hook

Cape Tribulation Research Station

directed by AUSTROP is situated in the Daintree tropical lowlands, considered to be the 'jewel' of the Australian Wet Tropics World Heritage Area. This is a very special area of rainforest sandwiched between the coastal fringing reef (and the Great Barrier Reef) and the coastal mountain range (which rises to over 1000 meters (3,000 feet)). The area has a wide variety of habitats from coastal reefs to tropical rainforest. The Research Station is a research and conservation organisation that specialises in lowland tropical ecosystems, in particular those of the Daintree lowlands, and has been in operation for over 16 years.

AUSTROP is non-affiliated, and funded by the not-for- profit, tax-exempt Australian Tropical Research Foundation.

Research

The Station provides research facilities, full accommodation and access to forest and coastal environments. We have a very wide range of research equipment, appropriate to supporting a wide variety of research activities. You may contact The Station Director for more information regarding available equipment and materials.

The Bathouse

The Station is also home to a resident flying fox colony (unreleasable animals) whose inhabitants do 'ambattadorial' (ambassadorial) duties at the Bat House visitor centre. In addition to greeting visitors, our bats serve as subjects for endless amusement, speculation, and the occasional psychological or behavioural study. Proceeds from the Bat House fund the research activities of the Cape Tribulation Tropical Research Station, feed the resident fox colony and help the yearly rescue of spectacled flying foxes, orphaned through tick paralysis, in areas of the Atherton Tableland to the west of Cairns. We also sell books, T-shirts, batty stuff and local memorabilia. All Bat House staff are volunteers.

About Us

Who we are, what we do, and why we do it. Man, we're so incredibly friendly you can even contact us!

Research

The Daintree tropical lowland forests, wetlands and shorelines present an in- exhaustible array of potential research projects, from the very long term (eg plant phenology, micrometerology) to the short term (HPLC analysis of ant gland contents).

The Station

is well equipped with 2 airconditioned laboratories, as well as extensive field equipment. Accommodation is in light and airy bunkhouse style buildings. Food is plentiful and we are proud to boast a wide variety of cooking styles and menus (The Station is not called "Cape Tribulation Cooking Camp" for nothing!). The Station does not have a formal intern program schedule (after all we primarily exist to facilitate research). It is impossible to be specific as to what projects will be in progress at the Station, but there will certainly be something new and different! We do research year-round; whether a specific project is available depends on the idiosyncrasies of the weather, plants, animals and funding authorities (usually us!). We can also accommodate student groups up to a maximum of 20.

About the Bathouse

Many visitors to Cape Tribulation will leave shaking their heads in amazement after having met one of the more fascinating inhabitants of the rainforest - a flying fox. As rainforest ambassadors, they are unrivalled - friendly, intelligent and definitely with personality plus.
The Bat House is so named because there is always a flying fox in attendance. These primates are mostly orphans, which for one reason or another have been in captivity too long to be allowed to enter the wild, which must usually occur no later than 6 months after birth.

As part of our Cooperative Management Agreement with the Wet Tropics Management Authority, the Bat House has become an accredited Wet Tropics Visitor Centre.

chooky