Wonga Beach is located just over 20 km north of Mossman in Far North Queensland. We've enjoyed sitting and relaxing in these tropical surroundings after spending time in the dirt and dust.
The beach stretches for many kilometres in either direction and has the usual signs warning against swimming due to the possible presence of crocodiles. The Daintree River mouth is about 8 km north of the caravan park so its highly likely that they may be present.
We are on site four and can see the ocean through the coconut trees that line the beachfront. There is a large expanse of green grass in front of our van with large shady trees that we sit under during the heat of the day. There are two swimming pools, one with a waterfall and we have been spending time here each day. Daytime temperatures have hovered around thirty degrees.
We photographed these rain trees on the northern outskirts of Mossman that were planted over 100 years ago. They were planted to provide shade for the teams of bullocks, mules and horses that were used to cart goods. The lichen on the trees grows naturally.
On one of our days we visited the small village of Daintree. The only change here is the rebuilding of one side of the small main street that was totally destroyed by fire in 1995.
Tomorrow is our last day at Wonga Beach but we plan to head south to Port Douglas for their Sunday markets.
Unfortunately we were unable to capture this on film, but several kilometres after leaving the park this morning, we encountered a mother pig and five piglets who ran out onto the highway from a field of sugar cane. They stopped in the middle of the road before continuing across into another field of cane on the other side of the road.
The return trip on the Daintree Ferry is now $25.00 but we can remember paying $4.00 return in 1998 on our second trip to Cape York.
The 'bouncing stones' near Thornton Beach are still there but the signs have been removed and I understand it has something to do with being an aboriginal secret site. The stones bounced just like tennis balls.
We stopped briefly to take a photo of tea that is grown in the Daintree. Tea has been grown here since 1978 and is pesticide free.
By the time we reached the Alexander Lookout the weather had improved and we now had areas of blue sky. The lookout overlooks Cape Kimberley, Snapper Island and the Daintree River mouth.
From here we continued south to stop at the Daintree Ice Cream Company. They make tropical fruit ice cream from fruits they grow in their orchards. Flavours vary according to the season. We chose a cup each containing passionfruit, macadamia nut, wattle seed and black sapote. The wattle seed was a cross between coffee and caramel and the black sapote is known as the chocolate pudding fruit and they were all very delicious. I can highly recommend their ice cream.
Prior to the Sunday markets we drove south to Port Douglas for lunch at one of the local restaurants. With such beautiful clear skies we couldn't let the chance pass by to take some photos from the lookout overlooking four mile beach.
St Mary's Church
On Sunday morning we drove south to Port Douglas for the markets that are held in Anzac Park. The possible threat of rain did not discourage the many hundreds of people who attended. As we were leaving on our way to the highway there was still a steady stream of vehicles heading into Port for the markets.
On our way out of Port Douglas we photographed these Magpie Geese beside the road that we normally associate with Kakadu National Park.
Damn that ice cream looks good.
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