Wetlands

Sun 1st
Drove up the road to Palm Beach. Expected postcard type views of sandy beaches with palm trees gently waving in the breeze. What we got was driving winds, sand in our eyes and sea the colour of Felixstowe docks. So we fucked off up the coast some more until we got to Port Douglas. Slightly better. More of a town so there was a bar in which we could drown our sorrows. We actually paid for a campsite this time so we enjoyed a nice hot shower and finally did some laundry so we smell like ROSES.

Monday 2nd
Drove into town at 10:30, walked all the way through, did some food shopping then headed up to Mossman Gorge, which I had high hopes was going to be awesome. Turns out the carpark was 2km away from the gorge, so instead of taking the $6 shuttle we all walked, then when we got there it was less than spectacular. Its more of a cultural heritage experience, which you can really only fully appreciate if you pay $70 for a guided tour or actually do some research, which I tend to avoid unless the information can be given to me in a short leaflet with accompanying pictures. It was a nice walk though.
After we left we went straight up and after a brief wrong turn situation we made it to the Daintree River where it turns out you have to pay to cross the ferry. Had I been paying attention to the glance I took at the Lonely Planet book I would have known about it but I guess my attention to detail is about as good as Baba's navigation skills.
Once we crossed the river on the unnecessary ferry (honestly, they could just build a bridge) we nearly met our maker courtesy of a 100m "passing lane", 2 impatient drivers and a cliff face. After 16km of twisting, narrow, harrowing roads we got to the campsite which gave us a chance to change our soiled underwear and for me to loosen my grip on the steering wheel. It was a lovely drive...

Tuesday 3rd
Went all the way up to Cape Tribulation, via some pretty boardwalks in the rainforest. The beach was beautiful, but the weather was shit. We got chatting to a weird old man who lives in a hut near the beach, and he let us park on his land for the night which was nice of him. He also gave us some tea, showed us how to crack open coconuts, and told us that the next world war would be breaking out in November, but we will be ok if we stay in Australia. Reassuring.

Wednesday 3rd
Did a bit more walking, took some ridiculous pictures then drove back down to Cairns. Found out that the Wicked Travel shop just let you use computers and internet for free so we will be taking full advantage over the next few days.

We're done with rain now, we would like some sunshine please.