Cairns Reef and Rainforest

Hop into rental car and begin your journey towards north of Cairns to Mossman, which is roughly a distance of around 145km. Take the Captain Cook Highway and keep driving north along the highway until you reach Port Douglas, where you can stop for lunch. Restart the journey from Port Douglas and continue driving, as you leave behind the town Mossman.

The town of Port Douglas is a major tourist attraction located in Far North Queensland. The town, which was originally a fishing village, is popular for its proximity to the world famous Great Barrier Reef and the biodiverse rainforest Daintree National Park. It is considered to be a base for visits to both these natural wonders and has a pleasant climate all round the year. The town is home to plenty of restaurants, boutique shops, luxury beach hotels and resorts. Explore the historical Queenslander buildings and enjoy guided tours, animal presentations, wildlife interaction and souvenir photographs at the Wildlife Habitat, a renowned wildlife sanctuary.

Meals : Breakfast

Today’s journey will include full-day safari tours at the Daintree National Park and of the entire Cape Tribulation region. Explore a variety of landscapes including estuaries, mangroves, rainforest and beach in this one day. Start the day with a trip to Mill Walk, which is a private track in Cape Tribulation National Park accessible only by the hotel Safari. Explore the ancient rainforest ecology and wildlife with your expert naturalist guide in secluded and tranquil surroundings away from the touristy crowd. Follow it up with a short drive to the Myall Beach to enjoy relaxing walks and amazing views of the Cape Tribulation and the Great Dividing Range. After spending some time at the Myall Beach, go to a private bush camp and savour a traditional Australian BBQ lunch. Afterwards, travel to a freshwater swimming hole for a lovely swim. In the afternoon, engage in a thrilling wildlife spotting cruise on the beautiful Daintree River. After spotting crocodiles and more on the cruise, return to the hotel to enjoy a hot cup of afternoon tea. With this, the day’s tour comes to an end at around 4.00 pm.

Meals: Breakfast

Today you will go on a 122km drive from Mossman to Atherton Tablelands.
Start the day, with a morning trip to the Mossman Gorge Centre, where you will participate in the Dreamtime Gorge Walk. On reaching the centre, experience a traditional ‘smoking’ welcome ceremony, which is believed to cleanse a person and rebut the bad spirits. The Dreamtime Gorge Walk has been designated an easy grade and will take you across the beautiful scenic rainforest and traditional, quaint huts or ‘Humpies’. Expert, indigenous guides will accompany you during the walk. The guides will display local and traditional uses of plants, spot bush food sources and offer an interesting narrative about the history of the rainforest, its present position and the special relationship they share with the rainforest. After a walk through this exclusive tropical rainforest, have a stopover at ‘the Beach’, where you can enjoy a refreshing swim. While at this water hole, your guide will enlighten you about some local traditions such as making bush soaps and ochre painting. The tour, which includes traditional Australian herbal bush tea and soda bread ‘damper’, will come to an end around 1.5 hours after departure.

After visiting the Mossman Gorge Centre, drive southwards through Mount Molloy, Mareeba, Yungaburra and Malanda.

Mareeba – The town of Mareeba, first inhabited in 1877, gets its name from an aboriginal word that means ‘meeting of the waters’ – a reference to the confluence of the rivers Barron River, Granite Creek and Emerald Creek. Mareeba is regarded as the centre of the flourishing tropical fruits and coffee industry of Australia. There is a huge variety of tropical fruits, vegetables, berries, nuts and flowers grown in the town.

Atherton – Atherton is a beautiful town, which is considered to be the heart of Australia’s Tropical Tablelands. The town has stunning lakes, waterfalls, rainforest and red-coloured earth. The town has a pleasant, cool weather and a laidback lifestyle with a relaxed aura about it.

Yunguburra – The picture-perfect town of Yunguburra is located right in the heart of the lakes district of the Tablelands. There are some very beautiful attractions close to the town, including Lake Barrine, Lake Eacham and the Curtain Fig Tree.

Lake Barrine – The beautiful Lake Barrine is located in the Crater Lakes National Park. The lake is a maar, that is, a lake created by volcanic explosions. The lake is surrounded by a rainforest, with typical vegetation and wildlife found on fertile red basalt soils in regions with heavy rainfall. Explore the immediate vicinity of the lake by walking along the 5km track surrounding the lake. From the track, view the two giant kauris and if you are lucky you may spot a few native animals including the vibrant Boyd's forest dragon, amethystine python and eastern water dragon. You can enjoy a cruise on the lake, which operates from the teahouse.

Lake Eacham – Like Lake Barrine, Lake Eacham is also a maar enclosed by a tropical rainforest located in the Crater Lakes National Park. The forest surrounding Lake Eacham has several rainforest communities. Enjoy a cool swim at the lake or relax in its covered picnic area or walk along its 3km lake circuit track to have stunning views of the lake or spot a few native animals including the musky-rat kangaroo.

Meals:NIL

Today you have the day at your leisure to explore Atherton Tablelands and its surroundings at your own pace.

Meals: Breakfast

Today you will drive back to Cairns, an around 70km journey, through the Gillies and Bruce Highways. On reaching Cairns, return your rental car to the Cairns Airport Depot or Cairns City Depot.

Meals: NIL