Daintree and the Great Barrier Reef 🐠

April 09, 2025

We spent another morning in Cairns visiting the Botanic Gardens and then swimming in the saltwater lagoon on the waterfront. As the sea is full of dangerous things we quite enjoy the sight of a safe area of water to swim.

We then started to head north towards Daintree Rainforest. We stopped at a free camp for the night then visted Wonga beach which looked like paradise. As stinger season is in full swing we stayed clear of the water. You get very used to the warning signs in Australia, they have lots to warn you about.

You have to cross a small river on a ferry to get to Daintree, which means annoyingly they can charge quite a lot for the pleasure as they know people want to visit. Once across, we went to the Discovery Centre which has lots of info about the area and it's wildlife with walkways in the different layers of the trees. They also give lot of facts about Cassowaries as they play such an important role in spreading the seed throughout the rainforest. We have wanted to spot a Cassowary since reading about them in a museum in Sydney which referred to them as 'bad-natured' birds, and north Queenstown is the place to see them. I try to not get my hopes up when there is specific wildlife we wish to spot as you can never be sure you're going to see them, as we've found out with the elusive Crocodiles and the Tree Kangaroos.

We found a nice campsite for the night and had the alarm set early for a rainforest walk in a Cassowary channel, basically an area one was know to frequent. However, we didn't have to go far, as we opened the van doors one slipped out of the trees right on our pitch and just sauntered along right next to us. I stayed in the van for protection. We still spent the day doing walks in the rainforest before driving back onto the Australia's shortest ferry and heading to Port Douglas.

After a few conversations of should we/shouldn't we, in relation to time and budget, we ended up booking a day out on the Great Barrier Reef snorkeling, as we're possibly never going to be here again. So early the next morning we were at the harbour in Port Douglas boarding ship. It was an amazing day, we visited three sites in the outer reef supplied with stinger suits and marine biologists for any questions. I think I saw Green Turtle from afar but after turning around trying to alert Matt it was gone. We did see plenty of fish of all different colours and sizes and of course the beautiful corals.

Back on dry land we were going to go out to a free camp we'd used before, a little out the way but worth it to save a few bob. However, Vanny wasn't sounding well. We were able to drive but, as Matt informed me, she was idling low. As we needed to be back in Cairns the next day to pick up my phone, we thought it would be best to head there and be nearer to mechanics if needed. The next morning Matt managed to sort out Vannys problem with his mechanical mind and some advice from a professional. This was a relief, I'd envisioned us being stuck again and our schedule going even more out of the window!

We eventually got my phone back later in the day, so we could finally start travelling south on the final stretch towards Sydney, not before buying some roadside bananas though!

We made it that same day to a free campsite at the Babinda Boulders where there are areas you can swim but you are bombarded with some alarming safety signs first. We did have a dip in the safe areas after a walk along the river. We then settled for the evening and were visited by a inquisitive long-nosed bandicoot whilst watching some telly by the van on the evening.