Crocs and Cassowary in Cape Tribulation

Cape Tribulation is just waiting to eat you. Take a walk to the beach with us to meet our boat and explore the Great Barrier Reef. The wet tropics provide the perfect environment for mozzies and their bites sometimes swell to silver dollars. We'll be free of them once we're on the water. As we bushwhack through the jungle, we have to duck and cover to avoid leeches and ticks poised on the tips of leaves, eager to pounce upon their next meal. Luckily, we find safe haven behind a stinging tree. We avoid its touch as its needles contain glass-like fibers that slice the skin and deliver a poison (with no known antidote) that leaves one ill for months. We're chased from this hiding place by a 6'4" cassowary, an ostrich-esque, flightless bird with a vicious, talloned kick.(See photo of statue above.) Distinguished by its armored helmet and blue throat, this endangered species is not shy and elusive as previously described, but a mischief maker who stalks humans and pummels those it reaches. All the locals and many tourists have stories of their encounters. Making ourselves look large and slowly backing away, we make loud noises by singing our original cassowary anthem:
Cassowary,
you're so scary.
You're no canary.
You best be wary,
of cassowary!

We flee into a low tide, mangrove swamp. 1,000 crabs emerge for a snack , but we prove too quick, motivated by the sound of approaching crocodiles aka "salties". Arriving at the beach, we decide to take a swim while awaiting the arrival of our boat. Signs warn of poisonous box jellyfish in these waters. The rains wash the polyps from their river nests out to sea and they grow in the shallow waters. The dingy arrives to cut short our swim; clamoring aboard we catch air in the choppy waves as the torrential rains begin. Sopping wet, we board the dive ship and sign our liability waivers as the sea sickness takes hold. For the next hour we are washed, tossed, shaken and stirred as if on a new Disneyland ride. Cue the Gilligan's Island theme song. In the back corner of the ship we take turns surrendering our breakfasts to Poseidon.

A lonely strip of sand, inhabited by nesting birds, indicates our arrival at the Great Barrier Reef. A crew member sits lookout; though no one mentions sharks, we know we're trespassing in the domain of the Great White. They declare, "The pool is open." Entering the water, the seas calm and the sky transforms into a religious painting, with sun rays descending from the clouds. We find Nemo at home and learn how the clown fish can live among poisonous anemones. They brush themselves on the base to gain a mucous coating before swimming among its tentacles. Here's a marine fact that didn't make it into the movie: the clowns are all male, save one bossy female. If she dies, the most aggressive male experiences a chemical change and voila becomes the lead female, easier than an operation!

Giant clams the size of steamer trunks open their jaws ominously. Stingrays bury themselves under the sand and suddenly emerge like hovercraft when we swim too close. Spotting a cod fish larger than herself, Skylar leaps on top of her flotation device. Spitting out her snorkel she asked, "Will it eat me?" Reassured that the fish was also a vegetarian, she smiled, "Then we're both safe." The marvels of this underwater world evaporated our memories of the journey to get here. Is it too late to get a job aboard the Calypso with Jacques Cousteau?

In the wet tropics, we experienced a living jurassic park that is in fact 16 times older than the Amazon Rainforest. It was never destroyed by glaciers or volcanoes after its birth. Some ferns here were thought to only exist in the fossil record, but here they are, "living fossils." This area of North Queensland is Eden incarnate, the only place on the planet you can step from one World Heritage Site to another, from the Daintree Rainforest to the Great Barrier Reef. Just watch where your step and you may survive the visit.

For photos of Cape Tribulation, Australia, click here.