The Daintree Rainforest is the world's oldest rainforest! We saw this amazing tree called a cassowary plum tree that drops a bluish-purple egg shaped fruit to the ground. This fruit is poisonous to all creatures except the cassowary. The cassowary is a wonderful vector for this plum tree as they will eat the fruit whole, digest it, and then poo in a clearing, the best spot for a seedling to start. If a fruit falls to the ground and isn't eaten, it simply rots and fertilizes the tree.
Other trees have evolved in creative ways too. Mangrove trees grow with their root system entirely under water. They have snorkel roots that become exposed during low tide and the tree sucks up oxygen it stores in spongy reserves for high tide. This tree lives exclusively along salt and brackish water areas and therefore absorbs salt water. To prevent this from killing the tree, it will consolidate all the salt into a few leaves and then they yellow and fall off. This helps desalinate the tree and then the leaves are eaten by animals and the circle of life continues.
We also went on a tour of a beach called ray bay. The tide comes in about 300 yards and when it goes out, stingrays get trapped in the shallows until the tide fully goes out. We saw the small divots they make as they sift for food and we saw tiny reef fish. Sean, Nathan, and I went with our guide out toward shore (only ones willing to take off socks and shoes) and we learned about the mangroves, the differences in coral now and 100 years ago, the largest threat to coral, and about the origins of the bay.
After our 4 wheel drive adventure back from the beach we had lunch at a roadside cafe. Amazing burgers! While we waited we went to see the kangaroos and wallabies and they let us feed them! One had really red eyes, he is blind, so you had to let him come to you. We fed them bread and carrot slices and they loved us for it. The wallabies are so small a piece of bread the size of your forefinger is too big. They hold on to it with their little hands and eat like we do. Absolutely adorable.
Lunch rocked, and then we headed for ice cream! We went to a small ice cream stand where you get 4 flavors in a cup pre made so you don't choose which kind you want. They use fruit grown on their farm to make it, you drive through their orchard to get to the business. We had raspberry, passion fruit, wattle seed, and soursop, a spiky green fruit that tastes citrus-y. The passion fruit was my favorite but wattle seed is also good! It has a creamy texture and tastes like mocha but has no coffee or chocolate in it!
Fun fact about wattle seeds: they grow on wattle trees as small yellow tennis ball looking fruit, about 1/3 the size of a tennis ball. They are fuzzy like one, too. The leaves are green as most trees are, and this tree is the national tree of Australia. This is why their sports teams are yellow and green even though their flag is red white and blue. Additionally, when a tragedy strikes Australia, they don't wear black arm bands or remembrance pins, they put a small spring of wattle on their lapel to show national pride!
After ice cream was a river tour for crocs and birds. We saw a huge stork, some black and white kites, and some cockatoos. On the other side of things we saw a few small and two huge crocodiles! One they said is over 15 years old and weighs 700 kilos! He was sunning himself on the beach because the water temperature is a little low since it is winter.
When all was said and done we had an amazing day on our tour and we learned tons! I hope I can remember it all! For dinner we had fresh reef fish and some chips as a group meal at the hotel. This fish was ridiculously good! We started talking about who is going to the inner reef and who is doing the outer reef in two days. I am going to the inner reef. Closer inland, more snorkel time, and green turtles.
Once it was good and dark I took all the students on a night walk to the beach. I was hoping for photos of the stars without light pollution but it was cloudy. We took our shoes off and played in the water....then about half of them got IN the water! Night swimming in the Pacific Ocean...no big deal. Lol. Tomorrow is going to be fun as well. Beach walk with the Aborigines! I am going to have so many pictures to go through when I get home! I am already at 2500+!!!
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