Billy Tea Bush Safari

The day started at seven am with our pick up. Our driver-guide, Chris, met us and introduced himself and our vehicle, Wombat, to us. We then zipped around the city and up to Palm Cove picking up the rest of the group.  Chris would introduce everyone as they hopped aboard Wombat and by the end of the first stage of the day there were eleven travelers who came from Australia, Japan, Italy, America, and Britain. What a varied group of travelers we were.

From the very beginning Chris informed us of the history of the area and the natural world that it is made up of. We learnt that Cairns was founded as a port in 1876 to transport the materials being logged and mined in the surrounding areas to their final destinations.  In fact Chris was a babbling brook of information for the whole journey. At every point he was able to paint a picture of the history, both European and Indigenous, fill us in on the industrial concerns, tell us about the plant and animal life and even include up to date comments on the politics relevant to our landscape. This made the tour far more than an eleven hour scenic drive because we gained an appreciation for the area that went beyond aesthetics.

And how pretty this part of the world is. From the moment you pass Palm Cove and leave the last fragments of Cairns' creeping suburbs, nature begins to have its 'way with you'. For half an hour we wound up along the coast road towards our first stop of the day, Mossman. To our left we had hills and trees and to our right we had the ocean.  We picked a good day to take part in the tour as rain could be seen before and behind us while we were untouched. And that made the views all the more interesting as we got to see the two sides of the area, the blue skies and perfect weather of the brochure and the wet that allows the tropics to survive.

In Mossman we hopped out and stretched our legs next to the magnificent Jamaican raintrees.  Chris shared some information about how the trees got to be in Mossman and the church that sits underneath their branches. He also gave a nice overview of Mossman's lifeblood, the sugar cane industry. And it was when he was doing this that another advantage of choosing Billy Tea Bush Safaris to see the North came through; our other travelers began asking questions.  The tour was personal and interactive because although we were going to set destinations our opportunity to learn about the area was only limited by our curiosity.

Our next stop was at the Daintree River. Here we had our first smoko, tea and biscuits, before hopping onto a boat for a river cruise. Our guide for this section was a man called Bill. Like Chris, Bill had a thorough knowledge of his surroundings. As we cruised along the banks in search of crocodiles, snakes and birds Bill informed us of the history of the area while using his keen eye to spot wildlife. We were fortunate to see crocodiles raging from nine weeks to six years in age as well as two types of snakes and a beautiful Azure Kingfisher.  Bill's humour was as keen as his eye he managed to throw in as many jokes and puns as facts adding to the enjoyment of the cruise.

After the boat ride we were ferried across the river and into the Daintree Forest.  This was my fifth trip to the Daintree and the beauty of the area always humbles me. What was different about this journey was Chris' commentary as it managed to increase my sense of fascination and awe. We were informed that we were now traveling through the oldest rainforest on Earth and that within this World Heritage area the most primitive plant life on Earth can be found. We were literally within a cradle of life.

So along we drove to the peak of the Alexandra Range to have a view of the area. What we saw was a green that spread in all directions and kisses the ocean along the coastline. The Daintree is where the rainforest meets the sea and even people with the strongest