Visitors to the Discovery Centre over the July school holidays will be treated to a new temporary display courtesy of the students from the local Alexandra Bay State School. The students, in composite grades 3 to 7, were invited to research their favorite rainforest creature and to provide an illustration. The artwork coincides with the Discovery Centre celebrating 20 years since its official opening by former Senator Graham Richardson on June 26, 1989. The Centre has also recently opened a new Reptile and Amphibian Display.

Director, Pam Birkett said ‘As you know, many rainforest animals are well camouflaged and often difficult to spot, so we have created a wonderful exhibit showcasing Boyd’s Rainforest Dragons, Palmerston and Julatten Pythons and Saw-Shell Turtles’.

This spectacular exhibit was constructed using recycled materials, and the turtles were obtained from a neighbouring wildlife attraction where they were surplus to requirements.

Mrs Birkett pointed out ‘The Discovery Centre is not a zoo. Animals are free to come and go as they please so the sighting of animals is random.’ The Discovery Centre is located in a natural cassowary corridor.

The aim of the Centre’s elevated walkways is to ensure a ‘minimal footprint’ and families have really made the most of the elevated Aerial Walkway during the school holidays, photographing a juvenile cassowary feeding in the creek below.

The Daintree Rainforest is the oldest surviving tropical rainforest in the world and thought to be more than 100 million years only, whereas its well known counterparts the Amazon and the Kuranda Rainforest are relatively young at approx. 8 million years old, approx. 70,000 years old respectively.

The multi award winning Discovery Centre is a world-class interpretive facility nestled in the heart of the rainforest, just 10 kilometres north of the Daintree River and boasts a spectacular Aerial Walkway leading to a 23m high Canopy Tower.

The tower provides viewing of the very top of the rainforest canopy, while the walkway allows unprecedented access to the mid level rainforest. For international visitors, Audio-Guides are available in 6 languages.

An accredited Wet Tropics visitor Information Centre, the Daintree Discovery Centre also carries Advanced Eco-Tourism Accreditation and is open daily from 8.30am to 5pm. </body>