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Seat reservations.
Are there seats available? Seat availability link>>
Please make your resevation
by e-mailing Chris or Denise:
chrisld@austarnet.com.au
or Telephone 07 4098 7997
Tourist season. "When is the tourist season?"
The main tourist season is from late June until September. In this season it is wise to book your accommodation and your activities ahead of time.
It can be busy over Easter and Christmas. October and early November are prime birdwatching times.
Wildlife season. "When is the best time to see wildlife?"
It depends on what you want to see. A good example of the seasonal variations are crocodiles. You see plenty lying on the banks of the river during winter but hardly see them in the summer and rarely in the wet season. From our records, taken over a long time, we have produced a whole page on this subject at:
seasonal
variations>>
Transport. "Do you pick up?"
No. If transfers are a problem, why don't you consider staying closer. The Daintree Village has a variety of accommodation within walking distance of the Daintree Village jetty. See next answer below. Driving on the left for the first time? See Driving Tip -->
Accommodation. "Does it matter where I stay?"
No. It must be said however that the range and the cost of accommodation on offer in the Daintree Village and Wonga Beach is a best kept secret.
See: Daintree accommodation>> If still un-decided, we have local knowledge and can help, just e-mail
Chris>>
Toilet. Where do I find the toilet?
Firstly the toilet is new and spotless. It is also obvious being the only building on the right as you drive the 100 metres down to the jetty carpark from the Daintree General Store. Why is it spotless? The cleaners come at 6:10am each morning and clean it.
There is another toilet at the sports oval.
The Jetty. "Where is the jetty?" See map above.
The Daintree Village is only 2 blocks. The Daintree General Store is in the second block. The Daintree Village jetty, or public jetty, is 100 metres downhill from the Daintree General Store in the Daintree Village. See
map above.
There is a public pontoon downstream 14 kilometres away. The public pontoon is near the ferry crossing and even "information centres" and "local tour desks" get the jetty at the Daintree Village and the ferry confused.
Tidal effects. "What effects do the tides have?"
If you are looking for crocodiles a high tide does not help. Generally a lowish tide is beneficial but up in the freshwater areas that I go into, near the village, a low tide can prevent me from getting into some of the billabongs. To see some of the scarcer herons it can be beneficial if the low tide occurs just before dawn. Tidal predictions: here.
Breakfast. "What about breakfast after the trip?"
We have more options in 2008 than previous years, see this Breakfast link>>
Why so early. "Why is dawn the best time to go?"
You see more wildlife. Dawn is a great. The water is so still you can see a swimming crocodile from hundreds of metres away. If a leaf or small branch moves it is being moved by the wildlife. Sound carries much further in these conditions and birds can heard and identified from further away. There is a dawn chorus. The more shy species will break their cover more often than later in the day. The ambience is extraordinary and our 2 hour trip is finished before the daily tourist invasion, you simply do not see tourists, you see what you came here for, the wildlife.
Parking. "What is the parking like?"
It is free, and at that time of the morning there is lots of it. 100 metres down hill from the Daintree General Store there is a level sealed parking area with a narrow drive going down to the boat ramp on the left. Please do not drive down to the boat ramp, particularly with your headlights on, unless you are dropping someone off.
Birdwatching. "Is this wildlife tour a birdwatching tour?"
Seeing that most of the visible and audible Australian wildlife, in the daytime, are birds, I would think it a tragedy to leave birds out. I am very keen to show the relationship of the habitats, their plants and the wildlife that lives there, bird, reptile, insect, spider or mammal. For instance there are some very special associations between night-flowering plants, bats and early birds.
It is not unusual to find a birdwatcher or two on the boat. They are an interesting group of people and usually very well trained naturalists. A birdwatcher on holiday has two holidays. One for the destination and the other for the birds that are at that destination. I have a special page on the web for birdwatchers.
Daintree birdwatching>>>
Staying north of the river.
All you need to do is catch the ferry at 6:00am, cross over the river and drive to Daintree Village. You will make it easily by 6:30am. With our earlier start in the summer I will be at the
Daintree Village jetty at 6:30am to meet you if you have a
reservation. You will still get a 2 hour trip. Be sure to ask for the free visitor's ferry tickets from your hosts after you get north of the river.
Information. "Where is the best place to find information?"
There is a Daintree
tourism information web site that we produced. Listed in it is every bona fide Daintree tourism related business that we could find with their contact phone number,
and sometimes links. With three "Daintree tourism associations" (PDDTA, DCTTA & DVTA) and three different websites to support them, the very name Daintree has become confusing. Also not all businesses belong to tourism associations
are not on these websites.
The website with all tourism businesses is here:
Daintree Tourism Information >>
Boat types. "For wildlife viewing is there any significance in the types of boats?"
Yes. The Daintree River has many tourist boats and most are purpose built for a particular use. It is fair to say that most boats carry the same number of people that a bus or coach can carry. For instance there are seven 50 seat boats and a whole string of boats that can carry 20 or 22 passengers which is the size of large and medium sized buses. There are two boats powered by electric motor/s which are run from storage batteries that are re-charged from mains power overnight. There is another boat shaped like a narrow pencil case with revolving barstools that are just high enough to restrict the poor boat driver's view. There is yet another that is made up of floating carriages and looks like a train.
So what do we use? Our 12 seat boat's width gives it the highest stability rating of any tourist vessel on the Daintree River. The seats are tiered, they are low and they do not move. There is no roof. In some respects it is similar to the specialist wildlife viewing boats that you can find in Africa, Central America and South America. We use an Evinrude E-Tec outboard motor for efficiency and an electric impellor for stealth.
What to do after?
By doing this early tour you can sit back, have a leisurely breakfast and still
avoid the queue at the ferry. Continuing on to Cape Tribulation at this time you
will have access to the National Parks boardwalks without the crowds that follow on the bus tours and it will be a lot cheaper. The boardwalks have excellent
interpretive signage, you can visit the Bat House and there are lots of lunch options.
How do I remember all the wildlife?
After every trip I list the wildlife seen and heard and put a list on the internet where it stays forever. Checklist>>
Weather. 1. "It has been raining all night. Are you still going in the morning?"
Yes. I would not be much of an operator if, after you have come here for your holiday, I decided not to take you out because it rained the night before. We deliberately do not operate in the main "wet season" to avoid the predictable seasonal rain.
See traveller's comment:"
Today we took an early morning boat trip to see wildlife aboard a purpose built
boat with Chris Dahlberg's Daintree River Tours. The boat was scheduled to depart at 6:30 a.m. It was pouring cats-and-dogs, but the boat, which was fully booked (with no cancellations) left on time. Besides us, there was an American couple, a man from Ireland, and another man. Everyone (except for Robert and I, and the other woman) had great eyes for spotting things and an excellent knowledge of birds. Cruising the Daintree River, we saw lots of birds despite the rain: including cormorants, anhingas, pelicans, flycatchers, and a warbler-like bird. We even saw a crocodile which really doesn't look much like an alligator. It lacked the gator's smile among other things."
Profile: http://www.igougo.com/profile/myProfile.asp?member=88414
As to the weather and seasonal effects on wildlife have a quick look at this: seasonal variations.
2. " Will it be cold?"
From Late April until August it can be surprisingly cold first thing in the morning and I wear a pullover
which can be discarded as the morning warms up.
Driving Times.
Cairns 1 hour 30 minutes, Port Douglas 45 minutes, Julatten 55 minutes, Mossman 30 minutes, ferry 15 minutes, Wonga Beach 20 minutes.
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