|
The Daintree Cape Tribulation Rainforest is a pristine
and ancient 16,965 hectare World Heritage Wonder. It is
a place of breathtaking beauty, with rugged mountain
ranges rising sharply behind the narrow coastal strip,
dense rainforest tumbling down the mountains to the
beaches, and a bewildering variety of flora. The
rainforest boasts species of fern that have been on
earth for 100 million years. Both the beautiful
flowering Idiospermum australiense and the Angiopteris,
the world’s largest fern, are plants of great antiquity.
A 30 minute drive north of Port Douglas, going through
the sugar cane town of Mossman takes you to a divide in
the road. Go left to Daintree Village or right to the
Daintree Ferry that crosses the river taking you to the
beginning of this World Heritage listed rainforest.
At Cape Tribulation the National Parks and Wildlife have
made life easy for visitors by providing a cement path
and boardwalk through the rainforest to the headland,
where a lookout point affords excellent views across the
bay. There are plenty of rainforest trails, with many of
the local operators offering walking tours. This is a
really worthwhile experience of a tropical rainforest,
and you’re never far from civilisation and creature
comforts.
There’s a variety of cruises down the Daintree which
allow visitors an opportunity to see crocodiles as well
as have a close inspection of the mangroves and the
rainforest edging the Daintree river.
|
