Day 9: wildlife

A 20 minute dash around Yungaburra on a platypus mission. Alas, they must all still be sleeping, but a beautiful run none the less. It’s brilliant how even 20 minutes of exercise can really make you feel great for the day ahead. I’ve always had it in my head that if I can’t do a ‘proper’ distance run, then there’s no point in going out. But now I realise, firstly, what does a ‘proper’ run even mean? All runs count, long and short! And, secondly, even just a little bit of exercise each day gives you a lot of health benefits, and keeps your mind on track too. Even with little time available, you can still keep fit and healthy. After the run, we set off for the Daintree – the rainforest! Stopped off a Mossman Gorge on the way for a great walk around the rainforest.

Saw another snake! Due to being frozen with fear, I failed to capture the moment, but it was along these lines:

Continuing swiftly on our way, we caught a ferry across the Daintree River and into the national park, and what felt like another world. Unbelievable road, twisting and winding up and down mountains through the rainforest with spectacular views of the coast. 

Our luck at wildlife spotting continued, and we saw a Cassawary!

My picture is rubbish, but this is what they look like:

Once the shock was over, we carried on up the coast to Cape Tribulation, where we were stayed in the jungle for the next couple of nights at the Jungle Safari camp. It’s always been a dream of mine to visit a rainforest, but had been a bit concerned that the reality might not be quite how I imagined it, bearing in mind an overwhelming fear of anything that a) has too many (more than 4) legs, and 2) is dangerous in any way at all. How would I keep up A Run a Day While Away if under constant attack from not only deadly spiders and snakes, but now from Cassowarys and crocodiles as well? I lie awake in our jungle hut for a while, worrying about what was lurking around outside, but soon the sound of the birds and the rain on the roof acted as a jungle lullaby and I drifted off....