Ultimate Wildlife Safari North Queensland

Enter the world's oldest tropical rainforest as you head north from Cairns/Gimuy into the Daintree Rainforest/Kaba Kada, 120,000 hectares of ancient, UNESCO World Heritage-listed wilderness. Quiet nature trails and private property access offer exceptional opportunities to encounter endemic wildlife, with the southern cassowary a major target for the day. The hottest part of the afternoon is best spent cooling off in one of the many freshwater rainforest creeks before the day's wildlife activity resumes at dusk. An evening nocturnal walk reveals the Daintree Rainforest's/Kaba Kada remarkable after-dark world. Wildlife highlights include southern cassowary, Bennett's tree kangaroo, Boyd's forest dragon, striped possum, Papuan frogmouth, saltwater crocodile, azure kingfisher, white-lipped tree frog, Ulysses butterfly, and Australian scrub python. Overnight at Heritage Lodge, Daintree Rainforest/Kaba Kada.

Begin the day on a private boat cruise along the Daintree River, a peaceful and low-impact wildlife experience with a 99% success rate for saltwater crocodile sightings, alongside exceptional birdwatching and the chance to encounter snakes, frogs, and flying foxes in their natural riparian habitat. Wildlife highlights include great-billed heron, little and azure kingfisher, black-necked stork, white-bellied sea eagle, spectacled flying fox, and saltwater crocodile. After lunch, the journey heads inland through Julatten, where the landscape transitions from tropical rainforest to open savannah. The day closes at Granite Gorge Nature Park in the golden evening light, with the endemic Mareeba rock wallaby among the highlights alongside red-backed fairy-wrens, rainbow bee-eaters, and dollarbirds. Overnight at Chambers Wildlife Lodge, Atherton Tablelands.

The cool mountain streams of Yungaburra are the focus of the morning, where Australian platypus are reliably encountered in the clear water. You will have plenty of time here, ideal for patient observation and photography. After lunch, the ancient volcanic Crater Lakes of Lake Eacham/Yidyam and Lake Barrine/Barany offer the chance to spot red-legged pademelon, musky rat kangaroo, saw-shell turtle, and eastern water dragon in a remarkable geological setting formed over 10,000 years ago. The evening brings an optional nocturnal spotlighting session targeting Boyd's forest dragon, leaf-tailed gecko, lesser sooty owl, Lemuroid possum, and a rich diversity of frogs and reptiles in the Tablelands' most productive after-dark habitats. Overnight at Chambers Wildlife Lodge, Atherton Tablelands.

Two morning walks in the Malanda Falls Conservation Park/Tutamonlin offer some of the best opportunities in Australia to encounter the elusive Lumholtz tree-kangaroo in its protected rainforest habitat (a species so rarely seen that early European settlers considered it mythical). Green ringtail possum, Boyd's forest dragon, eastern whipbird, and red-legged pademelon are also regularly encountered here. After lunch, the afternoon visits the remarkable Tolga Bat Hospital, one of Australia's most innovative wildlife conservation experiences, where dedicated volunteers work to rescue and rehabilitate bats through hands-on care, education, and research. Overnight at Chambers Wildlife Lodge, Atherton Tablelands.

The final day opens at Hasties Swamp National Park, a large seasonal wetland renowned for its extraordinary birdlife (over 220 species recorded), with a large bird hide offering excellent waterbird viewing of magpie geese, brolga, sarus crane, spoonbills, jabiru, and diverse herons. After lunch in Malanda, Mount Hypipamee National Park delivers one of the Tablelands' most stunning geological formations alongside further tree kangaroo encounters. The tour closes at the ancient Curtain Fig Tree, one of the most extraordinary living things in the Australian rainforest, its vast root system a testament to thousands of years of survival. Return to Cairns/Gimuy by approximately 4:30pm.