
Daintree River
Ancient, croc-inhabited river winding through rainforest older than the Amazon, crossed only by cable ferry.
Location
About this audio guide
This guide to the Daintree River near Cairns opens on a wet-season standoff between protesters and a road crew in nineteen eighty-four, and traces why the forest they were defending was already too old to touch. It reaches back to eighteen seventy-three, when the river got its name, and to the geologist it was named for. Listen for what moves in the mangroves while you wait for the cable ferry that still crosses without a bridge.
This audio guide was created using AI.
Similar places
Daintree National Park
Ancient lowland rainforest estimated at 180 million years old, among the world's oldest ecosystems.
Daintree Rainforest
Ancient tropical forest of towering canopy and tangled understorey, older than flowering plants themselves.
Dubuji Boardwalk
Timber boardwalk over mangrove roots and black mud in ancient lowland rainforest.
Mossman Gorge
Granite gorge in an ancient rainforest, carved by a river through boulders and swimming holes.
Daintree Discovery Centre
Elevated boardwalk and canopy tower through rainforest older than the first flowering plants.
Cape Tribulation
Ancient rainforest running to reef and beach, where Captain Cook's ship nearly wrecked.