We're off again.

Tomorrows the day we head to Melbourne. This week has been full events. Some of us even got older. It was Conrad's birthday on Sunday. We had a day of White Water Rafting on the Tully River. It was amazing! We were rafting on grade four rapids. It was a whole day event; started a 6:30am, ended at 6:30pm. The sun was shining, couldn't have asked for more. The secret that it was Conrad's birthday got out of the bag rather quickly. One of the guides on the bus mentionned he would get sauced... whatever that means. We soon found out. At lunch, Conrad was ambushed by ketchup and BBQ bottles. They covered him. Then just as he was washing off in the river, they threw bread crumbs at the fish, which got them biting. Funny enough, I did not actually witness any of it! I was happily watching the fish while warming myself in the glorious sunshine. I remember seeing Conrad in the water but I figured he was just crazy enough to go for a swim after being soaked all afternoon... turns out, he's not that crazy!
That night we went to a nice Japanese Restaurant. The food was great but the portions were small... expected for such cuisine. It was the first time, in a long time, that my lips got to touch the sweet taste of red wine! Dinner was great, we both realized how long it had been since we'd eaten out!

We've also kept ourselves busy exploring Cape Tribulation. On Tuesday, we went on a day trip up the coast. We stopped at a freshwater gorge called Mossman Gorge. There we got to go for a brisk swim and check out the suspension bridge.


Then we were off to the Daintree Wildlife Centre. We met up with a crazy, barefoot bushman who led us throw the park, while explaining how "special" everything was. He was quite the character! He had nasty long toenails... I'm sorry I noticed! But it was at this wildlife centre that we got to see our first saltwater crocodile up close. Enclosed within a fence was a murky pond. You're standing on a wood-plank walkway suspended a few feet in the air. Then the crazy bushman taps the water with the end of his walking stick and, "SPLASH!! [Chomp! Chomp!]" a giant croc emerges from nowhere. It blows your mind that you were just looking at the calm, motionless, water intently looking for some sign of life, meanwhile he's been sitting there right under your nose.

Our next stop of the day was for a walk through the rainforest to the Mangroves. These rainforests have been around for millions of years. They count for 1% of Australias forests but carries almost 50% of its types of wildlife! Walking through the forest was like walking through time. This one tree is known as a strangler tree. It slowly kills the hosts tree it lives on. This one had long since killed the tree it had engulfed but remained standing.
We drove up to Cape Tribulation for lunch. The beach was nice, but at that point the rain clouds had come in, so it ended up looking like any standard beach. It was interesting to see a stingray station as you enter the beach. There were signs everywhere warning of the risk and a bottle of vinegar to use if a sting occurred. To think, these are the circumstances these people have to deal with every year. "Water, water everywhere, but not a drop to drink." In this area, it is incredibly hot and water surrounds you but you can't swim in it. Because of this paradox almost every accommodation provides you with a swimming pool.

On our way to our next activity we saw a wild Cassowary. They are protected, indiginous wildlife of Australia. They are giant Emu-like birds with colorful heads and black feathers. They have a talon on one of there claws that could easily kill a human, so they are warned to be very dangerous. Driving along the road you see a number signs warning of there prescence. It was during the drive when one stepped out on the road to cross the street.
From there we were on our way to a river cruise down the Daintree River, hoping to spot of few saltwater crocs in the wild. We did! Apparently, in that area there are around 4 males and 6-7 females. Because crocs are very territorial they are usually able to identify each croc spotted. While we journeyed down the river, we also entered a number of their territory. It was a thrilling reminder when they would tell you NOT to lean over the boat! While on the cruise, we saw Scarface, a 3ft male, and 3 females, but sadly I have forgotten there names. It was neat!

Yesterday, we went snorkelling on the Great Barrier Reef. The boat ride was long and it really made me motion sick. Unless we were snorkelling, I was sleeping on one of the benches of the boat. I found this to be the only way to halt the sickness.... damn, that boat was bumpy. We did, however, have a great day on the reef. We spotted a couple of sea turtles that curiously stuck around. They acted like puppies! They were really cute! Because they have to come up for air you could even spot them from the top of the boat. All of a sudden they would emerge for a few good breathes before descending again. Conrad recently bought a water proof case for his camera. He was able to snag a few really good photos which I will try to post later. The trip enables us to snorkel for at least 3hrs on the reef. There are fish everywhere, schooling in funny ways. I've learned that the coral itself is colorless but certain algaes give them color. Also, they grow about 1cm/ year so any damage is quite tragic. It really is a breathtaking environment... this slow-growing reef seems neverending out there.