Arriving at the Daintree

Oh dear, I’ve been a bit shoddy the last week or so, so here’s a quick update on what we’ve been up to (sorry, still can't upload photos-sorry!).

From the Whitsundays we had an epic journey up to the Daintree. In a nutshell, this involved a taxi, then a nightbus, then a 5am arrival in Cairns, then a 6am shuttle, then a 7.30 bus to Port Douglas where we met our lovely host Tina. From here we had an hour and a half drive, including a ferry ride (the only route to her house), to finally reach Cow Bay in the Daintree rainforest. To say this is remote is an understatement.

So we set up in Tina’s lovely home-our accommodation is a small hut in the garden, with an ourdoor toilet/shower. The property is entirely off the grid (they don’t bring electricity this far up!) and everything is run on solar power, or backup generator. The water you drink and shower in is straight from the roof (and put through a britta filter to get rid of the ants!).

Our life here is pretty idyllic. We get up at 7ish and have brekkie over with Tina. We then work in the garden for 4 hours. This is pretty hardcore as it is super hot and humid, and we’re doing a lot of digging holes, digging up bushes, replanting etc etc which is pretty knackering. We feel pretty wiped out by lunchtime! It also rains at some point or other practically every day (it is the rainforest after all!), and on some days we have worked solidly for 4 hours in torrential tropical rain. It’s bloody satisfying when you finish though, and then Tina cooks us up an incredible lunch, sometimes with a glass of wine, and you know that’s it for the day! So can relax!

In the afternoons we are free to explore-sometimes we go on a walk, sometimes, take the bikes, and sometimes Tina drives us. And if it’s tipping it down, we all snuggle up in the living room and watch a film. Lush!