Rainforest Walks
The Mission Beach region has one of the best arrays of publicly available walking tracks in the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area. There are 5 principal rainforest walks available to visitors:
- Lacey Creek
- Licuala Forest
- Bicton Hill
- Cutten Brothers
- Kennedy Track
They are of varied length and each has their own distinctive examples of Wet Tropics World Heritage vegetation. There are also a number of rainforest walks on Dunk Island but here we focus on the Mission Beach walks.
Lacey Creek Forest Circuit
1.2 klm long - 45 minutes walking time.
This pathway is located in the Tam O’Shanter Forest and is of the highest standard. Situated on the northern side of the El-Arish – Mission Beach Road about 7 kilometres from Mission Beach, it is quite an easy walk. There is a sealed car park, BBQ and toilet facilities. Enter the track towards the eastern side of the circuit. You will observe a small shelter and display featuring the cassowary, the largest vertebrate in Australia’s rainforests. The Mission Beach area has one of the highest populations of cassowaries in Australia. A number of adults live in the Lacey Creek area and signs are placed along the way detailing further aspects of the cassowary and some plant species. The pathway crosses Lacey Creek in several places. Stand quietly on the fish viewing platform or near any of the beautiful clear water holes and you can often spot many freshwater fish, turtles, crayfish and eels. Remember this is World Heritage area and nothing can be removed except your photos and memories.
Licuala Walking Track
7.8 klm long - 3 hours.
A graded track connecting the Tully and El-Arish roads and exhibiting extensive stands of coastal lowland rainforest. Accessed from either the Tully-Mission Beach Road or at 2 points on the El-Arish-Mission Beach road with parking available on all 3-access places. This walk has 2 distance sections which can be done separately:
- A 3.2km track commencing just across the road from the Lacey Creek Forest circuit. This trail crosses Jurs Creek and follows the now disused Banfield Road for about half of its length. It is a generally level walk except for a moderately steep portion towards the northern Lacey Creek end.
- A level easy walk of some 4.6km from the El-Arish Road to the Rain Forest Circuit and Children’s walks near the Tully Road. This walk joins the above 3.2km track about 100 metres from the El-Arish – Mission Beach Road so that a combined walk of nearly 8km is available.
Rainforest Circuit Walk
1.25 klm long - 30 minutes
This track may be accessed from the Tully – Mission Beach Road by car along 1 klm of unsealed road and the walk commences at the car park. This is a spectacular walk featuring a 10 –15 metre high canopy of Licuala Fan Palms. Mission Beach has approximately 50% of the remaining Fan Palm Forest in Australia. Their fleshy orange fruit is a favourite food of the elusive cassowary and this flat and easy walk has numerous interpretive signs explaining many of the features of the rainforest including cassowaries, vines, epiphytes, strangler figs, ferns, water and nutrient cycling. At the southern end of the loop there is a special 536 metre Fan Palm Boardwalk.
Bicton Hill Track
km long - 1 ½-2 hours
On the road to Bingil Bay (North of Mission Beach) about 3 km past the Mission Beach Wet Tropics Visitors Centre, and C4 this shady rainforest track, with some moderately difficult inclines, winds its way up to Bicton Hill through Clump Mountain National Park. Primitive cycads are a feature towards the top of the track. The view from the lookout at the summit is spectacular. To the South there’s a vista of beaches, coastal plain, rainforest, sugar cane and banana plantations.
The Cutten Brothers Walk
1.5km long - 30 minutes
This walk constructed by the Mission Beach Rotary Club in 1988 starts from Alexander Drive at Clump Point approximately 1 km north of the Wet Tropics Visitors Centre and finishes near the jetty at Narragon Beach. It features superb examples of mangroves and other littoral zone vegetation. The forest through which the track passes is known as complex Mesophyl Lowland Rainforest and is the only surviving remnant left at sea level.
The Kennedy Track
7km long …… 3 1/2 – 4 hours
Named after Edmund Kennedy, who began his ill fated expedition to Cape York from Tam O’Shanter Point in 1848, this 7km walk, was a Bicentennial Heritage Project and begins just past the boat ramp at the end of the Esplanade at South Mission Beach. It winds past Lover’s Beach and Lugger Bay and around Tam O’Shanter Point to Kennedy Bay. From here you can continue walking down the beach to the mouth of the Hull River ( add 1 hour to the return journey). This walk has magnificent sea views and on fine days you can see all the islands from the Barnards in the North, Dunk and Bedarra to the East and to the South the majestic Hinchinbrook. It also has many outstanding examples of fauna and flora.
Alligators’ Nest
This delightful fresh water stream winds down from the hills behind Tully and is a much used favourite of locals. Situated about 5 minutes drive from Djarawong it has a picnic area and toilet facilities. There are also BBQ’s available.