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Daintree & Cape Tribulation Exclusive Tour

From: $1,095 USD

Duration: Full Day

Type: Private Charter.

Departs: Please note this tour is designed for pick up from Port Douglas or Silky Oaks Lodge only

This spectacular day tour showcases the only place on earth where two World Heritage Sites meet; the Wet Tropics Rainforest and the Great Barrier Reef at Cape Tribulation.

The Daintree National Park is home to over 400 bird species (almost half of Australia's birds), around one-third of Australia’s frog, reptile and marsupial species and around two-thirds of Australia’s butterflies. Explore the combination of waterfalls, mountain ranges, idyllic streams, deep gorges and dense rainforests.
A private rainforest walk along the Jindalba nature trail offers unique and remarkable opportunities to experience the natural scenery and endemic wildlife within the National Park.
Nature enthusiasts will be captivated by a private wildlife cruise on a solar electric boat along the Daintree River, full of opportunities to observe and photograph the region’s apex predator, the Saltwater Crocodile, birds, frogs and tree snakes.

About FNQ Nature Tours:

After ten years of guiding nature and wildlife safaris in Northern Australia, James Boettcher established FNQ Nature Tours in 2015, with a firm belief that tourism is the key to the protection and conservation of this World Heritage area. The company offers tours designed for nature minded travellers desiring a personal, educational and interactive guided experience, whilst sharing the necessity of protecting the natural wonders and biodiversities of this world famous region.

_{Price per group for 1-4 passengers, including touring & meals. Pricing is subject to availability and all prices, itineraries and routings are subject to change without notice. Currency fluctuations may affect prices as quotes based on AUD. Prices are current at time of posting (1/4/2025) and may differ when you book your travel. Please contact us for our current pricing and itinerary details*}

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Itinerary

Tour day-by-day

Full Day Daintree & Cape Tribulation Experience

The world famous Daintree Rainforest, an area of ancient tropical rainforest spanning 120,000 hectares, is estimated to be 180 million years old. This region was given World Heritage status in 1988 and has the highest diversity of rainforest mammals in Australia.

8:30am Pickup Port Douglas or Silky Oaks Lodge

9:30am Wildlife Cruise

Cruise the beautiful Daintree River spotting wildlife on a quiet, clean solar electric boat with zero impact on the environment. There is a 99% success rate in spotting the mighty Saltwater Crocodile. The river is a haven for kingfishers, including the Azure, Forest, Little & Sacred species, cormorants, herons, ibis, spoonbills, flycatchers, Brahminy Kites, White-bellied Sea Eagles, Wompoo fruit doves, Sunbirds, Spotted-whistling ducks and Rainbow Bee-eaters. Other wildlife possibilities include tree snakes, frogs, fish, and flying foxes.

11:30am Lunch at Heritage Lodge (optional swim)

The beautiful rainforest clad restaurant is an environmentally friendly resort set back in the heart of the lush coastal rainforest, a short stroll from Cooper Creek. Enjoy an optional secluded swim before continuing north.

1:30pm Cape Tribulation Beach

Visit the famously known coastline "where the rainforest meets the reef". This rugged valley resembles a giant amphitheatre with a semicircle of hills dominated by Mt Sorrow (850m) and Mt Hemmant (1000m). The south-eastern rainfall trapped by this valley results in a lush tropical climate with high temperatures, humidity, and rainfall. Renowned for its scenic landscape and remote beaches. Several walks, scenic lookouts and beach areas are located within the coastal community. We spend around an hour exploring the natural assets of this area.

2:30pm Daintree Ice Cream Company

Explore a splendid garden of edible fruit, all organically grown on site with trees irrigated naturally by tropical rainfall. This is a must do tasting experiences on every tour!

3:00pm Private Rainforest Boardwalk

Led by your expert guide, enjoy a walk through a private section of the National Park to learn more about some of the 3,000 plant species from over 210 families, including 65 percent of Australia’s fern species, 30 percent of Australia’s orchid species and the earliest examples of flowering plants on the planet. The trees into Mossman Gorge provide the opportunity to spot the endemic Boyd ‘s Forest Dragon, a chameleon that can adapt its colouring for camouflage along with the beautiful White-lipped Tree Frog and iconic Ulysses Butterfly. Venture out by foot across the Jindlaba boardwalk, meandering around and across a small creek, far beneath a towering canopy of palms and ferns. The boardwalk is elevated at all times, and there are a variety of interesting flora and fauna to experience including the endangered Southern Cassowary.

4:30pm Return to Port Douglas (4:15pm Silky Oaks Lodge)
Tour details

Private Group Size: Maximum of 11 guests
Pick-up and Drop Off Point: Port Douglas or Silky Oaks Lodge
Pick-up and Drop-off Time: Pickup - 8:30am, Drop off approximately 4:30pm
Group Pricing: $1,650 1-4 passengers, $1,800 5 passengers, $1,950 6 passengers

How you'll be making a positive impact

We have aligned our sustainability vision with the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Citizen Science with FNQ Nature Tours

FNQ Nature Tours contributes observations of flora & fauna via iNaturalist, the world’s leading global social biodiversity network. This platform allows our team to create research-quality citizen science data that enables a more detailed picture of our national biodiversity, and assists bodies such as the CSIRO, ecologists and other decision makers to deliver better outcomes for the environment and our species.
Our guides record observations with iNaturalist Australia by using the iNaturalist app on mobile phones or desktop computers. An observation records an encounter with an individual organism at a particular time and location in Far North Queensland. We require photos to be attached to observations for them to become research grade and added to the Atlas of Living Australia.

This is where you can greatly assist us in capturing images out on tour! Although we make broader observations that we think are valuable to the local scientific community, we have identified the following species to track when we are exploring Far North Queensland by vehicle or on foot.

Key species we're looking out for include:
- Black-throated Finch
- Grey Goshawk (white morph)
- Lesser Sooty Owl
- Southern Cassowary
- Red-necked Crake
- Lumholtz’s Tree-Kangaroo
- Green-eyed Tree Frog
- Boyd’s Forest Dragon
- Great-billed Heron
Solar-powered Daintree River Cruise

FNQ Nature Tours have a preferred arrangement with Solar Whisper for their Daintree River Cruises, which uses solar panels on the boat’s roof to provide the overwhelming majority of energy used, and an extremely quiet experience with no exhaust, fume, wake.

Developing Partnerships To Meet Sustainability Goals

FNQ Nature Tours have developed a number of partnerships with key environmental organisations in Far North Queensland, including FNQ Wildlife Rescue, Bush Heritage, Forever Wild, Australian Quoll Conservancy, Tolga Bat Hospital, Tree Roo Rescue and Wildlife & Raptor Care Queensland. These organisations are supported financially via special touring experiences provided by FNQ Nature Tours.