No Tribulation at all

My last few days in Australia were spent in Cape Tribulation, a three hour drive (a three hour tour... sorry, a Gilligan's Island moment there) north of Cairns. It's true rainforest there and has only been populated (and even now, very sparsely) for about 70 years. There is no electricity, so everything runs on solar power and diesel generators. It's the only place in the world where a rainforest meets a reef and was the place where Captain Cook ran into trouble, hence the name. He seems to figure in quite a bit of the names around these here parts.

On the way up we took a hike through the rainforest and were prewarned not to touch the hairy, heart-shaped leaves as the hairs are actually silicon fibers (basically glass slivers) that will embed themselves in your skin and can cause months of pain. There is something to attack you everywhere in Australia! If the crocodiles, stingers, snakes, spiders or sharks don't get you, the plants will.

I jinxed myself by commenting the night prior that it was so refreshing to travel in a country where I meet very few American tourists, and when I do they're very world-wise and culturally sensitive. Then of course there were two American girls on my tour to Cape Tribulation who were basically dumb as a box of rocks. Which will be interesting in a moment. They annoyed me with their "like, omigod, like, you know" talk, but it was harmless enough. Then on our rainforest hike the guide was pointing out various plants, trees and animals. One of the American girls pointed to a mound and said, "What's that?" The guide looked a bit stunned, glanced at us, back at her and answered, "it's a rock." The entire group did an excellent job of stifling their giggles and my German friend, David, rolled his eyes at me. She wasn't even embarrassed, just confused. No wonder we get such a bad reputation!

We headed out on a wildlife cruise down the Daintree River afterwards, mostly in search of salt water crocodiles. We were told we likely wouldn't see one, as it's the time of year they breed and hide. However, we were lucky and managed to see one. A 10 inch long one. A bit anticlimactic, to say the least.

The real highlight (and the main reason for the trip) was jungle surfing the next day. It's a zipline tour of the rainforest canopy from platform to platform, where the guides tell you about what's in the rainforest. And they make you do weird things like lick the butt of a green tree ant to prove that it taste like lime. (Apparently it's the only bug bite that's actually good for you as their rear end is filled with concentrated vitamin C that they inject directly into your bloodstream. It's supposed to make the bite sting more in their prey.) As for the zip line, some of the trips are fast, some high, some slow and one even upside down. I really loved it and now want to do the one in Costa Rica I've heard so much about.

A whirlwind trip back to Cairns, a birthday celebration with David and the rest of the crew and off to the airport for my flight to Brisbane and on to Hong Kong. I'm writing this blog from the lovely Qantas Club in Brisbane on 1 hour of sleep - I've missed these places of luxury for the past few weeks that I haven't been going by plane! I'll add a jungle surfing photo as soon as I can download one...