Get wet & wild in the Tropics

Experience a unique collision of rainforest and coastline in Tropical North Queensland – home to astonishing wildlife and a paradise for outdoor lovers

As the destination where World Heritage-listed rainforest meets World Heritage-listed reef, there’s nowhere else on the planet quite like Tropical North Queensland. Call it unique. Call it a natural nirvana. Call it the kind of experience you’ll be talking about for years.

It’s the oldest tropical rainforest in the world (predating the Amazon, no less) and has several distinct areas to explore, every one of them brimming with wildlife, adventure and timeless natural beauty. Known collectively as the Wet Tropics of Queensland World Heritage Site, its mega-forest stretches for 450km from Townsville in the south to Cooktown in the north, incorporating 29 national parks along the way – all of them free. For self-drivers, it’s heaven.

The range of activities to be enjoyed is, as you’d expect, phenomenal. From spotting tree kangaroos and kayaking across volcanic lakes to swimming in waterfalls and joining an Indigenous walkabout, it’s somewhere primed for lengthy exploration.

To the south, try Wooroonooran National Park, where the Josephine Falls provide a swimming hole, or book in at a lodge on the Atherton Tablelands like the Rose Gums Wilderness Retreat, which offers luxury for travellers in search of indulgence (£114pppn). Close by, Mission Beach is the thrill-packed gateway to the Cassowary Coast and Great Barrier Reef, while the Atherton Tablelands is a rolling area defined by bushwalks, gourmet produce and dense rainforest; following the Barron River out of the Tablelands, you’ll arrive at the many tiers of the Barron Falls.

Further north you’ll reach Kuranda, famed not just for its scenic railway but for its Skyrail Rainforest Cableway, which glides you above the canopy, granting deep views across a spread of tropical scenery. Elsewhere, Palm Cove and Port Douglas both combine comforts with wilderness, while arguably the region’s greatest gift comes in the form of world-famous Cape Tribulation, where the ancient Daintree Rainforest descends to meet the wonders of the reef.

You’ll also find remarkable wildlife wherever you go: estuarine saltwater crocs inhabit some of the waterways; cassowaries strut through the forests; butterflies and birds, meanwhile, spill across the rainforest like confetti.

So whether you’re here to hike, to horse-ride or just to experience the singular magic of this age-old pocket of Australia, the Wet Tropics Rainforest is the definition of an unforgettable travel destination.