After a few relaxing days at the beach we headed a bit further up the coast to Cape Tribulation to get closer to the Great Barrier Reef. It’s about a three hours drive along the coast going North.

We are still trying to get used to driving on the left side of the road. Luckily our rental car is an automatic so all concentration goes into how to turn and which side the other cars are coming from.

The road we needed to take to Cape Tribulation was challenging as it was narrow and the oncoming traffic was dense but it’s worth the trip. The first part followed the coastline closely. It then went inland a bit through sugar cane plantations that in August were just being harvested. About the last hour we drove through the Daintree National Park rainforest on country roads until we were stopped by the queue to the Daintree River ferry. To cross the river there is no other option because there is no bridge or other road in this area.

Of course once our car was parked on the ferry I immediately got out to take pictures just to be reprimanded via loudspeaker because the ferry couldn’t leave the dock with me outside of the vehicle. Oops…

Safely across the river we continued on our journey. Trees on both side filtered the morning light as we drove through thick tropical rainforest.

Our next stop and a quick lunch break with sandwiches and crisps was “Alexandra lookout” (Walu Wugirriga) from where we had a spectacular view of the surrounding rainforest and the coral sea.

Our bed for the next two days was booked at “Ferntree Rainforest Resort”, an array of wooden huts and two pools in the middle of trees. The lodge is eco- friendly powered by their own generators and operating their own sewage plant.

[Welcome to the jungle!]

The huts smelled like tons of insect repellents had been used in them and they probably were. But on the plus side we were surrounded by wildlife. The trees were hanging full of flying foxes.

K tracked down a leguan in the undergrowth and I tried to (unsuccessfully) take a picture of the large butterflies that fluttered around the bushes.

To escape the damp heat a bit we decided to spend the afternoon at a billabong. We were told that next to Mason’s Cafe down the road there was a swim hole. Right in the midst of large trees the creek widens a bit and formes a small pool of refreshing water. We dived right in!

Once we had dried our swimming gear again we quickly headed for Cape Tribulation Beach to catch the last rays of light at this beautiful bay.

Dinner at the farm stay’s restaurant was the only option left as the few cafes in the area had already closed for the day. And we wanted to turn in early that night because the day after we’d head out to the Great Barrier Reef!

PS: there still are blind spots on the phone carriers’ maps: Cape Tribulation is one of them. We were truly off the grid for three days- no wifi, no phone connection. What a treat!