About 80km north of Cairns at the southern end of the Daintree you come upon Mossman Gorge.
This is a natural wonderland - part of the Daintree rainforest.
Traditionally the Eastern Kuku Yalanji (Goo-goo Ya-lan-gee) people have occupied this area for thousands of years prior to first contact. They are recognised as the Traditional Owners for this area . When the white people came there were clashes as the Europeans wanted to log the area, there is then a long history of missionaries in the area, and not surprisingly the native people being treated poorly.
Thankfully now the area is protected and a tourism destination. There is a place called the Mossman Discovery centre, which is run in conjuntion with the native people of the area and looks to protect the land and promoted knowledge of the aboriginal way of living with that land.
And what a land it is - beuaitful dense sub tropical rainforest all set in a gorge formed by the Mossman river - We were there just on the edge of wet season, the river was still powerful, but not at it's true height and power. But there was something majestic in the power of that river.
The only way into the gorge is through the discovery centre and with an entry fee, you then get on a bus for the short 5 min drive into the rainforest itself. From there there are a series of walks - a short 30-45min loop is the entry level (and unfortunately all we could do given how much we were trying to pack into the day). This takes you past the river, and weaves in and out of the forested bits.
It's all quite stunning and a great little introduction to the Daintree - frankly if this was all you did, and if you had done one of the 2-3 hour long walks you would get a pretty good feel for what far North Queensland is about and the beauty the land has.
