The Wet Tropics of Queensland are a long, narrow strip of rainforest between Townsville and Cooktown, and they hold the oldest continuously surviving tropical rainforest on earth, some of it unchanged for well over a hundred million years. The World Heritage listing, from 1988, covers not one block but a patchwork of national parks and other protected land, which is why the label calls this a component around Cowley. Here, the mountains run down almost to the sea, and on the flat, fertile coastal plain around Innisfail, sugar cane and banana plantations stand beside beaches, mangroves and remnants of forest.
Nature here is strange and abundant. The southern cassowary, a huge flightless bird with a blue neck and a bony casque on its head, lives in the lowland forest and is one of the most dangerous birds in the world if provoked, so you should never approach one. It is also one of the most important seed dispersers in the forest. Tree kangaroos, musky rat kangaroos, pythons and thousands of insect species share the canopy, and the estuaries hold saltwater crocodiles, so check signs before swimming. From November to May, box jellyfish make the sea unsafe, and the sea is best left to the tourists with stinger suits.
The riding is on the Bruce Highway and the quieter coastal roads, which run through cane fields, over rivers and along the foot of the mountains. It is long, flat and open, with flowing bends in places, and sometimes it narrows into green tunnels where the rainforest closes over the road. The area has been hit by cyclones, including Larry in 2006 and Yasi in 2011, and the forest shows the scars of both. The best season is the dry winter, from May to October, when the days are warm and clear. In the wet season, heavy rain and flooding can cut the roads.
Innisfail, fifteen kilometres away, is a town with fuel, a bakery and pubs, and a relaxed tropical atmosphere. Further away, the banana and sugar towns have little. Carry water, sunscreen and insect repellent, and slow down at dusk when wildlife is on the move. Fruit stalls along the road sell mangoes, bananas and exotic fruit in season.