Ma Mu Canopy Rainforest Walkway
Situated 30klm West of Innisfail in the Wooroonooran National Park, the Ma:Mu Aboriginal Traditional Owners of this area welcome visitors to this special place in the Waribara clan rainforest area.
Visitors can have an exhilarating experience of being high up in the rainforest canopy and enjoy quite spectacular views to the North Johnstone River gorge and World Heritage rainforest.
The walkway is located on the escarpment of the North Johnstone River gorge, offering spectacular views over a sharp bend in the river and beyond to rainforest-clad mountains. The entire area has cultural significance for the Ma:Mu Aboriginal people.
The walkway includes:
- more than 1000 metres of ground level walking tracks, connecting the elevated walkway, cantilever and tower
- a 350m elevated walkway, high in the canopy of this lush tropical rainforest
- a 10m-long cantilever and a 37m-high observation tower with two viewing decks, providing spectacular views over the North Johnstone River gorge and surrounding Wet Tropics World Heritage Area
- seats, information signs and artworks in shelters along the Forest walk and on the elevated walkway
- an entry building, office building, toilets, bus shelter and a combined bus and car park.
Forest walk
From the entry building, which is a short walk from the car park, visitors stroll along the ground-level Forest walk for a close-up look at this rich tropical rainforest, part of one of the largest remaining continuous stands of complex vine forest on basalt soils. The walking track is an easy walk, suitable for wheelchairs, prams and visitors with vision-impairment.
Cantilever
Visitors arrive at a shelter with seats and information signs. From the shelter a 10m-long cantilevered structure rises gently as the ground drops away steeply, providing visitors with their first experience of the rainforest canopy. At the end, a viewing platform offers a magnificent view of the valley below, featuring a sharp bend in the North Johnstone River. Visitors then return to the shelter and continue along the Forest walk to the start of the elevated walkway.
Elevated Walkway
The elevated walkway meanders through the rainforest canopy. Along the way visitors are able to view rainforest plants and animals at close quarters and gain tantalising glimpses of the river valley far below. Two small shelters provide rest areas and three linking sections offer the choice to leave the elevated walkway and return to the ground-level Forest walk, where two shelters provide seats and information signs.
Observation Tower
At the end of the elevated walkway a short section of the Forest walk brings visitors to the final information and rest shelter. From here a short elevated walkway leads to the lower viewing deck of the observation tower. The top of the tower, 37m above the ground, is reached by an external stairway (not accessible for wheelchairs) and offers visitors spectacular, uninterrupted vistas of the North Johnstone River gorge and surrounding landscapes. Information signs help visitors to learn more about this landscape.
Visit the EPA website for more information and prices.