BOUNCING ALONG THE BLOOMFIELD TRACK

After leaving Cairns our first night was spent at the Heritage Lodge and Spa at Diwan near Cape Tribulation. We fell a sleep in our comfortable cabins surrounded by dense jungle and the chorus of the frogs.

Our friends, Ann and George out side their cabin on the way to breakfast.

Breakfast in the jungle.

It was amazing to find such a comfortable resort in the middle of nowhere.

 After breakfast we went for a short walk to the creek. I just loved these big palms (and TOH) .

It was so pristine, soft underfoot with occasional drops of water from the canopy. I only had my phone with me at breakfast so it was hard to capture the amazing beauty of this place. I could have easily stayed longer here and forget the rest of the world exists.

 We came to the creek with crystal clear water babbling over the rounded pebbles. In the wet season this is a raging torrent. Too soon we were waving goodbye to the wonderful host and we were on our way to Cape Tribulation.

 We pulled into a carpark in the forest and our driver/guide led us down a path through the rainforest right onto .........

 the beach. I had never experienced that before, where you can walk out of a thick jungle right onto the beach. It was breathtakingly beautiful.

 No buildings or signs of civilisation, just pure nature. It is part of the heritage listed Daintree Forest. We walked along the beach to Cape tribulation, named by Captain Cook in 1770. After he discovered the east coast of Australia near Sydney he then followed the coast northwards but he hit a reef and holed his ship the 'Endeavour.' This is where his troubles started, hence the name. The reef prevents a big surf so there is no surfing here. Other reasons prevent you from swimming too: deadly stingers and crocodiles. We were warned to be on constant lookout for crocs.

 Just before the headland this stream enters the sea. So pretty and picturesque. 

Then we headed back to our 4 wheel drive small bus and commenced an unbelievable adventure on the famous Bloomfield Track. The Bloomfield Track is a very narrow, steep, rough dirt road that follows the coast to Cooktown. It is an alternative route from the main road going north further inland. It is closed in the wet season and only open to four wheel drive vehicles in the dry season.

I made a mistake in my last post it was this road that was the scene of conflict when it was constructed not the one from Cairns to here.  Fanatical greenies chained themselves to a tree in front of the bulldozers in protest against the road destroying trees in this ancient forest. However, the road went ahead. The road makers split the road around the tree and left the protesters there. Today the road is still split around the famous tree. 

The Bloomfield Track crosses many creeks and rivers. There are no bridges. I took this out of the window as the driver attempts to navigate the crossing hoping not to fall into big holes.

We rocked from side to side and bounced up and down it was hard to keep the camera still to get a shot in focus as we went through the creek. Then we would climb up steep hills as we criss-crossed the Great Dividing Range. Sometimes we were teetering on the side of a hill looking down into a gully way below. Scary but fun. Next stop was the aboriginal settlement of Wujul Wujul and the Bloomfield Falls.