Chillagoe Caves and Outback from Cairns Full-Day Tour Public Tour
ID: GYG11045-11045
Category:
Country: Australia
Duration:
11:00 hours
Description
Journey back in history to spectacular outback landscapes, ancient coral reefs, limestone caves and Granite Gorge Nature Park. See an array of birdlife and wildlife, visit the Chillagoe smelters and Chillagoe Caves.
Your naturalist guide will meet you at your accommodation and after introductions all round, you will ascend the McAllister Ranges and head west through Mareeba embarking on a remarkable journey back to prehistoric times, when dinosaurs ruled the Earth.
The first stop is for morning tea (tea, coffee and cakes or a sausage roll). From here you will travel through the back blocks of a wetland area viewing wallabies, emus and other wildlife and then along the irrigated 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 minerals eventually giving way to towering limestone karsts scattered around Chillagoe.
Stop in Chillagoe for the 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 the Great Barrier Reef. Millions of years in the making, the limestone formations are nothing short of spectacular. Then delve into the history of the copper smelters, whose old chimneys dominate the western horizon. Visit the remains of the once mighty smelters to ponder what it was like working there, then visit Aboriginal Rock Art. Afterwards, it’s time for an Aussie pub lunch.
After lunch and a visit to the local souvenir shop, head back towards the East coast, stopping at Granite Gorge where you can feed wallabies and hold other indigenous animals. The tour then returns down the range to Cairns.
Highlights
- Explore the famous Chillagoe Caves with a local expert guide
- Admire fossilized remains of the ancient coral reefs from 400 million years ago
- Travel off the beaten track down exclusive backroads in a 4WD
- Delve into history at the Chillagoe Copper Smelters and see Aboriginal Rock Art
- Visit Granite Gorge Nature Park and see the rock wallabies
Guiding languages
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
• Transfers can be arranged from Port Douglas at an additional cost
• A reasonable level of fitness is required for this tour as there are steps into the caves and uneven ground.
• The tour may be canceled or the itinerary changed due to wet season weather, where conditions may close roads and access to the caves.
• This tour requires a minimum of 5 passengers to operate and may need to cancel if minimum numbers are not met.
The number of visitors is limited to reduce crowds
All areas that customers touch are frequently cleaned
You must fill out a travel information form
Hotel pick-up and drop-off
When should I book?
To guarantee availability book as soon as possible. Early booking is worth consideration especially if you planning the trip during high season like public holidays or weekends.
Cancellations
This excursion you can cancel with no cost up to 48 hours before the start of the trip. If you cancel it after 48 hours or not show up on the excursion you will still be charged the full price of the activity. Being late on pick-up or departure will be considered as not showing up.
