Stop #12 - Newell Beach

We move on from Cooktown back down to Newell Beach, with a view to exploring Cape Tribulation and the Daintree.

We check into the Newell Caravan Park, a small run down caravan park, which looks like a double block that had been converted into a caravan park.  There is an old toilet block that services the whole caravan park, which has a capacity of around 50 sites. 

Our site backs onto cane fields, under a tree popular with Rainbow Lorikeets, who sit atop the tree cracking nuts from the tree all day.  Great, tree foliage and bird poo to clean up post our stay.

We head into Mossman to do some shopping after we set up, and I cook mud crabs and a Trevally for dinner. 

The kids and Jackie don't like the crabs, possibly because I under cook it (boiling in salt water for 12 minutes and letting it continue to cook outside the pot), so I assure them I will cook it differently the following night.  I don't mind the crab, but agree my cooking did not do it justice.  The fish is cooked well in the Thermomix, marinated in garlic, ginger, soy, brown sugar and peanut sauce.

We head off to Mossman Gorge the next day, after completing some school work.  I'd taken over the maths component, whilst Jackie took on the English.  Wasn't a good idea on my behalf, as maths involved measurements and capacity, something that required us to scrounge the recycling bins for suitable containers to complete our tests and experiments.

Mossman Gorge was only 15 minutes from where we were staying, we opt to walk the ~2klm from the car park to the gorge, instead of taking the shuttle bus.  This would be our exercise for the day.

Reaching the start of the boardwalk, we see signs warning of Cassawarys, which puts the kids (especially with Grace and her bird phobia) on high alert.  I'd primed them previously about the dangers of Cassawarys and their sharp claws, which have the ability to tear open their target's stomach.  The kids make as much noise as they can, to ward off the Cassawary, not something Emma had a problem with and normally does naturally.

We reach the gorge itself after a few minutes of walking, and despite passers by claiming the water was freezing, we all jump into the water.  It was very fresh, however once you were in for a while, the dip was very refreshing.  I could have stayed in there for a while.

The water was clear, with a lot of submerged boulders, very dangerous for those that choose to dive into the water.  The waters are filled with Jungle Perch, and the kids also spot a number of catfish.  I wondered whether you could fish the gorge, but given it was a popular tourist attraction, the idea of reeling in fish from such a pristine environment was not appealing.

The walk back to the car was arduous with the kids complaining most of the way, I divert attention by racing the kids back to the car.  This works for half of the way, and I end up carrying Emma for the other half.

On our second day, we head out to the Daintree to go on a cruise, hoping to spot some of the Daintree's notoriously big crocodiles.  We book in at the Eco Tours charter, luckily we did, as the 2:15 session we wanted was booked out upon our arrival.  We wanted the afternoon session, as it coincided with low tide, the most likely time to spot a crocodile sunning itself on the banks, perhaps others knew of this.

The makeshift checkin hut has a big crocodile out the front, providing hope to prospective clients.  We checkin via the friendly receptionist, who offers us another free cruise at 3:15 if we do not spot any crocodiles - not a good sign, but a friendly gesture.  We enjoy biscuits and Daintree tee, whilst waiting for the rest of our tour to arrive.

The boat that Eco Tours uses is fully powered by batteries that are charged by solar panels atop the boat.  The capacity is ~30 people, at ~$20 per head, it's not a bad little venture.  There is an LCD screen at the back of the boat, which the operator/owner projects his video camera on, zooming into his target for those that are not able to personally spot themselves.

We slowly meander up the Daintree, whilst the guide imparts his knowledge of the Daintree river, area and wildlife.  We spot a baby crocodile on the side of a bank, and numerous kingfishers.  

A python wrapped around branches of a tree is pointed out, something only a trained eye would have been able to find let alone see it after Dave reflects light onto it via a mirror.  Some Tawny Owls are also spotted, with another baby crocodile sighted.  

Things were not looking great for while, hopes of spotting to the big crocodile fading along with the light.  We venture outside the normal perimeter of the tour boundaries, and eventually spot a medium sized crocodile called "yoyo", named for his constant going bobbing up and down the water. 

This satisfies most of the Chinese tourists onboard, and we head back to the pontoon.  Jackie and I had seen larger wild crocodiles before, when we fished the Daly river over 10 years ago, so I was not overly excited about the crocodiles spotted.  

I'd like to go on another cruise of hire a boat in the NT, so see if we can spot some larger models.  I'm not sure if we'll be able to convince Emma to go on another cruise, her fear of cruises and crocodiles may prevent any such forays.