Thierings on Tour

We all woke up early this morning and had time around camp to relax, catch up on some work and homework.

Then it was time for our Dreamtime tour at Mossman Gorge. We got there early and had a look around the art gallery before it was time to meet our guide. Unfortunately, 5 minutes before the start of the tour, Scarly’s world as she knew it fell apart when her beloved dummy fell in the toilet. Her poor little face looked shocked, anguished and scared all at the same time. Unfortunately that was the end of that as it flushed down the toilet with her efforts of being a big girl in undies. I must say, I was scared for what was to come! It doesn’t matter that I had told her a million times to not have the dummy in her mouth when she went to the toilet, it has happened and I knew it would impact us just as much as her… (insert dramatic music here)

We met our tour guide, Yanganda or Skip as he introduced himself to us, and we set off on a private bus into Mossman Gorge. The rainforest is estimated to be between 150-200 million years old and its people, the Kuku Yalanji clan are therefore some of the oldest nations in Australia. We started the tour with a smoking ceremony, to connect us to the land and to rid everyone off any bad energy before we walked as one family on the local lands. 

We were promptly warned that there was a cassowary sighting on the path just a short while earlier today and that if it came to it, Skip would not hesitate to go into hunter mode to protect the group and especially the kids. And also just that there were around 43 species of snakes in this rainforest. 

We learnt about poisonous plants (one particular that has silica that gets under your skin and the pain is unbearable) and more friendly uses of nature such as the amazing macaran trees (red cedar) that used to grow big enough to become family birth and burial trees. In the past, at birth the placenta would be buried in the roots of the tree and at death the body would be buried in there, along with other family members meaning everyone would be together and this was likely the origin for the term family tree. 

Skip showed us many different types of boomerangs and its uses from hunting fish and birds to digging the earth. He also explained many survival tips such as how to make as much noise as you can with a rock on the root of the cedar tree (the girls loved this) and how to find your way out if you get stranded and disoriented by following signs of streams. 

By this stage Scarly had lost the plot wanting to get her dummy and was inconsolable wailing, screaming and crying. Chris and I took turns to console and carry her, hoping she might just be tired and fall asleep but she continued to scream and cry. So the rest of the tour was a little harder to hear (as I’ve also been struggling to hear out of one ear since our last pool trip). The drops I have are not working yet, but I’m hoping I’ll get there!

Anyway, we learnt how to make fire with a candle but, which uses the nut oil to burn up to 15 minutes and if you have a whole plant you can have fire for a while, so fascinating…We saw the amazing daintree river and all the beautiful boulders around it. The only thing that made Scarly stop screaming was when we got down to the water and Skip made a few different pastes of ochre paint, which she happily painted all over her body and it made her “so beautiful”. Skip also crushed up plants to show how you make natural antiseptic soap (which can also be used on bites) and another root to make deep heat, essentially. I couldn’t believe how much it smelt like it!

And to top it all off there was damper and tea at the end of the tour. So much to learn in such a short time! Jazzy and Izzy had been at the front the whole time absorbing it all, I just wished we hadn’t had the flushed dummy drama to cause so much trouble…

At the end of the tour we also hopped off to walk around Mossman gorge a bit ourselves, it truly is such a magical place! 

Then we headed off in the car towards the 
Daintree River and to make our way up to Cape Tribulation. We got to cross the river on a pulley ferry, which was cool and the drive was also really nice.

Again, we encountered the possessed screams of a dummy junky who was not coping with her beloved comforter being gone. I briefly contemplated driving back to the van for the emergency dummy we have with us, but also it seemed like it was a sign to finally pull the plug and get rid off the thing for good, like we have been trying for months. Poor Jazzy and Izzy did not cope well with the noise and the screaming and I felt like everyone was going mad and would crack.

However we made it to Kulki and a walk on the beach was a godsend reprieve for everyone. The kids ran around, dug in the sand and the only thing that would have made it better is if we could have jumped in the water had it not been croc-infested (potentially). It seems like such a waste to have all these beautiful beaches and not being able to swim at them!!! 

We walked up to the lookout and then started the drive back home. Promised of ice cream and some other distractions got us back to camp in one piece and we even had the hot water system part waiting for us – finally something positive.

I think it’s safe to say that everyone was exhausted and we had a quick dinner followed by bed. Scarly even did really well in the night without her dummy.

Kms travelled – 145