The Oldest Rainforest in the World!!

As I mentioned before, last weekend my friend Clara and I took a trip to Cape Tribulation, located in the middle of the Daintree Rainforest, the oldest rainforest in the world! We decided to visit Cape Tribulation because we wanted to see something really unique to Australia. Originally we wanted to go to the Outback and see Uluru (the biggest freestanding rock in the word), but that was before we realized what a big country Australia actually is- larger than the continental United States- and that to visit something in the center of the country would require a 19 hour bus trip. Definitely not possible in a weekend! So we decided on the Daintree Rainforest, a World Heritage listed rainforest and much closer to Townsville. We arrived in Cairns from Townsville at around 4am (see previous post about bus being 8 hours late!) and were picked up at 7am the next morning by Cape Tribulation Adventures, the company we'd arranged to do an overnight tour with. 

Needless to say we were exhausted but that day was probably one of the coolest days in Australia so far. The tour included a crocodile cruise on the Daintree River where we spent an hour looking for the massive (up to 18 feet) saltwater crocodiles that live there. Because the tide was high and the weather was cloudy, we didn't see any really huge ones but we saw two small baby ones sunning themselves on logs near the bank. Our guide was really funny and kept us entertained despite the lack of huge croc sitings- he was full of information about crocodiles as well as trues stories (some funny, some tragic) of encounters with the deadly animals. He also knew a lot about other aspects of the rainforest environment and even managed to make information about plants interesting with his stories on mangrove trees. After the cruise we went on a hike in the rainforest and saw lots of cool plants, lizards, butterflies, and huge spiders. Cassowaries, giant flightless birds, and tree kangaroos also make their home in the rainforest but you have to be really lucky to see them. The rainforest itself is cool because of how old it is- approximately 60 million years older than the Amazon. 

We finally arrived at our hostel in Cape Tribulation, named by Captain Cook because his ship ran aground on the reef of Cape Trib waters and he found the rainforest a miserable place to try and repair his ship and resupply his crew. He also named the nearby mountain Mount Sorrow and the bay Weary Bay. Clearly Captain Cook wasn't having a great time in Australia. Anyways, that afternoon we had a choice of activity and Clara decided to go ziplining or "jungle surfing" as they call it, and I decided to go sea kayaking at sunset. Sea kayaking was kindof scary at first because one of the first things the guide went over was the procedure in case we see a saltwater crocodile. Normally the crocs don't actually live in the ocean, they're just called saltwater crocodiles because they can swim in saltwater, but when the ocean water is warm enough (like it is this time of year),  some of the big ones sometime swim out of the estuaries and into the oceans looking for new territory. After learning all about how dangerous they can be, I was a little bit freaked out, especially since I'm not a very experienced kayaker! Even though the guide from the morning told us that the crocodiles really only need to eat once every few months and they don't purposely look for humans to eat, he said that they are very territorial and will attack you just like they would another crocodile who enters their territory- by grabbing you, dragging you down, and jerking you around. The only difference is that when they do this to other crocs who have invaded their terrority, the other croc swims away fine, albeit a little bruised. Us humans on the other hand are unlikely to survive that kind of treatment.

 But my guide promised me that in 12 months of doing sea kayaking tours he'd only see one crocodile. So we went, but I was pretty tense for the first bit until I finally convinced myself the chances of seeing a croc were pretty slim and focused on the beautiful bay and the Great Barrier Reef, right underneath me! We saw fish, sea turtles, and we almost saw a dugong! Which are really rare and quickly becoming an animal I'm sortof obsessed with (the Aborigine painting I almost spent $300 on was of dugongs). Unfortunately the dugong that has been hanging around the area for the past couple months and who the guide saw twice the day before was nowhere to be seen that evening :(  We waited for almost an hour above a seagrass bed (their preferred food) and scanned the surface around us, looking for her every 3-4 minute surfaces to breath, but sadly she did appear. I was very very very disappointed. In an effort to make it up to us, the guide led us into shallow water, hopped out of his kayak, and picked up a box jellyfish. Not quite the same as a dugong. But still pretty cool since this is the jellyfish all the hype is about and the reason you can't go swimming in the ocean in Queensland. I was amazed he just picked it up because we've been told countless times that if a box jellyfish stings you, you'll be dead within minutes. Obviously my guide did not die, and he explained to us that people really just make a big deal out of them because Australia doesn't want to be sued. Yes, if the tentacle of a large one comes into full contact with your neck or chest, you will die within about 120 seconds. But the chances of that happening are absurdly small- much smaller than getting into a car crash.  So he held it out for us, and even let us touch it. It was pretty cool to touch one, and it was nice to finally put a face to the name of the mysterious danger that has kept me from enjoying swimming in the ocean. 

The rest of the night we hung out in our hostel, and then next morning we walked along the beach and up to the Cape Trib lookout point. That afternoon our tour took us back to Cairns and Clara and I spent the evening exploring Cairns, which seems like a fun a place. It is definitely more touristy than Townsville, but that means more good restaurants, cool shops, and a great boardwalk/public park along the beach. The following day we returned to Townsville, and this time our Greyhound bus left right on time :)

On the Daintree River,  looking for saltwater crocodiles.

Mangroves! The only trees that can grow with their roots under saltwater.

Cool rainforest plants... they almost look as if they've been painted on the tree. 

Huge spider! These were all over the place, including at our hostel. 

Pretty rainforest beetle. Unfortunately my camera's zoom is not the best. 

Lizard! I can't remember the exact name of this species but it's part of the dragon family (as in Bearded Dragons, Komodo Dragons, etc.)

One of the cool things about Cape Tribulation is that the rainforest literally goes right up to the beach.. something I guess Captain Cook didn't appreciate as much. 

Warning about jellyfish. This sign is slightly ridiculous because it makes the jellyfish seem huge, like giant squids or something. Their bodies are not actually the size of our heads!

Me standing at the Cape Tribulation lookout. 

A dugong! ( picture taken from googleimages). This is the animal I really really wanted to see but didn't. Aren't they cute???

Mini-Tornado

Well I kindof got my wish from last week- Townsville did end up getting a cyclone of sorts. Not a huge one, but one with winds strong enough to take out many of the trees in the park across the street from my house. They called it a "mini-tornado" but some people were unlucky enough to have their roofs blown away and there was flooding and trees down in a lot of places. It happened around 4am in the morning. I was woken up by the sound of the wind because my window was open and it was actually quite scary! I almost went and got my Australian housemate because I was thinking to myself, if this is a cyclone, I really have no idea what to do!! Luckily it only lasted about 20 minutes. I was hoping classes might be cancelled the next morning, (it would be only fair since I'm missing out on snow days back home) and sure enough, my 9:00am lecture was evacuated half an hour into the class because the room had started to flood. The day after was surprisingly sunny and most of the days since have been at least partially sunny so I'm hoping the mini-tornado was the rainy season's last call.
 On that Friday, however, I learned that even if it had stopped raining, I probably had a few weeks until the effects of the rainy season stopped being an inconvenience. The bus my friend and I were supposed to take on Friday ended up being 8 hours late because of flooding south of Townsville. We were frustrated because we had counted on having Friday night to hangout in Cairns, a coastal city north of Townsville, before heading to the Daintree Rainforest on Saturday morning, but we made the most of it by spending the afternoon at Townsville's Indigenous Cultural Center. There we learned about the history of Australia and how truly awful the European settlers were to the Aborigine people. Even today racism is still a huge problem and many people see the Aborigine as less than human or as lazy, unintelligent, amoral and generally incapable managing themselves. But in reality the poverty, unemployment, poor health and crime that plagues their communities is the direct result of centuries of racism and discrimination.  It was only in 1967 that they got citizenship and the right to vote. Australia is still working at equality and justice but it is being achieved at a surprisingly slow rate for such an otherwise developed nation. Even in my short time here I've heard several racist comments- one otherwise perfectly nice Australian friend told me that she would never go swimming in the public pool my study abroad friends and I  sometimes go to because "it's like a bathtub for indigenous people". Another time I was drinking Goon (cheap boxed wine) and was told by a white Australian that I would "fit in well with the Aborigines".  I try not to be too judgmental of Australia as a country, however, because even America is still struggling with racism as the case of Trayvon Martin clearly illustrates.
On a happier note, we also learned about their culture and looked at some really amazing artwork in a gallery they had set up. I almost bought a painting I liked it so much, but it was $300 so I decided to wait until I have saved some money from my job here before spending that much on a piece of art. I really like their style of painting though and think it will be a good souvenir of my time here, so I definitely plan on returning to buy it! Okay, well having just returned from volleyball (my team won!) I'm pretty tired, and since I have to get up around 6:30am tomorrow for work, I think I will save writing about the Daintree Rainforest until tomorrow!

Tree branches down in the park!

Road floods on the way to Cairns. 

Full Moon Parties, Rain, and More Rain!

The past couple weeks in Australia have been really fun, and really really really wet! According to the Townsville locals, the rainy season is typically in Dec/Jan/Feb (depending on who you talk to) but this year it's late and happening right now, halfway through March! It has literally rained 24/7 for the past 6 days and is supposed to continue this way for at least another week. It seriously doesn't stop... it might stop actually raining for 10 minutes every 3 hours so but other than that it continuously comes down and even when it's not actually raining, it's cloudy. I don't think we've seen the sun in at least a week. At this point, I am honestly just amazed that there is still water in the sky! As one of my friends pointed out though, we are right next to the ocean so I guess there is an endless supply of water. It was fun at first but since I have to take the bus or walk everywhere, I am getting a bit tired of arriving at my destination soaking wet. We bought ponchos the other day and wear them even when going out on the weekend, much to the amusement of my Australian housemate, who says he actually likes the rain. He of course has a car. The park across from my house has flooded and the stream running through campus has turned into a roaring river, cutting off several paths. My taxi driver from the other night even predicted a cyclone soon... although it would be pretty cool to say I'd lived through a tropical cyclone, I would rather it stop raining! According to him, the cyclone that hit last year had winds up to 300km just north of here and 170km here in Townsville. I am not actually sure how fast that is because kilometers still don't mean much to me, but he said it in a way that seemed to imply that was very very fast and I know that cyclones can cause a lot of damage! Less worrisome than cyclones perhaps, but still important is the effect the rain has on my ability to do laundry.. dryers aren't really a thing here in Australia- I mean they exist of course, but most people hang their clothes out to dry. Butttt if it is pouring rain than it is pointless to wash your clothes because you can't hang them to dry! Despite the rain the last couple of weeks have been a lot of fun. Last weekend I finally went to stay on Magnetic Island, the island right off the coast of Townsville. Every month on the island on the night of the full moon there is a big party with a DJ on the beach so my friends and I decided to go and then spend the rest of the weekend on Magnetic Island. The party was really fun and after dancing on the beach all night it was nice to be able to crash in my hostel bed right next door, instead of having to take the ferry back like some of our friends. The next day we tried to go snorkelling but because of the stormy weather and the cloudy sky, the visibility wasn't great. I did see a couple of cool fish but it wasn't the amazing, crystal clear water and colorful coral Great Barrier Reef snorkelling I was hoping for. Luckily I will have plenty of other chances to snorkel while here! After giving up on snorkelling, we went to check out some waterfalls on the island and that was really fun. There were some crazy Australian boys there who put us to shame with their fearlessness- they were jumping off super high cliffs and doing back flips from the rope swing and when we found a spider bigger than any of us had ever seen, one of the boys claimed that it was nothing, he'd seen ones twice as big (and then began throwing rocks at it to the horror of us biology majors). I also joined a volleyball league last week which I am really excited for. The first day was just a tryout to form teams and even though I'd never played before, I managed not to completely embarrass myself and am on a team with 3 Canadian boys, an Australian girl, a Cecilia Blanc. I think it will be a lot of fun. In other news, the Hunger Games movie comes out in Australia this week and we have already bought tickets to see the midnight premier. Much to the disappointment of my little sister, it comes out here even before the it comes out in the US... I am very, very excited because I loved the books. And the next day I leave for the weekend to visit Cairns and the Daintree Rainforest, the oldest Rainforest in the world! It should be a good week :)

Townsville weather forcast for the next 5 days.. soo much rain!

The hostel deck where the Full Moon Party was held, right before it started!

Sunrise the morning after the party.. taken from outside my hostel room. 

Getting ready to snorkel. It was required that you rent a stinger suit because even on Magnetic Island there's deadly jellyfish.

The pool at the hostel.. would have been so nice if it wasn't so overcast all weekend :/

Waterfall fun! The girls standing at the front are my friends Lee and Clara, who go to Tulane.