Cape Tribulation, Port Douglas and back to Cairns

Location: Sydney
Weather: Warm

After the Mt Cook episode, I got the 4WD bus down the Coastal Road to Cape Tribulation. The Coastal Road is the other access road to Cooktown. The other one - the Inland Road which I took to Cooktown is tarmac'd (well except for the last 30mins of it) and most of the country is flat. The Coastal Road, in contrast, is very hilly, bumpy and totally unsealed. You have to have a 4WD vehicle to use it. It looks like it has just been cut through the forest randomly and I think this is actually what happened. The steepness of some of the hills it covers is also incredible, I was amazed the bus made it to be honest.
Anyways after getting to Cape Tribribulation, I stayed 1 night at PK's Jungle Village - a very nice, laid back place, where I happened to run into my Israeli friends Ace & Dave yet again! I tried to get to Cape Tribulation - the actual cape on the coast where the "rainforest meets the reef" ie. a lot of trees dip into the ocean, that first day, but it was high tide and there is a creek running into the sea and despite being quite small it looked very deep and dangerous. Also it leads into a crocodile infested lake and I didn't fancy risking that one either. But the next morning it was low tide and I managed to wade across the creek and see the mangroves and Cape Tribulation lookout and beach. I also found a coconut and after spending ages removing the husk and breaking it open, it turned out to be rotten.

I then got the bus and decided to stay a night in the Parrotfish Lodge Backpackers at Port Douglas. This is probably the nicest backpackers I've ever stayed in. It was only 3 months old and it was more like a hotel than a hostel. The rooms were great, it was spotlessly clean, had a swimming pool, a very central location and a restaurant/bar. Port Douglas is the first place I ever went to in Australia and I got a very good first impression. It has changed a bit since last year, resorts/hotels/developments springing up everywhere, a lot more people on 4 Mile Beach and you could even swim in the sea this time! maybe I'm biased, but after visiting twice I reckon Port Douglas is one of the best places in Australia.

By JamesReed on 03.11.04 @ 12:36 AM GMT