Solar Whisper Crocodile Cruise, Daintree Rainforest

Want to see crocodiles in the wild in North Queensland? The Daintree River, in the world’s oldest rainforest, is home to plenty of saltwater snappers. Find out why I’d recommend Solar Whisper as the ideal crocodile cruise in the Daintree Rainforest!

One of the key drivers of our trip to North Queensland was seeing saltwater crocodiles in the wild! My partner has been crocodile-obsessed since he was a boy, and I just think they’re absolutely incredible animals. For him, seeing saltwater crocodiles in Australia has been a lifelong travel dream – and we were determined to see as many as we could!

We actually took two wildlife boat cruises on the Daintree River, one north of the ferry crossing with Cape Tribulation Wilderness Cruises; and one just south of the river, with Solar Whisper Cruises. It was great to see two different sections of the river, and both yielded our snappy pals. However, for the most crocodile sightings and the best boat set up, Solar Whisper was our winner.

Find out why we loved our trip, and if Solar Whisper is the right Daintree river cruise for you…

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As soon as we arrived at the Solar Whisper office, we were met by a blast of torrential rain. Especially inconvenient as I had an immediate need to get out of the van to use the toilet. Aided by my trusty umbrella, I made it to the toilet building – and by the time I’d finished, the rain had stopped. Thank you, sky.

Solar Whisper Wildlife Cruise is a rain or shine activity, and we’d come prepared with umbrellas and windbreakers, just in case (check out my Daintree packing guide for more tips!). Luckily, the weather held off nicely for the boat ride itself, and after checking in at the office, we made our way down the jetty to wait for the boat.

Solar Whisper is the only tour company on the Daintree River using a solar electric boat. Hence the name. Alongside being a zero-emissions vehicle, the boat is whisper quiet, meaning they’re able to get closer to the wildlife with less disturbance than regular boats.

With benches along each side of the boat, pretty much every seat is a good seat. We parked up somewhere in the middle, on the left hand side – the perfect vantage point for our first croc sighting, which came minutes into the tour!

Our guide Marc was incredibly knowledgable, with great spotting skills and plenty of interesting things to tell us about the wildlife we were seeing. Alongside crocodiles, we also spotted plenty of colourful bird life along the way, and on some tours you might see snakes, frogs, crabs and fish. Marc also has an ADORABLE dog, Dougie, who sits next to him at the front of the boat!

Will you see crocodiles on the tour?

While there’s no certain guarantee you’ll see crocodiles on your tour, Solar Whisper boasts a 99% success rate for spotting salties. They do also offer free return tours if no crocs are sighted at all.

Solar Whisper do state on their website that during the warmer months (October-May) , you may be less likely to see any crocs, as they spend more time underwater. We visited in June, at the start of the dry season, and were pretty chuffed with the amount of salties we saw.

The first crocodile spotting was just minutes into the tour. There are a couple of tour companies along the river who work together to alert other tours to potential sighting spots, and our guide Marc had a call on the radio that there was a well-known medium size male on the left hand bank.

We were also lucky enough to spot a large male in the water making his way down the river; as well as a female and some juveniles.

Getting up close with the Daintree wildlife

Because of the boat’s silent engine and low emissions, we were able to get closer to the crocodiles and Marc gave us ample viewing time with the animals.

Another unique feature of the Solar Whisper Wildlife Cruise is the on-board ‘Croc Cam’. Using a high-quality video camera, we got an even closer view of the wildlife. I’m talking ‘seeing every single scale’ kinda close.

Summary: Is this Daintree crocodile cruise right for you?

I absolutely loved our Solar Whisper cruise, and it was my favourite from the two we did in the area. The crocodile sightings were out of this world, and we felt so lucky to not just spot crocs on the bank but also in the water. Being able to get close up was really exhilarating, and the Croc Cam and Marc’s commentary enhanced the experience even more.

The zero emissions boat is also a great selling point for those who want to limit their eco-footprint. The location is easy to get to when you’re heading to or from Cape Tribulation, and the small group size makes the whole experience feel more intimate than some other river wildlife tours I’ve been on.

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