Wangetti Beach

Wangetti Beach. The southern end with its pebbled beach. The area is an Instagram moment with stone cairns for a great selfie moment. The naturally eroded beach has resulted in a quirky pebble stone covered section, now festooned with visitor impromptu sculptures. Perhaps you can build your own stone tower to join the growing collection.

Then it is onto Rex Lookout. The lookout has ocean views of Trinity Bay. The lookout is popular with hang gliders, especially on the weekend. For hang gliding enthusiasts the weekend is a favourite time for club members to seek the winds and wing their way across the bay. There are panoramic views of the entire beach from this northern lookout.

Hartleys Crocodile Adventures

Hartleys Crocodile Adventures is a well known park for  wildlife and ecotourism attractions, which has developed a reputation for excellence with a quality experience.

Cafes and park settings make for a great lunch stop.

Hartley’s is Australian wildlife in one stop, making it a popular family destination. Younger members of your family want to see a crocodile and other biting wildlife. Hartleys will solve this problem for you.

Dense rainforest in Mossman Gorge

A 20 -25 minute drive from Port Douglas brings you to Mossman Gorge at the southernmost end of the Daintree Rainforest. Mossmann Gorge is ancient and primal. Mossman Gorge is free to enter. I strongly recommend you purchase a pass to catch the shuttle bus into the main walking area. It is not recommended you walk as the road is narrow with no access path. From the visitor information centre a boardwalk takes you to the Mossman River and an inviting swimming area. The river can be dangerous after heavy rain, check with rangers before swimming. 

Remember to have your insect repellant handy. It is tropical with the usual biting mosquitoes. Covered walking shoes are recommended even for areas where there are boardwalks.  

Mossman Gorge Walks:

• Baral Marrjanga—270 m (5–10 mins) Grade: easy. …
• Lower river track—300 m (5–10 mins) Grade: moderate to easy. …
• Rex Creek bridge—460 m (10 mins) Grade: moderate to easy. …
• Rainforest Circuit Track (from Rex Creek bridge)—2.4 km return (45 mins) Grade: moderate to easy.

Guided walking tours are popular.  It is recommended that the tours are booked before departure to avoid disappointment.

Take a moment to visit an Indigenous gallery adjacent to Mossman visitor centre.  For art lovers this is a must do activity.

Wonga Beach, views of Port Douglas

Parking * Accommodation * Food and drink Toilet * Petrol Station

Wonga Beach is a quiet, local beach village just 20 minutes south of Daintree Village along the Great Barrier Reef Drive. The beach is home to tropical birds, Beach Stone-Curlew, Double-eyed Fig-Parrot and Little (Gould’s) Bronze-Cuckoo. See if you are lucky and can sight the birdlife.

Views Looking south from Wonga Beach you can see Port Douglas and Island Point headland, across the water is Snapper Island. To the north, you can see the rainforest clad mountain ranges of the Daintree National Park, including Alexandra Range. The mountain range behind Wonga and leading into Daintree Village is called Dagma Range.

Road trip: From Wonga Beach to Daintree Village – 16km sealed road

Barramundi Farm

For our Australian residents a short detour to Daintree Saltwater Barramundi Farm is a must do stop, Barramundi Farm states. “Whether you are buying for wholesale purposes, restaurant or home, we invite you to take the taste test; you won’t be disappointed!

Premium, chilled, fresh (whole) barramundi is available from 400g up to 4 kilograms and can be easily transported around the region, state and country.”

Wild crocodile

Daintree Village was originally a base (1870’s) for the timber industry. The river was the only transport link for logs. Now reinvented as a tourist and conservation town, the village hosts cafes, craft shops and a visitor information centre where you can arrange sightseeing river trips.

River trips offer an opportunity to float among indigenous flora and fauna from a water-based viewpoint. And of course, the popular highpoint of experiencing wild crocodiles. 

Photo moment with the crocodile looking prehistoric, sharp teeth and seriously dangerous. It is fun and be careful not to drop your mobile into the river as I watched someone do. There is no way anyone is getting in the water to rescue the phone. 

DETOUR  4WD circuit exploration

The Daintree Village is also the start of the unsealed CREB track, a road designed to link the Daintree to Wujal Wujal and the sacred Roaring Meg Falls.

The CREB takes you on one of Australia’s most challenging 4WD experiences.

Try this exciting circuit road going via CREB TRACK northward out of Daintree Village. It is a challenging track which takes you through the mid western area of the Daintree National Park on to Roaring Meg Falls.  From there head north east toward the aboriginal settlement of WUJAL WUJAL (waterfall waterfall) where you can experience another beautiful waterfall on the crocodile inhabited Bloomfield River.

Your 4WD circuit then swings back southward along the famous Bloomfield Track. A couple of good steep inclines of 34 degrees will keep your interest up and then a nice rinse down as you pass through the lower reaches of Emmagen creek. Take a walk upstream here to swing off a tree into the cold clear mountain stream and deep waterholes.

Southbound again, you reach a sealed road  at Cape Tribulation. Road conditions and aboriginal consent to access culturally significant areas along the CREB and Bloomfield Tracks. The track crosses through the Burungu Aboriginal community and visitors are requested to seek permission from Burungu Aboriginal Corporation before accessing Roaring Meg Falls  Daintree Forest Village website information.

Council may temporarily close the track without warning.

Cape Tribulation @Oksana Simakina

Your 4WD now has to manage steep slopes, rutted unsealed roads through dense ancient rainforest. The unsealed road north from Cape Tribulation, is suitable only for four-wheel-drive vehicles due to steep grades and creek crossings. It may be closed after heavy rain. Contact the Department of Transport and Main Roads to enquire about local road conditions.

A  number of visitors at this point make the return journey to Port Douglas. As the Bloomfield Track website states “ is definitely for 4WD vehicles only, and many visitors assume it is off limits to rental vehicles. This is not correct, simply inform your rental car company beforehand of your destination. You will need to sign additional insurance forms due to the potential for damage to the vehicle.

Alexander Lookout

Alexander Lookout

10 minutes from the ferry are views of the Daintree coast, including the Daintree River, Snapper Island, Lows Isles, Port Douglas and beyond.

COW BAY and DIWAN 15-20 mins north of Ferry.

Check out the Jindalba Boardwalk, in parts elevated 4 metres above ground giving you a birds eye view of skittling insects and activity among the deep roots and rainforest undergrowth.

There are guided river cruises or perhaps a guided tour focused on butterflies, insects or birds. For tour bookings contact Daintree Rainforest – Tourism Town – Find & book authentic experiences in Daintree.

Cow Bay where rainforest meets the sea

• Tea plantations
• Jindalba boardwalk
• Wildlife cruises
• Horse riding and adventure activities

Mt Sorrow @Wanderdtories

EMMAGEN CREEK and beach is 15 mins north of Cape Tribulation on gravel road. Another picture perfect photo moment with a creek and picnic area. Look south to the creek at the ring of coral at low tide.

Officially the Great Barrier Reef Drive finishes at the Cape Tribulation, however, for the adventurous the Bloomfield Track extends the journey another 100km on to Cooktown.You are now in rainforest territory with stunning views of the coast popping out from the corner you have just driven. The road is known as The Bama Way.

RECOMMENDED: Wujal Wujal tours

Wujal Wujal, meaning a place of many waterfalls, is a small coastal Aboriginal community, just 72 kilometres south of Cooktown. Perhaps you could explore the majestic Bloomfield Falls on a guided tour with the local Yalanji as they walk over their ancestral lands. Their stories tell how people and nature connect.

Bloomfield waterfall, Ayton @TripAdvisor

Ayton, was the site of Queensland’s first sugar mill, and once had an active timber and tin-mining industry. Today it’s known for its stunning scenery and great estuary fishing. Cruises and fishing trips  explore the Bloomfield River and the Cedar Bay National Park. Cedar Bay is for experienced trampers only and it is recommended that a local guide accompanies any trek.

Black Cockatoo Gallery, showcases the wildlife art of world-renowned artist Ross Franzi. Ross hand-built his gallery and café in twenty-five lush acres of this Bloomfield paradise. The gallery is located just off the Bloomfield Road, 12 km north of Wujal Wujal.

Note From Ayton / Wujal Wujal you are back on a sealed road.

Cedar Bay National Park

Cedar Bay National and Marine Park, a remote and beautiful region, is of great conservational importance. Its mountainous hinterland, almost entirely covered in dense tropical rainforest, is fringed by sandy beaches and coral reefs. The park is only accessible by boat or on foot, and is for experienced trampers only. The walk begins at Home Rule Rainforest Lodge, Rossville where detailed advice can be obtained. The Bush Track (difficult) is 17kms one way and takes 6-8 hours. Information is also available from the Queensland Park & Wildlife Service, Regional Office Cairns (07) 4046 6600.

Detour: waterfall exploration

Rossville, offers swimming spots, diversity of wildlife, and a great bushwalk to the incredible Home Rule Falls – a favourite destination for the locals.

Detour: wildlife and rainforest escape

Shiptons Flats Bridge

Just outside Rossville follow the track through Shiptons Flat – a beautiful drive through the rainforest with good birdwatching, cascading crocodile-free swimming holes and, beyond the twin steel bridges, you may watch and observe the rare Bennett’s Tree Climbing Kangaroo.

From Ayton to Cooktown the road is the sealed Mulligan Highway.

Lion’s Den Hotel @lionsdenhotel

For a touch of authentic Australiana, stop off at the historic Lion’s Den Hotel in the settlement of Helenvale. 

There is accommodation available at Lion’s Den.  

James Cook Museum @Travel Notes

Visit James Cook Museum, housed in a stunning 19th century former convent, for a look into Cooktown’s remarkable history. Plan at least three hours in this interactive museum that covers heritage, history and contemporary developments. This is a superb regional museum that will interest even the most reluctant museum visitors with its interactive exhibits, the tropical wide open timber lattice work and the sense of Cooktown’s place in the history of Australia.

• Climb to the top of Grassy Hill in the town centre for a breathtaking view of Cooktown and the river as you stand in a place where Captain Cook surveyed the horizon
• Rest, relax and visit the Nature’s Powerhouse situated in the botanic gardens. For garden lovers it is an opportunity to view orchids in their natural habitat. There is a cafe on site.