Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Long walks on the swathes of
Cape Tribulation Beach
or
Myall Beach
are a favourite pastime and
you can swim safely outside stinger season, though heed warning signs and local advice
about croc sightings. A couple of boardwalks run through the mangroves.
If you're a bit wary, take a dip in the clear, croc-free
swimming hole
(admission by gold
coin donation) next to Mason's Store.
Bat House
MAP
( 07-4098 0063;
www.austrop.org.au
; Cape Tribulation Rd; admission $5; 10.30am-3.30pm Tue-Sun)
A
nursery for injured or orphaned fruit bats (flying foxes), run by conservation organisation
Austrop, which also welcomes forest rehabilitation and planting volunteers for a minim-
um of one week.
WILDLIFE CENTRE
Mt Sorrow
Fit walkers should start early for the Mt Sorrow Ridge walk (7km, five to six hours return,
start no later than 10am); it's strenuous but worth it. The start of the marked trail is 150m
north of the Kulki picnic area car park.
HIKING
DAINTREE NATIONAL PARK: THEN & NOW
The greater Daintree Rainforest is protected as part of Daintree National Park. The area has a controversial his-
tory: despite conservationist blockades, in 1983 the Bloomfield Track was bulldozed through lowland rainforest
from Cape Tribulation to the Bloomfield River, and the ensuing international publicity led indirectly to the federal
government nominating Queensland's wet tropical rainforests for World Heritage listing. The move drew objec-
tions from the Queensland timber industry and the state government but, in 1988, the area was inscribed on the
World Heritage List, resulting in a total ban on commercial logging in the area.
World Heritage listing doesn't affect land ownership rights or control and, since the 1990s, efforts have been
made by the Queensland Government and conservation agencies to buy back and rehabilitate freehold properties,
adding them to the Daintree National Park and installing visitor interpretation facilities. Sealing the road to Cape
Tribulation in 2002 opened the area to rapid settlement, triggering the buy-back of hundreds more properties.
Coupled with development controls, these efforts are now bearing the fruits of forest regeneration. Check out
Rainforest Rescue
(
www.rainforestrescue.org.au
) for more information.
Tours
Most tours offer free pick-ups from local accommodation.
Jungle Surfing
ZIPLINE, HIKING
