Daintree (and Daintree Rainforest)
Centre of some of North Queensland's most beautiful tropical rainforest.
One of the most famous and controversial towns in Australia, Daintree bears little or no resemblance to the image conveyed by the media. It is not some kind of centre of alternative living and the main street is not full of environmental activists. In fact the opposite is true. This tiny settlement has a neatness which is almost prudish and a charm which is positively old fashioned.
Located 111 km north of Cairns and 56 km from Port Douglas the town is perfectly located. Behind it the rainforest mountains of the McDowell Ranges rise steeply while the Daintree River winds lazily past the town.
This tiny township consists of a general store with its huge fibreglass 'Big Barramundi' (even Daintree is not immune from the Australian obsession with big things), a couple of restaurants, a caravan park, a school, a number of river and rainforest tour operators and the timber museum - a woodworking shop which produces beautiful pieces of wooden furniture from the local timbers as well as an exhibition of carpenter's and cabinet-maker's tools and techniques.
Daintree's great success lies in the fact that it has managed to establish a tourist industry which has not overwhelmed or cheapened the town.
For more information check out: http://www.daintreerainforest.com/
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