the Indigenous people who live and work here and we could certainly see why. We drove over to Daintree which is a tiny village that receives a lot of visitors as it's a gateway to the infamous Cape Tribulation and Crocodile sight seeing boats. We jumped on a solar powered, eco tour in the morning with skipper Dougie the dog there to help us spot the Crocs. We were welcomed with a huge female Crocodile named Elizabeth sunning herself on the bank who let us get very close in our silent boat. The next Croc we saw left us speechless as it was the big resident male, Scarface, measuring over 5m and looking positively massive settled in the mud. It was lovely to see them resting on the bank in all their glory and admire their strengths but also their weaknesses. Many Australians despise Crocodiles and there is a lot of fear mongering surrounding them, but these ancient beings are easy enough to live with. Sadly many of the big males who stray too close to swimming holes end up in Croc farms only to be turned into handbags or a burger.

After a short ferry ride over the river we headed into the thick rainforest where two very special UNESCO World Heritage Sights meet, The Daintree Rainforest and The Great Barrier Reef. During a discussion about our misfortune at not seeing a Cassowary on our trip we spotted a car stationary in the road in front of us which caught out eye. We got a little closer and our hearts jumped as a Cassowary and his chick confidently wandered out onto the road to  eat some berries nearby. They genuinely look like dinosaurs with their huge claws, large horn and stomping gate and we treasured every second that they spent near us. The Southern Cassowary is the largest of the species but sadly there are only around 1500 left in the wild due to competition for food with feral pigs and deaths due to traffic accidents. After backing up the traffic watching these two we moved on to marvel at the beaches here which seem to go on forever, curving around the rainforest coastline and leading into the beautiful Great Barrier Reef. We also enjoyed the boardwalks through the mangroves which are fascinatingly hardy plants with some species being able to survive in almost any climate, even having roots growing vertically out of the ground to get oxygen. We learnt a lot about the unique plants and animals that live in this environment and thoroughly enjoyed exploring this gem in Australia.

We woke in the morning to a much less desirable sight, a big rain storm. There is not a lot to do in this part of Australia that isn't outside, it's all about exploring the wonderful ancient rainforest, which meant we struggled with things to do. Josh enjoyed some local tropical fruit ice cream, using something called pudding fruit which was a weirdly interesting addition. We strolled along a few more board walks and marvelled at the huge fern palms sheltering us from the heavy rain but it was time for us to drive down to Cairns. We were staying in the infamous hostel Tropic Days, partly because it's amazing and partly because our friend Lucy was working there! We arrived to her zooming around in the big shuttle bus, she's definitely had an amazing few months here getting to go on a lot of adventures. Cairns is a lovely laid back city with beauty at every turn especially when the sun is shining out by the lagoon. There's plenty of bars and restaurants but it was quite nice just to relax in the hammocks at Tropic Days and enjoy the peace and quiet. Our first step was selling the car which in such a limited time was stressful but we managed it without too many issues. We did have one last roadtrip up to Kuranda with Lucy and Mark where we wandered around the pretty markets and ate a huge amount of curry. We went back to take a look at the sights of the Great Barrier Reef on the Cook Highway which was glistening today in the bright sunshine as we had a go at balancing rocks which Lucy was amazingly good at.

Cairns is a wonderful place to party and we were celebrating seeing Lucy again so after winning at goon pong (hopefully at least once) we headed to the Green Ant to dance the night away. We certainly did and our night ended with Josh falling asleep in the toilet downstairs and me searching for him for about an hour. We enjoyed the winter sunshine here too although due to the Saltwater Crocs in the area it's not recommend to go in the sea so they have a public lagoon to sunbathe near instead! We also explored the night markets and restaurants including the delicious Lily Pad with their giant Vegan breakfasts. Tropic Days has been the best hostel we've ever stayed in so we were pretty gutted to be leaving such wonderful people! Sydney was calling so we hopped on a plane to head to our first major city since being in Australia. It was huge and absolutely freezing, well 18C felt like freezing anyway as we battled through the winter air to see the beautiful harbour. We marvelled at the Sydney Opera House which was glistening in the sun and were amazed at seeing the intricate shape of the "shells" up close. It seemed like a good idea to shelter from the wind and jump in the Contemporary Art Museum for a coffee which has a stunning view of Harbour Bridge and the Opera House. We were both so anxiously excited at the thought of heading home but first we had a long 36 hour journey ahead of us including a huge 14 hour stop over in Bangkok! The wait was all worth it though the moment we got to see our family, friends and dogs again! This isn't the end of our travels as we have many more countries we can't wait to explore and work in, but for the next couples of months we're happy to be home.