The Daintree Rainforest (Australia Diaries)
- Lize Gibson-Hall
- Feb 12
- 5 min read
Port Douglas to Cape Tribulation
Highlights
The Daintree Rainforest, located in Far North Queensland, Australia, is on the bucket list of many. Having lived in the city of Cairns (2 hours south) for a few months during wet season, I can definitely see how such a rainforest can still thrive with green leaves and wildlife. Never before have I seen rain and thunderstorms quite so intense and sudden.
On two separate occasions, I was fortunate enough to band a group of friends together and hire a car for our journeys with Cairns CBD being ideal location for car hires at very reasonable prices.
Port Douglas
As it was a Sunday, we decided to swing by the cute seaside town of Port Douglas for their weekly market on the drive up. Parking turned out to be a little tricky, but we luckily snuck into a space in the neighbouring car park and were pleasantly surprised by the number of stalls available. There was a generous mixture of gift stalls and food stalls selling everything from fresh bread to tropical smoothies.
The town itself is nice to wander around and the seafront boasts wonderful views of the coast and mountains. There is a small pier where you can usually find some recreational fishing as well as the famous St Mary’s By the Sea Church with an incredibly poised window view and nautical stained glass.
Driving tips: The roads are notorious for long roadworks so make sure you factor this into your journey time. You will need to cross a very short ferry which costs around $40 return and you can find ending times of this service here. Luckily, the journey is okay to drive with a standard 2-wheel drive but make sure you check any road statuses and flooding prior to your journey.
Daintree River Cruise
Coming to Australia, I was hoping to see a gnarly crocodile in the wild. However, given the 35°C+ heat, a little river cruise on the water sounded wonderful crocs or not. Our tour guide was fantastic and knowledgeable, made even more authentic with a thick Aussie accent.
We had barely turned the corner around a slightly precarious sandbank when we spotted our first croc ... well a little baby one. Our tour guide assured us that this little croc, barely as long as my arm, could still take one of our thumbs off! It was customary for the local crocs to have names as most are identifiable. However, the little crocs are only named once they reach a good enough size and are likely to survive, need I say more. This little croc had yet to receive a name but a member of our crew was quick to shout the name ‘Marsbar’ which seemed to stick.
Moving on from Marsbar, everyone kept their eyes fixed on the banks looking for Bruce who's usual hiding spot was near there. However, I suddenly became more distracted by the hundreds of flying fox bats casually chilling in all the trees above us. Never before had a I seen so many bats hanging around in my vicinity and I was in complete awe. Surprisingly, it is quite hard to focus a pair of binoculars on a huge bat in a tree when you are on a moving boat, make note.
To our surprise, we stumbled across both Bruce and Scooter on the remainder of our cruise. They seemed completely uninterested in our presence but we were definitely glad to not have any engine mishaps along the way. Our final croc was another baby who we had to name ‘Snickers’ to continue the theme.
Again, crocs or not the cruise itself was a fantastic experience to explore the river and surrounding vegetation. You can find out more and book here - and note this is definitely not sponsored.
Boardwalks
You know you have hit the rainforest from both the welcoming sign and the fact that the speed limit drops to 40km/h as you start navigating some incredibly winding roads. If you have any members of your party prone to motion sickness please stick them in the front.
We decided to not visit the discovery centre on this particular trip and made our way straight for the boardwalks. Both of the walks below are flat and only take around 30-40 minutes to walk making them accessible to many (I completed both in my trusted pair of crocs) and even have restroom facilities if you don’t mind braving your bathroom time with mosquitoes and the occasional spider.
Dubuji Boardwalk
Closest to Cape Tribulation, this boardwalk takes you through the rainforest and out onto the beach again. There are information boards dotted around to tell you about the local fauna and flora and I would definitely recommend taking the slightly longer 1km route, trust me its probably the easiest and most interesting 1km you have ever walked.
Madja Boardwalk
This boardwalk was my particular favourite as you really feel like you are in the midst of the rainforest. Looking down across either side of the path, the floor is littered with tree roots and mud crab holes. Much of the wildlife is only seen once you take the time to be still as this is when you will see the floor come to life with mud crabs scurrying around and mudskipper fish moving from land to water.
It was on our second trip here that we encountered my Australian highlight to date. During our drive up, a member of our party shouted excitedly from the backsteat that they had seen the infamous and aloof Cassowary amongst the trees. Not quite believing him, we circled back in the car and kept our eyes locked, but to no avail.
Having joked the rest of the trip that he had made this sighting up, we could not believe ourselves when we turned the corner on the boardwalk and were met by not only a huge Cassowary in the distance, but also its baby! Cassowaries are a very aggressive, flightless bird if bothered but lucky for us we were aware of this before our journey began and we had a somewhat tall fence in front of us. Keeping as quiet and still as we could we watched the pair for a while as they foraged around the riverbank. It was only once it appeared to start growling at us that we carefully continued are way rather hastily along the path.
Cape Tribulation
The end point of our journey, before we made the arduous drive back, is Cape Trib where the rainforest meets the Great Barrier Reef. This stretch of sand was truly picturesque and boasts a lovely stroll up to the edge of the mangroves. Swimming is not recommended, especially in wet season (Oct-Mar) due to the risk of dangerous jellyfish and crocs, but we still braved a little toe dip to feel just how warm the sea was. Spoiler alert, it was like a bath.
Overall this trip from Cairns comes highly recommended by myself and many others. It is definitely achievable as a day trip and I would suggest bringing a small picnic with you to enjoy along the walks.
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