The cloud of the previous day started breaking up, allowing the very first rays of the new day sun to break through early. Chris was up and off down the sandy path beside our campsite to watch a new day dawn over the Daintree. Being so early he had the beach to himself.
Breakfast and packing was undertaken at a leisurely pace, as we had a relatively short distance to travel to Bloomfield at the northern end of the Daintree World Heritage area. On leaving the campground, we hadn’t travelled far before we were lucky enough to see one of the area’s indigenous marsupials, a musky rat-kangaroo, hopping along the road in front of us. This is the world’s smallest kangaroo, which is found only in the rainforests of northeast Australia. We then stopped at Cape Tribulation where another informative boardwalk through the rainforest had us increasing our knowledge of the plants and animals of the region. A coffee shop not far from the walk beckoned us in and we enjoyed what may well be our last half-decent coffee for a while.
Not far from Cape Tribulation heralds the start of the Bloomfield Track – a relatively straightforward gravel track over the ranges to the north, between the Daintree and Ayton on the way to Cooktown. If it rained it would be another challenge altogether. The steepest section was a gradient of 27:1 for just on 1.5 kilometres. Fortunately for us it was very dry, with only a few of the water crossings having flowing water to negotiate.
With the steep ascents and descents behind us, we followed the Bloomfield upstream to where a concrete bridge / causeway would get us safely across the river and heading back towards the coast – and our final destination and campsite for the next couple of nights. A vehicle was stopped at a clearing that provides good views downstream; by the way they were surveying the river with binoculars, it was apparent they were croc spotting. Chris slowed the Prado and asked whether they had spotted any – the response was “yes, none basking but a few swimming around”.
Once set up in our new campsite at Bloomfield for the next few nights, we made use of the internet access to reconnect with family while much needed washing was done and hung out to dry. Long hot showers were also a priority. We explored the campgrounds and noted it was “Snitty Night”. Eventually we learnt the “snitty” is the Queensland term for schnitzel – or ‘parma’ as we know it in Victoria. A change into clean clothes after showers had us ready for a night on the town (so to speak).
Happy hour from 5.00 pm to 6.00 pm drew us into the covered (but open-sided) restaurant / bar area where a few drinks and a reflection on the day’s journey filled in the time until dinner orders were taken. The place quickly filled up, with the patrons split between the covered dining area and the seating around the fire pit outside – where the children could run around in and out of the darkening shadows.
To complete the scene, live music was provided by two competent local performers with their own interpretation of popular songs from the 1960s through to current times. Kids chased one another around the fire, the camp dog barked and went in search of food dropped onto the ground, fishing and travel tales were exchanged at the bar while the managers made everyone feel at ease.
We retreated to our campsite for a cuppa after finishing our “snitties” with the sound of the live music in the background (helped along by a few patrons joining in with the chorus of the better known songs). The music eventually stopped, the locals said farewell and with a toot of their horn, drove off into the darkness.