We check out from Cape Trib and drive south to the ferry across the Daintree river. On the southern side we turn upriver and stop at the wonderfully named "Bruce Belcher's Daintree River Cruises" for a crocodile spotting trip. There's a bonus with the midday trip - you get a meat pie and a cold drink afterwards - the full Australian experience. Bruce himself is driving the boat and has a magnificent moustache. We get to see a couple of young crocs basking in the sun on the river bank, although they are so still that one wonders if they are models placed there to keep the tourists happy (I've seen Crocodile Dundee).
Later we do get to see a larger crocodile swimming in the river though. They ride pretty low in the water so you don't see a great deal of them, but I'm a believer.
After the trip and the meat pie, we continue south to Mossman Gorge for a brief stop before continuing towards the Atherton Tablelands, a plateau inland from Cairns. The road winds upwards and it becomes noticeably cooler. Sue buys fruit at roadside stalls and we stop in Atherton to get supplies at the IGA supermarket, then on to Yungaburra where we have been recommended a hostel. We find the place “On the Wallaby” (an expression similar to Waltzing Matilda, I believe), book the evening’s barbeque and go off in the Hostel van for the Platypus spotting trip. This is a short distance away at the town bridge. We are told to look for something resembling a wet sock in the water that will appear, then dive below the surface to feed and reappear nearby to swallow its food. Sure enough, a couple of wet socks do appear, mostly submerged in the pondweed and diving then reappearing as promised. They are not photogenic (then neither am I) and we don't get a shot of them, but I do feel privileged to have seen such bizarre creatures. We take a short walk up river and see turtles then return to the Hostel for the great value barbeque. At night we have a 4 bed dorm room to ourselves and it is bliss to sleep in cool conditions for a change.
