With more than 100 scenic spots to visit, the Wet Tropics of Queensland offer not only striking scenic vistas but also a variety of river and rainforest activities.
Some of its outstanding — if not astounding — features include Queensland's highest peaks, Bartle Frere and Bellenden Ker, and Australia's longest single-drop waterfall, the 305-metre (1000-foot) Wallaman Falls.
The Wet Tropics of Queensland are a World Heritage site, inscribed by the United Nations in 1988 as:
- An outstanding example representing the major stages in the earth's evolutionary history.
- An outstanding example representing significant ongoing ecological and biological processes.
- An example of superlative natural phenomena.
- Containing important and significant habitats for in situ conservation of biological diversity.
Area
The World Heritage area covers about 900,000 hectares. Six hundred kilometres (372 miles) of roads bring you up close to many of Nature's geological and rainforest attractions.
Location
The Wet Tropics extend from Cooktown to Townsville and include many national parks such as Daintree, Barron Gorge and Wooroonooran National Parks.
Activities
A variety of bushwalking tracks are found in the Wet Tropics. The tracks range from 20-minute walks to all-day hikes.
A bird's-eye of the forest canopy can be glimpsed from a bungy jump. Or take the aerial cable car from Cairns to Kuranda for a longer look.
Whitewater rafting, wildlife spotlighting at night, narrated botanical and cultural heritage walks, swimming and aerial flights are other popular activities.
Flora and fauna
Close to 390 rare species of plants, including 74 threatened species, are to be found in the Wet Tropics.
At least 25 extremely rare species of animals, including the brush-tailed bettong, spotted-tailed quoll, yellow-bellied glider and southern cassowary, are to be found in the area.
The rainforests
The Wet Tropics rainforests contain an almost complete record of the major stages in the evolution of plant life on earth. Many species within the World Heritage area originated when Australia was still part of Gondwana, the ancient continent including India, Australia, Antarctica, parts of Africa and South America.
Aboriginal occupation
Aborigines are believed to have lived in the area from the earliest human occupation of Australia around 50,000 BC.
Today's local Aboriginal communities identify as "rainforest people."
Getting there
Cairns is a gateway to the Wet Tropics (and, of course, to the Great Barrier Reef). You can also access the Wet Tropics through any of the included national parks.
If going through Cairns, fly in to its international airport or head north from Sydney and other southern Australian cities. There's a train line to Cairns and coaches head north from Brisbane and other points south. Check with your travel agent or visit a Queensland visitor centre.
