Daintree Rain Forest

Today we were picked up at our resorts and headed to Mossman Gorge.  This is part of the 150 million year old rain forest - the oldest in the world.  Chris, our guide, was very knowledgable with bith planrs and animals.  This little lizard was one of our first encounters.

We then went to the Daintree River to see crocs.  We spotted two from a distance, birds, a snake and lots of interesting trees and plants.  Jim and Cynthia were enjoying the cruise and wore their hats like good little Aussies should.

We visited our first beach of the day, but could not get into the water due to box jellyfish - just one of many things that can kill you here,  The picture above shows the designs that the crabs make.  They make their holes and bring up balls of sand after they have gotten the nutrients out of the sand and spit out the balls.

The four of us with the Daintree River behind us.  It dumps into the Coral Sea.

This is a skate.  There were dozens of them right at the water edge.  They would let the sand almost bury them before they would slide away.

Mangrove trees are vital to the rainforest eco system.  The roots go down into the sand and then spike back up which lets them breathe, as they have a valve.  The plant changes the salt water into fresh water as they would die in the salt water and the leaves shed the salt back into the sea.

The Australian's have a great sense of humor.  The cassowaries are the largest bird after the emu and ostrich and are native to Australia.  There are road signs everywhere to watch out for them, but this one had a before and after picture.

This sign tells you to watch out for the bush turkey and snails!!

We drove to a Daintree Forest Creek and went for a swim.  The water was 22C tropical cold instead of 22 degrees C moderate.  The sea was 29 yesterday and warm.  This was wake you up cold, but you did not get chilled in it.  Chris said the moderate cold would cause goose bumps and you would be out in a minute and not survive very long.  This was get in and have a 10 minute conversation,  It was so clear you could see every rock and we in fact

drank the water from the creek for lunch.

This heart shaped plant will sting you and cause severe damage and pain for up to  6 months.  We walked right by it.  The Aussies laugh at poision ivy.

This was our group along with our guide.  The couple in front is from Adelalde.  She is a teacher and he is a social worker.  We learned a lot from them about their country.  Very interesting couple.

This fern is 150 years old - it can kill you too and sits in the middle of the river bed.

This is looking up the inside of what use to be a tree.  The host tree is covered with these vines and over hundreds of years the vines take over and the host tree dies. 

After our tour we stopped for ice cream - the fruit is grown on the farm and the ice cream is made on site.  You buy a dish with 4 flavors and you get the four flavors they have that day.Today was raspberry, banana, macademia nut and wattle seed.  Wattle seed was a coffee flavor and everyone's favorite.  They always have wattle seed.  We learned so much today and are in awe of the world our Lord has created.  You almost feel like you are on another planet in the forest - so little is familiar.  Another lovely day.