Home - Tony's Tropical Tours - Daintree Port Douglas Queensland Australia

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TONY'S TROPICAL TOURS
PORT DOUGLAS - AUSTRALIA
Tel. +61 7 4099 3230 ~ Fax. +61 7 4099 3822

The Daintree Rainforest

The Daintree Rainforest is located north of Cairns in the Daintree Region of Far North Queensland Australia. Within this Daintree Region lies some of the most visited sites, Mossman Gorge, Daintree River and Cape Tribulation.

The Daintree Rainforest is a living museum dating over 135 million years. It is believed to be the oldest continuous living rainforest in the world and is home to the most diverse range of plants and animals on earth.

This area known as the Daintree Rainforest was World Heritage Listed in 1988 in recognition for its universal values and to ensure long term preservation.

The Daintree Rainforest is home to one of the highest populations of primitive flowering plants in the world. Of 19 primitive plant families on earth, 12 are found in the Daintree. One of the rarest and primitive flowering plant species found in the Daintree Rainforest is the Ribbonwood (Idiospermum australiense) also known as the Idiot fruit. Its discovery in the Cape Tribulation National Park in 1970 has been Australia's most significant botanical find. There are also over 31 species of mangroves found along the sheltered sections of the Daintree coast and in the river deltas. They feature the highest diversity of this habitat type in Australia.

The Daintree River is known as a naturalists paradise, it is home to a diverse ecosystem, boasting a vast array of animal and plant life, including ferns, orchids, epiphytes, as well as butterflies, fish, diverse bird life and the elusive 'Estuarine' Saltwater Crocodile, as well as breathtaking scenery.

Another distinctive plant of the Daintree Coast is the fan palm (licuala ramsayi). The flexible stem of the fan palm can withstand cyclones, with the large palm fronds folding up in strong winds which would otherwise strip them.

The Daintree Rainforest also boasts an enormous range of wildlife including the tree kangaroo, musky rat kangaroo, cassowaries, boyd's forest dragons, lizards, frogs, butterflies, bats, brush turkeys, scrub fowls and over 430 other species of birds which include 13 species not found anywhere else in the world.

The Daintree National Park is part of a region in Tropical North Queensland called the "Wet Tropics", where the seasons are determined by rainfall or lack of it. This is where the "wet" and "dry" replace the more familiar four seasons. During the 'Wet Season' November to April, there are heavy frequent downpours usually only lasting a few hours at a time and high humidity. The 'Dry Season' from May to October, the weather offers warm days, cooler nights and low humidity.

The Daintree Rainforest is adjacent to another World Heritage Area the Great Barrier Reef, making it the only place in the world where to World Heritage Areas meet.