The Daintree Forest

Today was our last day of expeditions. We headed out this morning for the Daintree forest, the oldest Rainforest in the world. This rainforest holds the 12 of the oldest unchanged plants in the world, and is home to many species of plants and animals that are only found there. It is amazing just how unique Australia is.
We took a 2.5 hour bus drive through winding coastal roads, across a fairy and into roads less traveled. We arrived at a Tour center at the rainforest, where we were greeted with very knowledgeable tour guides. They took us through the lower portion of the rainforest, and up into the upper canopy via a large tower. We looked around an information center, and learned a great deal about the rainforest and its inhabitants.

After leaving the rainforest, we stopped just a few miles down the road for lunch and play time on the beach. Some sat and talked; others soaked in the sun or played with coconuts. Myself and some of the other boys played an amazing game of ultimate frisbee on the beach. We had fun despite destroying the soles of our feet on the
compact beach sand .

We headed back towards Cairns listening to a commentary on our surroundings from one of our bus drivers. Among a few stops to stretch our legs was another swimming location where we got to swim in some small rapids. By this point, we were so exhausted and ready to get home. I think the fact that it was not until day 9 of the 10 day trip that we grew a little weary, gives testimony to just how great of a trip this has been. We are tired, but not of the trip or the scenery.

We topped the night off with a great dinner (probably the best of the trip), and we are now back to our rooms to do a little laundry, and get ready for our departure tomorrow. We will be leaving around 8 AM our time, and will do a little (ha-ha) traveling before arriving back at DFW around 11:45 PM on the same day somehow??? I am sure crossing that date line again is really going to make adjusting to home time so much fun! Be ready to be patient with us!

Well I am going to upload a few more pictures. We have not had great opportunities to get all the different pictures from the kids; however, we still have some good snapshots of our trip. Your kids took tons of pictures, and I am sure you will be thrilled to see all of them when the return.

We love and miss you guys.

Until Next time…