Cairns, Day 3
Trip Start
Jul 28, 2010
1
10
17
Trip End
Aug 16, 2010
Where I stayed
Cairns, Queensland, Australia
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Bad luck: We had to get up super early this morning and I was pretty much already awake because my cell phone was ringing. When I went to turn it off I looked at the phone number and it was some random 919 number! Oh Bugga! (That's what the Aussies would say!) Then, once I had finally woken up I tried to eat a quick cereal bar and quickly found out that I had a sore jaw from biting the air regulator so hard yesterday and probably from snorkling. I took a closer look at the damage (me) and I saw my knuckles were bruised from my scuba attempt. The waves were so strong that it kept pushing me into the bottom of our tour boat. What an experience. It left quite an impact on me.
Good luck: It wasn't very sunny today, and the redness (aka sun burn) from the boat had gone away over night, hooray! We were 1st on the tour bus so we were able to choose where we wanted to sit. We learned a couple days ago that the best place to sit on a tour is up close next to the tour guide so we could make friends and hear all the stories he had to share! Remember this tip in the future.
Bad luck: A couple of girls from London made us wait for them for like 15 minutes and they were dressed in skirts and sandals. What is with girls here in Australia! Doesn't anyone dress for comfort anymore? Geesh!
Good luck: Once we were on our way to Daintree Rainforest I learned about sugarcane, white cows ( originally from India brought over to Port Douglas), that Goldie Haun and Kobe Byrant (who our tour guide met when he drove Kobe's limo once) both have houses in Port Douglas, and that our tour guide had a lead foot and liked to pass slow people. It's good luck that we are still alive! We also were able to see a beautiful view of the mountains, beaches and cliffs.
Bad luck: At our 1st stop for tea and coffee in Port Douglas I had an issue with my contact and of course I took it out to fix it and DROPPED IT. Chino, the tour guide, a guy who was on his honeymoon that was with our group and myself were all looking for it. We couldn't find it and we were already running behind. So, I spent my day half blind! Awesome...
Good luck: Next, we went to Mossman Gorge where we saw some cool trees, ferns, birds, and got in a good hike. We then hiked to Cape Jubilation Beach. There, our guide showed us a sign that said beware of crocs and stingers (jellyfish). He told us that we were not allowed to walk in the water or even get close to it. He said he didn't want to fill out any paperwork today. There did happen to be 2 people who were testing their luck by stepping in waist deep (not in our group). The guide also showed us what the Aborigines used long ago to clear their sinuses. Ants! It was pretty weird! He shook a few light green ants off these limbs and smashed/rolled them around in his hands. He cupped his hands and told us to smell. It smelled like Vic's Vapor Rub! He also said to be careful not to inhale the ants. Good news: I made it through uninjured!
Bad luck: I was starting to feel nauseous at this point from the crazy driving and only seeing things half as clear as I normally would. The road was also very curvy and on our way up we turned a corner and were almost in a head on collison with what everyone in the bus thought was an American driver. Our tour guide then said, "I will refrain from comment." What was he trying to say?! In Australia, they drive on the left side and the steering wheel is on the right side. Exactly why we decided it was not a good idea to "hire" (rent) a car but i'm pretty sure Chino could've figured it out easily.
Good luck: We then went out on a pontoon ride down the Daintree River. The guide said that yesterday they didn't see too many crocrodiles. But.... the good luck showed up and we saw 2 huge ones and a couple babies. Got some great pics!
Bad luck turned good: After the river, we were on our way to the rainforest. It was probably a 30 min ride and our tour guide said that we might see a Cassowary (world's most dangerous bird). So, of course we were all eyes out the window. We wanted to see one really bad, but we didn't. We were disappointed. When we arrived at the parking lot of the Discovery Center our tour guide shouted, "Cassowary, Cassowary straight ahead!" At first our guide Richard, wouldn't let us out to get closer. After watching it to find out if it felt threatened, he finally let us out! We stood probably 15-20 ft away. I think Chino probably took 100 pics of it eating these huge blueberries on steroids.
Good luck: We left the Cassowary and went into the rainforest for some great botanical views. Got some great "Bob Wise photos!" For those of you who don't know what that means it's simply 10 different pictures of 1 thing. Chino really liked the ferns!
Then, we headed back to Cairns to check out the Casino and eat dinner.
So, in the end I guess lady luck was on our side, but boy she was fighting us this morning!
We've been adding pics to previous blog entries so keep checking them and we'll try to add as many as we can when we find time.
Comments
I resent the "Bob Wise photos" remark - sometimes I take 20 pics of the same thing!
That Cassowary looks too big to mess with! Am impressed with Chino's bravery to pose so calmly with a killer. Really beautiful pics! Seems like Australia has many faces and is amazingly beautiful. Enjoy!