Rain forests have life in abundance, and this is a typical example,
of a fern growing in a tree.
After lunch, we said our farewells to Kelly and Glenn, and ran the gauntlet of the water pipe repair crew on the beach road and headed back to Port Douglas. Peter and I dropped off Yvonne and Keiran and then continued on to Mossman, the town for which Port Douglas was the official sea port. Heading inland from Mossman, which still has a major sugar refinery (but now its own wharf), the road leads to Mossman Gorge, and its National Park, a map of which is also available. This area is part of the Daintree National Park, which is one of the few, if not the only, tropical rainforest which extends to the ocean shore (although not just here, but a bit further north).
Rain forests have life in abundance, and this is a typical example,
of a fern growing in a tree.
Water flow is extremely low at this time of the year, as it is the start
of the wet season, and hence no rain for six months or more. At least not
on the lowlands - some of the moutain tops apparently receive quite a bit
of rain all year round. And, indeed, there were many days when the sky over
Port Douglas was clear, but cloud hid the tops of the mountains.
A popular location to cool off - any time of the year. Although I'd bet
the flow during the wet season is very strong, and there would be considerable
danger being in the water.
Another example of
ferns growing on tree limbs.
The tropics are an amazing place for things to grow.
The bridge is the link from the short loop walk
to the longer loop walk (shown in the map above). Peter and I went some way onto the longer loop
walk, but decided against taking the whole loop, as it was getting late,
and we wanted to be back before sunset.`
A ranger led tour group coming back across the bridge, which was
constructed by the
Royal Australian Engineers
from the Australian Army.
Very little flow in Rex Creek.
More abundant life in the forest.
And even in death, this tree is giving life to other plants.
Explorer Peter heading back to the car park. Which was just at the top of
the rise.
We headed back to Port Douglas, where the evening was capped off by pizza and beer around one of the pools at Hibiscus Gardens. By this stage, most of the wedding guests had departed, so it was mostly just a family affair.
Palm Cove
Port Douglas
