Day 27 - Daintree

Owl at Port Douglas

Last night I went running along the beach at Port Douglas. It was dusk to almost pitch black when I finished. Lightning was flashing off in the distance over and over, but there was no accompanying sound. These huge bats came out and started flying around randomly. There were big boiling clouds out over the ocean, reflecting the last bit of daylight and lightning. The scene was prehistoric feeling.

I almost always have my camera with me, except when I run. Just as I was finishing my run, I looked up to see an owl of some sort appear above me to roost on a tree branch. It watched me as I fled to the car to retrieve my camera. I couldn’t believe it was still there when I got back. There was just enough light from a street lamp so that my camera could focus on him. “Flash, click”, went my camera. The owl rolled backward off the branch and began to fall. I thought I killed it while simultaneously hoping it wasn't a rare species. Then it flapped its wings and was gone.

There are almost no insects here. There’s nothing flying around biting and annoying.

Eva and Ivan; Mossman

I stopped in Mossman for my second long black. An aboriginal man was out on the covered patio eating off in the corner. The whole rest of the place was empty. I thought ‘why not’, and went and sat next to him. “What do you do here”, I asked. He said something about cleaning the post office. “What’s your name”, I asked. “Ivan”, he replied. I told him mine. I wanted to know more. “Where you from?”, I asked. “Ingalingdink”, (something like that) he replied, pointing up to the highest mountain in the background. “My great great grandfather found that mountain”, he added.

A woman came up behind us and interjected, “is he sober?” Ivan had seemed quite sober to me (I hadn’t given it any thought until then). “Yes”, I replied. Ivan remained completely disconnected from either of us as he kept eating and looking out upon the streetscape. The woman’s name was Eva (she said her real name is Avon, but that her late husband couldn’t stand it). Eva wanted a cigarette lighter, and I asked Ivan if he had one for her. He did, and as she came over to receive it I said, “come sit with us”. She could have talked my ear off, and spoke frankly in front of Ivan about Ivan.

Eva said, “nobody wants him” (Ivan). She added, “he drinks too much”. She asked him where he stayed last night. “The toilets”, he replied. “Oh you slept in there again”, Eva replied to Ivan. Eva then looked to me and said, “he sings and draws beautifully”. That didn’t surprise me. (I've heard what the aborigines can do.

I had to get to the horseback riding, so I shook each of their hands, and I was gone. As I was addressing Ivan I said, “stay away from that alcohol, it will ruin your life”, and then added to make it personal and not judgmental, “I did it, and you can too”. I knew alcohol had already ruined Ivan’s life, but I wasn’t giving him any excuse not to change because of it. I wish I would have spent the rest of the morning with them.

I got to the horseback riding site with not much time to spare, but I still had to wait for someone in the company to appear. Who came out was (as yesterday) the cowboy I was admiring as being “authentic” (in my estimation). “Can I get in on this one”, I asked. “Did you book”, was his reply (him knowing that I probably hadn’t if I had to ask the question; yesterday he told me to call the number in the brochure for booking). “No, I haven’t used a phone in a month”, I replied (I wanted everything done in person, which is why I came by the day before). Almost talking over the end of my reply as he walked past he said, “sorry mate, full up”. I decided I didn’t like his attitude. I could tell he was a “my way or the highway” kind of a person (maybe I’m more like him than I want to admit in this regard). I like highway, and there was lots of it out there. So, I got back in my car and off to explore the Daintree I went.

The Crocodile-infested Daintree River

I stopped in the village of Daintree and asked if I was in the village of Daintree. The lady at the information counter went into auto, telling me all the things to do in the area and about the river cruise (for $25) that was a must. I just wanted to know where I was. I hate being a tourist among tourists. I’d much rather slip undetected into an unsuspecting community.

When I got to the end of the road (for 2WD vehicles), there was a small river. Along the bank was a sign warning of crocodiles. Some people were out swimming, and I told them of the sign (feeling it the responsible thing to do). A guy yells back, “oh have some fun!” “I am”, I shouted back adding, “watching you!” I then added, “and I’m really going to be having fun when a croc comes”. He could tell I might be worse to mess with than a croc, and our conversation died.

Another group came up behind us, and in they went. Again I mentioned crocodiles, but they laughed me off. Yet another group came and started wading upstream. I didn’t say anything to them. Pretty soon I was wading in the little river too.

I came back to a water hole in the river where the second group I mentioned was swimming. I watched and photographed. Then, just as the man in the group was about to ask, “are you coming in?”, I stripped down to my underwear and joined them. Later I took the opportunity to shave as well. So much for crocodiles.

Dimitri, Nicki, Taraivina, and Sophia

The group I chose to hang with (my mob for the day) was Dimitri and his wife Nicki and friend Sophia - all from Sydney and all of Greek origin (through parents who emigrated in the 1960s). Also with them was Taraivina, the "character" of the group, from Fiji.

Fiji indigenous (the island group) are Melanesian, but Fiji nationals are also composed of those from the island group of Rotuma as well, who are Polynesian indigenous. Taraivina is half Irish and half Polynesian from the Island of Rotuma. She said if I come to Fiji, she’s going to set me up. The whole group was awesome. They convinced me to stay with them for coffee, and just as we were starting to have a nice conversation, a big tour operator came along with 30 tourists. We were all stunned because the feel of the place changed so much.

Love

A white man was there at one point, teaching a little aboriginal boy to swim. You could tell the man cared deeply for this child. I don’t know the story, but we were all heart-warmed to watch them.

When you buy something here, at checkout, they tell you the price and then say “thank you”. After you give them your money, they say "thank you" again. They say "thank you" twice, in this context, consistently.

Many Crawling all over the Church; Port Douglas

$12 Brekkie at Port Douglas: Yogurt & Fruit-covered Muesli and Long Black

Church at Port Douglas

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Day 27 – Daintree

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