We decided to rent a car and end things here the same way we ended in Hervey Bay- driving up the coast. We got a late start- 10:30 ish- and drove to Tjapukai Aboriginal Park. While there, we had a schedule of presentations and performances. We learned how to make and play a digeridoo and some aboriginal history, saw a performance of their creation story, watched them dance, learned about their tools and food/remedies from the rainforest, and threw spears and boomerangs (Mike was good at throwing). We were there in the middle of the day and were two of only a few other people at the park at that time, so the performers gave us pretty much private performances. It was very cool to learn about their culture and they were fun people!
After spending a few hours at the Aboriginal Park, we headed up the coast past Port Douglas and on toward Mossman and had lunch. I read about a gorge there and thought we could do a bit of hiking. (This was a part of Daintree National Park.) It was pretty much like the gorges we have in Vermont, but the vegetation was a bit more like rainforest- lots of fig trees and very tall tropical trees and plants...Mike was not as impressed as I was- having gone to Cornell, where the gorges were much bigger and steeper...oh well. We hiked around on our own for about an hour or so...It was pretty!
The hiked lasted longer than I thought and for a few minutes I wondered if we had gotten lost. No such luck :D. Onward and downward- this time to check out Port Douglas for a bit. This town is another gateway to the Great Barrier Reef, there are more tours to the outer reef points from this location. It looked like an upscale version of Cairns to us- lots of resorty type hotels and cafes and shops near the beach. There were stinger signs up and a stinger net- this is the last month of stinger (jellyfish) season here. It has been really strange to see miles and miles of beach and nobody swimming...
Four Mile Beach- Port Douglas
Next- back down the coast- it was getting late, so decided to head back to Cairns and stop by a couple of lookouts along the way. Most of the drive was up the coast with beautiful ocean views, so...
"Rex Lookout"
Back to Cairns for Indian food and gelato (at another shop) and then mango wine back at our room. (We bought a couple of bottles of mango wine on our Kuranda Village excursion.) Note to self: back on the diet when I get back home!! Sad to be dome this wonderful trip, it has been such an adventure from the beginning- our best vacation so far!!
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