cooper creek wilderness

We were guided by Prue on a day that was over 100 degrees F. and astoundingly humid and despite that it was an incredible experience. I had been dreading it because of the temperatures but it was so interesting we forgot. Prue is extremely knowledgeable and interesting, stopping fairly often to pount out a creature, a plant or a tree. She discussed how the various plants and trees adapted, and pointed out everything from the rambutan and mangosteen trees in the old orchard to the fan palms and custard apples. We gathered after the walk at a beautiful table beneath an awning in the forest for tea--a chance to taste the local Daintree tea along with delicious cheese and crackers. Prue is a former school principal and would make it fascinating to teens and kids as well as to adults. There is a lot of walking on wooded paths over roots and rocks and bathroom facilities are minimal.

After waiting for workers to clear a large tree that had fallen and blocked the main road to Cape Tribulation, we continued on to the private property for our 4 hour Cooper Creek Wilderness tour.As we arrived, "Bertha" one of the local cassowaries was crossing the grounds, and we managed to get a photo of her in the forest nearby a little later. A perfect start for our tour to see a wild cassowary. Neil guided us through the property's old orchard pointing out the green ant's nest in the trees and the well camouflaged Lichen Spider. We walked through a small creek and stopped for Neil to start one of many explanations of the rainforest's history, diversity, and the unique relationships of the plants, animals, birds, insects and weather in shaping and maintaining the rainforest.We saw a lime green snake swimming in the creek, and several photogenic Boyd's Forest Dragons. After 3 hours of walking and learning we experienced some heavy rainfall, and a lot of the return walk involved stepping through shallow puddles formed by water trapped amongst the raised tree roots. At one creek crossing the water entered my walking boots through the top, and in hindsight I should have worn a more open reef shoe, or sandals.Bring along extra footwear if possible, as there is a strong possibility if you wear normal hiking boots or runners that your shoes will be wet by the end of the tour.Neil gave us an excellent insight into the local rainforest, and added much more about the local aboriginal rainforest relationship, and some of the needs and frustrating bureaucracy involved with being a land-owner of a part of a world heritage site.I don't think you will find someone more knowledgeable about life in the Daintree Rainforest than Neil, and we had a most enjoyable time learning from him as we were shown through his property.

We had a 4 hr trip with Neil back in August 2013 . A super and very memorable experience .it included brief and distant views of The Rifle Bird of Paradise. In Jan 2015 a David Attenborough documentary on Birds of Paradise mentions the best illustrator of these birds .. Bill Cooper from Queensland . What is the link if any with Coopers Creek??

A very good tour arround the Rainforest with Angie Hewett.She has a big knowledge about symbiosis between plants and animals.

Neil took our group on a 2 hour walk, prior to going you don't realise how detached you are being a city dweller to nature. Listen to Neil's stories, and soon you will realise it really is a circle of life, and nature works always in a perfect balance.

We were recommended Cooper Creek Wilderness Tours as the best tour in the area, by the owners of our B&B. Our 4-hour trek with Neil was one of the highlights of our trip to Australia, and one of the best rainforest tours we've been on (the other being in Costa Rica). Neil is a biologist by training but has spent years living in the rainforest and learning about its flora and fauna. He knows every square inch of this property, and is a font of knowledge of its magnificent inhabitants. We kept stopping him to ask questions and he was most obliging with his detailed responses. He is also a great story teller as you can imagine from someone who has lived there so long. Go on the 4-hour tour and the night tour to become immersed in nature. Go to learn about the aboriginal people and how they used to live in harmony with the rainforest. Go to learn more about the rainforest than you will find in a book. Go because you'll never see anything if you don't have a good guide. Simply excellent!

"Rest Room" is actually a Nature Loo. It is a point of interest because the overlay of governance in the Daintree Rainforest required a composting toilet that prevented human waste from entering the soil. This has bemused us slightly because there is an estimated pig population of 10,000 in the Daintree (just a small fraction of the 24million feral pigs in Australia) that are not required to instal composting toilets! This is a small example of politics in the forest.

We took a trip on Coopers Creek where we saw a huge Crocodile. The crocodile was sunning on shore and had his mouth wide open! Glad we were at a safe distance!

We did the night walk and the 4 hour day walk. Neil was our guide on both walks. We were keen to see the rainforest but wondered whether 6 hours would be too much. We were so glad we spent the time to do both walks. They were very different but both fabulous. Neil was an incredibly passionate, knowledgeable and interesting guide. We saw amazing animals on the spotlight tour - even the insects were fascinating and so different to what you see elsewhere. And just being in the beautiful forest was wonderful. I have to say these walks were probably the highlight of our trip up north.

Our guide Neil did an excellent job of educating my family of the beauty of the Daintree Rainforest. He combined acadaemic & aboriginal culture knowledge to explain the unique fauna & flora in the oldest rainforest. I especially like the discussion of the importance of the Cassowaries in the ecology of rainforests, they help disperse the seeds of large rainforest fruits, some of which are toxic to most animals over long distances.

Neil Hewitt led us on a 2 hour day hike through his amazing piece of the rain forest. It was perhaps the best such experience of this general type I have had in my life and certainly a highlight of our trip to Australia. Do yourself a favor and experience this yourself.

We did both the day 4hr as well as the night time spotlight tours and I must say they were both great. we are nature lovers and have experience in wildlife tracking and spotlighting and we could not have been more impressed. Both Neil (day trip) and John(?) are a wealth of information and knowledge about the area and their passion for its conservation was fantastic to see.

My family of four (we have two older children), went on the 2-hour Grand Fan Palm Gallery walk with Neil. Not only is the Cooper Creek Wilderness awe-inspiringly beautiful, Neil was an utter wealth of knowledge. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to the information he imparted, along with his unique perspectives about the rainforest eco-system, the role of humans within it and many other things. I learned a great deal and appreciated Neil's non-rushed approach. Please, if you have the chance to visit the Daintree, take yourself to the ferry, cross the river and spend some DAYS living in it, breathe it in and try to get to know this wonderful gem of a place. It was nothing less than a privilege.

Our two daughters, my husband and I spent a morning with Neil on one of these walks. It was absolutely worth the time and the money that we spent. The rainforest itself is gorgeous, but Neil's expertise and knowledge made the experience exponentially better. He conveys a sense not only of the beauty and wonder for the forest, but also how the rainforest fits in with the bigger picture of the regional economy, ecology, history, and politics. And he makes it all interesting. Even our 7 and 9 year old daughters were still riveted after 3 hours. I highly recommend this experience. Wear comfortable and durable shoes and a hat, and bring water.

My husband and I took Prue's 2 hour walking tour through her beloved rainforest which we thoroughly enjoyed. Prue opened the tour by asking us to 'open our eyes' to what was around us pointing out 2 different spiders camouflaged against trees which we'd never have seen! She also pointed out a dragon motionless on a tree. Her passion, knowledge and humour was infectious. We'd recommend this tour to anyone interested in learning about the 170 million year old rainforest!!(No loo available - go before you get there!)