An exotic ice creamery located in the Daintree Rainforest? Dilvin Yasa can’t part with her money quick enough.
When it comes to life-affirming ice-cream flavours, traditional vanilla, chocolate and strawberry will always have their place. Those long lines at inner-city gelato bars? Yep, those too. But what if I said you could travel to the Daintree, the oldest rainforest in the world, to visit an ice creamery devoted to creating – and serving up – some of the most exotic flavours you’re likely to find anywhere?
Located 14km north of the ferry on the way to Cape Tribulation, Daintree Ice Cream Company has been making premium gelato – predominantly from organically grown fruit from their onsite orchards – since 1993. Forget Cookies and Cream or Choc-Mint, at Daintree Ice Cream Company, it’s all about jackfruit, mangosteen, mamey sapote, soursop and a whole bunch of other flavours you’ll have to Google before nodding knowingly.
Driving along with the lush rainforest gardens where butterflies, birds (and if we’re being honest, mosquitos) land in their hundreds like it’s the opening scene of a Disney movie, it’s the queue of people that alerts you to the fact that ice-cream nirvana is just around the corner. The shack itself is simple; a counter under a large awning surrounded by swaying palms and aluminium bench seating. The menu? A blackboard indicating today’s flavours (they do around 15 -17). It tells me the Signature Cup on the day I arrive is four scoops of wattleseed, soursop, jackfruit and coconut. I cannot purchase it fast enough.
It’s worth pointing out the SIgnature Cup is actually a mountainous four-scoop lesson in generosity (all for $7.50), each unique flavour an explosion of joy and questioning along the lines of ‘How did I not know about this?’. The gelato is made using local produce where possible, including Tablelands milk and Jersey cream. That’s all well and good, but where the ice cream really shines is when it comes to the flavours. Since the fruit here is so plentiful, it’s used as the main event rather than as a backdrop flavouring.
Many eat their ice-creams on the benches, or under the trees providing respite from the tropical sun and heat, but we take the recommendation to do the self-guided orchard tour as we devour our cups, each tree and bush signposted with information about the fruit grown and how it’s utilised by the Daintree Ice Cream Company. At every turn we’re joined by butterflies, colour pops of birds and golden orb spiders the size of dinner plates.
Yes, inner-city gelato bars might have their place, but they are nothing compared to eating the best ice cream you’re ever likely to taste right in the heart of the Daintree.
This article originally appeared on Escape and do not necessarily represent the views of australiaexploring.com
