After while Crocodile (and the Bloomfield Track)

On to the far North as they call it here. Sarah and I were not interested at spending the day on Cape Tribulation as we were planning to come back through. After a low tide walk on some exposed reef we headed up the Bloomfield track. The track is part of the reason that we decided to rent the 4wd campervan. North of Cape Tribulation for 100kms the road is 4wd only. We set off and after only a short distance a stopped to walk out through that rainforest to the ocean. We met an Australian couple who had been on the road for 8 years…they joked about how they would let the “backpackers” (AKA us) walk first when we got close to the estuary (croc habitat)! They were joking and we chatted for a while. I walked over towards the estuary were I spotted something in the water. It was small but after a long while looking at it we concluded that it was a small croc! Our Aussie friends agreed, it was about 3’ long.
On the walk back I found a coconut and husked it with a little help from a rock….I’ve been less pumped on a 5.11 climb than husking that thing!
The bloomfield track was excellent…really, it was much less challenging than I hope for, we are in the dry season. Sarah did need a Dramamine but was a good sport once she fell asleep! The track was very steep in spots…and had a few creek crossings but nothing to really get the “knickers in a knot”. The track took us to Bloomfield falls…surprisingly similar to Ithaca falls minus the crocs and the snakes. Like any other place we have been, I felt the need to go to the furthest point available….even though it required a little maneuvering (Sarah observed from a safe distance….) Because of this I did get to see a really neat 2.5’eel just relaxing in a shallow pool likely trying to stay warm. On the way back I took the alternate route via a long jump and then a “safe rock” that turned out to be a little slippery. I caught myself before the camera went swimming and I only got a little wet... in true Steve Irwin style, I just wanted to tease the crocs. (kidding totally safe)
CROC! Sarah spotted one! It was sitting about 2 miles from the falls, out on a sand bar sunning itself without a care in the world. It was big, 10’ to 12’ and luckily nowhere close to us! With our binoculars we could see it very clearly! Really a neat animal but I have no desire to be in its territory!
We then continued through some aboriginal lands to the Lions Den! On a Friday night I might pick swimming with the crocs over this place! This was one of the historic roadhouses on Cape York track. Even in the middle of the day it’s a sight to be seen. This place has been THE roadhouse stop to make if you are headed north up Cape York. Everyone stops for at least a tinny!



The Lion's Den "Hotel"

Wild Maggie

We got an early start today and were the first customers to Townsville’s information center this morning. Estelle and Gaila – two lovely elderly ladies wearing bright pink lipstick who volunteer at the tourist info center – stocked us with books, warned us to be croc wise, told us some funny stories and sent us on our way.
After a quick stop at McDonald’s for our WiFi fix we hopped yet another ferry to Magnetic Island, or “Maggie” as it is known by the locals. Twenty minutes later, armed with sandwiches and our snorkeling gear, we were on the shores Maggie ready for our day’s adventure. Yet again our camper had to stay on the mainland (only a few lonely hours this time) so we were at the mercy of public transport (gasp!) and our feet to get us around the island. We hopped off the bus at a lovely swimming beach, but decided to start our walk before getting wet. We crossed a well manicured field by the beach and came upon an echidna – nature’s cross between a porcupine and an anteater. About the size of a bowling ball, this spiny critter was shoving his long nose into the ground searching for (we think) bugs or ants or some such deliciousness. We were able to get pretty close and he seemed wholly unaware that he was the subject of our photo shoot. (We may have been the equivalent of crazy foreign tourists who take pictures of squirrels, but we didn’t care – the little fella’ was so neat!) 80 photos later, we commenced our walk up the island’s hills. We followed a walking trail that was for sure ridden with Death Adders and other scary things that could kill us, and ended up on a cool path where we spotted wild koalas in the trees. They are so interesting! Frankly, they don’t do very much other than look cute, and their furry grey bums are quite hard to spot, but we enjoyed the search nonetheless. We eventually made it down to Arthur Bay – beautiful blue waters emerging from giant boulder fields on the side of the protected cove. There was great snorkeling in the fringing reef just offshore. We saw lots of corals and colorful fish and snorkeled till it was too cold to do anymore. We hoofed it back up a serious hill, spotting a rock wallaby (like a mini kangaroo) en route and caught a bus to the ferry back to the mainland. A great day!

The brave wildlife photographer frames his subject

Not-so-cuddly echidna (E-Kid-Na)

Check out his weird little snout - he kept digging it into the ground!

"eagle-eye" Sarah spots another one

sleepy koala

A different kind of wild creature - this one came right out of the sea!

Crikey! What a ‘beaut! (Our homage to Steve Irwin)

Today was possibly the coolest day EVER (second to the wedding). We headed out early to visit the Australia Zoo. This, as our guidebook had promised, was NOT your average zoo. The place is designed in a way so that visitors can have interactive experiences with animals. The Croc’ Hunter believed that giving people an opportunity to interact and have good experiences with wildlife would help them want to save it. It worked for us!! This is truly the Croc’ Hunters zoo, unless an animal was dangerous (venomous snakes, crocs, tigers) you were able to interact with it. Animals in cages this was not! We brought our new binoculars but never needed them. Pathways wound through habitats where the animals flew over you, slept in the gum tree above you, or hopped right by you. We “gave a cuddle” to koalas, hung out in “Roo Heaven” where the kangaroos and wallabies roamed freely among the zoo visitors. Even a momma ‘roo with a joey in her pouch allowed us to give her a pet (and some roo food!). We had a chat with one of the zookeepers who explained that these roos were bred in captivity and therefore comfortable with humans…wild roos are obviously much more skittish. Grandpa S. – we found one who has you beat – one of the zoo residents celebrated her 178th birthday (we bet you can figure out which picture she’s in). The highly animated and crowd-involved show at the “Crocoseum” was informative and entertaining - crazy tropical birds buzzed around the arena inches from our heads! The show had a very strong conservation message about how people can live along side of wildlife. (Note: The croc participating – Shaka – wasn’t really cooperating with the zookeeper…so we think his “tail walk” was not as high as normal. In the wild he’d go after the bats pictured in our earlier post). Jonathan begrudgingly put his head in the mouth of the model croc – based on a real life Salt Water Croc. If you can imagine a place that exudes the enthusiasm that the Croc Hunter had – where you were encouraged to walk off the trails and experience wildlife – you can imagine this place. We were (are) amazed – one man was able to have such an effect on people and make such a difference. Walls full of Irwin’s signature khaki shirts signed with messages and tributes to him were exhibited by the Crocoseum. We routed back to Brisbane via the unique looking Glass House Mountains where Jonathan longed for his ropes & harness. But alas, we had a full day and have to get ready for a night on the town in Brisbane, and picking up the 4WD camper tomorrow!