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Originally we were going to drive to Darwin from Cooktown but then decided because we will be driving up the centre next year we would come back home a different way. We haven't quite decided yet which way we will go but we will make a decision sometime this week. In the meantime we thought it might be fun to return to a park we have stayed at twice before which is well positioned for touring so here we are at Pinnacle Village on Wonga Beach thirty minutes away from Port Douglas and fifteen minutes from Daintree Village and Mossman Gorge. We had a good drive here and arrived early afternoon. There weren't many spots taken when we arrived so we found a spot that suited us and set up.
I needed to do a bit of housework this morning and then after lunch we thought we would take a drive up to Daintree Village. There isn't a lot of infrastructure in this village but there is a very pleasant pub, our plan was just to have a quick wander and then a drink outside at the hotel. We did this, it was another beautiful day and the pub like most of them in this area is well shaded so it was very pleasant and a nice way to finish our day. We drove down to the jetty before leaving for home to see if there was any action down there but there wasn't much going on. On our way home we stopped off at Hook a Barra, a fishing farm on the corner of our street. Robb made a booking to return there on Friday morning for a fish in the part of the farm where you can catch and keep them, he is pretty confident so I hope he isn't disappointed.
We drove the thirty minutes into Port Douglas, passing through Mossman on the way, it is a very pretty drive with the rainforest on one side and the ocean on the other. We drove past all the resorts and then turned left into Macrossan Street which is the retail hub of Port Douglas. We found a car park fairly easily in the middle of the street outside the Iron Bark Hotel. I don't think there are as many people here this year as there were last year, maybe that first rush of people to get away has calmed down a bit. We walked up and down the streets having a look at the shops of which there is a huge variety and then we turned down Grant Street where there are a heap of cafes, restaurants and food outlets. We called into Port Douglas Deli and Smokehouse and had a salami tasting and chose a very nice paprika salami to purchase and bring home. We walked up the other side of the street and then back down to stop off at the Central Hotel for a drink.
Robb had an appointment this morning at Hook a Barra for one hours fishing. We want to take one fish home to eat so his first fish was in the smaller pond (fish size, not the pond) where he hooked a fish in about 4 seconds. It was a good size at 3.7kgs, it was put on ice while he spent time at the big pond where he didn't have any luck at all. While Robb fished I found a pleasant spot to sit and catch up on my photos and blogs. I joined him in the last 10 minutes hoping I would bring him luck but it didn't work. We sat and had a chat to the owner and he offered us some Barra fins they had taken off a fish yesterday so we came home with Robb's fish, the fins and a tub of Barramundi dip we bought. The hour went quickly but Robb enjoyed himself and an hour fishing was enough considering he had such a good result. We have enough fish for three nights dinners, very nice. All the staff were very friendly and helpful and the pricing was good and we were thrilled to meet Nugget a rare golden Barramundi, who we were told is worth about $7,000. Nugget was lucky enough to have his own tank to swim in.
We were visiting the Daintree Discovery Centre today and to do this we had to catch the ferry over the Daintree River and take the Cape Tribulation Road to Cow Bay. Sometimes there is a bit of a line-up. for the ferry so we took our coffees with us in case we had to wait for awhile. There weren’t many cars at all when we arrived and we drove straight on, there were only about 6 cars for the trip over. We took the very winding, forested road to Cow Bay and then turned off to access the centre. The centre wasn’t very busy either and we didn’t have to wait to pay and enter. We were given a book and an audio guide to take with us, the book had all the information we needed and the audio guide was very helpful with more in depth information including naming birds from their bird call. We set off on the aerial walkway through the world’s oldest tropical rainforest, there are many information boards and we read the ones that interested us and skipped over the others, when we came to the 23mt canopy tower I climbed to the top to look over the tops of a lot of the trees. We spent a bit of time in the Interpretive Centre because I selected a video on Cassowaries on the interactive screens. I would love to see a Cassowary in the wild, we saw one last year at Mossman Gorge but it was very fleeting and I was hoping to see one today. We exited the interpretive Centre and talk the walkway to The Jurassic Forest and wandered around there admiring the dinosaurs on display. We were nearly back to the start but before returning we took the quick walk to see the 500 year old Strangler Fig Tree which is quite magnificent, it was only a quick walk from here back to the start. We enjoyed this self guided tour, it was good being able to take your own time and skip the things you weren’t that interested in, your entry gives you access to the centre for 7 days which would be fantastic for anyone studying eco subjects or anyone just interested in getting more information about the plants, insects, reptiles and animals that live in this rainforest. On the way back we stopped off at Alexandra Lookout, last time we were here it was a bit misty but today it was very clear to I managed to take a few good photos.
It was a bit overcast today and later in the afternoon we did have a bit of rain but it didn’t last long. We thought it was a perfect day to take a walk around Mossman Gorge, we have been here twice before but it is such a pleasant place to take a walk that we couldn’t resist. We paid to go on the bus to the gorge, you can walk and it is about 3kms each way, that is a bit far for us with the walking you do at the gorge itself. It is an easy walk along the raised walkway so I spent the whole time on the lookout for Cassowaries but we didn’t have any luck. We took the path off to the swimming hole and sat there for awhile, they are recommending that you don’t swim there at the moment because of the water quality and it did look slightly green but it is a nice place to sit and pass the time. We walked up to the lookout where you have great views up and down the river, and then we took the Rex Creek Bridge walk. The Rex Creek Bridge is a long suspension bridge and is fun to walk over, nobody can resist jumping up and down to get the bridge rocking. We walked back to the bus stop from here and the bus pulled in just as we arrived. On the way back to camp we stopped off at the Mossman pub for a drink and had an interesting chat with the publican (an ex-Victorian).
We started our morning with a stop off at Scomazzons roadside stall a fresh produce outlet just outside of Mossman. It seems to be a popular place to pick up your fresh produce and had been recommended to us by a few people. We drove from here into Port Douglas where our first stop was Mocka's Pies, there always seems to be a line up here and this time it was outside the front door, they have a wide variety of flavours including seafood, kangaroo and crocodile. They have one wall covered with various awards they have won for their pies so we thought we would give them a try, I picked some up for dinner tonight. We planned to have brunch at Cafe Fresq Port Douglas which was just down the road, it looked pretty packed out but as we walked closer we could see a couple of tables inside and up the back of the cafe. We found a table and then waited to be served. Robb has been yearning for Eggs Benedict so that is what we both ordered, Robb with salmon and me with bacon and of course a large coffee each. Brunch was excellent with Robb commenting it was the best he had ever had. We will be moving on tomorrow, basically heading home but we will go across country first so that we come home a different way and visit places we haven't seen yet and also we are not keen to go too far south with the horrible weather they are having.
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