3,659 kilometres, that’s how far we have gone to reach our northern-most milestone along the east coast: Cape Tribulation in Daintree National Park. The last 100 of these kilometres are spectacular. I have seen quite a few scenic roads, in South Africa, in California, in Australia’s south. The Captain Cook Highway between Cairns and Cape Tribulation plays in the same league. You have only just left the city when a sign indicates that the next 28 km will lead you through world heritage listed area. Turning around the next bend leaves you speechless: The ocean is on your right, the dense rainforest on the left. In the distance, the hills of the Daintree National Park rise from the sea.
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| Croc warning in German — seems to be necessary |
We cross the Daintree River on the car ferry and enter a different world: Now the rainforest has absorbed us. It’s the oldest rainforest in the world, around 135 million years old. The narrow road is dark, windy, full of potholes, dips, humps. We now understand why, according to Google Maps, the 100 km route takes you 2 1/2 hours.
Compared to other capes in the area, there is nothing spectacular about Cape Tribulation. The reason why it is on so many people’s list is the fact that a few metres from here the road ends — at least for conventional vehicles. There is still an 800 km stretch of coast before you eventually arrive at Cape York, the northern-most point of mainland Australia. But it’s all four-wheel drive only.
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| Cape Trib beach in peak season |
So it is no surprise that at our camp site there are basically 2 types of vehicles: The shiny, white rental camper vans hired by overseas tourists (coming from the south), and the can’t-tell-the-colour-anymore 4WD off-road monsters with 3 spare wheels and several spare petrol tanks (coming from the north). Our station wagon is a rare exemption. In the upcoming weeks it will collect more than enough dust to resemble the second category car. More in my next blogs.
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| Friendly smile, certainly makes a good pet |
[Daintree National Park, Cape Tribulation, 4.-6. August]
