Cape Trib 1/21

G'day Mate! We start the morning off early in quest of a well known water hole. With our "swimmers" on we pile in the car and head down the road until we reach a point where 4WD vehicles are recommended. Against our better judgement and the Toyota Corolla's traction control in the off position, we trek on until a river keeps us from going further. We parked the car on the side of the road and followed a couple of French men through the rainforest to the water hole. The rainforest was soggy and wet from the night before. The muddy trails made it hard to walk, so Luke took off the flip flops and felt the rainforest and all its glory between his toes! The rest of us understood the meaning of "hike to the water hole" and wore closed toed shoes.

When were arrived we were surprised to find sandy banks and fresh water fish swimming about the water. Luke took a dip, while Casta and Calesta opted to go in up to their knees. Phillip watched from the bank. Being the rainforest, it started pouring down rain so we decided to head back to the car. Just before driving away, we noticed a sign explicitly stating no swimming, crocodile up river. The hostess at the hostel recommended the swimming hole to us. I don't think she likes outsiders, for she set us up to be crocodile bait! She wasn't very kind. When inquiring about the different fresh water swimming holes, she only told us about the one we went to. She refused to give us directions to the other swimming hole in the area; Blue Hole. She gave a pretty good reason why we were forbidden to go there. It was for locals only, female locals to be exact. According to the hostess, the Aboriginal people put a hex on the water. If a male should enter the swimming hole he would "loose his most favorite part"….yikes! Luke said he had quite a bit to loose, so he wasn't worried.

Around 3:30 in the afternoon, we decided to sign up for a Jungle Surfing Tour of the Daintree Rainforest. Jungle surfing is a way to experience the beauty of the rainforest above the tree tops using a zip line from tree platforms, ranging from 40 feet to 70 feet above the rainforest floor.

We boarded a 4WD courtesy transfer to the Jungle Tree house (start of the tour), where we were fitted with harnesses and helmets. Each helmet was decorated with a name. This name on your helmet was your nickname through out the entire tour. Casta: Bambi, Calesta: Hannah Montana, Phillip: Jaws, and Luke: Rambo. No Luke did not pick out his helmet or slip the tour guide a few dollars under the table. We had two tour guides, Luke nicknamed one the Black Widow. We think she was into Luke for his chest fro and french smells. She told us a story about how men are a dime a dozen in Cape Tribulation. If she were ever to go night swimming, she would take a man with her. That way if a croc were to strike…. he would be the first to go. Both guides turned out to be pretty cool. Very informative and patient with all our questions.

Once our canopy surfing tour ended we headed to PK Village for some dinner and a few beers. Due to some highly intoxicated, overly friendly, toothless, Aboriginal brothers, we called it an early night.