North Queensland - DKT Page 3

D. and K. picked up rental at Hertz, and then went car shopping. Though we had prearranged to rent a vehicle, we were struggling with the exorbitant tariff and thought that maybe we'd save money in the long run by purchasing a car. No luck. Car prices are crazy: a seven-year-old Accord with 120,000 k's goes for $17,000. We decide to rent.

Had dinner at Fishlips, a great restaurant in North Cairns. Dan ate crocodile.

About noontime we headed up toward the Mossman Gorge for walkabout. Stopped in at Dept. of Wildlife office in Mossman in search for a bird book. They hadn't any but recommended a good one to look for elsewhere (Field Guide to the Birds of Australia, by Simpson & Day. A beautiful book, but very pricey. T. and K. later found it in Pt. Douglas.)

We got to the Mossman Gorge parking area and started up the river. Trail led through lowland rain forest of giant eucalyptus, ferns and cycads, and alongside beautiful river pools, most of which were filled with cavorting (sometimes clad, sometimes not) tourists.

After a kilometer or so the trail left the river and headed uphill. Eventually we came to a side trail that was signed 'Wurrumba Creek', and followed that. The trail ended at a pretty little grotto where the creek came tumbling over a huge granite boulder. Another family was already at this spot so we started climbing down the streambed of Wurrumba Creek, knowing that not too far downhill it would feed in the Mossman River.

It was a steep and slippery climb down the streambed but well worth the effort. The spot at which the Wurrumba empties into the Mossman is an incredibly picturesque stretch of river. The riverbed consists of huge (railcar-sized) smoothly rounded boulders, over and between which tumbles the river, forming deep, gin-clear pools. This against a backdrop of towering hillsides shrouded in dense rainforest. Many varieties of birds and butterflies (including Ulysses and Emerald Giants) fluttered and swooped overhead. We had our picnic lunch atop a flattened boulder in the middle of the stream, and spent the rest of the afternoon snorkeling in the pools, and basking on the hot rocks.

We all walked down to the pier for buffet breakfast. Drove north of Cairns and took SkyTrain to Kuranda; it's a spectacular half-hour funicular ride up the mountains and over the tropical rain forest to a charming old mining town. Met LeslieVan Pelt at 'Doongal' aboriginal art gallery. Leslie's passion in life is didjeridoos, and his great dream is of coming to the U.S. and playing didj in a rock band.

Checked out of Holiday Inn at 1000. Drove to Kuranda. Visited market. Ty went to Bird Sanctuary and Noctarium. Visited 'Doongal' again and purchased didjeridu from Leslie, four painted boomerangs, ironbark music sticks. Leslie also gave Dan three prime blanks of bloodwood for making didjeridoos; all with bark on, and still filled with wax and honey. Dan spent a most of the remainder of the day wrapping up and mailing the wood back home. Freight (by sea) for all three pieces came to $150(au). K. later pointed out that this wood probably will never get past customs inspectors. That would be a huge loss, and not just the dollars.

Drove to Port Douglas, where we met Robyn and son Matt, and checked into the 'Spindrift'.

Dan and Ty went fishing off the rocks at the 'Stinger Pool' with Larry, Matthew, and Steve. The pool was originally dredged to provide a safe swimming lagoon, supposedly free of box jellies ('stingers' or 'sea wasps'). The deadly little beasties won't start showing up for about another month, after the monsoon rains start.

Tyler and Matt each caught a mackerel. Small fish, but scrappy on light tackle, and great eating. Larry caught a remora. We all returned to the public pier for evening fishing. Crowd of locals were there, but no fish were biting. K. fetched fish and chips for dinner which we ate at pier's edge as the sun set over the mountains.

Dan, Tyler and Matt got up early and went fishing off rocks at end of 4-Mile Beach. Right away Dan hooked a large fish, which broke the line after peeling 50 yards or so off the reel. This was a significant loss because, when the 23 lb. trace parted, lost was not only the special set of gang hooks that Steve Simpson had put together, but the only sliding bobber as well. Not much to do about the hooks, but the bobber was floating about 100 yards off shore. Dan swam out and retrieved it, quickly rigged new tackle, and cast out another pilchard. Immediately after the bait hit the water another mackerel hit, and after a good fight was slid onto the rocks. D. filleted the fish as soon as we got home, and when he checked the gut to see what she'd been feeding on, there was the original bait with the hooks Steve had given him. That fish really wanted to join us for dinner!

At 0800 K. and T. headed out for the day on one of Steve Simpson's boats (Wavelength II) with a dozen other folks for a day of snorkeling on the outer Great Barrier Reef. They saw incredible corals and fishes . . . including a 7-foot-long Tawny shark, and a giant Maori wrasse to which Tyler fed chunks of squid.

In the evening we visited Robyn and Larry Smith and three kids (Matt, Tim, and Jackie) at their home in the trees. Larry's a gifted woodworker and built this gorgeous home in a grove of giant eucalyptus. All the finish work is in burnished tropical hardwoods. The house sits high in the air on posts and the branches of the surrounding gums gives the sense of living in a giant treehouse.

Caught 0630 Sunset Airways flight from Cairns to Proserpine. Juliet (Whitsunday Yacht Charters) met us at airport and drove us into Airlie Beach to the "On the Beach" motel. Fruitbats and Lorikeets outside our window . . .

"Home"