Cape Tribulation, Queensland, Australia

 It's an intriguing name, isn't it? Why would a gloriously pristine beach bordered by ancient rain forest have such a depressing sort of name?  Well the answer is that it was on a reef just beyond the beach that Captain James Cook's ship, HM Endeavour, ran aground on a coral reef in 1770 and began to take in water. The ship was in danger of sinking but with remarkable ingenuity the hole was plugged sufficiently for the ship to limp up the coast to a safer  beaching where it could be repaired properly. The damage to the ship was substantial causing Cook to state that this was where all his trials and tribulations began. That history was enough for me to want to visit the Cape, not only am I an enthusiast for the voyages of James Cook but it sounded so enticing,  and despite having been to Queensland on several occasions I had never been up the coast that far. 

Cape Tribulation

It is around a two hour drive (110ks or 68 miles) from Port Douglas where I was staying recently so I booked myself  onto a day tour  which included a walk in the Daintree rain forest, a cruise on the crocodile infested Daintree River and a visit to the beautiful Mossman Gorge.  I will write about them in a future blog.

Where the rain forest meets the sea

Cape Tribulation is the nearest mainland point to the world heritage Great Barrier Reef.  It is also where the rain forest comes right down to the shore.  It is wonderfully isolated, (there are no buildings on the beach), with clean pure air and silence, there is no hustle and bustle and no pollution.  Surrounded by hills the climate is equatorial with heavy rainfall and warm humid temperatures making it ideal for growing tropical fruit which a few hardy souls (the total population is only about 120)  do in small clearings back in the forest.  The area has been home to the Kuku Yalanji people for 50,000 years and has little changed in all that time.  It felt like an enormous privilige to be there and to enjoy its beauty and solitude.  It is very hard to find such ancient unspoilt places in the modern world which still look as they did back in the time of the dinosaurs. 

Discussing the forest and the history of the area over morning tea

Our small tour coach pulled into a tiny clearing well back from the beach and the 8 of us on the tour went for a walk along the golden arc of the bay.  The white sand is as fine as icing sugar and with our footsteps being the only ones on the beach it was quite a moving sensation of stepping way back in time. While we were relishing our walk our guide was setting up a substantial morning tea of fresh tropical fruit, hot drinks and muffins at a picnic area hidden back in the forest. There are clean, well maintained toilets not far from the picnic area, also hidden from view from the beach.  I am so pleased I visited Cape Tribulation, it has long been on my 'to do' list and was as beautiful, remote and unspoilt as I had hoped it would be.

Snorkeling Great Barrier Reef, Australia

In the back of an exercise book I have written a wish list of things I want to do before I am too old. My problem is that as soon as I tick something off I soon find something else to add. I think I'm going to have to live a very long life. Being in Port Douglas gave me the opportunity to tick snorkeling Great Barrier Reef, Australia off the list. It is something I had wanted to do all my life.

I did quite a bit of research before choosing to take a full day snorkeling tour with Wavelength Cruises. I chose this company because it was snorkel only, took small groups and was staffed by marine biologists who are conservationists and have a great knowledge of the ecology of the reef.  

At the reef (photo by Wavelength)

One of the 7 wonders of the natural world, and a world heritage site since 1981, the reef is 2300 Kilometres long, covers 300,000 square Kms and is made up of thousands of smaller reefs and around 600 islands.  We were going to spend the day snorkeling at three different spots on the 10k long Opal reef  where Wavelength has exclusive use of some sites.

After a very slick and efficient check in at Port Douglas Marina I joined the other 44 passengers aboard Wavelength 4 for the  90 minute trip out to the reef. Now I have been on boats all my life, I have traveled from New Zealand to England and back by sea, my family has always owned boats and I have never, ever been sea sick, or even queasy, but there is a first time for everything!  The trip out was incredibly rough with the boat being tossed around like a cork and I am embarrassed to say, I was sick, twice, but that was it, I felt perfectly fine for the rest of the day which is just as well because what a fantastic day it was.




As we approached the shelter of the reef the sea became calm and the water a combination of navy blue and the most beautiful clear turquoise.  Kitted out with wet suits and given information on what we would see, where we should go and the important etiquette required to protect  the reef we were off for an hour's snorkeling.  The underwater world is a magical place, it is beautiful, peaceful and other worldly, I love it. I couldn't have been happier sharing the water with masses of colourful tropical fish, coral, brightly coloured and otherwise (more on that later) and sensuously waving sea weed and grasses.


Morning tea was served aboard the boat and then we moved to another location for another hour of snorkeling, every bit as good as the first.  

A marine biologist crew member giving a lunch time lecture

After a generous lunch we were invted to a lecture on deck about marine life, the ecology of the sea, threats to the sea from pollution and global warming, and what to look for in coral.  It was all fascinating, I learnt so much I did not know. For example, urinating in the sea is damaging to the coral, as are certain sun screens ( Wavelength provide free sunscreen which is not harmful). Healthy coral is generally not brightly coloured but is usually olive green, brown, tan or pale yellow.  Brightly coloured coral is coral showing signs of stress, either because it is getting too much sunlight or the water temperature is rising.  The bright colours are from tiny organisms living on the coral.  Coral bleaching, or dead coral is a concern because healthy coral is vital for the health of the sea. Although periods of coral stress wax and wane, over the last few years the bad years have been getting closer together. Wavelength staff also monitor the reef for signs of coral bleaching, and hunt out the damaging crown of thorns starfish which feed on and kill the coral.  Another interesting fact is that people, trying to be helpful, attack crown of thorns by hacking at them, thinking they are killing them when in actual fact they are just causing them to multiply.  Each starfish has to be removed in its entirety to have any effect on diminishing the population.

We found Nemo - (photo: shutterstock)

After lunch we went to our third spot.  I enjoyed this spot the most because we were split into groups and taken on snorkeling tours with  marine biologist guides.  This was fantastic as our guide was able to dive down and show us things we may have missed.  My guide was able to point out barracuda basking on the sea bed below us, a giant clam which closed up when she waved her hand above it, several little clown fish aka Nemo, nestled amongst the sea weed, reef sharks  and countless other marine delights. I couldn't have been happier.

This large friendly fish came to see what was going on.

We had afternoon tea back on board the boat and then a pleasantly smooth trip back to the marina.  One of the crew sat and chatted with me a while.  I told her I was embarrassed about being sea sick on the way out and she told me she goes out most days and had felt sick too...so not just me then!  Anyway, it was worth it. The day was everything I hoped it would be. I have done a lot of snorkeling over the years and this was my very best day ever, I am so glad I had this on my bucket list. End of the day - contentment.

I highly recommend Wavelength, and their young, enthusiastic and well educated crew. 
  NB: This post is not not sponsored by them, it is purely about my own experience.

www.wavelength.com.au #wavelengthcruises #greatbarrierreef