Thornton Beach along the Great Barrier Reef Drive 
presents visitors with views of Struck Island and the Coral Sea.
The beach is a few metres from Cape Tribulation Road. The road sits between the beach and the Thornton range peak behind it, coming in from the northern banks of Cooper Creek.
The mouth of Cooper Creek is at the southern end of the beach. At the northern end of the beach, the thick jungle of the Thornton Range comes down to the water.
Walking passed the cafe where the parking areas are located, you quickly reach the sand and the view the ocean beyond it.
Like other beaches in this part of northern Queensland, warning signs of marine stingers and big bitey logs are displayed before reaching the sand. A couple of times we spotted what we thought at first could have been a crocodile but both times it was a log.
The warning signs are often accompanied with a bottle of vinegar to pour over a stinger if you happen to come in contact with one. The high-risk season for stingers is during the warmer months from November to May.
Somewhat less harmful are the ghost crabs. They create little round balls of sand creating beautiful patterns over the beach. Walking barefoot over the balls provided a wonderful sensory experience.
The weather was overcast and often raining during our trip through the Daintree Rainforest and Cape Tribulation. On this day we were presented with some blue skies and sunshine at Thornton Beach.
We were fortunate to see a white-bellied sea eagle hovering above us. We briefly saw it before flying towards land, shortly afterwards returning with the blue skies behind it.
The sun and partial blue skies were a great backdrop to the small rocky outcrop off the shore, called Struck Island. The tribal belief of the KuKu Tananji people is that Thornton Beach is a place which can stimulate fertility. Young women would spend time on the beach before heading to Struck Island to receive tribal scars representing womanhood and marriageability.
Thornton Beach is a good central location to see the Daintree Rainforest and Cape Tribulation area from. Thornton Beach Bungalows is across from the beach, a 1-minute walk away. Crocodylus Village is another option a little further south.
We stayed at Lync Haven Rainforest for a couple of nights in our campervan, in between the two spots. They also have an animal rescue facility which you can interact with if you time it right with the owners. It also has a rainforest walk on-site which we enjoyed.
To Get There
From the Daintree Discovery Centre, head back to Cape Tribulation Rd and turn right. Follow Cape Tribulation Rd for 12.3km and Thornton Beach is on the right with the brown sign shortly before it.
From the Daintree Ferry, head north from the river on Tribulation Rd for 21.7km and Thornton Beach is on the right with the brown sign shortly before it.
