The answer to that question is required knowledge if you are to bushwalk unguided in the forest and rainforests of far north Queensland. Fortunately Laura and I had a seasoned vet in Pete to show us around the Daintree Rainforest. The Daintree Rainforest is listed as a World Heritage site as it is recognized as the world’s oldest rainforest. Pete also referred to it as the world’s safest rainforest. Other than a ton of bugs, animals which can be found in this rainforest include two species of python, wallabies (midget kangaroos), cassowary, and a venomous snake … but as Pete pointed out, the venom might be enough to kill a child but is only enough to make an adult nauseous (making it hardly worth mentioning by Aussie snake standards). It should be noted that the cassowary, an endangered large emu/ostrich-like bird, can kill a man by disemboweling them with their center claw. Having said that, they have poor eyesight and the recommended defense is to hide behind a tree. A pretty easy maneuver to pull off in a rainforest.
Before moving onto the rainforest tour, a brief word about Pete. He’s a tough old bloke. He grew up in tribal areas around the border region of Kenya and Tanzania affectionately referring to his time there as “when I was a black kid”. He was there for civil war and then departed for Papua New Guinea to start tea plantations. Papua New Guinea is where tribal people eat people of rival tribes that wander into their territory to this day. He left for Australia when civil unrest arose and has some stories to tell. He has guided forest tours in all three places and knows a thing or two about plants and bugs.
So Pete picked us up around 8:00am and we were immediately got a taste, literally, of what lie ahead. He knew of an area with green ant nests about 2 minutes from the resort. We stopped and licked green ant butts. Green ant butts give you a shock like licking a battery and taste very sour. We also squished 7 of them, the proper dosage according to the native Bama (an apparently respectful name for the local Aboriginal people), and sniffed them to clear any nasal issues we may have had. Then we proceeded into the rainforest where we learned more about every type of plant in that place than you have the patience to read about. How they survive, how they’ve adapted, what the barks and saps can be used for, which ones to look for in survival situations, which ones will kill you … etc. We also ate a bunch of fruits and berries ranging from pretty tasty to downright repulsive. We planted mangroves. I swam in a rainforest pool Pete guaranteed was croc-free. For the record, I didn’t stay in long as I kept a wary eye out with that being hunted feeling despite being able to see clearly to the depth of the pool. Laura had an adverse reaction to either bug spray or some of the grasses. Pete was more concerned than he let on, but she’ll live despite some minor bumps. We did not get leeches. We did get rained on. And we did get to see one of the 1,500 cassowaries on the side of the road (in an area of 1,200 square kilometers). He was followed by a baby cassowary. And for some reason we learned a vehicle keyless entry remote trick. Apparently you can significantly increase the range of your remote by depressing the transmitting end of the remote to your chin, opening your mouth in the direction of the vehicle, and operating the remote. It worked, no lie.
By the way, the answer to the question is leave it until it falls off of it’s own accord. Disgusting, but there’s a good chance of vision impairment in the concerned eye otherwise.
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| Pete offering Laura a lick of green ant butt |
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| A prominent plant in this rainforest, it accordions out to a full circle to absorb sunlight and retracts to survive in high winds. |
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| One of apparently numerous types of ginger plant species. |
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| Termite mound on a tree. When a mound becomes full, the termites grow wings and fly out of the mound like a geyser to form a new mound. Pete used to put his mouth over the hole during such an event for "a good meal" in Africa. |
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| Vine swing. |
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| Due to the shallowness of the soil in this rainforest, many trees root structures resemble this one. The Bama cut chunks out of the roots of this particular tree to make hunting boomerangs. |
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| Hanging out inside a fig tree. The tree grows around a host tree eventually consuming it. |
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| View up the "trunk" of a fig tree which has consumed it's host. |
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| No monkeys in this rainforest, or all of Australia for that matter, but a Tarzan vine inspired my inner monkey. |
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| Cassowary poo. There is a plum they consume 3 to 5 times before being done with it. Yeah, that means they eat portions of their own poo. |
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| Lace mushroom. This thing stinks! |
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| A cane toad. With only 102 introduced in 1930s to eradicate a grub, it became a pest as the population exploded with no predators. A 60 toad night wasn't out of the norm on the way home from a night out. After 70 years, crows have developed methods of consuming them without ingesting the toxin they excrete and populations are declining rapidly. |
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| A dip in a rainforest pool. |
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| Mangroves |
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| Rainforest coast. |
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| The cassowary we caught a glimpse of. They can move pretty fast, even the little dude. |
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| Laura opening the Land Rover outside the remotes normal range. |
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