Chillagoe Caves and Outback One Day Tour
Billy Tea Safaris is a small locally owned tour operator, which operates small personalised tours with custom built 4WD vehicles, and your naturalist guides have extensive knowledge of flora, fauna, history of the area and aboriginal culture, which will ensure your day will be a memory of a life time.
Your day begins when your accredited guide meets you at your accommodation Cairns CBD around 6.45am, Holloway's Beach and Yorkey's Knob will be approximately 7.00am, and after introductions all round We'll ascend the McAllister Ranges and head west through dirt tracks via the little town of Biboorha, looking for many different species of bush birds, including Emus, Wedge Tail Eagles, Squatter Pigeons and Kangaroos, Frilled Neck Lizards, before reaching our first stop.
At the Mareeba Wetlands you will be treated to an informative boat tour to learn more about this diverse eco system and see many migratory water birds, giant Lotus Lilly's all whilst cruising in an environmentally friendly electric boat. Then taking the back roads into the outback to see Kangaroos, Emus, and many other species of wildlife.
Drive through old historical towns enroute to Chillagoe and old mining town with many interesting tales to tell of the past before exploring one of the ancient lime stone caves where you will be amazed with what you see.
Your naturalist guide will meet you at your accommodation and after introductions all round, we'll ascend the McAllister Ranges and head west through Mareeba embarking on a remarkable journey back to prehistoric times, when dinosaurs ruled the Earth.
Our first stop is Mareeba Wetlands for morning tea and a twenty minute cruise in an environmentally friendly and quiet electric boat.
From here we travel through the back blocks of this wetland area viewing wallabies, emus and other wildlife and then along the agricultural paddocks of this fertile area, eventually crossing over the Great Divide and into the Western watershed.
Travel through historical towns and rolling hills rich in mineral eventually giving way to towering limestone karsts scattered around Chillagoe. Here we delve into the history of the copper smelters, whose old chimneys dominate the western horizon.
We visit the remains of the once might smelters to ponder what it was like working there....
Now it's time for a wonderful lunch and scrumptious salad before setting off to have a look at this historical town on route to National Parks cave tour.
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 the cave tour, we head back towards the east coast, stopping at Mt Uncle Distillery, nestled on fertile foothills of Mt Uncle where the property gets its name from. You can relax in the rustic Bridges Cafe which got it's name from the timbers used to contrust the building from the old Walsh River Bridge. You can enjoy their delicious coffee, try one of their 50 + Tea's and home made scones or possibly a wine or beer (own cost).
You also have the opportunity to take part in their Award Winning real 100% Liqueurs and Spirits which are produced on site choose from Rum, Vodka, Whiskey, Banana Liqueur, Coffee Liqueur, Mulberry Liqueur, Limecello Liqueur, Davidsons Plum Liqueur, Marshmallow Liqueur. (own cost) This is the only distillery north of Bundaberg.
The tour then returns back down the range arriving back in Cairns at approximately 6.30pm
Costing
| Adults | $180 per person |
| Child | $130 per child (0-14years) |
| Pensioner | $170 per pensioner |
| Extra Child Rate | $95 per extra child |
| Family | $540(2 adults + 2 children) |
Tour operates Monday, Wednesday and Friday (or by request on other days requiring minimum numbers)
Video
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