Kings Around Oz: Mossman, Daintree and Cairns

After leaving Cooktown we headed to Mossman. This is where we based ourselves to explore the Daintree. The first part of the Daintree we explored was the Mossman Gorge section. This was so beautiful and definitely one of the highlights of our trip so far. There were waterfalls, swimming holes, rainforest walks and boardwalks that took you through the rainforest. The part Haydan liked most of all was the swinging bridge and yes Glen made sure it was swinging as we walked across it. The second section of the Daintree is from Daintree to Cape Tribulation. It was a very exciting ride for the kids as we sat in the car on the ferry and went across the Daintree River. We completed the 4 walks through the rainforest and mangroves and were amazed to see where the rainforest meets the sea. The kids enjoyed a play on the beach at Cape Tribulation after we ended up having our picnic in the car due to a sudden shower. While on this exploration we certainly got all four seasons in one day. As you drove you went from fog and mist to find around the bend in the road bright sunshine. It was amazing. While in Mossman we also went to Port Douglas to check out the markets and still no doughnuts!!!!! We had a look around but it is very much a resort town full of resorts, coffee shops and restaurants. Haydan was also pleased to find the best park yet in Mossman he had a great time on all the equipment. From Mossman we headed to Cairns and here we encountered our first stint of wet weather. So for four days we just went out in between showers to try and see some sights and sat in the caravan to watch TV and realised how small 16ft is. However ABC 4 Kids was a lifesaver!!!! We walked the Esplanade and found the Endeavour (Captain Cook's replica ship) which is on its Australia Tour. It was great to see after just being in Cooktown. The next day we went to a park that even beat Mossman. We had hoped in the weather the kids would want to play on the swings and slides, but no, they ended up in the water park in jocks and nappy having a great time. Emmalisa was an ice block but she would not get out of the water until I wrapped her up in a towel and she conceded defeat and thought that her dry clothes was a much better option. Finally on our last day we got some good weather and we went on the Skyrail and Kuranda Scenic Railway. It was a FANTASTIC tour. We caught the Skyrail to Kuranda where you got off at 2 different stops to do a rainforest tour and go to an interactive rainforest centre. Where the kids loved playing on the computers. We then walked around Kuranda. This town has markets 7 days a week and is literally market stall after market stall (although most you would really call shops) However the Heritage Markets and Traditional Markets are still like the good old days. We then caught the train back down to Freshwater Station. This is a Heritage Listed train line that was built basically by hand 120 years ago. It has 15 tunnels (dug by shovels, picks and dynamite) and 55 bridges. It was just hard to imagine what they went through to build the train line. The scenery was just breath taking too as it drove around Barron Falls and Gorge and over looked Cairns in the background. That wrapped up our stay in Cairns. We start heading to Townsville now ready to see the V8's!!!