Duration:
Operated By:
Very few visitors to the area
have the opportunity to visit the ‘Oldest continually growing rainforest in the
world’ at night!”
Tour not recommended for children under 14
Starting in
the mid afternoon when the sun is highest in the sky, experience the magical
views of the Great Barrier Reef Drive,
perhaps the region’s most scenic coastal highway. Observe the changes in
habitat diversity as we venture north to the Daintree Tropical Rainforest
Cruise
the beautiful Daintree River spotting wildlife on a quiet, clean
solar electric boat with zero environmental impact. Get closer to nature…
hear, smell & experience without noise & fumes. Afternoon tea included
prior departure
Arrive at
Cape Tribulation, a World Heritage area with pristine beaches, rainforest, cool
streams, towering mountains and freshwater valleys that captivate our visitors.
We often spend an hour exploring the natural assets of the coastline
Dining in
the evening Rainforest is an experience not to miss! The delicious range of
cuisine on offer at Whet Restaurant is sure to make your visit to the Daintree
memorable
A wildlife
tour in Far North Queensland is not complete without a night walk. Much of the
local wildlife has adopted a nocturnal lifestyle to avoid to heat of the day in
the tropical climate. Perhaps the most unique part of this experience is to
observe nocturnal wildlife in the Wet Tropics.
Time to sit
back, relax and watch the back of your eyelids in the comfort of our modern
vehicles. Return across the Daintree River on the Cable Ferry and we’re back in
civilization so you can look through and share your photos
Returning to
Cairns approximately 10:30pm
Share:
We visited different locations and saw so much wildlife and amazing native plants.
Our guide Will was outstanding, extremely knowledgeable, passionate about nature, and genuinely dedicated to making sure everyone had the best experience.
I highly recommend this tour to anyone wanting to discover the beauty of Far North Queensland in a meaningful and sustainable way.
The tour was very educational - Ben’s knowledge and passion were second to none. Highlights include: seeing saltwater crocs, day and night walks through the rainforest and beautiful vistas at Cape Tribulation. We were even able to try Kangaroo which we would highly recommend.
Ben was incredibly accommodating and friendly and he really made the tour a special experience. Huge thank you from Charlie and Megan, and we hope your enjoy your time in sunny Scotland :)
We saw more than 100 bird species including Victoria Rifle Bird and its mating display, Golden Bower Bird and its bower, Papuan Frogmouth, Buff-breasted Paradise Kingfisher, several Fairy Wren species, jaw-dropping close-up Cassowary, and many species endemic to the wet tropics. Bonus sightings included platypus, sugar gliders, Amethystine python, green ringtail possum, fruit bat camps, musky rat-kangaroo, pademelons, and tree kangaroos.
For those wishing to be guided by people who are as excited as you about exploring all-things-nature in North Queensland we highly recommend FNQ Nature Tours.
Mia continuously impressed us with her knowledge of the rainforest and, even more, with her keen ability to spot wildlife. It was truly a privilege to get to spend 2 days with Mia. She checks all the important boxes for a wildlife tour guide and her love for the rainforest is inspiring.
Our overnight lodging at the Heritage Lodge in the Daintree was excellent. Our cabin was very comfortable and the meals (included with the tour) were great!
We saw a male cassowary with two chicks in the late afternoon from a boardwalk at Cape Tribulation and later had a great nightwalk on the Madja boardwalk loop. On the way back to Port Douglas on Day 2, Mia suggested a stop for an afternoon walk at Mossman Gorge. As we began the walk, she explained where to look for Boyd’s Forest Dragons and within minutes Mia spotted one very near the boardwalk.
The private Daintree River tour with David of Solar Whisper was definitely another highlight but we greatly enjoyed every activity and felt it was a fantastic way to spend our first couple of days in FNQ.
Mia did a great job of conferring with me before walks to let me know the
difficulty level and paced every activity at a speed at which I felt comfortable and safe.
All in all, it was a wonderful
two days!
More often than not birdwatching is about being in the right place at the right time and it felt like luck was on our side throughout with the most incredible encounters. However, most of this was down to our tour leader James' in-depth knowledge of the area and it's wildlife, where he took us to some amazing (and often unexpected locations) to see and snap a wide variety of birds. James was truly an expert on the wildlife and area and I thoroughly enjoyed learning more about the places we were visiting and birds we were seeing.
The accomodation throughout was superb and made you forget about the world outside of the forest.
I would recommend this tour to anyone with a passion for birdwatching and can't imagine there are any companies out there able to put on a better tour of the FNQ area.
Thanks James and my fellow tourists for a brilliant 5 days!
The food was very good, and the swim at the end was a great way to cool off after the walk. We were the only ones on the tour, which made it a relaxed and personal experience.
It was a hard choice between several tours, but we’re glad we decided on this one. The long rainforest walk and the swim afterwards were real highlights
With Matt’s thoughtful guiding I was able to see many birds I had never seen before and enabled to capture photos of extraordinary creatures, just to mention a few such as: The Lumholt’s Tree Kangaroo, the Striped Possum, Azure Kingfisher, Red-backed Fairy Wren, Cassowary, Golden Bower bird, Cranes, Double Eyed Fig-bird. Every day was one of awe and wonder.
Our accommodation, meals and transport were comfortable, easy and helped the whole trip feel like luxury. Matt’s attention to detail and care, helped make the small group easy and enjoyable. It makes my travelling experience outstanding, thanks Australian Geographic for making your love of FNQ something deeply memorable.
Thank you FNQ!
Day 1: We saw platypus, pergrine falcon, had a 45 minute encounter with a cassowary in the Tablelands and clocked up a total of 58 species on a day that began very wet. Matt's itinerary was planned around the weather and our comfort whilst not sacrificing any opportunities to add to our bird sightings.
Day 2: Savannah plus more rainforest with James was another exciting day and 54 species noted. Lovely fairy wren, blue faced honey eater, bowerbird, chestnut fronted mannequin, double barred finch, black stork, nankeen night heron and azure kingfisher were a few of the highlights.
These guys know the local spots to go to and share their knowledge enthusiastically. All communication was efficient and prompt. Highly recommend a day with them.
If you are reading this whist considering a tour as part or all of your FNQ holiday I can honestly say, this same trip done on our own would not at all have come close to the brilliance it actually became. What would have been a nice holiday turned into something that my kids (in particular my daughter) will carry with them forever. Also I’m pretty sure by the end of it my daughter wanted Mel as her new adoptive parent 😆
Lastly, I had a trillion holiday booking questions when organising this trip, some even unrelated to the tour, James happily helped me with everything I threw at him. You will absolutely NOT regret booking with FNQ Nature Tours!!
This is my fourth tour with FNQ, and they have consistently provided an unparalleled experience.
During the day and also at night, you can witness nature’s splendour and receive excellent tips for your own nature photography.
James, the founder and main person of FNQ, and his colleague Gavin, with whom I had an incredible four-day trip inland from Cairns, have a deep knowledge of Queensland’s ecosystem and landscape.
A tour with FNQ is a must-do.
They are passionate about sharing their connection to this land, plants, and animals, and they have a remarkable ability to comprehend and understand the complex relationships between human activities and the natural world.
I will definitely be returning with my family and friends!
Carlos
I would highly recommend this tour to anyone visiting the region! Book direct and support a small local business.
*My partner has some recent mobility issues and Mel ensured he was comfortable the whole time.
After the boat tour and lunch, we did a hike in the Rainforest which led us to Cape Tribulation. The beach was amazing! This is where the rainforest meets the sea. One of the most amazing beaches we have seen. You could imagine Captain Cook's boat off the coast.
The day ended with a stop at the Daintree Ice Cream Company. The fruit that the ice cream is made of, is grown right on the property. Delicious!
It was a wonderful day. Jim was knowledgeable, professional, and easy to spend the day with. Highly recommend.
I would highly recommend Far North Queensland Nature Tours and James to anyone who really wants to experience the amazing wildlife found in this part of Australia.
Matt was simply a phenomenal guide. A little about me: I'm a college professor of wildlife management in the United States. I have a very high bar for trips like this, where my primary goal is finding and seeing wildlife. I understand that wildlife are wild and not all sightings are guaranteed, but Matt knew all the hotspots, knew all the other local guides we bumped into (and they worked together, sharing information on wildlife sightings, simply great comradery), and had such an innate understanding of where wildlife would be and when that we saw nearly everything we were looking for.
Please do not let my expertise scare you away if you are a relative novice, however. My group contained 8 people, myself, a colleague of mine, and 6 retirees with experience ranging from little to moderate. Matt did a fantastic job juggling these different skill-levels and expectations, still allowing me (the proverbial expert I guess) to have a fantastic time even among folks who weren't looking for such an intense experience.
If you are looking for a professional guide with a small company to get a personal experience finding various species of wildlife, while also being mindful of keeping your money local, this is the group for you. I really can't say enough good things about FNQ Nature Tours, my experience was excellent.
Matt was a very warm, engaging and knowledgeable guide leading our diverse group of eight members. All very different and fun to be with. Lots of birds, including a couple of cassowaries, possums, platypus and a tree kangaroo. Great accommodation and good food. Highly recommended.
He had a great sense of humour, and his knowledge was endless; combined this made for an entertaining trip to our first stop!
We saw a platypus, a mother and young tree kangaroo, and a colony of flying foxes at our first stop.
The next stop was an amazing fig tree, where we were also up close with Wild Turkeys, and a Boyd’s Forest Dragon.
We then stopped at a pub, where we had a great meal and waited for dark.
Once it was dark, we set off spotlighting where we saw 3 different types of possums.
It was a fantastic tour, which gave much more than I expected, and I cannot recommend this company enough.
James guided me through the forest, showing how to take great photos of the native fauna and flora while explaining the ecosystem, its evolution and challenges ahead.,
James is an outstanding guide and a wonderful “compagnon de route”.
I do recommend this tour. It is worth every minute.
Carlos
Paul and Glennys
We would highly recommend this tour to anyone with an interest in our local wildlife. It's a truly beautiful area with lots to see.
We started by taking a boat ride on the Daintree River. It was a small private boat with a very knowledgeable guide/ captain. We saw birds and crocodiles and learned a lot about the area.
Next we went to a small cottage in the forest for lunch. The menu emphasized local foods, particularly a great selection of local fruits. They offered kangaroo, which we didn’t sample.
Finally we went into the park and explored the scenery. James was very knowledgeable about the area’s history and significance. We took a walk on a boardwalk through the forest to the beach. We were always on the lookout for wildlife and were rewarded by catching a glimpse of a cassowary through the trees. We also saw several very large spiders, but let’s not dwell on that.
We would highly recommend this tour company and its owner, our guide James.
lake region. Matt and Rowen were perfect guides. Their knowledge about the rainforest wildlife and foliage was amazing. Each time a bird called Matt identified it, and he constantly had his binoculars out searching for tree kangaroos, dragon lizards, platypus and a possum unique to the area. We had mixed results, seeing several species but not all ..and clearly it was not for lack of trying. All in all a day well spent.
We saw many different animals on our walks in the rainforest and the night tour was a magical experience like no other. Just to name a few, we saw stripped possums, the Papuan frogmouth owl, many species of frogs, and even a spotted python on our way back home. I also managed to film a Boyd's forest dragon catching a cicada mid-air up close! The Solar Whisper crocodile cruise through the daintree river was also amazing and we saw many baby saltwater crocodiles and spectacled fruit bats. On top of all that, the dinner included in the tour was also absolutely delicious and the views at Cape Tribulation were wonderful.
Truly one of the best ways out there to explore the Daintree rainforest and we are already planning our next trip back out here!
Thank you so much Matt for making this trip amazing and teaching us so much!










































































