Cape Tribulation...

Cape Tribulation was the last stop on our two week travels through Australia. We had gone from from Adeladie through the Outback up to Uluru, Alice Springs, then flew on to Cairns, Port Douglas, and the Great Barrier Reef. Cape Tribulation is only accessiable by a river ferry across the Daintree. The area is extremly beautiful with ancient rainforests, sandy beaches, and the rugged mountain peaks of Mt. Thorton and Mt. Sorrow. It is also a unique place in that the rainforest comes right down and meets the sea. Pretty impressive. This area is part of the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area. The biodiversity of the area is stunning with only .10% of the total surface area in Australia that contains 36% of the mammal species, 50% of the bird species, 60% of the butterfly species, and 65% of the fern species found in the continent. It contains diverse swampland, mangrove forests, eucalpyt woodlands, and tropical rainforests.



Sun palms on the top of the rainforest canopy.



Magnificent ferns throughout the rainforest along the Dujubi Boardwalk.



We spotted a blue moth resting on a leaf.



Making our way out to Thortons beach we noticed the giant jellyfish warning sign! The jellyfish, or box jellies, inhabit the ocean waters from October until June making swimming treachorous. If you are stung you should pour vinegar on the burn and seek immeadiate medical attention. The stings can sometimes be fatal!



Little sand critters burrow in the sand and deposit tiny sand balls all over the beach. Like the tiny dots on the beach, Aboriginal people use painted dots in their artwork. This is called "The Dreamtime" and symbolizes stories about their ancestors, history, and culture.



We camped at a great spot, and had a short walk out to the beach. You can see where the rainforest comes right down to meet the ocean.



A hanging fruit bat inside the Cape Tribulation visitor's center.



We really wanted to spot a Cassowary in the wild. Unfourtanetly all we got to see were the road sings indicating to watch out for them. The Cassowary is a huge flightless bird, and can be as tall as 6 feet high. It has a hard shell like horn on the top of its blue head and neck. It is a distant relative of the emu. It is a very important bird in the rainforest habitat, as it disperses different tree seeds along the floor of the forest. I found this photo of the Cassowary in the wild online from Google images.