Mossman, QLD 88 km

After an early night (although we sat out on our little veranda at the hotel and ate pizza to try and stay awake we finally succumbed) and had fairly decent sleep. Today we are starting to feel turned around from the jet lag.

We picked up our 4X4 campervan this morning at 10 am. We were given an emergency locator (see photo) to activate if we find ourselves in the middle of nowhere with a severe problem. It is apparently Australian law that people have this device heading up to Cape York and other 4 X 4 areas. If we pull the switch the helicopter will come to our rescue.

 

We then headed to the nearest mall to stock up on groceries, etc.  It must have been a very upscale mall because they sell gold/diamond encrusted diapers (see attached photo).

 



 

Our shakedown cruise from Cairns to Mossman today was through sugar cane fields and some very curvy coastal roads with beautiful white sand beaches. We even saw some tandem hang gliders getting ready to leap off the rocks over the ocean. Watching for cane trains (they have very narrow gauge rail cars to haul the cane out of the fields) and kangaroos (the only ones we saw were on our dinner plates tonight – roo burgers!) we first made our way to touristy Port Douglas where they wanted way too much for a cramped campsite, units sitting cheek to jowl with NO room between. We settled in Mossman for the night, nestled in the rainforest next to a river (see photos). The tree beside the camper even has some bromeliads (air plants) on its trunk. Yes it did rain – apparently they are having a very wet start to their dry season.

 

 

We think we have things sorted out in the camper. There is quite a bit of storage space but it is all down low. We now have another shopping list of items we know we will need/use in the next four weeks. We were surprised there wasn’t even a book of matches to light the stove but the young girl in reception helped us out.

Tomorrow should be an interesting day as we are going to attempt the vaunted Bloomfield Track from Cape Tribulation to Cooktown. 4X4 only because of the river crossings and steepness. It may not be open because of the wet weather they have been having – we shall see.