TOURISM QUEENSLAND 136 DESTINATION RED, GREEN, BLUE A technicolour universe awaits divers exploring the deep off Lizard Island, while lush tropical rainforest and the outback are other enchanting aspects of far north Queensland. GOING TROPPO QUEENSLAND’S TROPICAL NORTH FEATURES SOME OF THE MOST SPECTACULAR NATURAL WONDERS IN THE SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE, AND AS SHERIDEN RHODES DISCOVERS, THERE IS PLENTY OF LUXURY AND COMFORT FROM WHICH TO EXPERIENCE THAT BEAUTY. exclusivetravelgroup.com 138 DESTINATION TOURISM QUEENSLAND in as our new reptile friends retreat in the On the return journey, Cameron private balcony complete with hammock LOUNGE LIZARD served on Dupuy lentils with artichoke, opposite direction. It’s a magnificent start points out the large purple plum that the and day bed overlooking the rapids. Below: A day bed on exotic mushrooms and warm herb salad Lizard Island, with its to our visit to the Daintree and by the time cassowary bird likes to eat, and explains The main lodge itself is hidden high soaring views of the – a French twist to the exceptional local we wrap ourselves in towels on the sandy more about the unique flora and fauna in the treetops, and is where guests Coral Sea. Bottom: produce available. bank we’re grinning from ear to ear. of this ancient rainforest. At the walk’s gather for long cool cocktails in the Lizard Island (largest) If you’ve come to see the world’s from the air, along Our journey started a few hours end, we tuck into freshly baked damper Jungle Perch Bar, followed by dinner at with nearby Palfrey oldest rainforest, there’s really no need earlier in Cairns, heading north to Port and steaming billy tea, prepared on an the open-air treehouse, which serves up Island and South to venture far from the lodge’s creature Douglas on the Captain Cook Highway outdoor oven, and reluctantly depart inspired seasonal dishes with a focus (Newt) Island. comforts given it borders the Daintree along one of Australia’s most beautiful what must be one of Australia’s greatest on far north Queensland’s abundant National Park. Walking trails take you coastal stretches. The 70-kilometre tract natural treasures. produce. Pedemay’s crocodile and straight into the nearby Mossman Gorge, takes you alongside the postcard-perfect In Mossman, there are a couple tarragon cheesecake served with smoked you can picnic on the sandy banks and northern beaches, complete with palm- of other terrific things to try: coffee barramundi, pickled papaya, chutney and swim in the billabongs, which almost fringed, white-sand inlets and turquoise- at the funky 50s-style Junction Café, herb salad is the restaurant’s signature feel baptismal, or just kick back on a coloured water stretching to the horizon. contemporary fare at local prices at Mojo’s dish; other must-trys include the rare sun lounge with binoculars. There are Beyond is the town of Mossman, where Bar and Grill and, with spear in hand, you yellow-fin tuna served with green tea early morning yoga sessions along the we’ve come to see the Daintree. Over the can hunt for mud crabs, mussels and fish noodle salad, house made salmon gravlax river, and treatments to be had at the next few days we swim many more times with the Walker brothers at nearby Cooya and a mango and coriander dressing magnificent Healing Waters Spa, tucked with the family of freshwater turtles in our Beach. If you’re staying at Silky Oaks or the pesto-crusted reef barramundi beneath the rainforest canopy. Submit to the therapist’s skilful hands for one of the signature treatments using Western Australian spa care product Sodashi. Afterwards, float back to your private treehouse and breathe in the fresh balmy air of the magnificent rainforest habitat. www.silkyoakslodge.com.au f you had but one place to visit in own private billabong, tuck into crocodile DOWN BY THE RIVER Australia, tropical north Queensland cheese cake at the magnificent Silky Oaks Above and below: THE REEF Silky Oaks Lodge is would surely top the list. Here you’ll Resort, and take a Ngadiku Dreamtime Like nothing on earth, the Great Barrier I spectacularly situated find not one, but two World Heritage-listed Gorge walk at the new $20 million on the Mossman River Reef remains one of Australia’s most regions – the Jurassic Park-like Daintree Mossman Gorge Centre. and sits amid the mesmerising, sublime attractions. Those Rainforest and the Great Barrier Reef, one While on the one hand it’s Daintree Rainforest’s who visit it for the first time leave intoxicated giant canopy. Right: A of the seven wonders of the world and disappointing that you can no longer bird’s-eye, not-for-the- by the under-water marvels, while for the only living organism you can see from drive yourself into Mossman Gorge, the faint-hearted view of tourists around the globe, this is an area space. It’s where the rainforest meets the new eco-friendly centre, which serves up Barron Falls. to keeping returning to and exploring. reef, where jungle-clad mountains tumble The recreational activities are endless, down to the sea. Head inland however the weather sublime and the Queensland and, almost incomprehensively, you people, of course, warm and welcoming. travel from rich, vibrant reef to immense, Among the most intriguing locations fathomless outback, under wide-open on the Reef must be Lizard Island, which skies. Large cattle stations the size of sits 240 kilometres north of Cairns and small European countries, pioneer gold 27 kilometres off the coast of north fields, hidden campsites, lava tubes and Queensland. Traditionally, the island, volcanic lakes are all part and parcel of the outback experience. Yes, tropical north Queensland is just one vast corner of excellent café fare and is almost entirely Lodge (for families with children 12 and Australia, yet it’s blessed with ecologically staffed by indigenous locals, ensures over), however, you may never venture rich habitats and regions not found man’s footprint on this ancient rainforest further than its acclaimed in-house anywhere else. There’s nothing for it but to is minimised. restaurant led by French-born executive dive right in. We join Cameron Buchannan, a local chef Laurent Pedemay and its sublime indigenous guide, on a Dreamtime walk water holes fed by the Mossman River. THE RAINFOREST through the world’s oldest living rainforest Silky Oaks is a luxury lodge in every We arrive at the friendly sugar-growing – the inspiration for the movie Avatar – sense of the word and its location, right town of Mossman in the Daintree. Our learning about the Kuku Yalanji people on the pristine river, fed by the Mossman clothes are damp from humidity and it’s along the way. It’s another steamy hot Gorge with its pure waters cascading nigh on dusk. A chorus of what sounds day and in anticipation we wear bathers downstream over granite boulders, is like a thousand cicadas fills the air, which underneath our loose cotton clothing. arguably the best in the Daintree. There is sultry and smells fresh and alive. We Cameron points out Kauri and ancient are 43 luxurious and contemporary discard our clothes and wash off the cycads, plants, bush tucker sources standalone river and treehouses where grime of the day’s travelling in a cool, and culturally significant sites, including wide verandahs, luxurious spa baths green billabong where it’s believed several traditional bark shelters, before we arrive and hammocks look out over evergreen families of turtles live. A tiny red kingfisher at a glorious waterhole fed by a gushing rainforests of massive ferns, the bubbling skims the surface to take a drink and waterfall and surrounded by granite river and giant kauri trees reaching for within moments, something sends ripples boulders. Here we enjoy an invigorating the sky. Last year the eco lodge added across the surface. Right in front of us swim. As we dry ourselves on a rock, two high-end ‘Billabong Suites’ featuring is a tiny freshwater turtle. We stay as Cameron mixes up red and orange clay custom-designed furniture made from motionless as possible and watch as it is from river water and dot paints both local sustainable timbers, open-plan living joined by its extended family. Eventually his and my arm, while a large Ulysses areas, Bose sound system, complimentary we can bear it no longer and jump back butterfly flits by in all its brilliance. mini bar, library and a large full-length exclusivetravelgroup.com 140 DESTINATION TOURISM QUEENSLAND There is no end of activities available on the island. Foremost among them must be fishing, with the charter boat Fascination available for an adrenalin-charged game fishing expedition for black marlin, tuna, mackerel, trevally and swordfish. A helicopter tour is also a wondrous experience here, as is diving. One enjoys a profound, humbling experience when diving in the famous Cod Hole, where the potato cod will swim right up to you, while the island is also, tantalisingly, only a 50-minute boat ride to that place of legend and intrigue: the outer Reef. There is also ample opportunity for reflection and rejuvenation on Lizard Island. The Azure Spa prides itself on treatments inspired by nature itself, to nurture mind, body and spirit with an TOUCH THE CLOUDS emphasis on the balance between the A helicopter takes in the spectacular Arlington Reef, south of Lizard physical and emotional. After all, the Island. Below left: Meeting the locals is an unforgettable experience. tranquility surrounding you on this island Below right: The sun sets off the balcony of one of the resort’s most prestigious spots, the Pavilion.