BIODIVERSITY

The most biologically diverse rainforest in the Daintree lies directly below Thornton Peak, the highest point in the Cape Tribulation section of the Daintree.

Midway between the Daintree River and Cape Tribulation, Cooper Creek has become a refuge for rare, ancient and primitive flora and fauna that have evolved from Gondwana.

GEOLOGY

The genesis of the Daintree occurred 350 million years ago when an upthrust of the earth's crust lifted plates to form mountain ranges that were taller than Mt. Everest. This mountain range was 150km east of the coast of Gondwana. Erosion and deposition over the next 90 million years, reduced their height to the level it is today and filled the gap between the mountain range and the Coral Sea to form the Wet Tropics of Queensland.

RAINFALL

Moist air from the sea gathers around Thornton Peak (1379m) forming a blanket of cloud that regularly dumps on the area contributing to an average rainfall of 5 metres per year. During the wet depressions associated with monsoonal troughs, heavy deluges fill Cooper Creek and its tributaries.

SCIENTIFIC INTEREST

The Cooper Creek catchment encapsulates the majority of attributes of scientific interest in the Greater Daintree area -

• flora relicts from ages past,
• primitive animals,
• examples of on-going evolution and speciation,
• rare and endemic flora and fauna, and
• living links with the recent past incursions of fauna and flora from south-east Asia.

FLORA

The flora of Cooper Creek occupies a unique place in the history of the Australian flora, and provides vital clues to the origin, evolution and dispersal of the world's first flowering plants and the contribution of these and the non-flowering plants (the fungi, club-mosses, ferns, conifers and cycads) to the natural heritage values of the area.

CULTURAL HISTORY

The cultural heritage of the indigenous people, the Kuku Yalanji people and the more recent cultural history of early European settlement can be seen in the area. The middle and lower catchments of Cooper Creek and have an exceptional situation which sets them apart from the generally high altitude and cloud shrouded heights of the majority of the Greater Daintree. The lowland area is mostly freehold, owned by private landowners with vested interests in the land, of residential rights, agricultural usage, and most recently, natural history presentation.

CONSERVATION OF THE AREA

Australia's international obligation to protect the biodiversity of the rich lowlands of the Daintree relies largely on the private landowners who have made a commitment to conserve their lands to perpetuity and to develop an economy based on sustainable ecotourism.

The benefits of this style of tourism are obvious. The tourist gets to see the best of the lowland rainforest under the expertise of local experts who live in the area and know many of its secrets. Financial contributions are to the land manager and directly support conservation of the rainforest. This is a user-pays system that does not rely on the public purse.

FOR MORE INFORMATION AND ACTIVITIES

Cooper Creek Wilderness Tours - if you wish to walk in the Cooper Creek rainforest

Cape Tribulation Wilderness Cruises - if you wish to explore Cooper Creek from a boat

Daintree Cape Tribulation Heritage Lodge - if you wish to stay overnight on Cooper Creek

Nocturnal animals in the Cooper Creek rainforest - experience the rainforest at night

The story of the rediscovery of the Idiospermum australiense, a tree thought to be extinct - one of the ancient flowering plants that you can see at Cooper Creek.

Cafe-on-Sea is located near the mouth of Cooper Creek and makes an ideal stopping place for rereshments while you are exploring Thornton beach, and the mouth of the Cooper Creek estuary.

Daintree Natural Therapies and Spa - experience a massage amidst the Cooper Creek rainforest, at Heritage Lodge.