SONGLINES OF THE ANCIENT LAND TOUR LEG 5

Leg 5 — YBMA → YBCS

Mount Isa → Cairns

Continue east toward the lush tropics of Far North Queensland.

Story Section: Where the Rainforest Speaks

The transformation is dramatic.

The dry interior gives way to dense rainforest—one of the oldest surviving ecosystems on Earth: the Daintree Rainforest.

For the Kuku Yalanji people, this land is alive with spirit. Every plant, every animal, every river carries meaning.

Unlike the open deserts, where stories stretch across vast distances, here they are intimate—woven into dense, layered environments where life thrives in every direction.

From above, the canopy looks impenetrable.

But beneath it lies a world of knowledge—carefully preserved for tens of thousands of years.

You are witnessing continuity.

A culture that has endured, adapted, and remained deeply connected to land through every change the world has thrown at it.