Vitamin Rhi! Day 5&6

Today, I was up for a little bit of pampering.

By 10am we were all packed up and after bidding a fond farewell to Mantra apartments we started the drive to the Daintree Eco Lodge and Spa. We wound our way through sugercane fields and thick, intertwining trees and ferns. A tapestry in all shades of green.

We found the lodge tucked into a corner of the Daintree Rainforest, and it was breathtaking. An oasis of calm and tranquility, you could see instantly that the treehouses worked to fit in with the surroundings. With only 15 treehouses, you were guaranteed privacy and hey, Oprah stayed here. It had to be good!

We were greeted warmly by the owner and given the philosophy and background of the lodge. The Eco Lodge is completely inspired by and entrenched in Aboriginal culture, and you can find it infused in the artworks, food and spa treatments.

And speaking of spa treatments... of my LORD they were good. After settling into our gorgeous little tree house, I changed into a robe and headed over to the spa to indulge in a facial and massage. I was so blissed out, at one stage I almost fell asleep and had to will myself to keep awake. Hearing the natural surroundings of the rainforest was so special, and the sound of the rain pattering down gently was incredibly soothing.

After my treatments, I spent quite a bit of the afternoon relaxing on the balcony with a book. Deon started to get itchy feet and so we decided to check out the place, and came across a path that took us all the way to a waterfall.

We decided that night to stay in for dinner, and followed the lights along the boarwalks to make our way to the Julaymba Restaurant. Let me just say now, I could have eaten three of the light damper loaves with bush tomato butter, dukkah and macadamia oil. Absolutely delicious.

We fell asleep to the sounds of the bush turkeys and other various nocturnal animals, and awoke early to head out to Cape Tribulation for our Jungle Surfing adventure.

The drive to Cape Tribulation was all sorts of awesome. Although it took awhile, it was incredibly entertaining. We crossed the river on the ferry, then wound our way through the Daintree Village. When I saw the Ice Cream factory, I knew in a heartbeat that I would be stopping there on the way back!

When we arrived at the Snake House in Cape Tribulation, we had some time to kill so we spent an hour wandering through the boardwalks of the Daintree Rainforest. We ran out of time to visit Coconut Beach then, but I knew I wanted to go there after the surfing.

Ok. Now to the Surfing!

Two words. Awesomely Exhilarating. 

A bus charted us up to the top of the canopy, and after being fitted in harnesses and helmets we took a quick hike to the first station. (I was quite happy being Snow White, but I think Deon was a little put out about the choice of Bambi for him. I saw him looking longingly at Wolverine).

After being winched up, we then surfed down in four stages. The first was in tandem, then solo, then quicker, and then my absolute favourite: Upside down. I loved it! 

The guides were super fun- very knowledgable and witty, but still professional and safety conscious the whole time. If you're ever up North Queensland, this is a must do!

After the surfing I was still buzzing from it, so we took a quick walk to Coconut Beach (to where the ocean meets the rainforest) and I kept a lookout for crocodiles. Hey, you never know, right?

On the way back to the lodge I made Deon pull into the Daintree Ice Cream Company where I sampled four of the flavours made that day: Jackfruit, Soursop, Mango and Wattlefruit. Yes. Exotic. But freaking good.

I could have easily sat there and sampled for the rest of the afternoon, but it was time to go. We made the decision to head back to Finz in Port Douglas for tea as it was so damn good the last time, and the seafood paella definitely didn't disappoint us. Scallops, mussels, morton bay bugs, prawns, chicken, chorizo and rice in a huuuge paella pan that was so big that both of us couldn't finish it. 10 out of 10 Finz! 

 Tomorrow, Day 7&8.