Page 102 - Port Douglas Magazine 47

MEET YOUR

GUIDES

WORDS by Jamie Jansen

ANDY GARRITY

OWNER & TOUR GUIDE CASSOWARY FALLS

ust past Daintree Village lies Cassowary “We had to look at other things,” Andy says. with a real memory, and that’s what it’s all about.”
Falls, a 260-acre private paradise. Reaching “We decided to do the chalets up, and we’d While Andy is the face of the tours, he’s the first

Jthe falls is an adventure in itself; you’ll fi nd just finished them when COVID hit. It nearly to admit Liz is the backbone. A qualified chef, she

yourself on a UTV, splashing through creeks destroyed the place, but we managed to float the manages the business and delivers hot English
and winding over hills before the forest opens company through.” breakfasts to the chalets. “We’re a team,” Andy
to a majestic waterfall in the middle of the What emerged is a unique hybrid of a working says.
rainforest. It feels like a total escape and, for farm and a peaceful sanctuary focused on
owner Andy Garrity, it’s a sanctuary he and his rainforest regeneration. By clearing non‑native As the business has grown, Andy has built a hand‑
wife Liz have spent years opening up for others trees, the couple has created a space where guests picked team of guides. His philosophy is simple:
to enjoy. can truly disappear into the green. it’s all about positive energy. “Every guide has a
different style,” Andy explains. “It’s about finding

Andy’s background is a striking contrast to The tour itself started as a simple shuttle for the best in yourself and sharing that. Receiving

the lush Daintree. Before navigating rainforest chalet guests to reach the waterfall, but Andy’s that energy back is what keeps me going.”
tracks, he lived several lives as a commercial personality turned it into something much
diver, miner, and high‑production dairy farmer. bigger. He isn’t your typical, textbook‑quoting

For a decade in Western Australia, he ran one guide. Instead, he’s a storyteller who leads with a “Every guide has a different

of the state’s biggest dairy operations, producing healthy dose of “being yourself”, making sure the style, it’s about finding the best
nearly 10 million litres of milk a year. It was a life experience feels more like a day out with a local in yourself and sharing that.
defined by relentless pressure and the kind of than a formal tour. Receiving that energy back is what

exhaustion that eventually forces a choice. He still laughs about one of his first tours. “An

“In 2013, Liz and I were working 100 hours a eccentric American man asked for my number keeps me going.”
week under huge stress,” Andy says. “We literally to give me a five‑star review. I grew up with no

Googled ‘natural water and rainfall in Australia’ phone reception or computers. I said to him, For Andy, the move from the dairy sheds of WA
to find the best place to be. The Daintree was the ‘What the hell’s a Google review?’ We’ve come a to the waterfalls of the Douglas Shire wasn’t just

only place where the annual rainfall was actually long way.” a career change; it was a total lifestyle shift. He’s

increasing.” That “long way” has involved navigating more found a place where he no longer feels the need

Liz was ready to move immediately, but they than just a learning curve with technology. The to escape. “I love being on the property and rarely

struck a deal: she’d stay in WA for two years to property has faced its share of tropical challenges, want to go somewhere else. I don’t even want to
finish selling the business if she could build her from severe droughts to the massive impact of go on holiday; I’m already in the most beautiful

dream pool at the new property. Looking at Cyclone Jasper. But for Andy, the reward comes spot.”
the stunning result today, Andy laughs that she when the guests take in the falls for the first time. Visitors to Cassowary Falls take that feeling

definitely got the better end of the bargain. He especially loves seeing the transformation home. Whether through the stories or the simple
When they arrived, the property was at the very in guests who arrive a little unsure, maybe a peace of the rainforest, they walk away with a bit

beginning of its transformation. The house and teenager who’d rather be on their phone or a of that “bloody nice” energy the Garritys have
chalets had been closed for years, and the land parent who isn’t quite an “outdoorsy person.” worked so hard to cultivate.
was a struggling cattle farm. Initially, Andy “When they start smiling, I know I’ve done my
planned to run cows, but the intense tropical job,” he says. “You see them finally relax and cassowaryfalls.com.au

seasons made micro‑farming too risky. realise they’re having a great time. They leave