Having traveled to a combined 22 countries over our 18-19 years on this planet, over the last week we came to the conclusion that from the 15th to the 17th of January we visited the only two places we can now honestly describe as truly paradise.
Although I had previously written-off organized tours as cheesy and boring, a very good experience in the Galapagos on a tour prompted me to encourage the twins to take a look at what some tours from Cairns had to offer. Fortunately we were staying at a great hostel, Calypso, that offered free advice and help with booking. We spoke to a tour ‘guru’, Buddha, who recommended a three day, two night tour up to Cape Tribulation.
From the beginning it was clear that we had made a very good choice. Our tour guide, Ben from Jungle Tours, was exceptionally informed, interesting and intelligent. As we drove out of Cairns on the stunning Captain Cook highway, he told us about the tree kangaroo, an animal that even most Australians don’t know exists, the different types of environments that cover Australia and various creepy crawly and slidy creatures that can kill you or 300,000 mice with a single drop of venom.
The first stop on our tour was a Wildlife Sanctuary. The sanctuary featured three different environments: grasslands, wetlands and rainforest and a wide selection of the animals that naturally inhabit these areas, living almost freely. We saw fruit bats and cassowaries, who are both sadly endangered and at serious risk of extinction and learned of the significance of their existance to the survival of hundreds of plants, of which they are the sole ’seed spreaders’. We also saw a great deal of birds, old men koalas and Sophia’s new obsession, wallabies and their joeys.
Our second stop was a short botanical walk and a swim in a water hole a few km’s down stream of Mossoman Gorge. On the walk, Ben pointed out ancient and fascinating plant species, including one of the oldest plants in the world that draws heavy metals out of the ground and deposits them on its leaves. This simultaneously protects the plant against herbivores, ensuring its survival through the ages and allowing Australians to find and mine their natural stores of precious metals without wasting time and energy digging numerous holes.
After the refreshing swim and some lunch it was time to look for crocodiles. A guided tour in a boat around the little bays and estuaries that Australian crocodiles love to inhabit provided glimpses of darting kingfishers, a massive golden orb female spider and two male crocodiles. Soon it was time for the final drive right to the Cape, to our room in the jungle, to our simple self-cooked dinner and to our new friends: a giant spider in the kitchen and a monster cricket in the bathroom.
Because of hurricane damage to the boat we were told that our reef tour the next day had been cancelled, but we were offered a place on a boat out of Cairns instead and, as compensation, a free scuba dive. Given that we had limited time in Cairns, we decided to leave the cape a day early in order to take the reef tour the following day. However, as our bus back was not arriving until 4pm we still had the whole day on the cape to explore.
Needing only bikinis, cameras and a hat or sunnies, we set out to find Mason’s swimming hole. Due to our meandering, fear of crossing possibly killer jellyfish-infested waters and general inability to follow simple instructions we spent the next three hours wandering the beaches, roads, bush land and lookout points of the area. On the way we played the ‘What are we grateful for today?’ game and found enough answers in our surroundings alone, there was little need for other conversation.
After three hours, however, we decided we were running out of swimming time and should probably find a faster way to Mason’s. Without money, our only option was to hitchhike. Fortunately, and arguably thanks to our weather-appropriate outfits, the first car stopped and one of the three young Danish guys inside asked, “What are you three doing, wandering half-naked in the jungle?”
Although we made good friends and found out that we were all actually staying in the same hostel in Cairns, we had even less luck finding the water hole in the car and eventually got out and asked a local for directions. I’m glad we persevered in our search for the water hole because we soon found ourselves at a secluded creek with a rope swing and some very curious fish. We played in the water until it began to rain and then looked for a ride home.
Due to our water-logged state, we realize our best hope of a lift was a ute or pick-up truck and we hailed the first one we saw. A pierced and slightly strange looking man offered us a place on the back of his truck, which we gladly accepted. It was only as we climbed in that we noticed we were surrounded by some daunting equipment: two chainsaws, a jug of gasoline and a pair of bolt cutters! Fortunately, we did not encounter a sticky fate and made it back to Cairns with the memories of crystal water and a thousand facts still marinating in our brains.
We were advised by an English friend at Calypso not to drink the night before we went scuba diving (advice he had not followed, and sorely regretted) and so we had a pretty early night. In a continuation of our unseasonably good luck, morning came and the sky was bright and clear. At first we were a little hesitant about the group that we traveled to our catamaran, Ocean Spirit, with, the median age of which seemed to be 85, but it turned out that there was a nice range of people on the boat from all countries and decades.
It was a 90 minute sunbathe out to the reef. We sailed to an area called Michaelmas Cay and began the day with a trip on a semi-submersible boat. Out of our underwater windows we could see fish and turtles swimming around us and colourful coral and giant clams living on the reef.
After a delicious buffet lunch on the Ocean Spirit, we were eager to get into the water and see these creatures in the flesh. Happily, our first dive went perfectly and the highlight of, at least my trip, was the chance to touch a giant clam and feel it shiver.
When we finished diving we took a little boat to the cay to relax with the birds and splash around in the shallows. To say the view all around us was picture perfect, or just like a postcard is to put it so mildly it’s just not fair. The truth is that everywhere you looked you saw perfection. Truly paradise.
