MONDAY 22 JUNE     WONGA BEACH

It was a better day today. There was quite a bit of cloud about, but much of the day was sunny – and it was dry.

We went driving, again. Up to Daintree, and across the river on the ferry. This is not a free service – it cost us $7 each way. There was a little queue but we fitted on the first load that went across after we’d paid.

Once over the river, we drove to Cape Kimberley, which is not far north of the mouth of the Daintree River. There is a lovely stretch of beach between the river mouth and the Cape and we walked for a while on that, just taking in the beauty of the beach with the mountains behind, and the forest coming right down to the beach.

Drove back to the “main” road north and on to our next detour – to Cow Bay. There is a village a little back from the coast, geared mostly to tourist accommodation. One of our annual school camps used to stay at the Crocodylus place there, and my friend G used to talk about how beautiful it was up here.

Had our lunch at the Cow Bay beach , then went for a walk on that beach, too. I noticed signs warning of the danger of stingers in the water in the summer, and a container on a pole, inside which was a bottle of vinegar, which is the immediate treatment for stinger attack.

That was as far as we had time to do justice to, today, but there is more for another day.

I was surprised, once we got north of the ferry, at how much cleared and farming land there was along the roads. Somehow, after all the fuss about the Daintree when the Bloomfield Road was being put through, I had a mental picture of total wilderness.

There were a lot of “For Sale” signs on blocks; I suspect it might be very easy to fall in love with the idea of a tropical, alternative, lifestyle, in these lush surrounds – then get quickly disillusioned by the realities of wet seasons, cyclones, insects, rapid growth of weeds, and the lack of any grid electricity north of the river.

There were crowds of backpacker types about, and much traffic, especially of mini mokes and similar, hired by the young visitors. There is certainly no shortage of accommodation options and hostels in these parts – even though the road is mostly unsealed, north of the ferry.

Back over on the ferry – we only had to wait while it came across from the other side.

Tea was a chicken breast and vegie stir fry.