CREB Track

The CREB track is the service access track for the Ergon Energy powerline to Cooktown. It traverses a spectacular, yet sensitive, part of the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area from the Daintree River through China Camp to Wujal Wujal. The CREB Track was originally intended as a service track for the Cairns Regional Electricity Board (CREB) power line. Heading south from Ayton, near Bloomfield, the CREB Track winds its way first through open wooded ridges to Dawnvale station, and then slowly works its way deeper into rainforest and mountainous terrain where it climbs and descends precipitously, eventually reaching the Daintree River. Lush tropical rainforest, clear flowing streams, stunning waterfalls and spectacular views from ridge tops, make this one of the most exciting journeys you can do in the Far North.

The CREB Track is typically closed during the wet season and anyone considering travelling on this track should first seek additional information such as track closure/opening dates and track conditions, etc.

For further information, click for the Wet Tropics Website or contact Bill Carrodus at the Wet Tropics Management Authority on (07) 4052 0546.

Permits are not required to traverse the Wet Tropics Section of the CREB Track, although a permit is needed for Roaring Meg Falls.

Please contact DERM on 131304 and ask to be transferred to the Business Centre in Atherton. Permits can also be obtained in the Mossman QPWS office. Preference is to contact Atherton as they are the custodian of the booking sheet for the Camp sites. From here you will be able to obtain one of two permits. The permit you require will be dependant on your travel requirements. Permits can be emailed to you in PDF format, completed and emailed or faxed back to the Atherton office for processing.

PERMIT TO TRAVERSE - to traverse (travel) within the Timber Reserve on which Roaring Meg Falls and the camp ground is located. This is for day use only.

PERMIT TO CAMP - to camp overnight or for a number of nights at Roaring Meg Falls camp sites. This permit is a dual purpose permit, providing access to Traverse and to Camp at Roaring Meg Falls. Restrictions of number camps and campers at Roaring Meg is as follows: x3 camp sites. x4 campers per site per night, no exceptions. Maximum pax per night at Roaring Meg Falls is 12 people total, no exceptions. Booking is first in best dressed.

Camping is free, Permit to Traverse is free, NO FACILITIES i.e. toilets, water & rubbish collection.

Various conditions will be outlined on the permit and provided to you once your permit has been processed, one of these is to contact Traditional Landowners (Wujal Wujal).

The CREB Track is definitely only for experienced four-wheel drivers. When dry, experienced drivers will find it enjoyable and not difficult, but steep grades will require care. During or following even light showers of rain, the track becomes quite scary and difficult, and will test even experienced drivers. Best travel times are May to September, but rain can fall anytime. Combine rainfall with red clay soils and very steep grades, and you have a recipe for disaster.

Ensure your four-wheel drive vehicle is in good working order, and that you have tyres with lots of grip. Do not tow trailers. A very heavily loaded vehicle is not recommended.

Since this track is on private property and through world heritage rainforest, do not attempt it when wet. This is a very sensitive area, being both World Heritage and private property. Track damage could well result in permanent closure of this track. It is highly recommended that you contact the Wet Tropics Management Authority on (07) 4052 0555 or www.wettropics.gov.au to check on the status of the CREB Track before travel. National Parks and Wildlife Service permits are required for camping and traverse to Roaring Meg Falls. Additional permission is required form the Aboriginal community at Wujal Wujal - contact numbers are included with the paperwork from NP&WS.

Camping is not allowed anywhere along the CREB Track, except at Roaring Meg Falls. Permission and permits must be sought beforehand.

The CREB Track is located in the Daintree region. Some of the track is within the Wet Tropics Managed World Heritage Wilderness Area, other parts are on private property and in State Forest. There is an ongoing process to review use of such restricted tracks within National Parks and World Heritage Areas, so users are encouraged to not cause undue damage to the area by attempting to traverse in wet conditions. There are gates at the boundary of the Wet Tropics Management Authority area, and these will no doubt be closed when weather is not suitable for travel on the track.

The World Heritage Daintree Rainforest is the second largest rainforest system in the world. The Daintree rainforest is the centre of the wet tropics region, and as such is very rarely dry. With around one hundred and ninety wet days a year, it may be difficult to find a day when it is not wet. Travel on the CREB track is extremely treacherous when even slightly wet, due to very slippery clay soils and extremely steep slopes. The dry time in the region is June to September, but rains can fall at this time. “Winter” rain falls from April to May and sometimes into early June. Such rain is often accompanied by fresh easterly winds.

Aboriginal

This region is home to the Kuku Yulanji people. They have weathered some very difficult times throughout the history of their contact with Europeans, but they have managed to retain a great deal of their culture. Aboriginal guides offer tours in various parts of the area.

The Kuku Yulanji people now live mostly in communities at the Mossman Gorge and on the northern bank of the Bloomfield River. Historically the area supported a high density population, with highly developed social structures.

Contact with Europeans was very often violent with fatalities sustained on both sides. European influences undermined the aboriginal cultural system which among other things, had a heavy dependence on food prepared from toxic rainforest species, that required lengthy and involved preparation.

European

After the passage of Captain James Cook, one hundred years passed before any European explorers ventured into the steamy regions of far north Queensland. The tragic loss of Kennedy and most of his party in 1848 seemed to reinforce the notion that this land was dangerous and uninhabitable.

The discovery of gold was the key to exploration and habitation. Frederick Warner found gold on what would be named the Palmer River. The explorer and prospector James Venture Mulligan set out from nearby gold fields with the aim of finding payable gold at the Palmer. His success precipitated a huge rush to the area and lead to the establishment of Cooktown.

Hann was the first to venture into the upper Daintree where the CREB track is located. Hann came from the Mitchell river, heading for the coast at the Bloomfield River. So astounded was he with the steep terrain, that he wrote in his journal that he was thankful he had “landed safely on to the low lands”

Further European exploration eventually lead to timber getting, particularly Cedar which grew in abundance, and then to sugar plantations, first established near the Daintree river and then more successfully at the junction of two rivers near what is now the township of Mossman.