June 8, 2025, 5:41 am | Read time: 8 minutes
Our author Anna Wengel (Chiodo) is currently in Australia and has visited the Daintree Rainforest. Located in Queensland, it is the oldest rainforest in the world. She shares her spectacular and eerie experiences there on TRAVELBOOK.
“Actually, crocodiles don’t jump into the boat, although…” A loud splash next to the boat interrupts the guide on the Daintree River in his storytelling. The man sitting closest to the splash jumps up, a mother grabs her child, and then there’s a moment of silence. It’s finally broken by the laughter of the previously deeply frightened man. Just a fish, albeit a big one, possibly a small shark, as the guide explains there in the Daintree Rainforest. But at least not a crocodile dragging one of us into the depths. That hasn’t happened in years.
We have already seen a few on this trip over the mangrove-framed river in the Daintree Rainforest. The rainforest is located in northeastern Australia, in the state of Queensland, and is the oldest tropical rainforest in the world: the forest is said to be more than 135 million years old. Since 1988, the 1,200-square-kilometer rainforest has been part of the Wet Tropics of Queensland UNESCO World Heritage site. Seventy adult “salties,” or saltwater crocodiles, and numerous juveniles are said to live here according to an information page on the Daintree Rainforest, and according to the guide, that’s about 20 percent of the population that once existed in this region. After years of humans hunting crocodiles and reducing the population to an extreme minimum, a hunting ban was finally enacted in 1974. Since then, crocodiles here may neither be injured nor killed.
Crocodile Tour on the Daintree River
Crocodiles are the dominant theme in the Daintree Rainforest and its surroundings. Yet the rainforest itself is ancient and home to many other remarkable animals. Some are poisonous, like the box jellyfish or the death adder. Others seem rather cute or fascinating–such as the tree kangaroo, the kingfisher, or the absurd-looking but by no means harmless cassowaries.
Overall, the dense forest with its palms, vines, and more than 3,000 plant species is home to 107 mammal, 368 bird, and 113 reptile species. But no, it’s mainly the crocodiles that are supposed to accompany me and my family today on our first exploration of the rainforest. And judging by the looks of other travelers, we’re not the only ones particularly on the lookout for the giant reptiles and unable to fully relax.
We see three crocodiles up close in and by the river. One of them is a female lying in the water right next to our solar boat (cover image). The guide estimates her length at about three meters. Nearby, there is supposed to be a nearly five-meter-long male. It doesn’t show up, which doesn’t necessarily feel better. Especially because the guide repeatedly explains that crocodiles lurk unseen by humans just below the water’s surface and only emerge at the last moment to attack with a quick movement. They would then drag their victims underwater and sometimes park them in a rock ledge or similar for several days before finally consuming them. I’ll spare the accompanying stories here. Just this much: There have already been several crocodile victims in the Daintree River. And: I hold my rather free-spirited child more often than usual today.
Also interesting: Alligator or Crocodile? How to Tell the Difference
Uneasy Feeling at Cape Tribulation
The boat ride is over after an hour, but the impressions and especially the guide’s stories linger for a long time. Particularly the repeated admonition that in regions where there are saltwater crocodiles, simply don’t go into the water anywhere. Not even into the sea. Not even to the edge. Not at all. That’s exactly what I have to think about when we arrive at Cape Tribulation a little later. We cross the Daintree River by ferry (49 AUD for a round trip, roughly 28 euros)–incidentally, the only way to cross the river–and onto the Cape Tribulation Road, the road that leads through the rainforest up to the cape.
For those to whom the name Cape Tribulation means something: At TRAVELBOOK, we wrote about this beach a few years ago. In this text: The Dream Beach Where Everything Is Truly Dangerous.
Upon arriving at the parking lot, a small path leads to the beach, where a sign warns of crocodiles in the area. It also says: “Crocodiles live in this area. Stay away from the water’s edge and do not enter the water (…).” It won’t be the last one of the day. Next to it is a sign warning of jellyfish and another welcoming us to the Great Barrier Reef.
The beach itself is an almost untouched dream. Hardly anyone is there when we arrive on the light wet sand by the light blue sea. The rainforest nestles picturesquely against the beach and water, and I see what I had only read on signs before: “Where the forest meets the sea.” Cape Tribulation is truly breathtaking. And I’ve rarely felt so uneasy on a beach.
Crocodiles Live in This Area… Do Not Enter the Water
Out of the corner of my eye, I see a tourist running into the water. The water reaches up to her calves when she decides this is the best spot to pose for the man with a camera standing nearby, lifting one leg in the air, jumping high, and beaming with joy, or perhaps just for the photo.
I’m not the only one watching somewhat incredulously. Perhaps I’m also not the only one afraid of witnessing a crocodile attack. I wasn’t. But the uneasy feeling that somewhere in the dense mangrove forest at the sea’s edge or even in the water itself, a crocodile is lurking, never left me, not on the beach and not even on a small hiking trail nearby. We didn’t want to stay there long either.
How I Fell in Love with Cape Town on My Trip to South Africa
This German Dives with Great White Sharks—Without a Cage!
Dangerous and Stunningly Beautiful: Thornton Beach
The single-lane road through the most beautiful rainforest takes us back a bit, to another beach, which the guide had already hinted at in the morning, and which I later confirmed in my research: Nearly ten years ago, a woman lost her life here. Pulled into the sea by a crocodile and eaten. Her friend tried to save her but, of course, could do nothing against the animal.
Once again, I feel uneasy today as we walk past densely growing trees along a barely visible path to Thornton Beach. This beach, too, is a postcard-perfect scene. It is longer than Cape Tribulation, curving along the most beautiful tropical forest. Across the way lies a small, wooded island. Only a few people are out here today. No one jumps into the water or even goes near it. Although the weather would be ideal, and the beach looks more than inviting. And would certainly make for good pictures.
Increased Fear of Crocodiles
Exhausted from the heat and constant tension, we finally head home. Back on the sometimes tightly winding road in the Daintree Rainforest, along a fascinatingly dense vegetated abyss. Past dense forest and, in places where it clears, views of the light blue water of the world-famous Great Barrier Reef. Past a wild boar at the roadside, numerous other crocodile warning signs, streams, and small rivers in the dense rainforest, always on the lookout for more crocodiles.
I return with an increased fear of crocodiles and a new insight thanks to the guide: Spiders, snakes, and the like may bite, but the saltwater crocodile is the only creature in Australia that aims to eat humans. That’s as reassuring as it is unsettling (and not 100 percent correct!). But it changes the perspective at least a little. Even so, I still don’t intend to be stung, bitten, or accidentally considered prey by another Australian animal.
Hardly back at the vacation apartment, I can’t resist and start googling–a mistake, as it quickly turns out. The internet is full of crocodile stories from the area, some of them truly awful. As beautiful as it is here and as much as I like the Daintree Rainforest–one thing has never been clearer to me than now: I don’t want to live in a place where crocodiles are also at home.