A delicious guide to the Daintree Food Trail

Guide

Daintree Ice Cream | Daintree Food Trail

By Narelle Bouveng

When it comes to sampling Tropical North Queensland’s famous local delicacies, set your sat nav to "hungry" and dance your taste buds along the 87kms that link the Daintree Food Trail’s 20 stops from Port Douglas to Cape Tribulation.

Think small-batch farmers nurturing barramundi through to micro-greens, gourmets and artisans crafting chocolate to gelato, single fruit tropical wines and even Australia’s freshest tea. The combination of abundant rainfall, humid climate, rich soil and nutrient-rich waters all contribute to idyllic growing conditions and drive-wise, the scenery might just blow your mind too.

Pack your appetite (and those elastic-waist pants): you’re about to meet ten producers you can drop in on that call the merge between the world’s oldest living rainforest and waters that support the Great Barrier Reef their patch. Bon appétit.

Meet the gardeners, growers, farmers and fishermen of the Daintree Food Trail

Shannonvale Winery

Shannonvale Tropical Winery | Daintree Food Trail — Shannonvale Tropical Winery

Shannonvale Chevon

Up the ante on your next antipasto by stacking it with delectable small goods including locally cured salami, kransky, chorizo and sausage from Shannonvale Chevon. They're the winner of a Delicious magazine Queensland State Produce Award in 2020 for gourmet goat meat cuts, but don’t just consider a good goat curry; these farmers think outside the square by suggesting slow-roasted goat on the beach BBQ, goat meat sushi and forget traditional shepherd’s pie - it’s all about herd pie using prime goat mince.

Visit the farm by appointment or find their range of gourmet goodies at Mossman Markets every Saturday. Host: Michael Vico

Scomazzons Farm Store

Four generations of growers have been stocking the stall at this iconic roadside stop earning Scomazzon’s the enviable reputation as locals fav. Close to Mossman, you’ll find rare tropical fruits alongside farm-fresh favourite fruit and vegetables all grown or supplied from the region’s best local farms. There’s a baked goods counter with all sorts of delectable delights including local pies (try the barra and scallop), Dukes doughnuts plus jams, chutneys and relishes that serve as edible souvenirs.

Open Monday to Friday 8:30am-5:30pm. Sat 7am-4pm. Sun 9am to 4pm. Hosts: The Scomazzon family.

Sweet Farm Tours

There’s nothing sweeter than sugar, except when it’s grown in the same soil as the World Heritage-listed Daintree Rainforest, sprinkled with warm tropical rain and infused with Queensland’s famous sunshine. But there is not just sugar at Sweet Farm, the fourth-generation farmers grow cocoa (one of the first in Australia to do so) and vanilla too.

Join a farm tour to learn about one of Tropical North Queensland’s most important farming industries, taste freshly squeezed sugar cane juice and molasses and sample home made local origin chocolate which you can also buy in the Sweet Farm Store. Tour bookings are essential.

Chocolate & Gift Shop is open Tuesday to Saturday 9.30am to 4pm. Closed Sunday & Monday and tours times are updated weekly. Host: Gerard Puglisi

Hook-a-Barra

This is barra country, but to ensure you don’t tangle with the crocs who snack on barra too, take the safer option at Hook-a-Barra where you can fish for Queensland’s most renowned fish in ponds flushed with the nutrient-rich waters of the nearby Daintree River.

Fish grow as big as one metre long, so you could land the big one, and with experts on hand to help with lines, lures and to share all their barra and mangrove jack-catching secrets - you’ll be hooking up in no time. A catch and release program ensures there is plenty for everyone to catch, however you can buy fish for $14 a kilogram or take home some pre-prepared fillets for dinner.

Open daily 9am to 5pm daily. Fishing sessions start at 9am, 10.30am, 12.30pm, 2pm & 3.30pm. Host: Mark Hober

Floravilla Ice Creamery

26 seasonally inspired flavours are guaranteed to tempt every taste bud at Floravilla Ice Creamery. Local bio-dynamic and organic milk and eggs are churned with exotic tropical fruits to create all your favourite flavours, but also some surprising new ones. For those who prefer a sprinkle of spice, try ginger and passionfruit or pumpkin and cinnamon or for something exotic; or how about dragonfruit, paw-paw and lime or ironbark?

The flavour combinations may be endless, but so is the serenity with the ice-creamery designed as a restful, contemplative space where you can also peruse art and appreciate nature alongside your ice cream.

Open daily from 9am. Host: Betty Hinton

Daintree Ice Cream Company

Save some room for more ice-cream or refresh the palate with silky sorbet and gelato at The Daintree Ice Cream Company. Four flavours are chosen each day to represent the best of what’s in season, all grown and plucked on site. This is as fresh and natural as ice-cream gets with no artificial sweeteners or syrups and a tree to cup experience. Visit the orchard where the fruit for the next batch of ice-cream is still hanging on the tree and keep your eyes peeled for wildlife. The Daintree Ice Cream Company is a registered Wildlife Sanctuary with plenty of furry and feathered friends to meet.

Open daily 11am to 5pm. Host: Tracey Brady

Daintree Tea

It’s no surprise Daintree Tea is considered Australia’s freshest with tea leaves grown, harvested, dried and packaged on-site within 24 hours of picking. Tea aficionados from around the world claim the unblended black tea has the perfect balance of taste and aroma, while expert tea blenders often include Daintree Tea in their own curations to add depth and flavour.

The Nicholas family established the Cubbagudta Plantation right in the heart of the Daintree Rainforest in 1978. Second-generation farmer, Greg Nicholas continues in his father’s footsteps producing the pesticide-free tea with nothing other than fresh rainwater and the reliance on the rich alluvial soil in which the ancient neighbouring rainforest thrives. Cuppa anyone?

Visit during daylight hours. Host: Greg Nicholas.

Masons Cafe and Store

If you love a good nutrient-dense juice or healthy smoothie, drop by Masons Café on the Cape Tribulation Road for your fresh pick and blend fix. Orchards backdrop the property growing exotic fruits including black sapote (chocolate pudding fruit), soursop and jackfruit. But don’t expect just to find these ingredients in your smoothies: Jackfruit Burgers are a vegan speciality, as are the tasting plates that include local kangaroo, emu and crocodile.

A freshwater swimming hole is part of the Masons property, so load up the picnic basket and throw down a rug, you might want to linger longer here - this spot is notorius for catching glimpses of wild cassowaries.

Open daily from 11am (varies seasonally). Host: Lawrence Mason

Cape Trib Farm

When it comes to the biggest selection of tropical and exotic fruit grown in the region, sign yourself up for a 90-minute tour of Cape Trib Farm. 2500 hectares of lush World Heritage-listed rainforest merge with caramel sand beaches and waters fringing the Great Barrier Reef to rate as one of the most picturesque fruit farms in the region.

With over 60 different species of fruiting trees, your tastebuds are in for a treat, but if it’s too much to bite off in the one visit, relax and stay overnight in one of the on-site cabins. Enjoy a second course the next day, before exploring the best of Cape Tribulation.

From July-Sep tours run every day at 2pm. April-May & Oct-Nov tours run at 2pm Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday but check the website for tour times when visiting, especially during the wet season. Host: Colin & Dawn Gray.

Other places to stop in

Dukes Doughnuts Port Douglas Markets — Photo by @hungry.curious

Outside the growers and producers offering tasting tours and farm gate experiences you’ll find a range of markets, cafes, restaurants and stores serving local produce too.

There’s a total of 20 stops to consider along the Daintree Food Trail, so plan your itinerary according to your palate, but don’t skip some of the other best experiences in the region too. Your foodie stops (in order) include:

1. Port Douglas Markets

2. Shannonvale Winery

3. Shannonvale Chervon

4. Yum Yum

5. Mossman Markets

6. Scomazzons Farm Store

7. Sweet Farm

8. Hook-a-Barra

9. Daintree Ecolodge

10. Daintree Discovery Centre

11. Floraville Ice Creamery

12. Daintree Ice Cream Company