We experienced our best Australian drive yet! The road from Cairns to the Daintree Forest was amazing! We curved along the ocean the whole way to the Daintree. There, we arrived just in time for a croc tour! YAY. We got a small electric boat, which we were assured would get us very close to the edge of the water - and to the crocodiles that may be lurking there... or sunbathing as it were. The boat was small - there was room for me and B, a family of four, two dudes from southern Australia and our Dundee-hat-wearing guide. We putted up the very calm waters, straight to our first croc... The guide knew exactly where it was from the last tour he took out... So he pulled right up, really closely in my opinion... eek! Would he come and snatch one of the little ones out and eat her up right before our eyes? ... It turnes out that that would be entirely too much effort. The six-foot lizard just layed there on the shore, bathing in the sun. He lazily opened his eyes once or twice to see what was disturbing his peace... We sat there for several minutes and snapped pictures while the guide told us some facts about crocs and about the Daintree... Apparently, crocs don't eat as much as the Discovery Channel would have us believe. They are satisfied with about a chicken a week, and they can go six months to a year without eating anything at all... Pretty crazy. Also, crocs haven't changed at all in the 140 million years the Daintree (also unchanged) has been there. They are perfect and need no evolutionary tweaks... So on we went in the other direction... the rainforest and Dividing Range (mountains) all around us. Beautiful. We saw a tiny, baby croc, which was no longer than the palm of your hand. He was sitting on a small branch, just over the river, also sun bathing. It was surprising how small those things are when they are born! He was, according to the guide, six months old. ... cool! Other life we saw, included lizards, snakes, birds, flowers, trees, etc. ... Cool.

We got back to the shore, said our goodbyes, ate some lunch, and listened to all the fun things we could do in the area. We decided to drive to the Daintree National Forest area, which is only accessible by ferry. It was very smooth "sailing" across the river, and we drove up the coast, through the very thick rainforest to our first lookout. From there, you could see the ocean, several small islands, and Cape Tribulation (our ultimate destination). Twas very beautiful, and foggy - perfect for a rainforest, we thought. We continued to drive along the small winding roads, with trees along both sides and arching over the top of the road. We saw clear, rocky creeks running under the road at several places. It was very magical, with all the fog and drizzel. We made it up to Cape Trib and walked around, took lots of pics and then found a camp site. We set up and then had dinner - pizza and a jug (a little smaller than a pitcher) of beer - at the cafe by the campsite. Twas our first jug here. It was nice to spoil ourselves a bit. It rained all night long, but our tent is a good one so we stayed dry.

We woke up early and started back down south, to Cairns. There, we stayed in the same hostel as before, ate at the same "free" restaurant. I had sea bass and B had chicken parm - all for $10. The next morning, we showered and checked out (showers are so wonderful and sometimes rare, so I have to point them out... LOL)... We were lucky, as the Cairns festival was going on this weekend. We saw two sets of Aboriginal dancers, lots of Aboriginal artwork, and ate some good, Aussie food - Kangaroo burger with tomato paste - it was soooo good! Yay!! After our wonderful day of good food and culture, we continued our drive south. We bought some oil for our car - for $13 dollars!! And stayed the night at a rest stop just past Townsville.

Yesterday, we came back to Airlie Beach - which has been our favorite place. It's a small town, with one main road, and beautiful ocean along the whole stretch. We have purchased several good books from a little used book store, with prices that are even more expensive than new ones would be in the states - APPRECIATE where you live, seriously! The books have kept us from going crazy, and spending all of our money! It's a little overcast and muggy today, but it is beautiful, and the breeze is cool. Yay for Airlie!! Today is a good one.

:)