SNAKE!!! Cape Tribulation & Daintree Rainforest

As I am typing this post, I know I am lucky that I did not spend the last few days in the hospital, after coming within centimeters of stepping on a snake!!! Stacy, Nicole, and I stayed in the very jungelly area of Cape Tribulation. I was walking a few feet in front of them, turned around chatting as we made our way to the office to check out. When I turned around and looked down I thought I was about to step on a stick and then I saw the snakes head and we made eye contact! I started screaming and jumped over the snake, took off running and according to Nicole, I was galloping like a horse! Stacy and Nicole froze as they were a foot away from the snake, but luckily is slivered away! My heart was racing for about 15 minutes after!

I realize there are lots of snakes in Australia and it may not have been poisonous, but there is also a good chance that it was as it looked an awful lot like the very venomous brown snake!!! The snake was brownish black in color, was about 3-4 feet long and thin. I thought snakes were suppose to be scared of us and run the other way when they hear us coming? I can’t figure out why this snake was right in the middle of a major walkway in the afternoon?

We had arrived in Cape Tribulation on a tour bus that picked us up in Cairns and headed north for a very scenic coastal drive. Our first destination was the Daintree Rainforest, where we boarded a small boat and took a cruise along the crocodile infested waters of the Daintree River. We did see a few crocs along the way, all at the edge of the water. We were told that 85% of crocodile attacks occur at the waters edge. We also did a short walk through Marrdja Botanical Boardwalk. We were dropped off at our accommodation, the Beach House Resort in Cape Tribulation.

I fell asleep on the bus ride and when we stopped on the side of the road I thought we were getting out to see a live Cassowary. Instead, we had stopped to take a picture of a famous cassowary road sign. It’s probably better not to see a cassowary in the wild, as they are very dangerous birds that have been know to attack and seriously injure and kill humans! They are very large birds that cannon fly and are found in the tropical regions of northern Australia.

Cape Tribulation Coast is where the Great Barrier Reef and the Daintree rainforest meet. This is the only place on earth where two World Heritage areas exist side by side. The area is very isolated and wild with very few accommodations. We stayed at the Beach House Resort, where we slept in bunks in a small cabin shared with a couple. Despite it’s name, it was not a fancy resort, but the close proximity to the beach was very convenient. Stacy and I took a long walk along the beautiful beach to the lookout point. When on the beach one can stare out to sea and see the inner reef, while surrounded by lush rainforest behind you.

The beach was absolutely covered in what I would describe as crab artwork. Tons of these tiny crabs make thousands of little sand balls while building their dens, which are then washed away, leaving them to repeat the process the next day!

We spent our second day at Cape Tribulation laying on the beach in the morning and lounging by the pool with our books and daiquiris. The tour bus picked us up in the early afternoon for the second half of our tour. We were driven to the Alexandra Range Lookout point, where we could see the Low Isles, which is the area where the Crocodile Hunter was killed by the stingray. We drove onto a ferry crossing boat, which crossed the Daintree River. We stopped off at Mossman Gorge where crystal clear water cascades over large granite boulders in the Mossman River gorge. Many people were swimming in the gorge, but we decided it was too cold and played on the swinging bridge instead! The tour completed as we made our way to Port Douglas where we will stay and play at the Great Barrier Reef before heading back to Cairns. Despite the scary snake encounter, we all had a really good time on our tour!

To see more pictures of the Daintree Rainforest/Cape Tribulation CLICK HERE!