The Daintree River of Tropical North Queensland

The Daintree River of Tropical North Queensland

For many months, I’d often hear Yogi exclaim “Look at this!!!” And he proceeded to show me Solar Whisper‘s Facebook page of photographs taken by operator David White along the Daintree River in our part of the world of Tropical North Queensland. They were, of course, extraordinary wildlife images and videos of crocodiles – crocodile behaviour, of alpha male crocodiles, mommy crocodiles with her incredibly cute babies and of birds and other wildlife found in close proximity to his boat along the famous Daintree River in the Wet Tropics. I got in touch with David and after several false starts, we finally made it to join him on his wonderful hourly boat trips.

David White operates his quiet solar powered electric motored boat and tells stories of the birds and beasts of the mighty Daintree River. The video camera in front of him cleverly serves as the communal binoculars for the guests who find it hard to see well-camouflaged animals.

David White operates his quiet solar powered electric motored boat and tells stories of the birds and beasts of the mighty Daintree River. The video camera in front of him cleverly serves as the communal binoculars for the guests who find it hard to see well-camouflaged animals.

David was an entertaining host regaling us with stories of the river’s superstars during his hour-long boat tour. We met Martin the director, Betty Botox his mum, Scarface the river king, Lizzie one of his missus, Margaret the other woman, and oh so much life and wildlife in such a short but sweet boat trip! We often walk the rainforest and really, we saw much more in an hour than 10 walks in the forest!!! I’m not going to explain who Martin is because you just have to hear it from David himself.

So here are some stars of the River Daintree. Just wonderful.

Scarface the big daddy of the Daintree.

Scarface the big daddy of the Daintree.

Elizabeth or Lizzie the mum of this year's brood of 17.

Elizabeth or Lizzie the mum of this year’s brood of 17.

Lizzie's and Scarface's little kiddies!

Lizzie’s and Scarface’s little kiddies!

And then the birds! Unafraid of the paparazzi, we got quite close and personal with some of our winged friends.

Lady sunbird building her nest.

Lady sunbird building her nest.

What a colourful character, a Rainbow bee-eater shaking water off his afternoon river bath.

What a colourful character, a Rainbow bee-eater shaking water off his afternoon river bath.

Amazing camouflage of husband and wife Papuan Frogmouth!

Amazing camouflage of husband and wife Papuan Frogmouth!

Find Solar Whisper at the boat ramp right before the Daintree Ferry.

Solar Whisper's booth. Don't run over the crocodile!!!

Solar Whisper’s booth. Don’t run over the crocodile!!!

About the Author:

Stella was born in Manila, Philippines in 1965. She studied anthropology but ended up in advertising, producing radio and TV commercials for 7 years. After quitting advertising, she ventured into the freelance world in Manila producing video documentaries for a publishing house, government agencies, non govenmental organisations, and the academe. She moved on to producing books and had a stint at working with foreign production companies visiting Manila. Stella, now based in Cairns, produces photo stories with her husband Jürgen Freund.