A Visit to Tomorrow: Day 4: Daintree Rainforest and Cape Tribulation

Our final day in Oz lead us off the beaten path. We ventured north to Daintree Rainforest and Cape Tribulation. The farther north you go, the farther you feel you are from civilization. To get there, you cross a river via ferry. Go another 25 miles and the road becomes restricted to 4WD, with rainforest surrounding you. We took a few short walks in the rainforest and out to the scenic spots where the rainforest meets the beach.

The highlight of our day was a stop at an exotic fruit farm. This was a unique experience. An older couple staked out their spot in Cape Tribulation as their paradise away from civilization and started an exotic fruit farm and bed and breakfast. They scoured the world for little known fruits that could grow in a tropical climate and brought their seeds to their rainforest home. Here is the list of odd fruits we sampled:

West Indian Lime, Breadfruit, Jackfruit, Pommelo, Black Mulberry, Yellow Sapote, Solo Papaya, Davidson Plum, Star Apple, Soursop. Some of these names are a bit deceiving. The Davison Plum tasted nothing like a normal plum, it’s extremely sour. The breadfruit was super starchy, like a potato. The two best in my opinion were the Jackfruit and the Soursop. The Jackfruit is native to Southeast Asia and is apparently the national fruit of Bangladesh. It’s got a sweet banana type taste but more juicey with a slimy texture. The Soursop is native to Central and South America. This one has a little bit of a slimy texture as well, but a creamy, citrusy, sweet taste. I’m sure these fruits are probably not coming to a store near you soon….but if you get the chance, try the Jackfruit and Soursop.

From left to right clockwise in the bowl: Mulberry, Yellow Sapote, Soursop, Pommelo, Solo Papaya, Star Apple (purple one), Star Apple (middle green one), Davidson Plum and West Indian Lime. The Jackfruit is at the top of the picture outside of the bowl with its stem showing.