Daintree Rainforest visit: what to see and book

Daintree rainforest visit plans work best when you settle three things early: how to cross the river, where to walk and how to stay safe around crocodiles. This guide covers all three.

Large numbers of day trippers visit from Cairns and Port Douglas, and the Daintree River crossing is 104 km north of Cairns on the Cook Highway.

Sources for this section: Wet Tropics Management Authority (WTMA), The Daintree Coast; Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service (QPWS), Cape Tribulation, Daintree National Park.

Why the Daintree is special

Daintree National Park is part of the Wet Tropics of Queensland World Heritage Area. UNESCO listed the Wet Tropics in 1988. The listed area covers 894,420 hectares and stretches along the north-east coast for about 450 km.

UNESCO says the area is made up largely of tropical rainforest. It says the area has a particularly wide and varied range of plants, as well as marsupials and singing birds, plus other rare and endangered animals and plants. The area meets all four natural criteria for World Heritage listing, says QPWS.

Daintree National Park is the traditional country of the Eastern Kuku Yalanji Aboriginal people, says the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service (QPWS). Pets are not allowed in the park.

Sources for this section: UNESCO, Wet Tropics of Queensland; QPWS, Cape Tribulation, Daintree National Park, and its nature, culture and history page.

Crossing the Daintree River

Driving up from Cairns, you cross the Daintree River on a ferry to reach Cape Tribulation. It runs from 6am to midnight every day except Christmas Day and Good Friday, with occasional breaks for repairs or extreme flooding.

The park is open 24 hours a day, but the ferry is not, so if you stay south of the river, plan to be back across before midnight. The Wet Tropics Management Authority (WTMA) suggests you stop at the ferry crossing to plan your day. It says you might find the end of the day a better time to stop at some visitor sites.

Past the ferry, a two-wheel-drive car can reach Cape Tribulation, though high clearance helps and caravans are not recommended. The road is narrow and winding, so keep left and watch for wildlife, especially cassowaries. The unsealed road north from Cape Tribulation to Bloomfield is suitable only for four-wheel-drive vehicles and may be closed after heavy rain.

Sources for this section: QPWS, Cape Tribulation, Daintree National Park; WTMA, The Daintree Coast.

Cape Tribulation and guided walks

QPWS says a visit to the Cape Tribulation section is a rare chance to experience two of Australia's most significant World Heritage sites. They are the Great Barrier Reef and the Wet Tropics.

QPWS lists four easy boardwalks. Marrdja and Dubuji are each a 1.2 km loop of about 45 minutes. Jindalba is a 650 m return walk of about 45 minutes. Kulki is a 600 m return walk of about 10 minutes, to a viewing platform over the ocean and beach. The WTMA gives different figures for Marrdja, Jindalba and Kulki, so treat distances as a guide.

QPWS says commercial tour operators run the guided walks in the Cape Tribulation section. The WTMA also lists local operators, some on privately owned rainforest, with small-group walks, night walks, a 6am bird walk and crocodile cruises. Ask what is included, how long the walk lasts and how many people join.

Some simple tips for walking:

• Bring sun protection and sturdy shoes, be ready for biting mosquitoes, sandflies and midges, and carry enough drinking water on longer walks.
• Take your rubbish with you, including food scraps. No bins are provided.
• Stay well away from cassowaries and never feed them. Attacks by these large birds can cause serious injury or death.

Sources for this section: QPWS, Cape Tribulation, Daintree National Park; WTMA, The Daintree Coast.

Crocodile safety

Estuarine crocodiles live in the waterways along the coast and offshore of Daintree National Park, and they are potentially dangerous. In Queensland they are known to occur between Gladstone and Cape York Peninsula. They are most commonly seen in tidal parts of rivers, but they also live in freshwater lagoons, rivers and swamps hundreds of kilometres inland from the coast. They can even be found along beaches and around offshore islands in the Great Barrier Reef.

A crocodile can swim just below the surface with only its eyes and nostrils showing, so you may not see one. Crocodiles may also be present where there is no warning sign.

Here are some key QPWS "croc wise" guidelines:

• Obey crocodile warning signs, and never swim where crocodiles may live, even if there is no sign.
• When fishing, stand a few metres back from the water's edge. Never stand on logs or branches that overhang the water.
• Never feed crocodiles. It is illegal and dangerous. Never clean fish or throw out fish scraps near the water's edge, around campsites or at boat ramps.
• Stay well back from crocodile slide marks. A crocodile may still be close by.
• Be more aware of crocodiles at night and in the breeding season, from September to April.

You must not bring a boat or vehicle within 10 metres of a wild estuarine crocodile unless you have a reasonable excuse. Commercial crocodile viewing tours are the exception, and they must follow a code for commercial crocodile viewing.

Sources for this section: QPWS, Crocodiles; QPWS, Crocodiles, Be croc wise; QPWS, Crocodiles, FAQs; QPWS, Cape Tribulation, Daintree National Park.

What to book and when

Book your stay ahead if your dates are fixed. The WTMA says QPWS provides limited camping at Noah Beach during the dry season, so check it is open for your dates. QPWS says camping permits are required, fees apply, and you can book online. It also lists hostels, resorts and holiday units near the park.

QPWS says the cooler, drier months from May to September are the best time to visit. The wet season runs from December to April, with heavy and frequent downpours and humidity often above 80 percent.

Fuel and supplies are available at Rainforest Village, 14 km from the ferry. The WTMA asks drivers to stay alert for animals that fly, hop, walk or crawl onto the road without warning. QPWS asks you to slow down in cassowary habitat.

Sources for this section: QPWS, Cape Tribulation, Daintree National Park; WTMA, The Northern Coast.

Sources

1. UNESCO World Heritage Centre, Wet Tropics of Queensland: archived page
2. Wet Tropics Management Authority (WTMA), Places and Drives, The Northern Coast: archived page
3. WTMA, Places and Drives, The Daintree Coast: archived page
4. Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service (QPWS), on the Environmental Protection Agency website, Cape Tribulation, Daintree National Park: archived page
5. QPWS, Cape Tribulation, Daintree National Park, Nature, culture and history: archived page
6. QPWS, Crocodiles: archived page
7. QPWS, Crocodiles, Be croc wise: archived page
8. QPWS, Crocodiles, FAQs: archived page