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The only place where two wonders are located side by side is in one of the least developed regions along"s tropical northeast coast, northern Queensland. You will gain a deeper understanding about <a rel="nofollow" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview("/outgoing/article_exit_link");" href="http://www.covermore.com.au/1/compare-travel-insurance.aspx">compare travel insurance online</a> by checking out that resource.In this place is where one of the oldest rain forests in the world is. Swinging closest to land in this part of the northern coast is the reef which stretches north and south along 1,250 miles of shore. Accessible to visitors is the rainforest and reef. If you wish to see 1,200 species of tropical reef fish or the 350 types of spectacularly colorful living coral that make up the reef then you should consider watching from an underwater observatory, from a glass sided submersible craft, or by diving.
Jumping off was done in Cairns which was the gateway to"s Marlin Coast, it has the charm of a British colonial outpost and is a small tropical city of 85,000. We opted for a trip out of town by rail on the 100 year old Cairns Kuranda Railway, which twists 21 miles up and through mountains, gorges and rain forests to the village of Kuranda. Following our return to Cairns was a drive north along the Marlin Coast and inland toward the rain forest lasting 90 minutes.
There are 13 of the 19 families of ancient plant life still found on Earth in the nearby rain forest. There are some which date back to 130 million years. What lines the forest are old rutted dirt tracks that were built for logging and passable via four wheel drive vehicles. Looking at the rainforest can be done more leisurely through pull offs with one that opens on to an hour"s easy stroll along a well marked trail. When you would like to get more information on <a rel="nofollow" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview("/outgoing/article_exit_link");" href="http://www.covermore.com.au/1/compare-travel-insurance.aspx">travel insurance company</a> check out this site.
Offered by a tour service are environmentally sensitive trips into the rain forest which come with a boat ride down the Daintree River and starts from Silky Oaks. The drive from Silky Oaks to one of the major gateways to the Great Barrier Reef, the old gold rush village of Port Douglas, was rather short. It was possible for scuba divers to use charter boats, then the skimmers had sailboats, and groups of people were ferried to permanent platforms atop the reef through a fleet of twin hulled jet catamarans.
You need not get all wet in order to view the beauty of the coral reef and its multicolored fish by boarding one of two glass-sided semi submersibles that offer 30 minute trips alongside the coral. Guided by trained marine biologists are the snorkeling trips. Private grottoes line the swimming pool area, one is even behind a waterfall, and there is an open air coffee shop in the local hotel where we stayed in which was frequented by locals. With beautiful stretches of palm fringed white sand curving along the ocean is the famous Four Mile Beach located outside downtown Port Douglas.
Away from the sea, Port Douglas also is a jumping off point for a look at a totally different kind of northern Queensland environment. During the last century, the tableland high above the coast became a prime cattle raising area, and some of the original homesteads on the old cattle ranches still exist. One such property is Wetherby, site of a 1870s homestead and still a working cattle station. What can be seen is the real and this is because the family proprietors opened it to tourists.  Every trip calls for travel insurance. It could save you immeasurable hassles!