The main lodge at Daintree Ecolodge, with its bar, restaurant and lagoon view, blends seamlessly into the landscape. Photo / Rosalie Liddle Crawford
Tucked deep in the world’s oldest tropical rainforest is Daintree Ecolodge, an accommodation by Intrepid Travel. Rosalie Liddle Crawford journeys into the heart of Queensland to see what it’s like.
“When you step into a tropical rainforest, your cortisol levels immediately drop,” someone remarked as I arrived at Daintree Ecolodge, Intrepid Travel’s boutique eco-accommodation nestled deep within the ancient Daintree Rainforest.
After just one night under the canopy of the world’s oldest lowland tropical rainforest in north Queensland, I understood exactly what they meant.
Believed to be more than 180 million years old, the Daintree Rainforest is Earth’s oldest tropical rainforest, a living museum of ecology located right beside the Great Barrier Reef, making it the only place on the planet where two Unesco World Heritage Sites meet.
I had arrived in Cairns from Auckland the night before, and after breakfast at the Hilton, began the 90-minute drive north along the Captain Cook Highway. The winding coastal road, fringed by the Coral Sea and lush greenery, took me past Port Douglas and the locals’ amusingly nicknamed “Moss-Vegas” (Mossman). Along the way, roadside signs advertising crocodile tours were a thrilling reminder of the region’s wild character.
The ecolodge is nestled into the southern banks of the Daintree River, near Daintree Village – home to around 85 people and more than 200 crocodiles, according to locals. Despite my brief stay, the effect was profound: a deep calm washed over me, and the rainforest’s pulse seemed to recalibrate my own.
Daintree Ecolodge is Intrepid Travel’s first foray into Australian accommodation, and it sets a powerful tone. With just 15 eco-conscious “bayans” (treehouses), a tranquil natural waterfall, and a wellness retreat embedded in the rainforest, it exemplifies sustainable luxury. The main lodge, with its bar, restaurant, and lagoon view, blends seamlessly into the landscape.
“I heard I might be sleeping above 70 crocodiles in a treehouse,” I joked on arrival. My hosts laughed, assuring me the lagoon was croc-free – but I would soon discover there was more than enough wildlife to marvel at.
After settling in, I explored the grounds: winding rainforest trails, a serene swimming pool, and a tranquil Wellness Spa offering relaxing therapies. That evening, I joined a cocktail reception hosted for local businesses involved in the ecolodge’s recovery from Cyclone Jasper, a category two cyclone that struck just months after Intrepid’s acquisition in 2023. On the menu? The most delicious buttery barramundi I’ve ever tasted, sourced from the nearby Daintree Saltwater Barramundi Farm.
The next morning, I rose before dawn for a mindfulness exercise session with Sarah Cutting, a local practitioner who crossed the Daintree River by ferry to guide us. As I stretched under the fronds of towering palms with the soft sounds of the rainforest waking around me, I nearly drifted back to sleep.
Breakfast at the Julaymba Restaurant and Bar was a celebration of local ingredients. Midway through my eggs, a baby scrub python glided up a nearby tree in pursuit of a green tree frog – just another moment of rainforest theatre.
Intrepid Travel, founded in the late 1980s by Australians Darrell Wade and Geoff Manchester, has long championed small-group travel grounded in local experiences. Now, they’re branching out into eco-conscious accommodation, starting with Daintree Ecolodge and continuing with properties in Tasmania and Morocco.
Brett Mitchell, Intrepid Travel Australia New Zealand’s managing director, told me about the lodge’s baptism by storm.
“We purchased Daintree Ecolodge in 2023, and within a couple of months, Cyclone Jasper hit. The whole region was devastated,” he said. “But the community’s resilience was inspiring. We saw empathy, teamwork, and incredible hard work come together to rebuild. We’re really proud to be part of this Daintree community.”
That community spirit is reflected in the ecolodge, from the First Nations cultural experiences to sustainability practices that honour and protect this irreplaceable environment, such as introducing solar power and advanced wastewater treatment with a bio-cycle system, composting, veggie gardens and eliminating single-use plastics.
A key part of the Daintree Ecolodge experience is its connection to the Kuku Yalanji people, the traditional custodians of the land. Guests are welcomed with an introduction to native plants and invited to participate in the traditional smoking ceremony. Afterwards, I learned to make a dilly bag from natural fibres with local weaver Aunty Shannelle Lenoy, who shared stories of her childhood gathering materials with her grandparents.
“Grandad would go and get the black palm for Nana. The trunk was for spears and other artefacts, and my responsibility at a young age was to prepare the fibres for weaving.”
The ecolodge also supports Rainforest Rescue through the Intrepid Foundation, helping conserve and restore the lowland Daintree. Since 1999, Rainforest Rescue has been purchasing and protecting threatened land, planting trees, and building wildlife corridors.
The region is in transition, as the sugar cane mill, which was the backbone of the local economy, closed after 127 years. The ‘Protect a Rainforest’ initiative acquires land formerly used for sugar cane and restores it to thriving rainforest. To date, they’ve planted over 353,000 trees.
“We now protect 45 rainforest properties – 32 of which are protected forever through Nature Refuge Conservation Agreements,” said Rainforest Rescue CEO Branden Barber. The partnership between Daintree Ecolodge and Rainforest Rescue has led to $24,000 donated via the Intrepid Foundation in the first year.
I chatted with Emma Bartram, a Daintree Ecolodge staff member with a background in biology and science communication who loves sharing how diverse the rainforest wildlife is.
“Today I saw an Azure kingfisher, an amethystine python, a white-lipped tree frog, a green tree frog, a stony creek frog, and a Wompoo Fruit-Dove in a blue quandong tree. A keelback snake lives in our pond and there was a Golden Orb Weaving Spider the size of my hand in the car park.”
She shared that the lodge’s creek is home to freshwater eels and crayfish, and the lagoon has turtles. No crocs though.
Intrepid accommodation aims to be “community-centric, nature-based and experiential”, said Intrepid’s ANZ accommodation operational lead, Richmond Sear, and Daintree Ecolodge fits the bill perfectly.
It’s not just an accommodation, but an experience; one where you can deeply engage with place, people, and purpose, whether it’s through cultural tours, nature-based learning or simply “being”.
“You just sit here,” Sear said, “and you’re amazed by the symphony of life around you – birds, bats, frogs, and Boyd’s forest dragons.” And, of course, Trevor the bush turkey, the lodge’s unofficial mascot, struts proudly through the grounds, tearing up the mulch and amusing staff and guests alike.
Too soon, it was time to return to Cairns. As I drove away from my immersive experience at Daintree Ecolodge, I felt mellow and relaxed; all stress drained away. I had a profound sense of connection to the land, the people, and something even deeper: balance.
Daintree Ecolodge is more than a place to stay. It’s a sanctuary for the spirit, a celebration of culture, sustainability and biodiversity, and a blueprint for what responsible travel can and should be.
GETTING THERE
Fly from Auckland to Cairns direct with Air New Zealand or via Brisbane with Qantas and Jetstar.
DETAILS
New Zealand Herald Travel visited courtesy of Intrepid Travel.
This story has been amended to include the above credit.