Leaving Julatten and Kingfisher Park Birdwatcher's Lodge behind we traveled a little ways north to Mossman and eventually Daintree National Park where we would spend the night in the little river village of Daintree. The initial part of the trip was mostly down hill with several beautiful vistas over the lowland and ocean below.
The village of Daintree is the kind of place Edie enjoys-small, intimate, a little quirky, and with, of course, a couple restaurants. We stayed at Daintree Riverview Lodges which had a spectacular view of the river and mountains beyond. These are really too small to be called mountains but I didn't intend to point that out to the Aussies in camp since they are rightfully proud of them and they really are beautiful. One large one was locally called the "rainmaker", since it was high enough to always cause cloud formations near its peak and produce a lot of rain on its leeward side. The campground was built on two levels. We stayed in the upper level where the office and facilities were. The owners had amassed a large number of antiques and displayed them near the office and camp kitchen.
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| Upper level of the Campground |
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| Campground kitchen and laundry |
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| Where are the "Pickers" when you need them |
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| More "Picker Heaven" |
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| There has to be a story here |
The downtown was not much more than a few stores on one side and a lone restaurant and the campground on the other.
My interest picked up when Edie told me that they served kangaroo burgers at the restaurant next to the campground. I had assumed that kangaroo would be easy to get in restaurants but this was not the case. Apparently Australians are not fond of Kangaroo. I don't know why because my burger was delicious-the closest comparison I could come to was venison. Edie voted with the Australians and ordered a barramundi burger which was a sought after fish in these parts.
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| Apparently Barramund grow quite large |
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| For a Michigander there is something about tropical open air restaurants that you never tire of |
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| Kangaroo burger with non-alcoholic Bundaberg Ginger Beer |
The next morning we were to meet our river guide, Murray Hunt, from Daintree Boatman Nature Tours. Murray uses a small boat which can get into areas that the larger boats cannot.
There was a lot of mist when we first started out, but Murray said it would clear shortly.
Within minutes we spotted one of the more sought after species on the river, the Great-billed Heron.
Other species quickly followed.
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| Brahminy Kite |
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| Little Pied Cormorant |
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| Azure Kingfisher |
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| Female Shining Flycatcher |
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| Sacred Kingfisher |
Murray did not limit himself to the birds but also included plants, reptiles, and amphibians.
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| I included this Australian Water Dragon for Jamie, the family herpetologist |
The Daintree River is famous for its salt-water crocodiles but we never saw any of them and Murray apologized for that. There are several larger tour boats that go out primarily to see them but they were skunked also. The locals say about a dozen cattle are killed each year by the larger crocs.
Daintree is as far north as we travel and tomorrow we head south again.
There was a lot of mist when we first started out, but Murray said it would clear shortly.
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