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Rainforest Walk
The Lowland Daintree Rainforest can be experienced on a beautiful walk along Buchanan Creek Road in Cow Bay, on Northern Queensland's Daintree Coast.
This 6km walk from the war memorial takes off into a dip where McLean Creek crosses Buchanan Creek Road. This creek runs all year and can rise dramatically in wet season storms and tropical downpours.
Fortunately the design of the land here guarantees a quick drop in water level as soon as the rains stop, so flooding is short but not permanent.
The walk is through the valley floor, gradually descending down to the beach in Cow Bay. On the south side is the Alexandra Range, which is the mountain range dividing Cow Bay from the flats along the Daintree River. This Range runs from west to east practically falling into the Coral Sea on the south side of Cow Bay Beach.
On the north side of the valley is Baileys Hill, and on its northern side Baileys Creek, a big estuary rich in mangroves, fish, crabs, birdlife and…salt water crocodiles; it has boat access only.
Walking out of the dip in McLean Creek the footpath alongside the road winds in and out of dense stands of rainforest and old farming land.
Crocodylus Village sits under oldest stand of remaining lowland rainforest in the area. There is a one hour walk on the property. This walk is considered one of the best biodiversity walks north of the Daintree River.
On the other side of the road is a big paddock, sometimes holding cattle and horses and offering a great view up to the Alexandra Range and the gentle descending valleys and gullys, much darker in their green dense jungle.
A little bit down the road, crossing some seasonal creeks, which rush huge amounts of rainwater down to the coast in the wet season, the footpath enters a much closer canopy.
Here a wide variety of trees and vines and lianas vie for the sunlight high above. Depending of the time of day, the light shafts are golden, hazy or just dazzling bright.
Birds of the forest can be heard, like Torres Strait Pigeons, white Cockatoos, Rainforest Butcher Birds, Orange Footed Jungle Fowl, Wompoo Pigeons, Sacred Kingfisher and lots more.
The butterflies and dragon flies are numerous and colourful; the cicadas are NOISY! Cassowaries wander around here, some times with chicks in tow, searching for food. There is a wide variety of trees, including Bumpy Satin Ash, with its spectacular flowering on the tree trunk, attracting Stripy Possums at night time. Stunning Milky Pines, Black Beans and Fan Palms.
Discover, watch, search, smell, see, take photos, hear,…..experience. DON’T rush.
Reference :
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Cape Tribulation
- Cape Tribulation is a small village where the frontier of the north really begins. Once you cross the Daintree River by ferry, you've entered into a region that hosts the oldest rainforest on the planet.
