Day 287: Farewell to Botanical Ark + Gaia — A Rainforest 4×4 Ride Up the Coast — Lion’s Den Pub
[Internet continues to be bad, pics limited]
After a final stick-throwing sesh with Gaia, we had to say farewell to the Botanical Ark. Pulling the kids away from this adorable dog was hard. Usually Willa will shed a few tears at stuff like this, but we were a little surprised when we heard James too burst into legitimate sobs at having to leave Gaia. It was so sad.
We had a four-hour drive north ahead of us deeper into Far North Queensland (FNQ), home of dense rainforests and …not much else.
We decided to take the scenic route through the rainforest, stopping halfway at Cape Tribulation for lunch at small middle-of-nowhere cafe called Whet. It was actually really good.
The second half of the ride was on a dirt road through national park rainforest terrain. As the road grew narrower, rougher and more remote, we started wondering if we were going the right way….no cell signal out there, but our car GPS said we were on the correct route (and there weren’t turnoffs or other routes anywhere) …so we carried on.
At one point the road dead-ended into a river. We pulled over, with Teddy going, “We obviously took a wrong turn.” But I could see the road on the other side of the river and thought we needed to drive through the water.
Fortunately there were some French backpackers enjoying a cup of coffee outside their camper on some folding chairs by the water, and they confirmed that cars were indeed driving through the river.
So, we put our Rav 4 in “Trail” mode and…went for it. Excitement! We made it!
Eventually we made it Mungumby Lodge, a super random place we never in a million years would have thought to visit on our own (thanks Pedro!!).
The lodge has about 10 little cabins on stilts out here in the rainforest. No internet. It’s owned by Hamish and Isabella (she’s Swiss), who greeted us warmly when we arrived. They have two teenage kids who were raised here and work on the property.
Our little cabin has a queen bed and bunks for the kids…and not much else. Screen windows and a fan and a cute little porch. Clean and lovely and rustic and fun “glamping.”
This place was once a 19th century barracks for the miners who worked in the Lion’s Den tin mine nearby. This family bought it in the 80s and opened a lodge without running water, electricity or even a road leading up to it. In 2000 they fixed it up for wimpier travelers like the Sullivans.
For dinner we headed to the only other establishment for miles: The infamous Lion’s Den Pub, a spot that opened in the 1880s for miners.
This place looks fake. Like a movie set for some outback watering hole. Wooden shack with blue collar uniforms and trucker hats hanging from the ceiling, graffiti and Sharpie messages all over the walls, a billiards table, dart board, regulars in un-ironic cowboy hats and bandanas.
The kind of place where the jukebox scratches to a stop when people like Margaret and Teddy Sullivan walk in.
We ordered pints of beer at the bar and had a nice quick chat with a local in a hat before heading out to the deck, which looked out over a simple playground.
The pub also has cabins for backpackers and holiday’ing families, so there were some other kids out there playing.
Willa and James made friends with a pack of them and they played barefoot for about 1.5 hours — hide and seek, climbing trees, etc. It was great.
At one point we heard a strong Aussie accent over our shoulder say, “You all aren’t from around here, are ya?” It came from a leathery-faced biker looking dude standing over our seats.
“H-how can you tell?” I asked with a nerdy, nervous laugh.
He broke into a huge grin and goes, “Well then you never woulda seen one of these before would you?” and pulled out a huge, strange-looking pink flower (not a Crocodile Dundee knoyfe).
Went on to explain that it grows on this tree over here blah blah and doesn’t it smell wonderful?
It did indeed.
Hahahahaha — like a scene out of a movie. Such a sweet guy just trying to break the ice for a few outsiders and make them feel welcome. It was great.
Also great: Around 6 pm, a bull cow sauntered over to the playground and stared at the kids. They were all play-screaming and racing to the top of the playground to get away from it. But the bull wasn’t interested in the kids.
He moseyed past them over to a nearby mango tree and started eating all the dropped green mangoes on the ground. Occasionally one would thud to the ground and he’d trot over to get it.
We learned from a local that he’s there every night at the same time to eat the mangoes. That might be the cutest thing we’ve ever heard. A total Ferdinand character.
Another notable thing about this place: one of the bartenders was an American from Florida!! Teddy chatted with her when ordering the food and got her story. Post-college bartending gig landed her here. She was warned that this part of Australia was extremely hot, infested with crocodiles and home mostly to rednecks. She was like, um, I’m from Florida, I’ll be fine. She said that it was indeed quite similar.
(Her presence reminded us of another totally random American we met this year: A teenager — also from Florida! — who was working the snack stand at a random Santiago, Chile skate park. How did you end up here?!)
Eventually our pizza was ready and we went inside to eat it and watch the end of the Australia – England Rugby World Cup game. Australia lost.
We said bye to our friends and promised to return the next day. We love the Lion’s Den Pub!
MISC:
Overheard James in the backseat talking about the boy puppet named “Tokyo.” Realized he was referring to Pinocchio.
