Introduction to today's journey
The Daintree is the world's oldest rainforest, dating back to the late Jurassic period around 180 million years. It is just a small remnant of a giant rainforest extending over much of what is now the Australian part of the Gondwanan supercontinent. For over a hundred million years the dinosaurs grazed on the foliage before they fell extinct. The only dinosaur remnants are the birds, including the cassowary which is considered to be the most dinosaur-like creature alive today. These birds now share the rainforest with the numerous marsupial species prevalent here. Despite extensive continental drift and changing climate over this vast expanse of time, the Daintree is still largely unchanged from the original Gondwanan forest of 180 million years ago.
Today's journey takes us north from Cairns to Port Douglas and Mossman before heading further up to the Daintree Forest and Cape Tribulation. From the cape we return along the coast and explore the Daintree River.
Today's Journey
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Heading north from Cairns in the early morning, we pass through Port Douglas and stop in Mossman. |
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Reaching the Daintree River where we catch the ferry over the river's only crossing point into the Daintree rainforest. |
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From the river we head up to a lookout over the mouth of the river. |
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Exploring the Daintree Forest, the world's oldest rainforest having been here for 160 million years. The trees themselves are a lot younger than normally expected in a rainforest as they are frequently flattened by cyclones. |
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The jungle vegetation is very lush. |
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Heading further up the road warning of cassowaries and speed humps, but altered by some vandal into this very funny sign. |
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The beach at Cape Tribulation, as far north as we can get. This is where Captain Cook anchored after damaging his ship crossing the reef. |
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Returning a short distance back down the coast, we stop at this clear stream in the Daintree Rainforest for lunch. |
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We return to the Daintree River where we catch a boat upstream. |
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We return to the Daintree River where we spot a baby croc resting on a log at the edge of the Daintree River. We also see some very large ones resting on the riverbank awaiting their next meal (which often are the younger ones). |
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Cruising along a side channel through dense forest to reach a small jetty where we leave the river. |
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From the river we return to Cairns making a stop at a lookout on our way back. |
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