Rainforest/Great Barrier Reef

Peter and I just got back from a 4-day excursion to Northern Queensland. We stayed in Cow Bay, just south of Cape Tribulation. Though the weather was supposed to be warm, it was quite rainy and damp – I suppose that's to be expected in the rainforest.

The first night we were there, we went to a fancy restaurant called the Heritage Lodge. It actually wasn't that fancy, but it sure was expensive. It was still quite nice -- set outside in the middle of the rainforest. It got a bit creepy after a while though because I saw what I believed to be rats running around me. I am much better about the rat phobia, but it still freaked me out and I had to move inside. When the waitress asked why we moved and we said "rats," she looked at us very disdainfully. What we thought were rats were really a rat-like creature called a musky rat kangaroo. It had a rat tail and looks like a rat, but carries its young in a little pouch. I don't know, it still freaked me out. The meal was great though. We ate a delicious antipasto plate of emu, kangaroo, and crocodile for an appetiser and had an amazing barrimundi (delicious Aussie fish) for the main.
The first full day we were up there we explored the various beaches, the rainforest, and creeks. We had to be a little careful swimming up there because the crocodiles often come up on the beach in that area. We were definitely swimming at our own risk. The nicest part of that day for me was sitting on the creek's edge and skipping stones. It brought me back to my childhood, and was lovely.
On Sunday we went on a cruise to the Great Barrier Reef. We took a sail boat out there called the Rum Runner. There were about 40 other people on the boat. The seas were uncharacteristically rough and the trip was somewhat nightmarish. On the way out there I was sick and heaved what little breakfast I managed to get down over the side of the boat. When we got there we did some snorkeling. The reef was gorgeous and I saw a stingray and lots of amazing fish and coral, but the current was very strong and the choppy waters made snorkeling quite the challenge. When we got back onto the boat (after about 45 minutes), Peter had his turn over the side of the boat. We were both positively green. To top it all off, it was raining much of the time and we were both soaked to the skins and freezing. I was never so happy to get on dry land and into a hot shower. The whole rest of the day I felt as if I was still rocking back and forth. To be quite honest, 24 hours later I'm still rocking
We came back today, taking the slow route back to Cairns airport. We stopped several times at various lookouts and ate lunch in the quaint seaside town of Port Douglas. We then got to Cairns and hung out for a little while near the waterfront. It was a perfect trip.