Flying through the Forests

Ancient and life-giving, Australia’s rainforests are among the most envied environmental treasures in the world – yet there is only so much you can walk through before you feel like you have seen it all.

A few hours trudging along rainforest paths and it can feel like you have seen enough of green canopy, leaf litter and sticking-to-your-face spider webs.

Yet all you need for some renewed appreciation is a new perspective on the forest, and several eco-tourism firms near Mackay have developed just that.

‘Forest Flying’ is an innovative cableway enabling you to glide over pristine rainforest at the same height as the canopy, sharing the sights usually only had by birds and bats.

Based at Finch Hatton Gorge, east of Eungella National Park, it features two zip wires at a height of 15-25m running to a total length of 340m, plus a short training wire closer to ground zero.

The zip wires have been named the ‘flying fox cableway’ by owners Dave and Donna Lowe, as they skirt past colonies of fruit bats hanging from the high branches of surrounding trees.

A platform 25m above the forest floor and adjacent to the trees full of bats joins the two cables, with participants attached to the second line before they are disconnected from the first so no one can fall off.

Although the whole thing can take a couple of hours between the training session and the final zip through the trees, your time flies too and you get off at the end feeling like asking ‘can I have another go?’

Just as fascinating is the story of how Dave and Donna set up the lines after buying the 50-odd acres of rainforest way back in 1989 (for just $26,000).

The couple, who met in Townsville, used a weighted bow and arrow to fire a fishing line into the forest before hauling up the thick cable on each of the sections. It took 12 months to complete the job.

Five years later and hundreds if not thousands of visitors have glided through the trees, from backpackers and holidaying Europeans to true blue Aussie families.

Dave and Donna [pictured below] also live in the rainforest with their two children, generating their own hydro power from water flowing down the valley, and Dave is able to give authoritative talks on plants and species while guiding his customers up towards the launch pad. But he is not the only authoritative voice on the rainforest worth listening to.

Our second rainforest guide, Ugo, was based at Broken River Mountain Resort, high up in the mountains on the edge of the national park.

Guests at the resort are offered a free programme of rainforest activities from guided walks to nocturnal animal spotting.

We went on one of the bird watching tours, where Ugo gave us the lowdown on the native birds, from the rare Eungella honeyeater to common wompoo pigeons.

The resort’s location, amid a complex of walking trails, also means a cooler micro-climate from being hundreds of metres above sea-level, attracting visitors for holidays and business conferences.

Its drawcard, though, is its claim to be the world’s most reliable place to see a platypus. It was a two-minute stroll to the ‘platypus viewing platform’, with dawn and dusk said to be the best time to spot these industrious little creatures. We visited twice and were rewarded on both occasions.

It was even enough to make us consider one of those walks again.

*Forest Flying costs $45 per person, with bookings essential on 4958 3359.

*Broken River Mountain Resort offers lodge-style accommodation from $95 for a double/ twin per night from Sunday-Friday, and $110 on Saturday, with a long weekend coming in at $220-$420. Call 07 4958 4000 for details.

A TravelMole Destination Report by Andy Phillips