Daintree Rainforest National Park: Rainforest in Queensland

The Sydney Opera House, the Great Ocean Road and the huge red centre – these three spots symbolised the “fifth continent” for me before my first trip to Australia. I had no idea that the Daintree Rainforest, one of the oldest rainforests on our planet, is located in the tropical northern tip of Queensland. Another peculiarity of this region, which I do not know, is that two UNESCO World Heritage Sites meet here; the “Wet Tropics of Queensland” and the “Great Barrier Reef” in front of it. I was captivated by the Daintree Rainforest from the very first moment and was so enthusiastic that this was definitely not my last visit to Tropical North Queensland.

We explored the area between Port Douglas and Cape Tribulation for a total of four days by car. In this post I’ll show you my highlights around the Daintree National Park. At the end of this article, the fast reader will find the nine highlights summarized in a nutshell.

From Cairns to Cape Tribulation

The starting point for our detour to the Daintree Rainforest is Cairns. The city in the northeast of Australia is considered the “gateway” to the Great Barrier Reef. In addition, it offers a wealth of other exciting sights and experiences all around. We travelled to Cairns from the Whitsundays and the one-hour flight with Qantaslink from Hamilton Island to Cairns is one of the top 5 of my most beautiful scheduled flights. A window seat is definitely worth it on this route! The aircraft follows the course of the Great Barrier Reef, offering phenomenal views of the Coral Sea.

By Australian standards, the distance between Cairns and Cape Tribulation is ridiculously small. Just 140 kilometres of coastal road separate the two villages. Nevertheless, it is worth taking a leisurely approach to the trip, stopping at one or the other viewpoint and planning a stopover in Port Douglas.

One of the main attractions of the laid-back resort is the “Wildlife Habitat“. Visitors get an insight into the diversity of the region’s flora and fauna. The enclosure reflects the different climate zones of the region and is designed in such a way that we walk through these individual landscapes and thus come into direct contact with the animals (similar to a Masoala hall at Zurich Zoo). Here I see a tree kangaroo and a cassowary for the first time – the flightless giant bird is an important inhabitant of the Daintree rainforest as a “seed transporter”. Unfortunately, the cassowary’s population is severely endangered – fast-moving cars at dusk are its worst enemy. Will we see a free-roaming cassowary during our stay in the Daintree Rainforest?

Relaxation in Port Douglas

It’s a stone’s throw from the Wildlife Habitat to our accommodation. Port Douglas has some really great resort accommodations on offer, all of which are located in the immediate vicinity of the beach and thus exude real holiday flair. This includes the Pullman Port Douglas Sea Temple Resort & Spa, where we spend one night. My only criticism is the fact that I had to sign up for the Accorhotels membership program to use the free internet. With five stars, it’s kind of annoying… Well, yes. I don’t have much time to get angry about it. After a short refreshment stop in our hotel rooms, we continue directly to the port of Port Douglas. There, the “Sailaway” crew awaits us on board a catamaran for a stylish “Sunset Cruise”. We are accompanied by a pleasant sea breeze at 25° and bright sunshine; a typical winter’s day in Australia’s northeast.

With an Aboriginal man in Mossman Gorge

The next morning we drive to Mossman Gorge. This area is the traditional home of the indigenous Kuku Yalanji tribe. The starting point for exploring Mossman Gorge is the Mossman Gorge Centre. On signposted short circular trails, the rainforest can be explored on your own. If you want to learn more about the customs and traditions of the Kuku Yalanji, you should allow about two hours and take part in one of the guided “Nagadiku Dreamtime Walks”. Our guide Tom not only explains the individual plants to us on the circular route through the rainforest, but also demonstrates how they are used by the locals. For example, there are large white mushrooms that serve as signposts in the dark or green leaves that turn into soap. Exciting! I listen spellbound to Tom’s stories and find it wonderful that with these tours the knowledge of nature is preserved and all the legends are told.

Stopover at the Daintree Discovery Centre

We drive further north and after crossing the Daintree River, my smartphone clearly shows that we have now arrived in the “wilderness”. No signal. Well, yes. So I can relax and devote myself to nature here without constantly looking at my mobile phone (the diseases of civilization of the Internet generation). If you drive through here in the direction of Cape Tribulation, you should plan a stop at the Daintree Discovery Centre. And if I, as an anti-audio guide person, recommend the self-guided audio tour offered here, then it must be really good! The tour takes you through the site, which is divided into different sections, and offers tons of interestingly prepared background information about the ecosystem of the Daintree Rainforest. Something you shouldn’t miss is the detour to the viewing platform of the 23-meter-high Canopy Tower – here you have the most beautiful view over the rainforest’s shimmering canopy in all shades of green.

Magical encounters in the Daintree Rainforest

The starting point for our explorations around Cape Tribulation is the Heritage Lodge, located in the middle of the rainforest. The complex consists of a main building with a restaurant as well as individual cabins, which are beautifully integrated into the green of the rainforest. The main building is located right next to a “billabong” – an arm of the river through which more or less water flows depending on the season and rainfall. Around the Billabong there are beautiful forest paths that invite you to explore the area. Shortly before the onset of dusk, I follow one of these paths and stop irritated when I hear a noise in the thicket. “Who’s walking through the middle of the rainforest?” I ask myself, eyeing curiously at the approaching source of noise. What suddenly emerges from behind a bush makes me hold my breath for a millisecond – a cassowary! In the wild! We look at each other briefly until the noble bird decides due to my immobility that I do not pose any major danger to him and that he can relax and devote himself to further feeding. I wish everyone who visits the Daintree Rainforest such an intimate moment with this fascinating creature!

Three Rainforest Adventures

In addition to the Daintree Discovery Centre, there are other varied tours that bring you closer to the rainforest and its flora and fauna in different ways. These include the Jungle Surfing Canopy Tours, where you “dash” (where “jetting” is relative) on a zipline over the canopy of the rainforest. The facility with five zipline routes shows me the rainforest from a special perspective. If you have zipline experience, you may be dismayed to discover that three out of five rides are done in pairs and that the pace is “leisurely” with the exception of the last ride. The focus is effectively on the conscious rainforest experience and less on the speed adrenaline rush.

Tropical North Queensland – and thus the Daintree National Park – is also home to the largest species of crocodile that exists today, the groin crocodiles. These crocodiles feel most at home in areas where rivers flow into oceans. There are crocodile warning signs on all beaches and anyone who is on the beach should always exercise a little caution. If you take a 1 to 1.5 hour wildlife cruise on the Daintree River with the Daintree River Cruise Centre, you have a good chance of spotting one of these mighty reptiles. The boat guides are also on the lookout for other exciting inhabitants of this mangrove landscape on the tour – unfortunately, pythons and co. hide in the thicket on our tour.

The “Night Walk” is also recommended. The tour operator of these rainforest night walks is the same as for jungle surfing. Susanne – a lively Irish woman – leads us through the dark rainforest with such great enthusiasm that I can’t tear myself away from this real enthusiasm for all kinds of crawly stuff. In the bright light of our lamps, we discover various giant crab spiders, small frogs, mice and rats. If you’re lucky, you’ll also spot an opossum, a tree kangaroo or a python on this guided night walk. Since the Night Walk doesn’t start until 7:30 p.m., it’s worth stopping off at the Whet Café Bar and Restaurant beforehand. The focus of the family-run restaurant is on excellent raw products, which are skilfully processed into fine dishes. Owner Michelle Wenden then explains to us in detail that it is important to know where and how it was caught when it comes to “barramundi” (a fish that is on the menu in many restaurants in this area).

Where rainforest meets sea

On our last day in Cape Tribulation, the alarm clock pulls us out of our deep sleep in the early hours of the morning. Outside it is still pitch black as we make our way to the place where the Daintree rainforest meets the Coral Sea. Our local guide Tracy raved to us in advance about the wonderful sunrises here at Cape Tribulation. Accordingly, our expectations are high (and somehow getting up early is supposed to be worth it). But we are really lucky with the weather and are allowed to experience a fantastic sunrise at Cape Tribulation this morning. If I hadn’t taken this fascinating landscape to my heart for a long time, it would have happened at the latest in just one moment when the sun breaks through the clouds and makes the sea shimmer golden.

My 9 travel tips around the Daintree National Park

For the quick reader, I summarize the 9 travel tips around the Daintree National Park mentioned in this article briefly and crisply – without unnecessary prose:

• Get to know the local flora and fauna at the Wildlife Habitat near Port Douglas
• Enjoy the luxury of a sunset cruise
• Learn more about the traditions of the Kuku Yalanji people on the Nagadiku Dreamtime Walk
• Take a self-guided audio tour at the Daintree Discovery Centre
• Drive carefully and spot cassowaries
• Experience the rainforest from a different perspective on ziplines
• Look out for crocodiles on a boat tour on the Daintree River
• Be fascinated by spiders on a night walk
• Experience the sunrise at Cape Tribulation

I recommend you to rent a car for the trip to the tropical north of Queensland. This is the most flexible way to travel. The roads are well maintained up to Cape Tribulation. From Cape Tribulation further north, the roads are no longer paved throughout.

Note: I was invited to this research trip by Tourism and Events Queensland. Thank you very much for this. All impressions and opinions are, as always, mine.