Frommer's Australia from $50 a Day 13th Edition - To Parent Directory

PORT DOUGLAS, DAINTREE & THE CAPE TRIBULATION AREA 289
pack yours, learn about bush medicine and the wildlife around you, and clamber
up a stream to a waterfall. He takes a maximum six people at a time. Lunch
and pickups are included in the price of A$110 (US$72). His walks run Tuesday
and Saturday, leaving Port at 8:30am. You can also charter Pete and his
4WD on other days for day bushwalks for A$160 (US$104) per person (minimum
of two) or for a “go anywhere” adventure for A$540 (US$351) per day.
Pickups from the northern beaches cost A$30 (US$20) extra for bushwalks, but
are included in the price for “go anywhere” charters. The charter prices compare
favorably to a regular Daintree four-wheel-drive tour if there’s three or more of
you—and you get a tailored itinerary, Pete’s knowledge, and the vehicle all to
yourself. He often takes charter customers inland to Outback gold mining ghost
towns, or north to tiny Cooktown, which boasts an excellent museum devoted
to Australia’s “discoverer,” Captain James Cook. If you have 2 days, he can take
you further west to see Aboriginal rock art and stay at an upscale tented camp,
or to the Undara Lava Tubes, which have been hollowed from rock by lava flows.
Other established operators are Trek North Safaris (& 07/4051 4328) and
BTS Tours (& 07/4099 5665). As is the case in most tourist hot spots, some
tour operators battle fiercely to pay tour desks the highest commission to recommend
their tours, even though those tours may not necessarily be the best for
your needs. Take tour desks’ recommendations with a grain of salt, and ask other
travelers for their recommendations. You may not see too much wildlife, as rainforest
animals are shy, camouflaged, nocturnal, or all three! Most four-wheeldrive
tours will pick you up in Port Douglas at no charge, although there is
usually a small fee from Cairns and the northern beaches. Floods and swollen
creeks can quash your plans to explore the Daintree in the Wet Season
(Dec–Mar or Apr), so keep your plans flexible.
If your chosen safari does not visit Mossman Gorge, 21km (12 miles) northwest
of Port Douglas near the sugar town of Mossman; try to get there on your
own. The gushing river tumbling over boulders, and the short forest walks are
magical. (Don’t climb on the rocks or enter the river, as strong currents are dangerous
and have claimed at least one life in recent years).
Most 4WD Daintree tours include a 1-hour cruise on the Daintree River,
but if yours doesn’t, or you want more time on the river, cruises are available on
a variety of boats, from open-sided “river trains” to small fishing boats. One of
the best is offered by Dan Irby’s Mangrove Adventures Finds (& 07/4090
7017; www.mangroveadven.citysearch.com.au for bookings), whose small open
boat can get up side creeks the bigger boats can’t. Originally from Oklahoma,
Dan has been in Australia for 30 years, and is extremely knowledgeable about
Moments The Land that Time Forgot
The World Heritage–listed Daintree Rainforest has remained largely
unchanged over the past 110 million years. It is home to rare plants that
provide key links in the evolution story. In the 140,000-acre Daintree
National Park you will find cycads, dinosaur trees, fan palms, giant strangler
figs, and epiphytes like the basket fern, staghorn, and elkhorn. Nighttime
croc-spotting tours on the Daintree River vie for popularity with early
morning cruises to see the rich bird life. Pythons, lizards, frogs, and electric
blue Ulysses butterflies attract photographers, and sport fishermen
come here to do battle with the big barramundi.