My very first road trip was when I was 19, with my friend Zandy in a Mazda 323. We headed up the coast [from Melbourne] with an aim to get to Cape Tribulation, which became our ‘never-neverland’ for the whole trip. I vividly remember waiting for the Daintree Ferry when we were almost there – it was winter and the sun was just setting – it was magic.
After we got off the ferry, we drove the last hour or so to Cape Trib in the dark and I remember thinking, even then, that it was the most isolated place I’d ever been. The landscape was so different and I couldn’t get my head around the fact that there were actually man-eating animals right outside.
Every night we were there, we had a ritual where we’d pretend we were little old ladies and we’d sit in our beach chairs, crack open a can of oysters and drink cask wine in plastic cups. We’d often sit there like that for hours, talking like old women.
The beauty of the place struck me immediately. There is rainforest right to the edge of the beaches, and all sorts of wildlife everywhere. We felt like we were in prehistoric times with wild boars running through the bush, and everything being so remote. For a Victorian, it really was very foreign; if we see a red-back spider, it’s pretty cutting edge down here. It was the most confronted I’d ever felt by nature and I’ll never forget that wonderful feeling of isolation.
Even while I was there, I was looking forward to the day when I could come back. I did manage to return with a friend a couple of years later, but haven’t made it back since then. I want to, though.
The Daintree rainforest, which stretches right to the shore and is thick with wildlife. I was totally amazed by it.
The people were wonderful. We met a great group of other backpackers and locals. There was a lot of entertainment that came from that.
The fact it was so different to anywhere else in Australia, and indeed the world, that I’d ever been. It was so foreign.