Daintree Rainforest
Named after Australia's pioneering geologist and photographer, Richard Daintree, the Daintree Rainforest was listed as a World Heritage site in 1988 and is protected by the Daintree National Park. Estimated at being over one hundred and thirty five million years old, the Daintree rainforest is home to some of the most primitive plants in the world. Amongst the tropical surroundings of the Daintree Rainforest live at least 430 species of birds, 13 of which are endemic, and unique animals including the endangered Southern Cassowary, the White Lipped Frog, Boyd's Forest Dragon, and the native Australian Platypus. The Daintree Rainforest is a living breathing museum of flora and fauna that we need to continue to protect and preserve for millions of years to come. View all the Daintree rainforest tours and attractions here.
Daintree Rainforest Tours - Visitor Information
The Daintree rainforest and Cape Tribulation are home to 26% of Australia's frogs, 17% or its reptiles, 58% of its butterflies, 30% of Marsupial species and 48% of its birds
Daintree River Boat Cruises
A boat cruise along the scenic Daintree River is a perfect way to view some of the regions unique flora and fauna. The Daintree River twists and turns for roughly 140 kilometers through the Daintree Rainforest. Its banks are lined with thick rainforest vegetations and you can see schools of fish playfully swimming alongside the boat as it cuts through the peaceful waters.
There are many tour operators that offer cruises along the Daintree River and as you glide past the mangroves on the calm waters guides will point out and give you information on the tropical surroundings and their unique inhabitants like the ferocious salt water Crocodile.
Daintree Village
Walking down the main road of the quaint Daintree Village is like taking a step back in time. Not much has changed since the town was built at the turn of the century to serve as a base for Red Cedar loggers. Today the town exudes an old world charm and plays host to visitors from around the world who come to enjoy the World Heritage listed Daintree Rainforest and Great Barrier Reef.
The small town has a population of roughly 100 people, many of whom are descendants of those who first lived in Daintree Village. While logging fueled the local economy for many years, dairy farmers built a butter factory in 1924 and today the primary industries of the Daintree Village are tourism, tropical fruit farming and beef-cattle.
Daintree Village is home to some quaint eateries, and knick knack shops, and the renowned Daintree Timber Museum and Gallery. The museum has many tools once used by the original loggers and features a woodwork store where you can purchase one off hand crafted pieces of kitchen and ornamental items made from locally grown timbers.
The Daintree River flows past the village and is home to many estuarine Crocodiles so swimming here is not an option. The Daintree Village region is a world-renowned birdwatcher's paradise and there are several specialist guides to show you around. More than half of the continent's bird species have been recorded here. Eight out of ten Kingfisher species can be spotted in and around the Daintree at various times of the year.
As all avid birdwatcher and photographers know the mornings are the best time to spot the wildlife waking up. Getting up early can be very rewarding for birdwatchers with sightings of the endangered Southern Cassowary foraging around, the Victoria's Riflebird, the beautifully coloured Wompoo Pigeon, Brush-turkeys and Scrub fowl who are always about just to name a few.
Daintree Discovery Centre
The Daintree Discovery Centre is a place where visitors can learn about many interesting facets of the Daintree Rainforest. The state of the art facility offers both self guided and guided tours along the rainforest boardwalks, and has some stunning views of the rainforest canopy from their 23 meter high viewing tower across to McLean's Creek which is also suitable for wheelchairs and prams.
The interpretive display centre shows a variety of interactive technology covering climate change, ecology, flora and fauna and is a great place for kids to visit and learn from for school projects. There is a small theatre offering a choice of films on Cassowaries, Crocodiles, conservation of the rainforest and more.
Did you know?
The Kuranda Rainforest is approximately 60,000 years old, the Amazon Rainforest which is sadly being destroyed is approximately 7 million years old and our Daintree Rainforest is more than 110 millions years old.
How do we know that? The Daintree Discovery Centre told us so.
Daintree River Ferry
There is only way to cross the Daintree river and that is on the Daintree ferry or barge as the locals call it. So as you can imagine there are ques of buses, cars and four wheel drives all wanting to go across at the same time. Our little tip for you is to time your crossing outside the peak hours which are 11 am to 12.30 pm for north bound traffic and 3pm to 6pm for south bound traffic
As your last point of interest in the Daintree Rainforest make sure you have time to call into the Daintree Ice-cream Company and the Floravilla Bio-Dynamic Ice-cream factory for some beautiful home made tropical fruit ice cream. Floravilla is open from 8 am till 5.30pm and the Daintree Ice-cream Company is open 11am to 5 pm and both ice-cream establishments are located on the Cape Tribulation Road near the Cow Bay turnoff.
Or if you are looking for a strong cup of coffee then call into the Daintree Coffee Company which is also on the Cape Tribulation Road and have some afternoon tea.
If a day in the Daintree Rainforest is not enough then you can choose to stay in a quaint bed and breakfast, beachfront hotel, hostel, treehouse Accommodation or a Spa resort .
There are a lot of day and night time touring activities so you can stay in a hotel or resort for a week and still not see it all
