Entries about rivers

First of all, a huge apology to anyone that cares that this post is almost 3 months overdue! Mostly Cape Trib Connections, I'm sorry! (My main excuse is that someone sat on my computer and the screen cracked. So I couldn't access my pictures and had to carry a broken computer around for awhile before I could get around to fixing it. Sad day.)

There may not be much to do in Cairns aside from go out and party every night at the same 4 or 5 main bars and then sleep off the night before at the lagoon. And repeat.

However, there's a lot of things you can access from Cairns, such as the Great Barrier Reef (just wait, that story is coming next) and Cape Tribulation and the Daintree Rainforest. Both of these are a must do when you're in the area, and Cape Tribulation was actually pretty awesome!

Anna and I opted for a tour that seemed the most personal and a smaller group. We also picked one that let us spend the night up in the Daintree Rainforest, there's not really a “town” but a collection of a couple hostels that you can stay at. Unfortunately we only had time to stay one night, but two or three would have been better, if we'd planned it out better (timing and food-wise) and if we'd known how much we'd like it there!

Cape Tribulation was named by James Cook in 1770 when his ship hit a reef, he wasn't in a good mood at that point as shown by other names in the area, including Endeavour Reef and Mount Sorrow. Surrounded by the Daintree Rainforest, which is the oldest rainforest in the world, there's lots to see and do.

We stopped at several lookout points along the way, and our driver / tour guide told us about some of the history and stories along the way.

We went for a brief “rainforest walk” which, though it was on a boardwalk, was still informative on the plants we could see. The guide pointed out some of plants were several years old and still only a meter tall but since a storm had blown down a bunch of trees and opened up the area to sunlight, it was now quickly growing as fast as it could in just a short couple months. The new leaves were still a light / bright green and very obviously new growth from the rest of the plant.

We then got dropped off at our hostel, a cute sprawling place with bungalows that were within walking distance to the beach. After a quick lunch we headed out to the beach and to explore.

Since we had a choice of hostels, not all of us from the bus were at the same hostel but we saw familiar faces as we wandered the beach and nearby boardwalks and paths.

We were warned about crocodiles in the area, and kept a wary eye out for them, and unfortunately avoiding wading in the waters.

When we first crossed this, the tide was out so it was relatively shallow, but still gave us some pause. On our way back it was a lot deeper with the tide coming in and after staring at it for awhile, decided we'd better not and turned around to take the long way back.

This area is particularly special in that it's the only region where two 'world heritage areas' meet, the Daintree Rainforest and the Great Barrier Reef.

That night we decided to splurge and do a guided night walk. It was cool to be walking around at night in the forest, but unfortunately we didn't see as many things as I was hoping for. We saw a lizard or two, and could certainly hear owls hooting nearby.

The next morning we were up early, no time to sleep when you're exploring a new area! Though it was tough to drag myself out of bed, I knew if I didn't, Anna would see something cool! Like that time I took a nap and she went and found wild koalas on Magnetic Island...

We met up with a couple of other people from our bus (they also did the night walk) and we went off exploring down a dirt road that eventually led to a trail and a river. Supposedly you could swim here, but we didn't have time and the water was pretty chilly too. Also it definitely looked like crocodile territory!

Luckily we were at the right place at the right time walking down the road, and we were lucky enough to see a cassowary!

I wasn't able to get a good picture of him on my simple point and shoot camera, but this is what they actually look like: (google image)

On the way back, someone suggested we walk along the beach instead of back along the dirt road. Ok sure, that sounds fine. We just have to be back to our hostel in time for the bus back to Cairns (he'd already told us he wasn't going to wait for us if we weren't there).

In the end, the beach wasn't the best way to go back, it ended up being very rocky, to the point where we were climbing over boulders as well. Anna and I felt frustrated and super rushed since we didn't how how long it would take us to get back and we didn't want to miss our bus. It would have been a lot of fun if we'd been able to take our time and enjoy it, chasing crabs and I always love rock scrambles. But this was more 'look out crabs, we're coming through' and then Anna throwing in some Swedish phrases.

We did however make it back to our hostel. And then the bus was late (they apparently tell you an early time on purpose, hmph). Once back on the bus we headed back across the Daintree River, this time on a boat, looking for crocodiles. We managed to spot several of them and learned about a lot of the problems crocodiles are facing. Crocodiles have lots of problems with hunting and baiting in the Northern Territory and other parts of Australia, but luckily they're protected along the Daintree River. (If I'd written this 3 months ago, I could have included the crocodile names, yes they had names since the tour guides see them almost daily and get to know them and where they live, but unfortunately I didn't write them down.)

We also stopped by the Mossman Gorge, and had a little time to wander the trails and explore.

There was a beautiful sunset and moonrise as we headed back into Cairns. I loved our trip with Cape Trib Connections and the combination of freedom to do what we wanted and explore, but the commentary of a guide on the small bus giving us history, information, and stories. I'd highly recommend these guys!

Unfortunately, as a backpacker, when you hear something about camping or even kayaking associated the Noosa Everglades, you tend to think of the Gagaju bushcamp. Now I didn't do the bushcamp, so I can't say for sure...but I did hear enough bad reviews and horror stories to steer me far away from it.

Luckily, there is an awesome alternative that's still paddling in the everglades for 3 days! Kanu Kapers! Yes, the Florida Everglades aren't the only everglades, there's one other one here in Australia! It's located on the east coast, just a couple hours north of Brisbane and just outside the relaxed town of Noosa Heads.

Right from the start, Kanu Kapers had awesome customer service, responding to my emails and answering all my questions as I tried to plan a kayak camping trip while travelling. I eventually decided on the 3 Day Kayak trip and convinced a friend of mine that I met in Brisbane to join me. The 3-day package was definitely affordable and included all the camping / paddling gear necessary, from stove and fuel to tent and tarp, from maps to the boat and paddling accessories.

When I reserved the boat, they booked a campsite for me and arranged a free pickup from my Noosa hostel to their headquarters, about a half an hour drive. There we arranged our gear, packed the car, and headed off to the launching point.

It was amazingly calm and peaceful when we got to Lake Cootharaba, loaded up our kayaks and headed out on the water.

I couldn't believe how calm the waters were, for what seemed like a big lake. And the reflections were spectacular.

We made our way across the lake and onto the Noosa River. The navigation was easy with a couple well positioned signs.

Once we got into the heart of the everglades, the reflections just got better and better.

We stopped for lunch at Harry's Hut and got destroyed with mosquitoes before we gave up and got back to paddling.

Once we got to our campsite we set up our tent and explored the area a little. We had a dock, and there were tons of minnows and tadpoles in the water!

We made ourselves some tea, covered ourselves in bug spray, and watched the sunset and marveled at the reflections. And when the stars came out, they were reflected in the water as well and it was just spectacular. Some things you can't capture on a simple digital camera. It was neat watching the colors change as evening progressed and then into the next morning as well. Where, if possible, the reflections were more intense.

I couldn't help myself, I just kept taking pictures... There were tons of birds in the area as well, though mostly out of sight. My bird identification by sound is somewhat lacking so I can't really say which birds we heard, but the trees were full of life! Here's a quick video of the sounds (though I'm sure half the birds stopped when I hit 'record'!).

Finally we got on the water and headed up the river for a mid-day hike up to the Cooloola Sandpatch.

It was huge! And had gorgeous views of the area...

We were just as impressed with the reflections when we got back to the water.

No matter how hard you looked, or at what angle, there was no way to see beneath the surface. Who knows what was swimming below, or how deep the water was. Judging by sticking my paddle in occasionally, it was very deep in parts. There were signs saying to be careful and not to jump in the water, because you can't know how deep it is or if there's submerged logs and whatnot. There was also mention of bull sharks. Bull sharks?! We didn't see any though, and after researching them when I got back afterwards, I'm glad. But we were certainly hoping to see one and on the lookout for them...exclaiming after every splash or fish jump, 'bull shark!'

Anyway, we headed back to the campsite and enjoyed another sunset.

The next morning we woke to the sound of this...

...and then went back to sleep.

By the time we packed up camp it'd slowed down to just a little drizzle.

Undeterred by weather, we continued with our plan and paddled up Kin Kin Creek some, before heading back to the lake and the end of our trip.

It was SO great to be out on the water and camping. A break from the east coast travel, crazyness, tours, parties, hostels, and general overpopulation of German backpackers. Noosa is a small town that is easily missed by many, but the Noosa Everglades and a paddle with Kanu Kapers shouldn't be missed by anyone! Do this for something different. And for great pictures.