Experience the best of Cape Tribulation

Cape Tribulation lies north of the Daintree River, where forested mountains drop to beaches facing the Coral Sea. Captain Cook named the cape in 1770, after his ship the Endeavour struck a reef offshore. Reaching it means crossing the Daintree River on a small cable ferry, and the road beyond twists through dense rainforest.

The Daintree is among the oldest surviving tropical rainforests on Earth, with strangler figs, giant ferns, mangroves and the southern cassowary, a large flightless bird. Boardwalks lead through the forest and mangroves, and Myall Beach and Cape Tribulation Beach are backed by trees that reach almost to the sand. Mossman Gorge, with clear rock pools, lies south of the river, and the rough Bloomfield Track continues north towards Cooktown.

Small farms grow tropical fruit such as soursop and black sapote, some of it made into ice cream, and barramundi and prawns appear on local menus. The forest is wettest in the wet season, and the sunnier dry months bring clearer skies over the reef.