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Visited: early wet season
Recommendation: Cape Tribulation is famous and a real tourist mecca. It is definitely worth visiting for the beautiful scenery and rainforest but it is also stuffed with unique wildlife.
I always love returning to the Daintree River and so booked into the caravan park at Daintree Village. It was only shortly afterwards that I realised I had seen the words Daintree and Village and booked at a caravan park actually on Cape Tribulation, which is across the river. Never mind, I'll head over on the ferry and stay there.
I got an early ferry at first light and I was thrilled to see a pair of Olive-backed Sunbird nesting on the end of a lifeboat. They spent the ferry journey flitting from one side of the river to the other and back to the boat.
Cape Tribulation is a very pleasant drive north from Cairns. It takes a couple of hours but you don't really notice as the coastline is so beautiful. You bypass Port Douglas and drive through the town of Mossman. There, the highway takes you to the Daintree River and you can continue onto to Daintree village itself or turn right towards the cape.
The cape is only accessible by crossing the river by ferry. It is only a short trip of a few minutes but it is just lovely with thick rainforest surrounding the area. Birds are very active here with the often inappropriate Sahul Sunbird usually nesting around the buildings or even on the boat!
The whole of the cape is covered with the most stunning rainforest. This has drawn people as residents and tourists. While the attractions are spread out across the area and do provide interest and infrastructure, it does make Cape Tribulation a tourist hotspot in Far North Queensland. There is only one main road along the cape and it is very patchy in places and it undulates following the coastline and the hills. Lastly, the ferry provides a pinch point for traffic. I would not like to be driving in the area during high season.
Having said that, to get the most out of a visit, you really need to stay a few days and visit different places. A benefit of being a tourist mecca is that there is a good range of places to stay and lots of attractions including several ice creameries! As ever, I prefer to be out in nature and I decided to drive the coastline and stop at numerous places on the way.
Southern Cassowary (Casuarius casuarius)
Bird-wise, there is one main reason to visit Cape Tribulation: the Southern Cassowary. While it can be found in rainforest pockets much further south on the Queensland coastline, it is most famous here. In fact, you need to be really carefully when driving as they will amble across at any time. I came to a rather pleasant screeching halt once when an adult male crossed in front of me along with 2 small chicks. There is no guarantee, of course, of seeing these ancient birds but it is kind of nice to see them here as you feel they really do belong.
The Southern Cassowary has a reputation for being the most dangerous bird in the world. It is true that it has incredibly sharp talons with the middle toe pictured above being capable of ripping flesh. However, being dramatic about these birds is unfair. Reports of attacks are few and far between and they are only caused by people who feed or harass them. They are slow moving and gentle creatures on the whole.
One of the best places to see them is at the Daintree Village Caravan Park (pictured left) which sits in the shadow of Mount Thornton. The birds nest in the adjacent rainforest and can be seen from time to time, wandering through the park. The bird on the right is a young female throwing Quandong berries in the air and catching them.
I headed up into the cape and my first stop was at the Marrdja Boadwalk. The roads weren't great quality but driving through the rainforest and at times touching the shoreline was just beautiful. The boardwalk was even better with the sun streaming through tall trees onto mangrove floors and a sparkling creek. It was quite poetic! There were lots of birds here but I took no photos of them, preferring to soak up the atmosphere and listen to them. Honeyeaters, monarchs and riflebirds were plentiful.
Once I left the boardwalk, I headed back south stopping at various beaches and lookouts until I reached Diwan and the caravan park. It was a very pleasant place with a long sloping hill at the back and lots of little nooks and crannies to explore. I spent the afternoon wandering up and down it and again, I didn't take any photos. The birds were loud but shy. I even heard a Golden Bowerbird calling from the rainforest at the very top of the garden.
As I rounded the kitchen in the afternoon, I saw a cassowary wandering in from the bush. As ever, it was absolutely silent and seemingly unconcerned by the people around. It was feeding on native Quandong berries and everyone stood transfixed as it threw them into the air and caught them. It was so special to be in the presence of this wonderful animal.
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