Daintree Self Drive Tour
 The Endangered Cassowary |
Prepare to be awestruck and inspired by the one of the most complex and ancient ecosystems on earth, home to 30% of Australia's frog, marsupial and reptile species, 65% of Australia's bat and butterfly species and 20% of the bird species, as well as thousands of known species of plants.
Look out for the elusive and flightless Cassowary, the Azure Kingfisher and Ulysses Butterfly, and the Musky Rat Kangaroo. Marvel at the twisting liana vines, enormous buttress roots and towering mahoganies . . .
Rainforest Rescue has so far contributed to the purchase and protection of 11 properties in the lowland rainforest areas of this spectacular tropical environment, where vital habitat is still under threat from escalating development and settlement. Nine are now established as Nature Refuges whilst the last two are to become wildlife refuges. These properties provide havens and vital wildlife corridors for many of the 122 rare and threatened Daintree species of which 26 are endangered.
Through our Plant a Rainforest Project in the Daintree, Rainforest Rescue choose tree-planting sites that enhance existing rainforest remnants and provide links and corridors for wildlife. These planting sites range throughout National Park and private land areas, where location and/or access may be difficult or hazardous to the public. Accordingly, we have included in our Self Drive Tour an easily viewed example of the results Rainforest Rescue typically achieve.
Enjoy visiting our Daintree Buy Back and Protect Forever properties and our showcase Daintree Plant a Rainforest site. We trust you will be as inspired as we are to save and protect these rich and valuable assets.
HOW TO FIND THEM
From Cairns, drive north towards the Daintree River. Turn right off the Mossman Daintree Road onto Bailey Creek Road. Cross the river on the ferry.
The first street on the left after you cross the river is Forest Creek Rd.
FOREST CREEK ROAD PROPERTIES
• Lot 7 and 8 Forest Creek Rd
Travel several kilometres down Forest Creek Rd and you will see the sign-posted Rainforest Rescue Nature Refuge. The properties and immediate environs are habitat for a variety of filmy ferns, palms and other rare species and regional ecosystems. They are also known Cassowary and Bennett's Tree-kangaroo habitat and will provide a valuable corridor from the National Park to the Forest Creek wetlands.
Click here for our Forest Creek map.
Do a U-turn at the turn off to Thornton Peak Drive, just a little bit further along from the reserve and head back to Baileys Creek Road. Turn left to head north to the main Cape Tribulation Rd, crossing the Alexander Range. There are two properties that have recently been purchased in this area, at the Bailey’s Creek end of Cape Tribulation Road: Lot 14 Daly is on your left just before the Milky Pine Road turn-off, and Lot 29 is approximately 75m on your left after that.
CAPE KIMBERLEY PROPERTIES
(Bailey’s Creek end of Cape Tribulation Rd)
• Lot 14 Daly Road off Cape Tribulation Rd, Cape Kimberley
• Lot 29 Cape Tribulation Rd, Cape Kimberley
This section of the Cape Tribulation Road is a recognised Cassowary crossing point with some recent sightings. There have been seven rare plant species identified and one that is listed as vulnerable. Two of the rare plants found are large trees with impressive fruits, including Noah’s Walnut.
Lot 14 is bounded on two sides by the Daintree National Park. Lofty clumps of locally endemic fan palms and black palms grace the northern sector of the property whilst two species of cycad and numerous ferns abound in the denser southern part. These include the King Fern which, with fronds up to 5 metres long, is reputed to be the largest of all ferns.
On Lot 29 the vegetation has significant numbers of Fan Palms on the lower slopes with the main emergent being the Swamp mahogany and Acacia celsa, a rainforest wattle, with many under-storey and some canopy mesophyll species, and a species of the primitive pine, genus Podocarpus. Some of the older Swamp Mahoganies are hollow and many hold large orchids.
FIG TREE ROAD PROPERTY
• Lot 340 Fig Tree Road
 A hole in the rainforest... ... filled by Rainforest rescue tree planting |
Continue north along Bailey’s Creek Road, turning left at the
T-intersection. Drive approximately 6km until you reach Maple Road on your left. Turn left into Maple Road, then take the first right into Fig Tree Road. 300m on your right you will find the next site.
This is a privately owned property. However, you will be able to see the planting area from this quiet back road.
Lot 340 Fig Tree Road was literally a “hole in the rainforest”. The owner of this one hectare property had completely cleared the majority of old growth rainforest that had previously covered the area for millions of years but then abandoned it. It was later sold to the EPA and, following sponsored planting by Rainforest Rescue, will eventually be cared for as part of the World Heritage Daintree National Park.
Travelling north once again you will find a road on the right leading down to Cow Bay. We have 5 properties in this area that now form part of the Baralba Corridor Nature Refuge.
COW BAY PROPERTIES
• Lot 103 Buchanan Creek Rd
• Lot 75 Buchanan Creek Rd
• Lot 90 Rosewood Road
• Lot 117 Spurwood Rd
• Lot 97 Rosewood Rd
These properties form a link between two isolated areas of the Daintree National Park (World Heritage Area). The Rainforest Rescue Nature Refuge protects a valuable wildlife corridor and populations of one endangered, three vulnerable and eleven rare plants, including species found only in the Daintree.
Click here to see a map of these properties.
The last property that we have is at Camelot Close which is just minutes from Cape Tribulation. So keep travelling north for around 20km up Cape Tribulation Road, until you see Camelot Close on the left.
CAPE TRIBULATION PROPERTY
• Lot 22 Camelot Close
Go right up Camelot Close, almost all the way to the end, and on the left hand side you will see a sign saying Rainforest Rescue Nature Refuge (kulki anga Nature Refuge). This property is covered in the wonderful lowland tropical rainforest that has made this location an Australian conservation icon and renowned throughout the world. The property lies at the start of the steeper part of the slope leading up into the hills overlooking some outstanding coastal scenery with Tribulation Creek tumbling eastwards over a rocky bed towards the nearby sea. Click here to view our Cape Tribulation map.
That’s 10 of the 11 properties saved so far by our Daintree Buy Back & Protect Forever Project, as well as one site from our Plant a Rainforest Project. The 11th property’s location is kept secret because it contains the only known population of a previously thought extinct species of fern.
