Cape Tribulation - Cooktown

Our tent!

Spectacled Flying Fox

Daintree Discovery Centre

Cooper's Creek

We woke up to the sounds of the rainforest and a large downpour of rain - at least we wouldn't have to pack up a wet tent! We went to the cafe for our all inclusive continental breakfast - I could get used to this. We decided to book the 11.30am river trip on Cooper's Creek and try and do the Discovery Centre before this which was back at Cow Bay. The Discovery Centre involved aerial walkways through the rainforest, a canopy tower and interpretive display centre. We had audio guides explaining points of interest along the way. Daintree N.P. Is recognized as one of the most biologically diverse areas in the world and in 1988 it was included in the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area. The Daintree is the oldest intact lowland tropical rainforest in the world - it is thought to be between 110 - 200 million years old. The Discovery Centre was great and we could have probably spent more time there but we had to get back to Cooper's Creek for the river trip. The cruise went for about an hour and the kids got to see their first crocodile in the wild. We saw two younger crocs, a male about 3 1/2 meters long and a couple of smaller females. The guide (who didn't introduce himself) informed us all about the crocodiles and the surrounding mangroves. Back in the car we drove on to Noah Beach where you could really see where the rainforest meets the sea. We drove onto Myall Beach picnic area and cooked some sausages for lunch. We did the 1.2km boardwalk. It was about 3pm by the time we started heading up the Bloomfield Track towards Cooktown. The signage says 4WD only but a lot of the steep sections were concreted and there was even a small bridge over the Bloomfield river. Rick was a little disappointed as he remembered it being a lot different the last time he was here 20 years ago. It won't be long I guess and the whole way will be bitumen which will be a real shame. The conservationists lost the battle in 1983 to prevent the Bloomfield track being bulldozed through the rainforest but the very public blockade indirectly led to it's World Heritage listing. Was this road really necessary when there is a perfectly good access road inland? Let's hope the government continues to protect this area from further development. We had a drink at the Lion's Den Hotel and made it to Cooktown around 6pm and found a cabin to stay in at one of the Caravan Parks.