David Whitley manages to ruin someone’s kayaking adventure on one of Australia’s most incredible beaches.

Strolling down the beach, we encounter a small group that has just returned from kayaking. They’re pointing at the water, and suddenly a turtle’s head pops up. We’re concentrating more on a long strip of rocks; one that appears to be moving. Soon enough, the turtles disappear and the 4ft long chain of rocks makes off down the coastline. “Do you reckon that’s a croc?” I ask the kayakers. They haven’t seen it, but worried looks start to spread over their face. It’s the look of someone who realises they may have just had a narrow escape.

Ah, my mistake. I’ve got that wrong. It’s the look of a kayaker who hasn’t just got out of the water, but is about to get in it, and has been told they may be sharing it with some prehistoric killing machines. A nervous debate with the instructor ensues, and we toddle off down the beach having clearly put an adventure to a possible early end.

It’s at this point that we start thinking that, yes, we’d prefer it if we were hallucinating too. It was just some rocks. Some rocks looking like they’re moving because of the way the almost indiscernable waves are breaking. After all, if crocs are happy nabbing turtles in the sea, they’re probably just as happy nabbing people on the beach whilst strolling out of the mangroves. Walking across the creek that empties into the sea is certainly an ‘interesting’ experience.

Still, the experience is part of what gives Cape Tribulation its edge. The beach is one of the most beautiful in the world, but it’s unmistakably wild. It backs straight on to the rainforest, while the two headlands at either side remind you just how close you are to the Great Dividing Range.

Cape Tribulation is more of an area than a focused destination. It spreads for a few kilometres along where the coast meets the World Heritage-listed Wet Tropics rainforest. In the last ten to twenty years, Cape Trib has become a bit of a favourite for both backpackers and daytrippers from Cairns and Port Douglas, although its first visitors didn’t particularly appreciate it.

Cape Tribulation was named when Captain Cook’s ship, the Endeavour, struck the Great Barrier Reef. It was something of a miracle that it survived, and the crew had to spend seven weeks ashore making repairs to the hull. Had the ship sunk, Australia’s history may have been rather different – this was the back end of the journey in which Cook ‘discovered’ the country.

Cape Trib is, however, one of those places that’s a little bit special. Sometimes the relative isolation can be true isolation – often during the wet season, the road in will flood and Cape Trib will be cut off from the rest of Australia. It’s the sort of place that you only live in if you really want to live there, and a rough-and-ready, hippyish ethic has emerged amongst the smattering of self-sufficient local residents.

The guesthouses at Cape Trib make no attempt to pretend it’s somewhere else. Most are surrounded by thick forest, and you’ll almost certainly have to walk past a few gigantic golden orb spiders, sat menacingly in their webs as you head towards your hut. Signs plead with guests not to feed monitor lizards, as they can become quite aggressive, while the birds provide a regular symphony to listen to. They should consider shutting up – the ‘rocks’ might get them.

By David Whitley