My Australian holiday - you asked for it !

[Clifftop]

great read and pics Snatcher, i was up that way in July on a 3 week tour, did the reef and 3 of the islands.

 

Magic place, looking forwards to the next installment, well done mate.

 

Cheers Fred

[Hellbelly]

Absolutely terrific my friend! Pt Douglas looks like a place I need to visit.

[Snatcher]

The Daintree Rainforest is located in Daintree Region of Far North Queensland Australia.

 

The Daintree Rainforest is the oldest continuously living rainforest in the world, dating over 135 million years and covering an area that stretches from Mossman Gorge in the South to Cooktown in the north.We had fancied doing a jeep 4WD safari and booked a day trip with "Tonys Tours",a local guy who had been recommended to us.

 

http://www.tropicaltours.com.au/index.html

 

He picked the 3 of us up quite early from our apartment,about 7am I think.We then picked up a New Zealand couple on the way out of Port Douglas and headed north.It was Tonys tour company and there were another 5 jeeps out that day on different safaris.Tony was a tall affable guy,very laid back and was a fountain of knowledge.

 

Our first stop was on the Daintree River to go croc spotting.On the path down to the boat I spotted this green tree frog

 

 

Could not resist this shot either

 

 

The Daintree Rainforest is home to one of the highest populations of primitive flowering plants in the world with the greatest concentration of plant species that are rare, or threatened with extinction, anywhere in the world.

 

Tony did not join us on the boat and said he would drive down to the ferry and meet us there.The boat skipper handed out a pair of binoculars to each of us and off we set.

 

Within a few minutes he had spotted a small croc and pulled the boat in close to it

 

 

After about another 15 minutes steaming upriver he spotted another croc and pulled in close.

 

 

The croc seemed a bit annoyed at being disturbed and gave us a snarl.It was at this point the skipper identified him as "Scarface" the dominant male in this stretch of river.He was missing a lot of teeth but still looked like the boss!

 

 

The Daintree Rainforest contains approximately one third of the frog, marsupial and reptile species in Australia, and around sixty per cent of Australia's bat and butterfly species. Approximately 430 species of birds live among the trees, including 13 species that are found nowhere else in the world. These account for around twenty per cent of bird species in the Australia. All of this diversity is contained within an area that takes up 0.2% of the landmass of Australia.

 

We then headed up a narrow creek looking for more crocs

 

 

The skipper spotted yet another croc for us.The shot was probably blurred due to me being over excited

 

 

We headed back into the main river and passed this guy trying to net bait for fishing.With all of those crocs around I could not fancy fishing there.When we had just arrived in Sydney it was on the national news that a fisherman had been taken by a croc up the north end!

 

 

The river really widened out at this point

 

 

Here is a picture of the car ferry,our dropping off point

 

[Snatcher]

Just as we were about to beach the boat the skipper spotted our fourth croc of the trip

 

 

It was only a baby one and he got a little closer for us.He said that the small crocs had to be very careful as they were on the menu of the bigger ones! We said bye and thanks to the skipper and boarded Tonys jeep once more heading north towards Cape Tribulation.

 

 

The Daintree Rainforest was world heritage listed in 1988 and is positioned adjacent to another world heritage area The Great Barrier Reef, making it the only place in the world where two world heritage areas meet

 

On the way we pulled into Alexandra Lookout for a quick photoshoot.The day was a bit hazy but the view was still awesome

 

 

 

 

It was then back into the jeep,still heading north.Tony had told us that there was a chance we might actually see a cassowary and I had my fingers crossed on this one.The cassowary is the third largest bird in the world, and resides on the mainland of Australia and in New Guinea. Two subspecies live in New Guinea, the Northern Cassowary and the Dwarf Cassowary. The third species, the Double-Wattled or Southern Cassowary, lives in both Northern Australia and New Guinea. Of these species, the Southern and Northern are both considered threatened, and the Australian government has devoted much time and effort to protecting their habitats. There are very few captive cassowaries in Australia, only about 40 in total.

 

As luck would have it another of Tonys jeeps in front had pulled in at the side of the road.Tony slowly pulled in behind it and about 30/40 yds away we got a brief glimpse of a big specimen - no time to get off a shot though.They really are enormous birds and can be quite aggressive/dangerous.They have been known to disembowl dogs with their dagger like claws.

 

Check out Lillian stood next to full size model of one back in Port Douglas

 

 

We drove on and then Tony said anyone want to take a picture of this roadsign.The top sign had been added by some local and the council were happy to let it go

 

 

We eventually arrived at Cape Tribulation and we got out for a short stroll

 

 

One for the album

 

 

Edited January 9, 2009 by Snatcher

[Snatcher]

On the way back to the jeep Tony pointed out some tiny green tree ants.He said that they secrete ascorbic acid from their abdomen and it tastes just like sherbet.Well he picked one up gently by the head and said right i need a volunteer,someone stick your tounge out.I did and I tell you when he touched the ants abdomen on my tounge it did taste like sherbet - honest.All five of us had a go at this.

 

 

We then passed by this lovely little stream

 

 

With a not so nice sign.Well I had fancied a paddle but changed my mind!

 

 

Next it was onto the Bloomfield Falls.On the way there we drove over a shallow ford and there was 4 or 5 aboriginal kids splashing around in the river.We stopped and watched them for a few moments and I thought what a smashing natural photo that would make.Dorothy must have read my mind,she said cameras and kids do not go together anymore - what a sad world we live in at times!! Tony explained that there is always an adult on "croc watch" when the kids are in the river.

 

It was red hot by this stage and we had a fair clambour to get to the falls.I took a photo of this cave painting on the way

 

 

The falls were quite impressive,Tony said you want to see them in the wet season

 

 

 

Our next stop off was Stingray Bay and what a cracking spot it was

 

 

 

Here is Tony on the beach with the New Zealand couple,sorry forgot their names

 

 

Took a shot of this bird,have not a clue what it is - I bet Bobj will come to the rescue

 

Edited January 9, 2009 by Snatcher

[Snatcher]

We then drove on to the Noah valley for dinner.Tony had actually bought a piece of land here and had it all set up for his tours. We climbed up to his open air dining room where his cook was just about to dish out the food.I cannot tell you how good it tasted,and you could go back for seconds and thirds.Nice

 

 

The stream nearby was full of fish

 

 

He said that anyone could have a dip in the stream if they wished.The New Zealand couple had brought costumes,we had not thought of it.I wish I had as the heat was close to unbearable now

 

 

From here we went on a rainforest walk,Tony explaining about bush tucker as we went,what is poisonous etc.I had the good fortune to get a shot of this Ulysses butterfly

 

 

The trail got a little tricky at times and here is Tony giving Lillian a helping hand

 

 

Spotted this lizard on a tree,sorry do not know what type it was

 

 

Although the walk was facinating it was nice to get back to the air conditioned jeep.Tony said that we were making good time and could therefore call into the Daintree Ice Cream Company on the way back to Port Douglas.The Daintree Ice Cream Company on the northern side of the Daintree River en route to Cape Tribulation is a must stop for all visitors.

 

This boutique ice creamery is renowned for its exquisite desserts made from tropical fruits grown in the company’s own orchards such as Black Sapote, Soursop, Wattle Seed and Jackfruit.

 

All the ice creams are made on the premises and the flavours vary throughout the year, as only fruit in season is used for the ice cream. This is where we had our ice cream and it was heavenly - I had mango

 

 

The gardens were beautiful and Dorothy wandered off with the camera

 

 

 

 

When we got back to the apartment in Port Douglas we reflected on what a great day it had been and that we only had two days left before flying back to Sydney.I still had my reef fishing trip to go though - stay with me for that one

[Clifftop]

Another great episode mate, well done.

 

 

I think the bird is a Brush Turkey.

 

 

Cheers Fred

[Bobj]

And the lizard is quite rare, a Boyd's Forest Dragon.

Exellent, mate.

We have the brush turkeys and the Ulysses butterfly in our garden.

[Snatcher]

This was the highlight of my Australian fishing

 

I turned up at the marina at 07.15,found the boat and hopped on board.There were another 5 anglers on board,two aussies - the lady was called Lisa and 3 Canadians. First up it was off with the trainers/sandals and they were boxed up - a new one on me barefoot angling! I was then informed it was to be handline fishing,another first.The skipper said that when using conventional rod and reel the larger fish will just make an unstoppable dive into the coral and that with a handline it is far easier to stop this.Also that you can bring up the fish much more quickly which is fairly important with all the sharks present.I felt a bit apprehensive about using a handline but had to go with the flow.I had brought my little spinning rod with me and the deckie said that I would get the chance to use it.I felt happier at that.

 

It had to be the fastest boat I had ever been on and in no time at all we were out on the reef.I told the skipper I was doing catch and release to which he replied we would just be keeping legal size coral trout,everything else was to go back - nice one.The deckie had set us all up with handlines and showed us how to hook on the sardine bait.We were fishing in 22m of water and we were instructed to hold our baits just off the bottom.

 

One of the Canadian lads was first in with a trevally - note the handlines on the deck

 

 

Within a few minutes the deckie handed me my rod off the top of the cabin and said -"there you go John,Queenfish on the top,just freeline a sardine to them,and lighten off the drag cos they go mental" referee - if I must! after a few tentative refusals a queenie took the bait and it went beserk as the deckie had predicted.After quite a while the deckie handed the fish in,a quick cuddle for the camera and back she went

 

 

Loads of fish went unrecorded due to the fact that the deckie was constantly hosing down the boat and as and the camera was not waterproof,it stayed inside the cabin,just took a shot when the oppertunity arose.It was mayhem with good fish on all the time basically.The skipper and deckie were releasing fish in the water,just a quick stop to pierce their swim bladder with a needle - nice one lads.

 

Cast another bait on the top and I got into this painted sweetlips - another good scrap on my light spinning gear

 

 

The skipper got upset at this stage to find that when he was defrosting the sardines they were all very "mushy" so basically we had no bait,just at this point a GT took my bait off the surface.The skipper said,this one is for bait,he had to wait about 20 mins for it though as it circled the boat a few times.It was gaffed and cut up for bait.

 

 

The surface fish vanished and I went back onto the handline fishing the bottom again.And here was my first coral trout.Like I said all the legal size coral trout were kept

 

 

One way traffic or what?

 

 

Another coral trout

 

 

Here is trout that Lisa caught

 

 

Here is a shot of Chris,our hungover Canadian friend - notice the rubber fingerstool on his finger,its what stops the line cutting you when handlining

 

 

I cannot honestly report on everyones catch throughout the day but to say that basically at all times there were fish on. The skipper did move about 6/7 times during the trip.coral trout were at the top of his shopping list!

 

The skipper was ok with me fishing on the surface and gotin another turrum trevally after about a 30 min fight

 

 

Like I say the camera was in the cabin because of all the water being sprayed around but a few random shots were taken by different folks

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To be honest the action was fast and furious and the deckie kept hosing down the decks every couple of minutes to wash away blood/slime/bait.As a consequence I kept my camera inside the cabin and a lot of the best fish were not photographed

Edited January 13, 2009 by Snatcher

[Snatcher]

Well we had moved position and I had just put my handline down when a couple of GT's appeared under the surface.I dropped the handline .picked up the rod and out went a strip of GT for a GT!.Anyway,what a scap,guess at about 30 mins,the anglers on board were absorbed but the skipper was not,he was itching for a move.Someone took this shot of it,have not a clue about the weight,some of our ozzie bretheren may hazard a guess.

 

 

I actually gave it a Rexie kiss before it went back - sorry no photo of it.I can honestly say on 15lb mono it is one of the best fights I have had off a fish.

 

In this next photo you can see the basic handline rig that the deckie set up for us. The weight,about 4/5 oz was directly on the hook.

 

 

Now the skipper was an angler and when he got the chance was fishing,he caught and released this chinaman,the only one that day and very poisonous so he said

 

 

And a rock cod

 

 

A spangled emperor

 

 

A yellow and blueback fusilier

 

 

I did revert to the handline a few times,all the coral trout were on the bottom

 

 

I tell you out on the reef it was scadding hot so a few beers did not go amiss

 

 

Here is a shot of our laid back skipper

 

 

Eventually it was rods in but what a fab day we all had out on the reef.Catch and release is the way to go but I took one one coral trout back to the apartment to cook.It tasted very similar to our rainbor trout.

 

Here are the last two shots of us back in Port Douglas Marina. Tell you what "I'll be back" god willing"

 

 

 

The charter was Out and About here

 

Hope you enjoyed it team

 

Oh well just one day left in Port Douglas to go - I feel a bit of cane toad racing coming on !

Edited January 13, 2009 by Snatcher