Chillagoe Day Tour 4WD Safari, Gulf Savannah, Kakadu & Outback Tours, Cairns Tours

Your naturalist guide will meet you at your accommodation and after introductions all round, you will commence your day.

Travel west as you ascend the McAllister Range and head west through dirt tracks via the little town of Biboorha, looking for many different species of bush birds, including Emus and Kangaroos before reaching your first stop for the day at Mareeba Wetlands. Here you will enjoy a delicious morning tea and a twenty minute wetlands cruise in an environmentally friendly and quiet electric boat. This is a magnicent setting, here you will see Giant Lotus Lilly's up close and a large array of water birds as well. You will learn about the fragile Eco System of this wonderful reverse and also see the Rare Gouldian Finch breeding programme.

After your cruise your will travel through the back blocks of the wetland area viewing wallabies, emus and other wildlife.

Travelling along the agricultural paddocks of the area crossing over the Great Divide and into the Western watershed (please note this operator may take an alternate route from the wetlands if wet weather renders the road impassible).

Travel through historical towns and rolling hills rich in mineral eventually giving way to towering limestone karsts which are scattered around the Chillagoe area. Here your guide will delve into the history of the copper smelters whose old chimneys dominate the western horizon. You will certainly get to stop at the remains of the once mighty smelters to ponder what it was like working in such a harsh and inhospitable outback environment.

Enjoy a wonderful lunch at an Outback Pub including a choice of fish, chips & salad or homemade hamburger and chips before setting off to have a look at the historical town centre and surrounds en-route to enjoy a National Parks guided tour of the Chillagoe Caves!

The fossilized remains of the ancient coral reefs with hidden limestone labyrinths give a portal to a lost world just like our own Great Barrier Reef. Millions of years in the making, the limestone formations are nothing short of spectacular.

After touring the caves it’s time to head back towards the east coast, stopping at Skybury Coffee Plantation, to The Australian Coffee Centre for a choice of their delicious coffee & scones or possibly a glass of wine or a cold beer (at own expense). The plantation is set in a beautiful setting where will see agile wallabies as well as spectacular views off the plantation house’s expansive shaded timber verandahs.

All too soon it’s time to say goodbye as you make your way back down the range arriving back in Cairns to be dropped off at accommodation by approximately 6.30pm.

Note: This operator prides itself on providing informative tours and has no set timetable as such, so you’ll have ample time for photographs and to enjoy the areas visited along the way. Questions from passengers are encouraged and you’ll find that the group sizes are small and personal with a maximum of 14 passengers. All Four Wheel Drive touring vehicles are fully air-conditioned and are custom built with forward facing seats and seatbelts for a safe, spacious and comfortable touring experience.

• Naturalist driver guide
• Courtesy transfers from Cairns City Based accommodation
• Air-conditioned custom built 4 Wheel Drive vehicle
• Mareeba Wetlands (Wet weather alternate stop is Granite Gorge)
• Morning tea
• Delicious Lunch at Outback Pub
• Tour of Chillagoe Caves
• Chillagoe Smelters
• An ultimate Bush & Outback experience

• Adult AU$170.00
• Child (under 14 years of age) AU$120.00
• Pensioner AU$160.00
• Family (2 Adults & 2 Children under 14 years of age) AU$525.00

Please Note that this tour offers courtesy accommodation transfers from Cairns City based accommodation as far out as Smithfield. All Hotel transfers from Trinity Beach, Kewarra Beach and Palm Cove & will require an earlier departure time and will incur an additional transfer fee of AU$27.00 per person return. If you can make your way to the tour operator’s last pick-up point which is the Smithfield Bus Shelter at the bottom of the Kuranda Range there will be no additional transfer fee.

Casual clothing, walking shoes, swimwear, towel, hat, water bottle & sunscreen. We recommend 400ASA film and flash for rainforest photography.