|
Free MOBILE

Go to qwe.com.au/1/Daintree.apk
on
your android to download free.
(The Android App is a "native app" and it will work without
mobile phone reception after download.)
OR you can put 101 things to do in
Daintree on your phone or tablet go to qwe.com.au/101
on your mobile device and "+ to home screen".
001. VISIT the VILLAGE in the VALLEY
Daintree Village (population 100) is 20 kms by sealed road, into the valley, from its entrance at Wonga Beach. Situated on the banks of the famous Daintree River, the Village is clean, green and picturesque. The Daintree Village Jetty, one of the departure points for river cruises, is a short stroll downhill from the General Store in the main street.
002.
BREAKFAST after the BIRDS
The Village Restaurant and
the Croc Eye Cafe in Stewart Street Daintree Village are now open for breakfast
from 8:00am. They have become a gathering place after the dawn
trip on the river. Both are next to the Daintree Store.
003. DAINTREE VILLAGE NATURAL WALK Starts in the village. Click here for:
Daintree Village Natural Walk
Birdwatchers may find the Lovely Fairy-Wren on the walk. There is significant
botanical detail on the link above written by Rupert Russell, no less. Rupert
provided the text for the Daintree Book and was one of the protesters during
1984 blockade to try and stop the Daintree Road going through the Daintree
National Park.
004. LOOKOUT for a FLOOD LEVEL Look out for the March 1996 flood level as you walk down to the Daintree Village Jetty, it is higher than you could imagine, most of the valley looked like an inland sea. To get an idea of how much a river can rise with one and a half metres of rain stand alongside the toilet block, on the corner of Stewart's and Dagmar Streets, and imagine starting your river tour there instead of where the Jetty is actually located.
005. BEHOLD the BIG BARRAMUNDI Traveling around Australia you have probably come across the "bigs" whether it is a big banana, big pineapple or a big prawn. Daintree has it's own, the Big Barramundi, in the main street. Try some trick photography.
006. PICK a PICNIC SPOT (one of four, the others are 001, 007 & 051) Next to the Daintree Village Shire Hall, in Osborne Street, is a children's playground with swings and seesaw, picnic tables and public toilet.
007. PICK a PICNIC SPOT (third of four) Next to the Daintree Village Jetty overlooking the river are some picnic tables and there is one in the lower carpark.
008. HISTORIC HERITAGE
(Daintree Heritage Walk available on the App Store) Daintree Village, being the only main centre for
miles in the late 19th century, is steeped in history. The Village was supplied
by boats using the high spring tides to get them up the shallow river. It wasn't
long before there was a bridle path to Mossman and ultimately a road. The oldest
building is the Timber Gallery in Stewart's Street which was built in 1925. It
is made from timber milled at where, stands today, the
Daintree Riverview Lodge
and Camp Ground. An important part of the eco systems here are the termites
which eat timber. It is quite amazing that these buildings is still standing.
There are now some photosigns sprinkled around the village. Also on iPhone App
Australian Short Walks. Details opposite >
009. TIMBER GALLERY Nature's rainbow, captured in Australian native timbers. For over 20 years the Daintree Timber Gallery has sourced only the most unique to create their globally acclaimed works of art and utility woodware. The Timber Gallery is next to the Big Barramundi al fresco restaurant in Stewart's Street.
010. OGLE an ORIGINAL Directly opposite the Big Barramundi is Daintree Originals and the information centre run by the Crocodile Express which is a tour boat company. Areas like Daintree attract crafts people and this charming shop is a retail outlet for them. Imagine ear-rings made from a palm tree that dries as hard as a rock! The owner takes a lot of care to find original merchandise for the shop. A low cost souvenir for someone at home.
011. POST a PARCEL
Like most country stores the Daintree General Store is also the Daintree Post
Office. Instead of carrying around all those special gifts the store will be only too happy to mail them for you to anywhere in the world. They still talk about the young fellow who mailed a coconut home.
012. WALK ON THE WILD SIDE
Visit pristine old growth rainforest at Cooper Creek Wilderness with
a local
expert. Experience awe-inspiring fan palm galleries in the heart of the
world's oldest rainforest.
www.ccwild.com
013. EYEBALL ELIZA's pottery gnomes Next door to Daintree Originals is Liz Bright's studio, gallery and workshop. Indulge your 'away with the fairies' fantasies by a walk through Liz & Ivan's delightful garden which leads the way to the studio.
014. DAINTREE at DAWN Start the day with an extraordinary
wildlife tour on the river from the Daintree Village Jetty. Chris Dahlberg has been taking out small groups in his open boat since 1992
and has now sold to Murray Hunt. About 50 wildlife species can be seen on a normal trip, most of them being birds. The tour last 2 hours and departs at 6.30am in the winter and 6.00am in the Summer. Telephone 4098 7997
Murray's trip is called Daintree Boatman Nature Tours.
015. BREAKFAST after the BIRDS
Restaurants open for breakfast in the Daintree are the Croc Eye Cafe
Stewart Street phone 0740986229, Village
Restaurant, Stewart Street phone 0740986146. Back on the Daintree Road
is the Daintree Eco Lodge & Spa near Barratt Creek bridge and the Crossroads
Café at the ferry turn off.
016. BUSHWHACK a BUSH-STONE CURLEW (one of two viewing spots) During the night often a distant wailing sound can be heard close to the Village. It is the call of the nocturnal Bush-stone Curlew. They sleep by day on the ground just back from the bank of the river downstream from the Jetty. A stealthy walk from the lower carpark will let you see them and if you are quiet and don't go too close no harm will be done.
017. PHONE a PAL There are only 4 public telephones in the Daintree Valley south of the river. One in the Village outside the Daintree Store, another in the carpark at the ferry crossing, Wonga Beach Road near the intersection with Oasis Drive and one at Caltex Wonga Beach. Mobile phones
work in most parts of the Valley.
018. BINOCULAR A BIRD (
www.daintree.info/daintreebirdwatching.html
) Daintree Village is a good place for birdwatching. One of the best walks can be done from the village. Start at the beginning of Stewart's Creek Road alongside Pioneers Park. This follows the river upstream and has very light traffic, be careful of it. The road will take you along the cliff above the river and then down through some rainforest , across a creek, more rainforest and then out onto the grass covered floodplain and along to the Stewart's Creek bridge. This is not far from where the film The Thin Red Line was shot in 1997. Not only look out for birds but listen for them as well especially in the rainforest parts. Some birds like the Lovely Fairy-wren are small but can be quite colourful.
In Australia Lovely Fairy-wrens are only found in Cape York, of which Daintree is at the southern end, and the female is the most colourful of all the fairy-wrens in Australia.
019. OBSERVE an OSPREY (one of
three nesting spots) Now called
Eastern Osprey. Ospreys are universal sea hawks and great symbols of conservation. They are found in every continent, except Antarctica, and it was in the eggshell of Ospreys that DDT was found. Loosely translated this chemical was sprayed to kill insects which were then eaten by fish which were then eaten by Ospreys and the chemical then concentrated at the end of the food chain. One
noticeable symptom was the seriously weakened eggshell. The same story with the Peregrine Falcon. DDT was eventually banned because of this remarkable find. Ospreys thrive in Australia. There are 2, easy to find, nests. One is in the telecommunications tower near the entrance to the village. This nest was first built in 2001.
020. SPY on a SWIFTLET Imagine a little bird without feet and legs and behaves like a bat. The White-rumped Swiftlet is only found in this corner of Australia and is one of the smallest swifts in the world. It is often found near the main river lookout where they scoop the water surface taking a drink. They have very stiff wings and glide a lot with their wings pointing below the horizontal. Rarely alone they can be found by the side of the road also, going backwards and forwards over grass eating their
insect prey. At dusk they use echo-location to navigate their way into their dark night roost.
021. LOOK from a LOOKOUT There are some truly magnificent views to be had from lookouts over the river along the last 4 kms of the Daintree Road approaching the Village. The two southernmost ones afford good looks from Humbug Reach and from the northernmost one you can see the mouth to Barratt Creek and the length of Windy Reach.
022. CREEP up on a CROCODILE On winter mornings the sun shines on the northern bank of the river at Humbug Reach right opposite two of the lookouts above (021.) If the tide is lowish sandy patches emerge. With those conditions, very often a crocodile can be viewed, by the naked eye,
lying in the sun. The clues are; winter (May to Aug), lowish tide, and sun. During the last four winters crocodiles have also been seen, on the far side of the river, from the Daintree Jetty during the day. And it is not unusual to see one at dawn or dusk swimming.
023. SET UP your SUNSET
The third lookout over Windy Reach is good for a glorious sunset. A deck chair, glass of wine, piece of cheese, camera on the tripod for the time exposure...........................
024. NATURE in NUMBERS One of the most spectacular Daintree nature shows is from the Windy Reach lookout, in late Spring/early Summer, at dusk, if the Spectacled Flying-foxes have set up their maternity camp in Barratt Creek. The flying-foxes at this time of year fan themselves for most of the day. They become very dehydrated and right on dusk they fly down to the water in Windy Reach, just in front of the lookout, drink on the wing and then fly off into the sunset. Crocodiles are more active at this time of the year and may lie in wait for the flying-foxes as they come down to drink. Be early the twilight is quick, for times just check the time of twilight on the day before.
025. SPRUCE up at a SPA The Daintree Eco Lodge and Spa is 3 kms south of the Daintree Village. The "Day Spa" and restaurant are open to the public, albeit, somewhat expensive. However if a treat is what you are looking for, it's the place for pampering.
026. MAKE out a MOUNTAIN Our local mountain is Thornton's Peak and is only accessible on foot. It is about 1500 metres high making it the third highest mountain in Queensland. The taller two are not much higher and are just to the south of Cairns. Australian mountains are not high. You cannot always see the top but you maybe fortunate enough to be driving on a "Thornton Peak Clear Day".
027. ASSAULT an ATM (Automated Teller Machine)
There are two ATM's in the Daintree Valley. One is at Caltex Wonga Service
Station at Wonga Beach and is only accessible during shop hours, 5.30 am to
7.30pm. There is also one at the Daintree General Store in the Daintree Village.
North of the river ATM's are at Cape Tribulation, Rainforest Camp and Cafe On
Sea. The nearest banks are in Mossman. The Daintree businesses take most credit cards and the General Store has EFTPOS. American Express is accepted at the Daintree Eco Lodge and Spa.
028. RELAX IN A RESTAURANT
Good news there is a new restaurant in Daintree. It is called the Croc
Eye Cafe. Web >
029. ARGO RAINFOREST TOURS
Small
personalised eco-tours are conducted on our private cattle-grazing property.
Bounded by the Daintree River, rainforest creeks and the Daintree National Park.
The 8-wheel low-impact ARGO climbs logging tracks through rainforest canopies to
summits with spectacular panoramic views. "The Ultimate Off-Road Experience -
getting there is half the fun!" PHONE: 0409627434
030. BAG a BARRAMUNDI
Of the many species of fish to be found in the Daintree River, Barramundi is probably the most sort after for tag and releases or eating. Large Barramundi have been caught from the Daintree Village Jetty with the simplest of hand lines. The Daintree Store and Caltex Service Station at Wonga Beach carry bait and tackle.
031. INFORM an INFORMATION CENTRE
The people that own Information Centres are often that busy in their centre that
they might miss something interesting or a new product. They would be only to
pleased to hear from you of any new and interesting activities that you discover
whilst you are in the area. There are four "Information centres" in the Village.
032. COFFEE at the CROSSROADS The Crossroads Café is on the Daintree Road at the ferry turn off. It is
also open for breakfast which slots in nicely with the dawn river tours.
033. MEET a MAGPIE GOOSE Most parts of the world have a wild goose. Ours is the Magpie Goose that was once found almost anywhere in Australia. These days it is only found in the north. Sometimes at dawn or dusk you can find them flying in formation not far from the Crossroads Café. To make sure of it however look in the billabong to the north of the ferry road. They can hide in the long grass but sometimes they are seen in the trees.
034. NAVIGATE the NATIONAL TRAIL The National Trail idea was conceived by R M Williams. The two ends are Cooktown and Melbourne and it can be traversed on foot, trail bike, by horse or by donkey. Daintree is in the northern section. The very few that traverse it travel over Dagmar Range following the powerline to Stewart's Creek Road and come into the village. The way continuing north is basically the Upper Daintree Road to the CREB track which partly circumnavigates Thornton's Peak and comes down to the Bloomfield River near Wujal Wujal Mission.
035. PACE a PLOVER One of the common birds to be found in the open areas that you might want to walk is the Masked Lapwing. It is a large plover that breeds all year round and nests on the open ground. It's defence of the nest is to fly out of the sun and dive bomb anything that comes close The catch is, the bird has a spur in it's wing that sticks out like a cannon on the wing of a jet fighter.
036. COUNTRY CABINS
Kenadon Homestead Cabins have closed. Other Daintree accommodation options can be found here:
Daintree accommodation>>
037. CAMPING, CARAVANNING & CABINS
Daintree Riverview Lodge and Camp Ground. Riverview provides camping and cabin options at the
best price in town and with the best view in Daintree. New
website >
038. ENCOUNTER an ESCAPE
Located in Stewart Street, just up from Pioneers Park in the Village, is
Daintree Escape Tropical Cabins with spacious grounds and an in-ground swimming
pool. One of only two accommodation properties in the Village which advertises
internet access and the only accommodation house that has covered car parking. Contact Kathy and Simon Phone 4098 6021 Fax 4098 6023
039. SAVOR a SECRET
Removed.
040. COUNTRY COTTAGES Riverhome
Cottages are in upper Daintree 5 kms upstream from the Village. A working cattle
station with access to a waterfall. Riverhome have temporarily closed. Phone 4098 6225
041. CAUGHT in the CLOUDS Cloud 9 is an up market accommodation pole house with spectacular views over the Daintree Valley. 3kms short of the Village it really is up in the clouds. Built of timber by Gerry Steen who was the original owner operator of the Timber Gallery in Daintree Village.
Cloud 9 is not operating at present. Phone/fax 4098 6177.
042. IDENTIFY with INDIGENOUS
Daintree Eco Lodge & Spa is a 5 star resort located along the Daintree Road 3kms
short of the Village. The Day Spa uses indigenous products and is open to the public. Toll free 1800808010.
043. KINDRED SPIRITS at KINGFISHER (Julatten) Whilst not close to Daintree Village (60 minutes drive into
the Tablelands) Kingfisher Park Birdwatchers Lodge deserves a mention. It is the
opposite of the 5 star lodges cramped onto small land areas. Kingfisher Park has
space and varied accommodation. If you are a serious birdwatcher then this is
one of three Tableland accommodation places to make your base and the closest to
drive to Daintree Village Jetty for the dawn tour. Julatten is in the northern part of the tablelands and is close to the drier and more typical Australian countryside. It is also next to Mount Lewis where the endemic birds and mammals can be found. Phone 4094 1263 Fax 4094 1466.
044. TEA TIME The Daintree Tea House is located along the Daintree Road 2kms short of the Daintree Village and alongside Barratt's Creek Bridge. This bridge is a one lane bridge with a Give Way sign posted on it's southern side. So take care when approaching it on your way into the Village. Also take care when leaving the Village in the event that any on-coming traffic does not notice the Give Way sign.
045. BUY A BUSINESS e-mail
Chris (Confidentiality assured)
There is usually a business for sale somewhere in Daintree. As we enter the
tourist season there are less for sale.
046. SAIL a SLOOP Port Douglas, 45 minutes drive from Daintree, has a Sailing Club and a Yacht Club Phone 4099 4386. They run WAGS (Wednesday afternoon gentlemen's sailing) where you can join the crew of an ocean racing boat for a few hours and go sailing with them. The Lonely Planet have publicised this and it has been reported to us that about 50 backpackers turn up on a Wednesday looking for a free ride. There are several sailing boats operate from Port Douglas, Synergy II, Animal Farm, Ragamuffin and Shaolin (Chinese Junk). Slipway and 2 Marinas (Closehaven & Mirage) with public moorings organised by the Douglas Shire Council at Mossman. There is usually plenty of room to anchor upstream.
047. PICK PINNACLES Pinnacle Village Holiday Park is a 4 star caravan park with cabins and two swimming pools at Wonga Beach. The feedback from their customers is consistently good. FREECALL 1800 222 728
048. CAUTION with a CANE TOAD Two Cairns cane farmers were visiting Hawaii in 1935 and found that the South American Cane Toad was useful there eating insect pests. It was introduced here the same year. Be careful, they have 2 poisonous sacs on the side of the head. They hide during the day but become active of a night. They can be seen on the roads or around lights that are attracting insects. Did their introduction help the cane farmer? Well errr..No.
049. RENT a RIVER BOAT
Daintree, at the Public Pontoon on the south side of the river and just upstream from the ferry. $80 for 4 hours or $140 for 8 hours. Phone 4090 7789.
Port Douglas Boat Hire Phone
40996277 |
|