With the world's oldest
rainforest,
very lush indeed, it's on many people's bucket list.
Pristine and in far north Queensland, but don't expect it untouched.
The area may be remote but is quite
heavily commercialised, making it very different from the
Cape York peninsula.
It is also a lot wetter, located
in the 'Wet Tropics', unlike the northern rainforests on
the peninsula.
It is located
just south of
the peninsula in the area between Cairns and Cooktown
(even more correctly between Mossman and Wujal Wujal), and the area is
actually quite vaguely defined.
Not nearly all is covered
in national park, there is also the village and some
farms.
Daintree
National Park The
National Park has two
different sections - the southern - Mossman Gorge area being a lot less
remote, and the northern, Cape Tribulation section being the more
remote one tucked between the Daintree river in the south and
Bloomefield Road and Bloomfield River in the north.
Daintree
Rainforest
Daintree rainforest is the most famous tropical rainforest in
Australia. It is very beautiful and lush, and it contains a lot of
different plant and animal species. But the most special thing is that
it is the
oldest rainforest
in the world. If you take the coastal way you will at least drive
through it.
Daintree
Village
Daintree Village is
a cute little township with a few shops, food outlets and a grocery
shop, and a few places to stay. Most famously for the adventurous Cape
York travellers, just north of the village is the start of
the fun and adventurous CREB
Track.
Daintree
River Daintree
River you
cross on a ferry (unless you do the CREB Track).
The river is
one of the best places in Australia to see crocodiles
in the
wild.
There are many river tours so if you didn't spot a crocodile up on the
peninsula this is where you can take a crocodile tour.
Daintree
Accommodation Daintree
Village accommodation is mostly lodges and bed and breakfast,
but there
are a lot of lodges, resorts, hotels, motels, backpacker hostels, beach
houses, bed and
breakfast accommodation and even a farmstay amongst Cape Tribulation
accommodation.
Daintree
River
Daintree River starts
up in the hills not far from Bloomfield and for a big part forms the
border of Daintree
National Park and Timber Reserve. It's the
river you cross on
CREB Track, and later as is
passes through
Daintree Village it widens before coming out just south of the area of
Cape Tribulation.
A good
way to discover it is
by boat, and if you don't have one, there
are plenty of tour
operators
to take you around.
There is
some Daintree
rainforest wildlife to see,
There is no bridge across Daintree
river so crossing along the main way
it still means catching a ferry.
Daintree River Ferry is the
only way to get across Daintree River at
this spot.
That's on the coastal road
and not the CREB Track where you drive
through it.
The crossing
is about 50km north of Port
Douglas, and north of the river is the Cape Tribulation
section of
Daintree rainforests.
If you continue the coastal
road up from there you come via Bloomfield
Road
and
Rossville - Bloomfield
Road
to Cooktown.
Daintree River Facts
*
The 140km long Daintree river runs through thick tropical rainforest
and is surrounded by features like Daintree Range, Thorton Peak and
Black Mountain.
* Closer to the coast it runs through mangrove habitat while farther
away from the coast it turns into a freshwater river.
* Its mouth is in Coral Sea, just north of Daintree village and south
of Cape Tribulation - about 100km north of Cairns.
*
At its mouth is a sandbar that does not only change with every Wet
season but every tide - making the entrance very hard for any ships.
* Captain Cook missed the river so it was discovered 100 years later
during the days of gold rush.
*
The Queensland Gold commissioner Dalrymple who discovered it named the
river and the area after Richard Daintree, a geologist.
* With so much rainforest it is obvious that the area gets a lot of
rain, which is when Daintree River can quickly flood.
* The Kuku Yulanji
Aboriginal people are
believed to have lived on the banks od Daintree river for about nine
thousand years.
* The animals that live in or near the river include the deadly saltwater
crocodiles.
* There is an endemic possum restricted to the upper reaches of this
river -
the Cinereus ringtail
possum Pseudochirulus
cinereus.
*
The plants of the rainforest are many, but an endemic one to the areas
near this river is an ancient she-oak from the time of Gondwana
continent.
Daintree
Rainforest Tours
There are
many different Daintree tours.
They
often go
to Mossman
Gorge
and Cape
Tribulation,
and often include a crocodile spotting cruise on Daintree River.
Some include four wheel
drives,
others guided rainforest
walks, and some also take you to Daintree Discovery Centre
and the Rainforest
Habiat Wildlife Sanctuary.
Some tours are run by local
Aboriginal guides and
include learning a bit of Aboriginal culture and trying bush tucker. The full list of all
Daintree tours with full details, prices and contact information
is in the Destination
Guide.
Daintree Rainforest Map
First,
there
is a HEMA map
that covers the area, and in the end of the page there is an
interactive Google map.
There are
a few boardwalks
in this
section, which take you through some rainforest,
as well as mangrove
habitat.
But first, the HEMA map:
It is a great map that covers not only Daintree but the whole area
between Cairns and
Cooktown.
Daintree is a large part
of it in the
middle.
The map is very detailed
and also has the local tourist information and
photos.
It is a great map
that I use myself and always recommend.
HEMA maps
are the best maps you can get.
Daintree
Village
Daintree
Village is a small rainforest village south of Daintree River.
Like many
other rainforest villages, it
is
often rainy. It is a nice little community
with a grocery
shop and a restaurant,
.. a
tourist
information centre, a Timber Gallery,
a Community Hall, and ..
.. a few
different accommodation
and tour
operators (including some
popular crocodile
spotting cruises).
There are
about four streets all together; and fuel is
available.
Not far
is Daintree
River Ferry that takes you to Cape Tribulation.
This is also where the famous CREB
Track
starts.
Daintree
Accommodation
Many
of the places are bed and
breakfast accommodation, others are luxury lodges and spas.
The places on this page
are in or around Daintree Village (except the last one
which is near Mossman), you may also want to have a look atCape
Tribulation
Accommodation.
Daintree
Eco Lodge and Spa
Daintree Eco Lodge
and Spa is just
outside Daintree
Village.
It has villas with mini bars, tea and
coffee makers,
satellite TVs, inhouse movies, CD players and screened bathrooms
scattered through the rainforest.
There is a small lobby, an on site
restaurant, a spa, a sundeck and an undercover swimming pool.
Daintree
Escape B & B
Daintree Escape B & B is located centrally in
Daintree
Village.
It has private bungalows with timber floors, TVs, CD
and DVD
players, and coffee and tea making facilities.
In the tropical gardens
there is a swimming pool and a poolside bar and lounge.
Daintree
Valley Haven
Daintree Valley Haven is 8km south of Daintree
Village.
Bungalows on a 30 acre property with tropical gardens, BBQs, jacuzzi
and
walking tracks.
Cabins have queen sized beds, kitchen facilities, insect screens and verandas overlooking a
wetlands dam.
Daintree
Riverview
Lodge
This lodge is located next to the river in Daintree
Village.
It has
self contained cabins with an extensive deck, and tea and coffee making
facilities. There are also camping grounds with unpowered and powered
(on request) sites, BBQs, picnic tables and shower and toilet
amenities.
Red
Mill House
This is a great bed and breakfast place to stay and it is
located in the main
street in Daintree
Village.
There is one two-bedroom family unit, two
double rooms and two twin rooms. Great large balconies with dining area
and a nice swimming pool.
It gets excellent reviews, and lots of them.
Silky
Oaks Lodge
Silky Oaks Lodge
is just 2km north
of Mossman.
It is a luxury retreat with an
outdoors swimming pool, spa, massage, beauty centre, tennis courts,
golf course, fitness room, a bar and a restaurant.
Rooms have mini
bars, coffee and tea making facilities, TVs, CD players, in-house
movies, direct dial phones and room service.
Silky
Oaks Lodge -
Daintree Rainforest Area
Silky
Oaks Lodge is north of Mossman.
There is
a
sign showing where
to turn in near the turnoff to Newell
Beach. You turn
west - not to the
beach but the rainforest side of the
road, and the lodge is deep in some very beautiful and lush tropical
rainforest.
It consists of 50 beautiful and private Tree Houses and River Houses
with spa baths and large balconies with rainforest views.
The rooms
have mini bars, fridges and tea and coffee making facilities as well as
CD players, TVs and in-room movies.
In the complex there is
a swimming pool, a massage and beauty centre, a golf course,
tennis courts, a fitness room and a bar and the Treehouse
Restaurant with some beautiful views over Mossman River.
Other facilities and
services include 24 hour reception, room service,
laundry service, direct dial phone, internet, safe deposit boxes and
currency exchange.
There is also a tour desk that helps you discover
the area.
Get
this 50 pages
guide totally for FREE.
It
contains information that helps you getting started with planning of your trip.
You get to make early-stages desicions such as when to go, how long time you
should take, how to get
there and get
around, where
to stay (general info), what
will it cost..
and a short insight to what is there to see and do in Cape York.
This complete 300 pages
travel guide is all you need before and during your trip. Besides the
background chapters on the peninsula's history and wildlife; and the comprehensive detail about all
the places (down to prices, opening hours and full contact
detail), it has invaluable information on at least 10 four wheel drive tracks,
at least 30 guaranteed FREE
camping spots on the Cape (and at least 150 on your way to
the Cape), at least 40 best
swimming holes, all mapped; as well as practical things -
from fuel, roads, wireless internet and mobile phone reception,
how to deal with the national
parks booking rules; and Aboriginal land entrance and camping permits
and alcohol restrictions - to vehicle preparation and accessories and necessary recovery
gear by my vehicle-recovery-guy partner).
Not to mention locals'
tips on how to spot that croc and palm cockatoo ;-)
If
you liked the books or
this website, let others know about it!
Link to it from your website, your blog, your forum post... Share it on Facebook, Tweet
about it...
Every link helps other travellers!
Thank you for doing the
right thing and letting others know :-)
This site uses British
English, which is the English we use in
Australia.
Disclaimer:
Although
best efforts have been made to ensure that all the information on this
website is correct, this site is not to be blamed should there be a
mistake.
This is the ORIGINAL Cape York Travel Guide run Locally on the Peninsula.