Itinerary
Tour day-by-day
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Day 1: Daintree Rainforest & Cape Tribulation
Day 1: Pick up from your hotel by your professional guide. Witness the magical Great Barrier Reef Drive as we head north on the scenic coastal highway. Learn about the unique habitats within the local environment and observe the changes in biodiversity as we get closer to the Daintree tropical rainforest.
Walk the Jindalba Interpretive Rainforest Trail. The Daintree is an area of ancient tropical rainforest spanning 120,000 hectares, making it the largest portion of tropical rainforest in Australia. Walk the quiet tracks to witness the complex ecosystems in this World Heritage Area. Jindalba nature trail offers unique and remarkable opportunities to experience the natural scenery and endemic wildlife within the national park.
Wildlife sightings may include the southern cassowary, Boyd’s forest dragon, wompoo fruit dove and many more. Lunch at a local restaurant enroute.
After lunch continue to Cape Tribulation (where the rainforest meets the reef). This famous 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. Several walks, scenic lookouts and beach areas are located in the coastal community.
We highly recommend a swim in the azure waters of Emmagen Creek before settling in at Heritage Lodge for ourovernight accommodation and dinner for the evening. Heritage Lodge is an environmentally friendly resort set in the heart of a lush coastal rainforest, a short stroll from Cooper Creek for a swim!
Optional night walk Night spotting in the Northern Daintree A wildlife tour in Far North Queensland is not complete without a night walk. A large portion of the local wildlife has adopted a nocturnal lifestyle to avoid to heat of the day in the tropical climate. We often visit two sites to experience the overall diversity of nocturnal wildlife in the Wet Tropics.
Accommodation: Heritage Lodge
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Day 2: Daintree River & Atherton Tablelands
Breakfast at the lodge. We have an early start today to maximise our wildlife viewing on the Daintree River. A short drive of 30 minutes will have us at our cruise location for a private 2-hour Daintree River Cruise on the beautiful Daintree River in the dawn light, spotting wildlife on a quiet, clean solar-electric boat with zero impact on the environment.
Get closer to nature... hear, smell and experience without noise and fumes. We have a 99 per cent success rate for spotting crocodiles, excellent bird-watching opportunities and other wildlife possibilities such as snakes, frogs and fish and bats. Lunch at a local restaurant.
After lunch we continue to Shared Earth Reserve (SER) adjacent to the Hann Tableland National Park. The wildlife on the Tropical Wetlands SER is incredibly diverse, and the property has some of the highest avian diversity anywhere in Australia – more than 220 recorded species, with the highest bird count for a single day sitting at 98 species.
We know the property is critical habitat for buff-breasted buttonquail, one of the world’s rarest birds, and there is also a healthy population of the endangered northern quoll.
Our group has exclusive access to this site. Our accommodation for the night, Chambers Wildlife Rainforest Lodge, is hidden in 486ha of Lake Eacham’s lush, tropical highland rainforest in the beautiful Waterfalls and Crater Lakes district of the Atherton Tablelands.
Dinner at a local restaurant. Accommodation: Chambers Rainforest Lodge. Breakfast, lunch and dinner provided
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Day 3: Spotted-tailed Quoll Conservation
Breakfast at the lodge. Become a citizen scientist for a day! We are offering an exclusive opportunity to work alongside industry experts and assist in conducting valuable research that will aid in the preservation of Far North Queensland’s endangered wildlife!
This behind-the-scenes tour provides a unique opportunity to enter research locations not accessible to the public to observe the endangered spotted-tailed quoll. Justin McMahon and Alberto Vale are our expert research guides and they have been carefully studying these fascinating and mysterious creatures for several years. Join them in the rainforest and take part intheir research projects.
The Australian Quoll Conservancy (AQC) The AQC is a not-for-profit organisation, in its sixth year of operation. Several Species Recovery Units are now established in Victoria and North Queensland. AQC emphasises the need for the recovery of these species in those areas, with unique, innovative and non-invasive monitoring methods that transcend current Animal Ethics, scientific methodologies and requirement.
Accommodation: Chambers Wildlife Rainforest Lodge. Breakfast, lunch and dinner provided
The spotted-tailed quoll is the largest marsupial mammal in the world! Sadly its closest cousin, the Tasmanian tiger is already extinct. Spotted-tailed quoll populations in North Queensland are now critically low and sadly this amazing creature is at real risk of extinction. This precious animal needs our help so that future generations can appreciate their magnificence and beauty.
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Day 4: Lake Barrine, Yungaburra & Cairns
Breakfast at the lodge. Birdwatching at Hasties Swamp, a large seasonal wetland renowned for its diverse range of resident and migratory birds. More than 220 species have been identified and a large bird hide, with informative identification signs, offers excellent water bird viewing opportunities.
We then continue to Lake Barrine, an outstanding location for nature activities. Several walks are available offering great wildlife and birdwatching opportunities. Let’s toast our wildlife spotting achievements at Lake Barrine Tea House with some local tea/coffee and its famous scones with jam and cream.
The lake cruise is a highlight – you’ll spot reptiles such as water dragons, birds, eels, fish, other reptiles and several Wet Tropics endemic species. Lunch at Lake Barrine Tea House.
One of our major focus points of the day, spotting wild platypus! Learn about their elusive behaviour and take as much time as you need to get that perfect photo! In the afternoon arrive at Cathedral Fig Tree, one of the most incredible trees you’ll see in your life.
This ancient fig is an epic rainforest survivor that supports a very complex ecosystem. We then return to Cairns, arriving late afternoon.
Day 5 – Optional Great Barrier Reef Tour
Get picked up from your accommodation in Cairns and join your group for a day out on the reef to explore one of the 7 wonders of the natural world and World Heritage Area by boat. -
Tour details:
Group Size: Minimum of 4 guests, Maximum of 6 guests
Pick-up and Drop Off Point: Cairns/Northern Beaches/Port DouglasHow 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.
Rescuing the Wildlife of Far North Queensland
FNQ Nature Tours’ guides are active and passionate volunteers for
Far North Queensland Wildlife Rescue Association; a not for profit, incorporated volunteer organisation operating under permit from the Queensland Department of Environment and Heritage Protection.
Connecting with Australian Quoll Conservancy & Tree Roo Rescue
As part of FNQ Nature Tours' 4 Day Nature, Wildlife & Conservation Safari, guests spend some time with wildlife experts such as Alberto Vale from Australian Quoll Conservancy and Dr Karen Coombes from Tree Roo Rescue. These experiences give guests an incredible and rare insight into the conservation work going on behind-the-scenes for some of Australia's endangered wildlife species.
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.
Red-filtered Flashlights for our Nocturnal Beauties
White torches or spotlights can significantly disturb our marsupials, due to the greater sensitivity of their pupils to light compared with humans. FNQ Nature Tours use, and share with guests the importance of using, red-filtered spotlights.
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.
