Daintree Day 3 – Cape Trib Rainforest and Swamps

Cape Tribulation, Queensland, 24 July 2022
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Click on any image to see it larger (If you are on a PC at least).

Some of the images in this post are as normal as a fish and chips shop and others, not quite as much and may include an element of infrared. I’ll leave you to work out which.

We headed north from where we were staying at Cape Trib(ulation) and hoped to get to Cowie Beach but we did get as far as Emmagen Creek where we went on a walk on a swimming hole track.

The image doesn’t give you a scale but this is a huge banyon tree in a clearing. The aerial roots (hanging down to the ground) are about 10 to 12 feet high.

Looking up under the banyon tree.

A different view of the banyon tree.

Tree roots beside a swimming hole.

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(I wonder whether you can tell which image is infrared and which is not).

A very peaceful place (well, at least when other people weren’t around).

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Emmagen Creek crossing.

This is as far as we got in our small Chinese MG hire car. It wasn’t so much that we couldn’t go across the creek but a sign said four wheel only after that and I wasn’t about to chance it in an unsuitable hire car that would become uninsured.

A bush turkey was wandering around at the side of the road.

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Tree trunk covered in vines.

After coming back and having lunch, we are now at Dubuji Boardwalk, a few hundred yards south od Madja Boardwalk that we visited previously and also backing onto Myall Beach.

Is it a forest or an anthropomorphic sculpture park?

This vine is thick-leaved raphidophora.

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This is a bush turkey nest mound. The path beside it gives a sense of how large it is. The male makes it for the female to lay eggs deep inside it between august and February each year.

It seems one could easily get lost in an untracked wilderness.

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Looking up at fan palms.

A nice little swimming spot or paddling pool, probably shallow and quite muddy but probably no crocodiles around.

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Myall Beach.

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Bark of a eucalypt, back where we were staying.

A hanging plant in flower just near our residence.

Funghi at the base of a tree.

And now, a few bonus images…

Sometimes in North Queensland you might see a rhinoceros resting on a beach and in this case he’s probably swum there from the castle on the distant island.

It’s not very common to see a large monitor lizard on the beach and a large sailing ship on the horizon but in this case I have the photograph to prove it.

Some times it may seem as though the end of the world is nearing.

And other times it may seem that it’s already happened.

The last four images are not strictly traditional photographs. It is possible that you may have guessed that.

I have been playing round with the new Generative Fill in Photoshop Beta. The images I started from are all in this post or the previous post and three of the four were infrared. In three of the four images, I extended the boundaries of the image and asked Photoshop to imagine what might lie there. In two of the images I dropped in objects and Photoshop fitted them into the lighting and tones of the image.

You can also delete parts of an image and Photoshop will reconstruct even a complex background that may have been there. So the images are no longer really photographs but they are part photographs and partly AI.

Daintree Day 2 – Myall Beach and Madja Boardwalk (IR)

May21

Cape Tribulation, Queensland, 23 July 2022
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Click on any image to see it larger (If you are on a PC at least).

We are now approaching the Red Sea, where many thousands of years ago people walked through from Queensland to New Caledonia.

Conditions can change rapidly though and a few minutes later, the Red Sea was no longer there.

Before long everything seemed quite normal.

… for a while at least.

Then, in the swamp, we look through the fan palms toward the Red Sky where decades ago people walked through to the moon.

All is quiet with a seeming absence of crocodiles.

… though the mangroves are poking up everywhere to find air and nutrition.

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The mighty river flowing through the swamp.

Later, setting off along Cape Kimberly Beach into the distance….

Daintree Day 2 – Beaches and Swamps

May6

Daintree, Queensland, 24 to 25 July 2022
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Click on any image to see it larger (If you are on a PC at least).

View from the Kulki Boardwalk at dusk.

The last post was an infrared post at Cape Tribulation. This first image was the only “normal” image from that day. The rest of the images in this post are from the following day.

As we got up, this bush turkey was one of two wandering around below our verandah.

Only about a kilometre from where we were staying at Cape Trib, this is Myall Beach.

I’m not even sure whether this small island has a name.

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Fascinating patterns in the sand.

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To get to Myall Beach, we walked past Madja Boardwalk, which we are now about to visit.

Part of Madja Boardwalk is rainforest and part mangrove swamp. This is rainforest.

Fan palms overhead.

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And as you might have guessed, this is amongst the mangroves. They are very shallowly rooted, the soil is poor and the roots come up to air to breathe.

Basket fern.

Staghorn ferns.

Mangrove roots.

Fish.

Crab.

Mangrove roots.

Curious flowering plant.

As we were driving south, we encountered a cassowary. We pulled well off the road but others just stopped in the road, generating some ire from a car of locals.

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We headed for Cape Kimberly Beach because it looked like an interesting remote location on the map. This is Snapper Island, viewed lengthwise.

We the walked along the beach, towards the small point in the distance. If you were to keep walking long enough (and if it were possible to continue), it wold turn into the Daintree river.

Patterns in the sand.

Red-capped plover.

Driftwood in the sand.

Getting closer to the intended destination.

The tree is impressive, but its roots are being eroded.

Natural antler sculpture.

Large natural wood sculpture.

Curious natural work of art.

It must be a very wild place at times.

Branches stretching towards the island…

We were warned by the local in a previous image not to leave it too late to cross the stream in the middle of the beach. Jools left early while I was still taking photographs and is walking along the beach in the distance. The water had risen but the stream did not prove a problem.

Exposed roots in the sand.

Back at the end of the beach where we started.

Daintree Day 1 – Cape Tribulation (IR)

Apr24

Cape Tribulation, Queensland, 22 July 2022
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Click on any image to see it larger (If you are on a PC at least).

In the last three (non-music) posts, we arrived at Daintree Village, explored some of the valley along the Daintree River and then had an early morning photographic cruise along the Daintree River. After that we crossed the river in a ferry and spent most of the next four days in the Daintree Rainforest, the area most people refer to as “the Daintree”. (Confusingly, the Daintree National Park is further inland to the south-west).

We’ve crossed the river in the ferry and this is the view from Mount Alexandra Lookout.

Of course the aim of photography is to be as realistic as possible. In a wild place like the Daintree, it’s surprising how completely the light can change, and the whole feel can transform from one moment to the next.

We were staying at the northern end of the Daintree, at Cape Tribulation (“Cape Trib”). The room we were staying in is at the end of the path.

These two and the next fifteen images are at Rainforest Hideaway. It was set up by a sculptor, Rob Lapaer, some years ago but became run down and the new owners are restoring it. While you can stay there, it used to also be open to the public for a small fee but this is no longer the case.

Our host Gaye gave us a guided tour of the Sculpture Trail and I also walked around later and took more photographs.

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Gaye arranged for us to visit the Jungle House while the current resident was not in.

View from bedroom at the Jungle House.

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The guest in the next room was driving around in a Citroen Deux Chevaux. We had seen more of them around Cooktown where there must have been some kind of rally.

In the late afternoon, we drove a short distance to Cape Tribulation Beach and the Kulki Boardwalk, where I found the mangroves of interest at lowish tide.

The light was changing quite rapidly….

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Getting close to dusk, brooding views looking along Cape Tribulation Beach.

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Daintree River Views (IR)

Mar15

Daintree River, Queensland, 22 July 2022
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Click on any image to see it larger (If you are on a PC at least).

The last post was of wildlife on the Daintree River and there were a few river views as well, in normal colour. At the same time I took river views in infrared, which is what you see here. Usually I process each one differently, sometimes in different editors. I was short of time on this occasion, so I quickly processed one in Lightroom, copied to the others, and made a few individual adjustments. So while some of them may have been more dramatic processed differently, they do form a coherent group.

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Rorschach river views anyone?.

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Daintree River Wildlife

Mar5

Daintree River, Queensland, 22 July 2022
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Click on any image to see it larger (If you are on a PC at least).

We got up early for a dawn wildlife cruise on the Daintree River with Murray Hunt of Daintree Boatman Wildlife Cruises.

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Early on, there were a few Brahman cattle on the banks.

… together with a few young ones and also some cattle egrets.

Common tree snake, hidden in the foliage at the edge of the river.

Australasian Darter at top right. I suspect the bird at bottom left is a juvenile pied heron.

(Click on image for a better view).

Common tree snake.

Flowering plant beside the river.

Common tree snake.

I think this is a Striated Heron.

… and away it goes….

Great-billed Heron.

Salt water crocodile (this one called “Lumpy”).

Swimming not advised.

Common tree snake.

Sacred Kingfisher (above) and Black Bittern (below).

Cattle Egret.

Azure Kingfisher.

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Papuan Frogmouth.

Saltwater crocodile (“Lumpy”).

(Not “Lumpy”).

A flock of white birds in the sky.

… descending into a tree.

Where we can see they are cattle egrets.

I think a Little Pied Cormorant.

Rainbow Bee-Eater (male).

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He’s just about to take off but I didn’t successfully manage to catch him in flight.

On a new perch.

Welcome Swallow.

Daintree Valley

Feb26

Daintree, Queensland, 21 July 2022
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Click on any image to see it larger (If you are on a PC at least).

It was only half an hour’s drive from our accommodation near Mossman Gorge to the accomodation for our next night at Daintree Village. We needed to be there for a wildlife cruise the next morning. So we had most of a day to fill and we decided to drive up the valley beside the Daintree River and also explore some of the side roads.

Daintree river.

A stream down a side road.

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We got to a sign on the main road down the valley that said four wheel drive only beyond there. We only had a tiny Chinese MG hire car so we turned around. At this place there was a massive broad-leafed rainforest plant beside the road. I asked Jools to stand beside it to show you how large it was.

Daintree River.

Daintree River, suddenly showing autumn colours.

Autumn can be quite brief, especially in Queensland in July.

At the end of a side road we got to a point where we couldn’t drive further. Based on the colour of that water, perhaps it was just as well.

Appearances can change quite rapidly though.

On the way back from that bridge….

“Red sky in the morning, Shepherd’s warning”. This was mid-afternoon though.

Some cattle perhaps interested in gaining our acquaintance.

The last two images show a glimpse of the coast. We drove there through a motor camp that may have been private no access but no-one stopped us.

You might perhaps have noticed that some of these images are infrared. Eight are infrared and six are normal. One is perhaps less obvious than the others.

Mossman Gorge

Feb19

Mossman Gorge, Queensland, 20 July 2022
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Click on any image to see it larger (If you are on a PC at least).

We travelled south from Cooktown to Mossman where we stayed at a delightful B&B near the entrance to Mossman Gorge. In the morning during breakfast I photographed a few birds on the feeder, having their brreakfast perhaps.

Macleay’s Honeyeater.

Helmeted Friarbird.

After breakfast we proceeded to Mossman Gorge.

In many ways I found the Gorge quite disappointing. Rather than being a quiet place to commune with nature, it is for the most part a giant tourist trap. The Visitors’ Centre I found to be something of a travesty. Its only purpose was to sell you things. there was no historical or ecological information about the area and even maps of walking trails were not available. Fortunately I had already printed one out before we left Canberra.

The gorge itself was fine, at least when you had got off the main metal walkway and onto the less frequented loop track.

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I did not include the humans by choice, I had no option, despite this being a scenic viewpoint from the main track.

A bush turkey, very common in Queensland including in suburbs.

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Lots of fish in the river.

Keating’s Lagoon (Mulbabidgee)

Jan15

Cooktown, Queensland, 19 July 2022
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Click on any image to see it larger (If you are on a PC at least).

Gastro stopped me seeing as much of Cooktown as I would have liked but we are now on our way out, heading towards Mosman Gorge. On the way we stopped at Keatings Lagoon or Mulbabidgeee.

Mulbabidgeee is a wetlands area on the outskirts of Cooktown.

I could have got closer on the way in, going off the path, but something was holding me back.

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A bit further on there is a view across the lagoon from a bird hide.

… and some distant waterbirds….

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Giant waterlily in flower.

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After a while one a bit came closer. Note the extraordinary toes.

This is a juvenile comb-crested jacana. It becomes more spectacular as an adult.

They roost and build nests on the floating lilypads.

Walking back with some reflection(s).

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The black pile of rocks in the background is Black Mountain or Kalkajaka.

This was originally a tongue of volcanic magma. Over time, heat and water led to fractures and it is now a heap of granite boulders with the solid granite core buried well beneath.

Beneath the surface rocks is a maze of passages and chambers, with sheer drops in complete darkness, pockets of bad air and likely encounters with bats and snakes. So access is prohibited and it also includes many sites sacred to Aborigines.

It houses unique wildlife, including Black Mountain boulderfrog, Black Mountain skink and Black Mountain gecko, as well as Godman’s rock-wallabies and amethystine pythons that can grow to more than five metres long. There have been numerous reports as recently as a few decades ago of an animal appearing to be a thylaceo or marsupial lion and reputedly living here, though supposedly extinct for 20,000 years.

Aboriginal legend has it that the twin-peaked black mountain was built by two brothers who were competing for the same girl. They were so invested in this task that they did not notice an approaching cyclone which blew the brothers into the cracks between the boulders and drowned the girl.

Somewhat further on, we stopped near a bridge and I took some images of the small river flowing through.

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Much further in the journey, getting close to our Mosman Gorge destination, this is the view from Rex Range Lookout, looking north towards the Daintree.

Now in our B&B near Mosman Gorge, this is the view from our bedroom window.

Cooktown and Rock Art

Jan8

Cooktown, Queensland, 17-18 July 2022
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Click on any image to see it larger (If you are on a PC at least).

From the bush camp (posts Laura Bush Camp 1 and 2, with much more rock art), we returned to Laura and then to Cooktown. However, the journey back from the bush camp was quite different for me than the way in. I was hit by gastro on the last night there. I have been to several countries including India and Madagasacar where you need to be careful about directly or indirectly consuming water without having problems but it didn’t occur to me I might need to take care within Australia and fulled my camel (backpack water container) with tap water at Laura. The bouncy and speedy drive in on the tiny four wheel drive was great fun but the journey out was torture and they had to stop several times so I could vomit at the side of the road. From Laura we went straight to Cooktown and I also stayed in bed for all of the next day.

That next day Jools went out and got some medicine for gastro from the Chemist. Unfortunately, we later found it produces hallucinations when you are dehydrated, which is what happens with gastro. I got up during the night for a piss and didn’t turn the light on so as not to disturb Jools. I then saw dogs and cats in the corners of the room though I knew they were not real. Walls completely changed in appearance from one look to the next. The short trip to the toilet became a maze and I became quite disoriented and repeatedly bumped into things. We were in a split level apartment and I ended up falling down the four steps to the lower level in the dark. I bruised my left forearm and severely bruised the palm of my left hand. It took months for my left hand to fully recover but I didn’t hit my head so it could have been much worse. Also, I am right-handed, otherwise I might not have been able to use the camera.

Mouth of the Endeavour River from Grassy Hill Lookout.

The day after that I was semi-recovered and we went for a short drive in the afternoon. We did not see much of Queenstown in our time there but at least our accommodation was a good place to recover.

Grassy Hill Lighthouse from 1886.

Hibiscus flowers nearby.

I think this is Finch Bay, not far from Grassy Hill.

In the late afternoon we visited the bird hide at Keating’s Lagoon.

These are images from trees in the river along the way.

I might have been able to get closer images off the path except that the crocodile warning signs made that inadvisable. More images from here in the next post.