"Rainforests so Beautiful" Top 5 Page for this destination Daintree by wise23girl

Daintree Travel Guide: 61 reviews and 173 photos

A Billy Tea Safari

Not too far away from Cairns is the beautiful Daintree River, Emmagen Creek, Bloomfield Track, and Cape Tribulation which we visited on our Billy Tea Safari with John our expert guide. And did he look the part...yes he did. And he knew his stuff.

We cruised the river looking for crocodiles, enjoyed a barbecue lunch and crossed the river via the cable ferry.

And we did actually have some Billy Tea and moreover it was given the traditional swing through the air...you will find a photo of us standing back...just in case it all went wrong.

There was also fresh fruit and damper and treacle...a real bush picnic.

A Cassowary and Chicks in the Wild

A rare photo indeed

Led by John, our guide we followed the walkway into the rainforest. I was intrigued by the trees growing through the boardwalk...holes cut to allow expansion as the trees grow.

Then there was a bit of 'shushing'... a finger to the lips to say quiet...what were they looking at? Then John backtracked along the path....and wonder of wonders there was a cassowary with two chicks. And we have photos. This is quite rare we are told.
So how lucky were we.

We were told the the female cassowary does not mind the chicks and the one we photographed was actually "Dad"

How do you do what we did?

Stand back...the Billy is being swung

Have a look at my Cairns page under things to do and you will find my tip on Billy Tea Safaris.

Pros and Cons

Pros:Gorgeous country
Cons:A bridge across the river would bring too many visitors at one time
In a nutshell:Must never be destroyed by man

Last visit to Daintree: Aug 2010
Intro Updated Oct 23, 2012
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Reviews (5)

A Daintree Treat Restaurants (1)

The Daintree North Queensland This is as much a 'Things To Do' as a restaurant tip but you can choose. Such a delightful... more travel advice

Join Billy Tea Safari Things to Do (2)

And Billy Tea there was...the old fashioneed variety. The fire even looked real but regulations meant it was really gas.... more travel advice

See a Cassowary Chick Things to Do (2)

To see a cassowary chick in the wild is a very rare delight. Apparently the Mum leaves the minding to Daddy Cassowary so... more travel advice

Stung by a Box Jelly Fish Warnings and Dangers (2)

If you think this is not for you....well read on...you could be very glad you were warned. Many folk do not heed the... more travel advice

Comments (5)

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starship Jan 19, 2013 at 11:05 AM

Never made it to Daintree as we had to make a choice of Kuranda or Daintree when we visited Cairns. I really wish I also could have seen a Cassowary!! Luckily I never came upon a box jellyfish!! Why do they "swing" the tea???
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  wise23girl Jan 19, 2013 at 1:08 PM
  
  They swing the billy so the tea leaves go to the bottom....Thanks for the visit.
  
  I just revised the tip...LOL
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Regina1965 Dec 28, 2012 at 4:01 PM

Your warning and danger tip totally freaked me out!
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  Regina1965 Dec 28, 2012 at 4:31 PM
  
  Hehe, I had no idea, am just looking for pages I have not read before, not going in chronological order ;)
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  wise23girl Dec 28, 2012 at 4:46 PM
  
  Oh I had virtual tour links along the way which aussirose was following and for a minute I thought you were as well...but you were in one place together...then I was joking about the long virtual hop....as you cannot fly direct from Tenterfield to the Daintree and it would be along drive just to get to a suitable airport ...and we do not like those small planes that fly from northern NSW
  
  LOL
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globetrott Sep 18, 2012 at 9:20 PM

Yes there is a lot of great wildlife in Australia !
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ettiewyn Oct 7, 2011 at 10:04 AM

Hi Marg, nice Cairns and Daintree pages :-)) How lucky you have been to see the Cassowary chick! Wow!!!
I have done the Daintree with Billytea as well, and also the Chillagoe tour. I did not do a seperate Daintree page (it's included in the Cairns page), but I have a seperate one for Chillagoe. It was a great tour and I was so happy because it was the first time I returned to the outback (or near it) on my second trip. I had longed for that for such a long time.
It was a great tour, and it is a great company, I always recommend it! And I agree about the crocs - people don't take care and behave stupidly (I have seen it myself), and then the animals are called "bloodthirsty" or whatever and people want to kill them :-(
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PearleChic Sep 20, 2010 at 9:57 PM

Enjoyed your pages and tips on Cairns and the Daintree.