Living in a Postcard

The view back towards our camping area

We had just arrived at our camping spot near Cape Tribulation in the Daintree National Park, when I received a text from a friend back in Melbourne asking how the trip was going. My response included the words “It’s like living in a postcard”. We are camped under a thick rainforest canopy only a few metres from the sort of beach one has seen many times in photos and brochures. Fine white sand, crystal clear ocean water and rainforest covered mountains which, at points, reach all the way down to rocky outcrops, nearly touching the ocean.

After a couple of very enjoyable days in the picturesque, historic coastal village of Cooktown, we began to make our way south, mindful that this is the start of our long journey home. We traversed the famous Bloomfield Track, stopping at rainforest waterfalls and ocean beaches along the way as we negotiated the narrow, windy coastal road with its occasional river crossings. It surprised us how many private properties exist along the road – long narrow driveways cut into the thick tropical forest. We passed through the little hamlets of Rossville and Ayton, wondering what the people who live there actually do, as well as the neat little Aboriginal village of Wujal Wujal, before crossing the Bloomfield River, gateway to the Daintree.

It was here that the road became even more interesting as we wound our way along a rough narrow dirt track – mountains on one side and ocean on the other – hoping we wouldn’t meet on-coming traffic as we negotiated each sharp corner. Eventually the road improved and we found ourselves at Cape Tribulation – named by Captain Cook because “here began all our troubles”. Cook, after striking a coral reef, jettisoned ballast, six cannons and a spare anchor and limped to what is now “Cooktown” on the Endeavour River before beaching the ship to repair it. Expecting nothing but coastal wilderness, we were surprised by the number of resorts, shops and bars/restaurants that lined the road at Cape Trib. As “Sir Joh” (Bjelke Petersen, former Premier of Queensland) once stated; “You can do so much with a bulldozer”. We decided not to stop and instead made our way to our more remote camping spot at Noah’s Beach (where I sit being observed watchfully by a passing goanna).



We have spent time here walking along the shallows of the amazing beaches, meandering along a boardwalk that makes its way through the coastal rainforest and spent an afternoon lazing about in a shady swimming hole at a bend in Myall Creek. I strolled down the beach for some late-afternoon fishing at the mouth of the nearby Noah’s Creek, my only catch being a sting ray that I managed to extricate carefully. Over my right shoulder the sun’s rays filtered through the clouds across the majestic mountains, whilst on my left the incoming tide merged with the river water attracting a host of water birds. On my way back I found Ryan swimming in the ocean (which, we’ve been assured, is safe). He lured me in to the incredibly warm waters and we body-surfed together. The view back to shore was reminiscent of the stories you read about being lost on tropical islands. It’s hard to imagine being more relaxed, or in such a beautiful natural environment.



Sunrise this morning over Noah's Beach



There is however something surreal about the “postcard”, in fact about the whole experience. We live in the knowledge that it is all going by so quickly, and of wanting to appreciate and soak up each of these moments that will so soon become treasured memories. But life is a bit like that – as we seek to “live the moments”, knowing each of them will quickly pass. The choice we all have, and the one I’m seeking to put into practice on the journey, is to live these moments so fully that at least the memories will be rich and vivid ones.