Day 24: The Bloomfield Track through the Daintree

Well it turns out that the Bloomfield track wasn’t dusty at all. They have had rain for a couple of days and it was muddy. Slippery, sticky mud. Brown and red mud. And big rocks and fast flowing creeks to cross. It was everything a 4WD adventurer could ask for. Actually, it was a lot of fun.

We left Lakeland and headed to Helenvale, where we stopped in at the Lion’s Den Hotel. It looked like a fun place and we wandered, but it was before 10.30 so a bit too early for a coldie, so we continued on our journey south. The first part of the Bloomfield track was slippery and muddy, but we enjoyed the drive through the rainforest.

We saw our first crocodile of the trip and it was in the Bloomfield River on the other side of the bank. We both agreed that this is the perfect place to see a crocodile! The Bloomfield causeway was washed away in the recent floods, but there is a temporary crossing in place and you are able to get across at low tide, so we timed our crossing well with only a short wait. The next part of the trip involved much rougher, rockier driving, finishing with a long, deep water crossing. Perfect!

We pulled into Cape Tribulation with mud dripping from every part of the car and trailer – it was a badge we wore proudly amongst the shiny rental cars. Just opening a door sprayed other cars with mud. The Daintree rainforest is spectacular and we enjoyed lunch in the forest, and several beach walks. We crossed the Daintree River (by ferry) and wandered through the Daintree Village – very beautiful.

We headed towards Port Douglas and at the very first car wash we decided it was time for the mud to go. I didn’t take long with a high pressure hose for the car to sparkle again, and we pulled into the caravan park at Port Douglas feeling shiny and new. Unfortunately, by washing the car it made it rain and we woke up in the middle of the night to the patter of raindrops on the roof, and had a scamper to bring everything inside the camper.