Day 1: Arrive Cairns, Malanda
Leave Cairns early this morning and head to Atherton Tablelands. The first stop is to visit the Malanda Falls Visitor Centre, an environmental education centre with interpretive interactive displays on the unique Tableland volcanic region, as well as the connection to country of the local Ndgaonji people. Afterwards, you will have the opportunity to choose from a self-guided walk, seeing the rare Lumholtz’s tree-kangaroo, or going swimming.
Day 2: Mount Surprise, Georgetown
Discover the unique Talaroo Hot Springs, where water emerges from underground at up to a scorching 68 degrees Celsius, flowing into steaming pools and terraces which support an ecosystem of aquatic animals and plants found nowhere else in the world. The water that rises to the surface fell as rain an astonishing 20,000 years ago in the nearby Newcastle Range. Later, you head to Georgetown and check in to your accommodation.
Day 3: Croydon, Karumba
Travel to Croydon and visit Lake Belmore. Continue to Karumba, where you will be treated to an Insider Experience.
Insider Experience – Karumba Sunset Cruise
Head out on a scenic cruise, and learn more about the town of Karumba, its history and the business of livestock exporting. Cruise out into the Gulf of Carpentaria to Sand Island, where you will indulge in a selection of local king prawns as the sun sets.
Day 4: Karumba
This morning, you can choose to join a nature cruise which will see you venture out onto the gulf to see crocodiles and crabs, as well as do a spot of bird watching and feeding (additional expense). In the afternoon, visit the Les Wilson Barramundi Discovery Centre to learn all about this iconic fish. The centre is the only hatchery in the world to breed the Southern Gulf strain of barramundi.
Day 5: Normanton, Forsayth
Visit Normanton Station and enjoy a self-guided heritage walk around the station precinct and museum. Built in 1889, the station is a treasure trove of history and architecture. Explore the vintage locomotives, carriages, heritage-listed buildings and gardens. Later, head to Georgetown and visit the TerrEstrial Centre, home to the Ted Elliott Mineral Collection, which brings together 4,500 mineral specimens from Australia and around the world.
Day 6: Cobbold Gorge
Today, you explore rugged Cobbold Gorge, located on a private property amid a maze of sandstone formations. Learn about the mighty geological processes that formed the gorge, and in the afternoon, join a guided boat cruise. As your boat negotiates the narrow waterways between sheer rock walls, be on the lookout for freshwater crocodiles.
Day 7: Undara, Mount Surprise
Discover the amazing 190,000-year-old Undara Lava Tubes, once described by Sir David Attenborough as the eighth wonder of the modern world.
Insider Experience – Undara Lava Tubes Tour
Embark on the Archway Explorer tour through the mysterious Undara Lava Tubes. Join a local guide and walk through sections of the underground tunnels formed during an ancient volcanic eruption.
Day 8: Depart Cairns
On your return to Cairns, stop for lunch at Woodleigh Station, with its quintessential Australian bush location. Your journey ends on your arrival in Cairns.
