Gulf Savannah Wanderer

Cairns - Malanda

Your journey begins on a high – literally – as you depart Cairns and weave north into the Atherton Tableland. There are lakes, record-breaking pines and Historic Village Herberton, a recreated tin mining town replete with shops and a pub.

Malanda Lodge Motel

• Cairns

Malanda - Georgetown

All aboard the 1960s Savannahlander train as it tracks towards Einasleigh in the Wet Tropics. Order a cold one at the pub or visit Copperfield Gorge before the ‘silver bullet’ chugs toward Georgetown.

Latara Motel

• Malanda

Georgetown - Karumba

The aquatic jewel of the Gulf Savannah, Croydon’s Lake Belmore is the region’s largest body of water. Karumba sits at the mouth of the Norman River on the Gulf of Carpentaria; it's a twitcher's delight, as you’ll discover on a sunset cruise.

Karumba Lodge

• Georgetown

Karumba

The Gulf of Carpentaria is a rare example of a shallow sea on top of a continent. It’s a unique marine ecosystem that fosters all manner of fish, as you’ll learn at the Les Wilson Barramundi Discovery Centre & Hatchery. Feeling thirsty? Enjoy happy hour at Point Sunset.

Karumba Lodge

• Karumba

Karumba - Normanton

Explorers Burke and Wills came through this part of Queensland while surveying the gulf. Campsite 119 was their most northerly post. They didn’t make it to Mutton Hole Wetlands Regional Park, but you will, with time for croc- and bird-watching.

Gulfland Motel

• Karumba

Normanton - Cobbold Gorge

When the journey matters just as much as the destination, jump aboard the historic Gulflander train. As locals like to say, “it travels from nowhere to nowhere”. But it sure is fun.

Cobbold Gorge Cabins

• Cobbold Gorge

Cobbold Gorge

This ancient geological landform is distinguished by its narrow, striated sandstone formations and humbling 10-metre cliffs. Cruising here, the only sounds you’ll hear are the wind and wildlife.

Cobbold Gorge Cabins

• Cobbold Gorge

Cobbold Gorge - Undara

Sleep in – we’re in no rush today. Forsayth for lunch, then campfire entertainment before retiring to your accommodation in antique railway carriages.

Undara Lava Lodge

• Cobbold Gorge

Undara - Farewell from Cairns

The Undara Lava Tubes were carved by the world’s longest lava flow from a single volcano. Huge caves have formed along the tubes, creating a surreal underground world. Time to say see-you-later to the Savannah.

• Undara