MASON'S OPINION: How did we let the Daintree ferry situation come to this?
Lawrence Mason column
“Last Thursday I had a shocking experience at the Daintree Ferry!
Picked up the kids in Mossman, even left a bit early because I could see the river was rising fast.
Got to the ferry at five only to be told it was closed so they could tie it up.
I mean really!
Could they not have just kept going a bit longer?
I had two teens in the car and we had to go back to Mossy and book a hotel.
Then they had to eat, and I was down $400 by bedtime.
In the morning, I had to feed them again and when we went out to the river we could not even get to the ferry… the bloody road was flooded.
So back to Wonga and more money spent, by the time they had the ferry going in the arvo I was about $600 down.
None of us even had a change of clothes!
I can't believe they would not stop playing about with those pretty ‘tiger ropes’ and put me across! So annoyed.
He even said they had released the cables! What the? Douglas Shire Council you owe me $600!”
Oh, how I wish the above was my real story.
600 bucks and a night in a motel room with a couple of grumpy teens is a memory that would fade pretty quick, and I am sure any complaint to DSC would have elicited a very quick response that securing the ONLY vessel that can get me home is far more important than my short-term comfort.
What actually happened was that on the way down there was a truck and Hiab crane trying to remove the boom gates.
I say trying because they are still there... but clearly someone at DSC thought water high enough to impact boom gates was coming.
I did leave music lessons early because I could see the flood coming, but when I got to the ferry it was still operational and one person was removing plastic bollards from the queuing lane.
He obviously thought the water would be high enough to wash them away.
The school-bus driver stopped and warned the staff member of flash flooding on the road, something we encountered immediately after leaving the north side.
I did get home after some hairy water crossings and no money was spent on grumpy teens. But I am much more upset now than in my fake scenario. Because now I am losing thousands daily.
It seems the tiger ropes were not used at all. Drone footage of the ferry stranded in the middle of the river appears to show them still lashed to the rails.
And the cable was seemingly not released; perhaps why tons of vegetation was stuck on it.
Thank God that cable held; if it had failed the ferry could well have been with the Jungle King, upside down on Saxon Reef.
Our livelihoods were literally “hanging by a thread”.
Of course I don't know what went down between 5pm and 8.44pm when DSC emailed saying the ferry was closed.
But it seems none of it involved any sort of mooring.
DSC even emailed at around 6.30pm saying the ferry would close soon.
I would have assumed at that point mooring procedures were beginning.
My understanding is that previously the ferry cables were slackened so they don't catch trees, and that the barge was moored to the flood pylons.
There used to be mooring cables but recently the tiger ropes appeared, basking in the sun on the rails.
Legend has it that a previous operator used to sleep in the wheelhouse and nudge the ferry forward as water rose.
I dunno what he did exactly but he managed to keep the ferry on the bank and didn't lose it.
My $600 is probably going to be closer to $6m.
Not all my loss, of course, I am a minnow in a pond with large resorts in it.
Busy day tour buses.
How on earth did such a crucial asset to the Daintree Coast just wander off last Thursday night?
Since 2000, there have been six floods in the Daintree of a similar height to March 2026, and three higher (source: BOM).
The Daintree Ferry has survived all of them, with only minor damage, and has usually been in operation again as soon as debris was cleared and water levels receded.
Different floods rise at different speeds, but most floods involve rapid river rises.
I am no expert, but by 5pm last Thursday it was obvious the river was going to flood. Baird's had recorded heavy rain and was rising vertically.
We all know it is a matter of hours before that water ends up at the crossing.
If DSC is planning a single ferry for 20 years, protocols for securing it need dramatic improvement.
You might get a few people whinging about having to stay on the south side, but that's way cheaper than the alternative.
A little over two years after Jasper, this is a nightmarish scenario seemingly of our own making.
*Lawrence Mason has lived at Cape Tribulation all his life, and has been involved in farming, timber and tourism. He is a former board member of Tourism Port Douglas Daintree, founding Chair of Daintree Marketing Co-operative, and has been a member of both Alexandra Bay and Mossman State High School P&C. He is also a member of the Douglas Chamber of Commerce and has a keen interest in local issues.
- The opinions and views in this column are those of the author and author only and do not reflect the Newsport editor or staff.
