Mount Mount Sorrow

Mount Sorrow had us from this aerial shot, where it looks like a giant tadpole is trying to swim up river from the beach. Or stingray. Maybe it’s the image of what your feet look like after you get to the top of Mount Sorrow, which will be in a sorry state if you don’t wear boots.

This bush walk is not for flip flop lovers. You need sturdy shoes and a sturdy sense of determination to get to the top but once you get there you’ll feel like King Kong for the day. The view of the Cape Tribulation coast is epic. The tree snakes, if you’re lucky enough to see one, are startlingly beautiful. The spangled drongos (the bird!) can be spotted with their forked tails and inky black plumage and flocks of top knot pigeons are also lurking. And the dense Daintree jungle at the beginning is lush and eases you into what lies above.

Mount Sorrow is a 6km walk and you’ll climb 680 metres up. The second half is a total thigh killer, scrambling over tree roots and you’ll be hanging onto a rope in one part. Once at the top, push on a little further past the lookout to the boulders as the view will make you inhale deeply. From there you can pick out the crazy shadows of the Great Barrier Reef and dream about visiting Snapper Island.

If you don’t want to find leeches in your trousers then go in the dry season. We’re not kidding.

To get to the start of the walk, park at the Kulki day use area just north of Cape Tribulation and walk 150 metres up the road to a gravel pull-off area. The track begins there. Some people nail this walk in three hours but if you want to allow some huffing and puffing time allow five.