by Prue Hewett
Director Cooper Creek Wilderness

Our Daintree Rainforest is open, albeit wide open in some areas as severe Tropical Cyclone Yasi delivered a three metre haircut! 

Perhaps the most astonishing aspect is the enduring quality of old-growth rainforest.  The pioneer vegetation on the outside of the forest was battered beyond recognition while performing its usual function of absorbing the full shock of the gales and protecting the rainforest giants that are hidden from view. 

This is a lesson for visitors to the Daintree Rainforest - “you can’t judge a book by its cover”, nor can you appreciate the marvels of the world’s oldest rainforest from the outside.

Newcomers to Port Douglas may not know that there are freehold landholders in the Daintree whose land was included in the World Heritage Area listing in 1988.

This was the first acknowledgment by the Australian Government that high biodiversity on freehold and other off-reserve land is as important to conservation of the environment as National Parks. 

Sustainable eco-tourism has provided the necessary funding for the management and protection of this unique piece of paradise. 

We like to show visitors to Port Douglas and Daintree the resilience and perseverance of our 135 million-year old rainforest. During this period, at the estimated rate of three cyclones per century, more than 4 million cyclones have bombarded the Daintree Coast.  

We have been noting the return of wildlife including cassowaries, musky rat kangaroos and Boyd’s forest dragons.  Now we need tourists to return to contribute to the conservation of the Daintree Rainforest.