The Daintree rainforest is one of our favourite places in Australia and we have discovered an incredible way to experience it – soaring through the canopy on a zipline with Treetops Adventure.
Located about 3 hours north of Cairns, the Daintree is part of the Wet Tropics region and is UNESCO World Heritage Listed as an area of outstanding natural beauty and significance.
Daintree Zipline Tour
We set off early from Cairns and made sure we had enough time to make some stops along the way. There is a lot to see in this region so don’t rush your visit, if you have the time there are some great places to stay overnight in the Daintree and seeing the rainforest by night is another level of amazing.
We arrived early for our Daintree zipline tour and chose a time slot just after lunch – making sure we were fully energised for the adrenaline rush! The tours start at 9.30am until early afternoon and it’s around a 2-hour experience. Arriving at least 15 minutes early is crucial to make the most of the adventure as the tour starts at the office with a safety briefing and fitting of harness, helmet and equipment. We met our guides for the day who were full of excitement and information, and they took us on a short bus ride up the hill to the starting platform.
After a short bush walk, we were locked on to the Daintree zipline for our first climb and glide. The equipment is really easy to use and double locks on to the lines for safety, so it is impossible to un-attach your harness from the lines – a super reassuring feature when travelling with kids! The boys (who are 7 and 8) took a few attempts to figure out the system but once they’d done it a couple of times there was no stopping them!
The course is fully guided and takes you over rope bridges, wobbly staircases, viewing platforms, and zip lines spanning between 15m and 30m. Our favourite was the last one – a 130m dual zipline which became a high-speed race for the finish line!
Along the way our knowledgeable guides shared stories and facts about the rainforest as well as a few jokes, and around halfway through the tour we reached an 8m high enclosed viewing tower with incredible views of the rainforest tumbling down towards the Great Barrier Reef. The guides gave us an interpretative talk and some more info on why the area is so special and took some group photos for us.
The guides take photos throughout the experience which are emailed at no extra cost later in the day. You can also borrow a phone holder to wear on your harness to take your own pics too as you enjoy the course.
The time flew by (literally!) and we have put this adventure as one of our favourite so far. Magnificent views, tranquil rainforest surroundings, adrenaline and laughs. If you’re visiting the area definitely add this experience to your list.
Treetops Adventures now have 14 locations around Australia – we LOVED visiting the Treetops Adventure Hollybank near Launceston and can’t wait to work our way around the rest!
Things to know: children are from ages 3-17 and must have adult supervision on the course. Smaller kids will need help along the course when leaving and reaching platforms. Ages 3-7 have an adult ration of 1 child to 2 adults and children aged 8-12 have a ratio of 4 children to one adult. All supervising adults need their own ticket. For teens, an adult is required to remain onsite but not required to participate. Enclosed footwear is required (we managed to forget Arthur’s shoes – long story – but luckily there was an old pair that someone had left that we taped onto his feet. Do not be like us!) There is a car park out the front and more parking just up the road for larger rigs. To get to the Daintree region from Cairns you need to take a vehicle ferry – in peak times the wait can be quite long so please take this into account when planning your arrival. For all the latest information and updates head to the Treetops Adventure website.
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