An untouched infinity pool in the Daintree Rainforest

by Kayla Hussey (United States of America)

A leap into the unknown Australia

Did I, a city dwelling American, ever think I’d find myself traveling the dense northern Australian rainforest with some I had met just mere hours ago? Of course not! But I challenged myself in this once in a lifetime moment. A shy, but friendly Kuranda railway worker said there was a spot in the rainforest with a natural made infinity pool, untouched by tourists and hey, would I like to see it? And the rest is history, beautiful, authentic, travel history. We drove in his massive stick shift truck, farther and farther away from the town center. We were racing against daylight, as the railway worker had just gotten off work. We finally got to an unmarked spot on the road and a faint trail opening. The ground was wet and muddy. The sky was just starting to get that dusky appearance. The trail was very difficult to make out, as a result of the railway worker and his friends walking it from time to time to escape the world after a difficult work week. If you’ve never been to Australia or a rainforest, it is a unique, incomparable setting. It is so dense with vegetation that you cannot see far in front of you. The interesting plant life often comes barbed or spiked, adapting in an evolutionary way to the hostile environment. The railway worker pointed out all the barbed plants around me to make sure I didn’t become the victim of one. And there are insects and spiders everywhere, which he loved to point out to see the horror on my face. It was just a fifteen minute walk through the dense rainforest before we got to our destination. And he was right, it was a gorgeous, untouched remote site, and all to ourselves. Myself and all avid travelers search for this moment on every trip. The off the beaten path adventure you got to go on because you met the right local at the right time. The authenticity in a new culture that we desperately crave. The experience you know that no other tourist will share with you. The story only you get to tell. The spot only you get to know. When I saw the natural infinity pool, I felt my eyes welling up with tears. The sound of the water gushing from above into the pool, stirring the otherwise calm waters below. The look of the dense rainforest anywhere I turned, opening up to this natural paradise. The sky changing to dark up above. I descended into the water, being careful with all the giant rocks below me. The water was take-your-breath-away chilly, but welcoming with the constant muggy and suffocating northern Australia rainforest temperature. We floated, a lot of the time in silence, and in awe. As the sky turned dark the stars became a brilliant white that can only be seen far away from civilization. After the sun set, the sugar gliders came out. While the railway worker saw and pointed out every glider that would fly over top us, my untrained eye was only able to see a few. I wanted to stay forever. I wanted to forget everything else on the trip. I wanted to live in the rainforest. The experience was so important to me because it triggered extreme presence of mind and awakening of the senses. I remember every feeling, every smell, every emotion, everything I saw that night. And I will forever. I am still the girl waiting in line for the “must see” spots on the trip. I’m the one getting tickets to a popular event months in advance. But those memories fade, they become just another check off the list of my international travel. They aren’t like this moment. Where I feel present in every moment. I remember every little drop of sweat, every break in a branch, the exact chill of the water, the sensation the gliders gave me flying above, the apprehension to walk into the forest at dark, the relief and joy of seeing the pool, the lasting euphoria after. And these little moments are the ones that make traveling the most rewarding experience in the world.