Daintree River
Rising on the rainforest-covered slopes of the Great Dividing Range in Kuku Yalanji Country within the Daintree National Park, the Daintree River is part of the 894,000-hectare Daintree Rainforest region within the UNESCO World Heritage–listed Wet Tropics.
Two minor tributaries join the river on its 127-kilometre course, draining a 2,107 square kilometre catchment before flowing through thick mangrove swamps to discharge into the Coral Sea, north of Wonga Beach, just over 78 kilometres north-northwest of Cairns. Access to the estuary is limited by a giant, constantly shifting sandbar.
George Elphinstone Dalrymple named the river in honour of geologist Richard Daintree in the course of his 1873 Northeast Coast expedition.
Without a bridge across the river, access to locations on its northern side is limited to a commercial ferry operation.
Large numbers of saltwater crocodiles in the Daintree and deaths from crocodile attacks mean tourists and visitors are actively discouraged from swimming and urged to exercise caution on and beside the water.
