Tropics World Heritage walk

This is an all-inclusive tour with no hidden extras:

• Professionally guided – Our CEO’s – Chief Experience Officers are passionate, well trained and enthusiastic with the ability to bring to life a depth of information
• 1 night at the Shangri-La Hotel, Cairns
• 2 nights in Heritage Lodge in the Daintree
• 2 nights in Eden House Retreat, Atherton Tablelands
• 2 nights at Castaways Resort and Spa, Mission Beach
• Wow factor: Reef Snorkelling or wilderness cruise in the Daintree
• Fresh fruit and trail mix to enjoy during your walk
• 6 x delicious restaurant dinners featuring beautiful local produce
• 6 x breakfasts
• 7 x lunches

TRAIL NOTES: 9km of walking over two tracks

TERRAIN: Walk 1: Expect a steady climb from the start all the way to glacier rock about 470m over 4km, a variety of terrain underfoot and of course all downhill on the way back. Walk 2: Easy board walked track

WALK ITINERARY: Enjoy breakfast in the hotel restaurant, before meeting your guides in the hotel foyer at 7.30am for our transfer north to Barron Gorge National Park.  Located just outside of Cairns, Barron Gorge National Park is home to the precipitous Barron Falls, a roaring torrent of tumbling water that thunders with unimpeached ferocity from the Atherton Tablelands to the coastal lowlands, 265 metres below.  Our walk today will take us on a circuit through the lush vegetation and cascading falls of Barron Gorge National Park getting us away from the more touristy areas as we eventually travel through the beautiful rainforest to Glacier Rock Lookout, which gives us an overarching view of the vibrant landscape we have just been wending through.  After our hike we will duck up to an easy board-walked path to see the stunning Barron Falls, before continuing our journey by road, making our way up into the Daintree Rainforest itself and your awaiting accommodation at the Heritage Lodge. Set amongst the rainforest this charming accommodation is your home away from home for the next 2 nights. Tonight enjoy dinner in the lodge’s open-air restaurant featuring candles and flaming torches. Savour in the local produce created by the resident chef accompanied by wonderful wines.

TRAIL NOTES:  12km over two walks. Option to walk Eacham an extra 3km if time permits.

TERRAIN: At Mossman Gorge expect well-maintained tracks footbridges and boardwalks and occasional small sets of stairs. Lake Barrine: A walk around the crater lake that passes through rainforest.

WALK ITINERARY: Enjoy a peaceful morning waking up to the sounds of the forest. Savour breakfast in the restaurant before we depart the Lodge and head south towards beautiful Mossman Gorge. This 56,000 hectare region located within the Daintree National Park is is a landscape of spellbinding crystal-clear pools cascading over large granite boulders and surrounded by lush rainforest.  Our walk today takes on a gorgeous circuit over bridges under and through the lush rainforest canopy.  Afterwards, enjoy a sit-down lunch before we bid farewell and continue on our way towards the Atherton Tablelands. Our afternoon 5km walk explores the crater lake (Lake Barrine) that passes through rainforest characteristic of the type found on fertile basalt (red) soils in areas of high rainfall. This walking track offers secluded forest-fringed views of the lake and excellent opportunities for viewing wildlife, including saw-shelled turtles and eastern water dragons. You may be lucky enough to see the long olive-green body of a freshwater eel. This unusual-looking fish spends up to 30 years in Lake Barrine before migrating to the sea, via Toohey Creek and the Mulgrave River, to breed and die. Afterwards, we’ll head to the historic town of Yungaburra in the Atherton Tablelands and your accommodation at the charming Eden House Retreat where we spend the next 2 nights. Tonight enjoy a superb dinner featuring wonderful local produce, perfectly matched with Australian wines.   

TRAIL NOTES: 7.5km over multiple walks. Easy to moderate

TERRAIN: Variety of terrain from paved tracks to dirt tracks, most well maintained.

WALK ITINERARY: After breakfast we start the day by checking out the Curtain Fig Tree, a strangler fig of epic proportions and one of the largest trees in all of Queensland – well worth a visit to posit away the image in the memory banks. After this, we will set out to walk the Hypipamee Crater located high on the southern Evelyn Tableland, in the Hugh Nelson Range. The crate is in Hypipamee Crater National Park, centred around a volcanic pipe, thought to have been created by a massive gas explosion. A platform at the end of a 400m walking track through the rainforest provides an uninterrupted view of the remaining crater. The crater is almost 70m across with sheer granite walls. Fifty-eight metres below the rim is a lake over 70m deep, covered with a green layer of native waterweed. It is a hot spot for possums with several different species found in the area and a good place for seeing high-altitude birds. Afterwards, we’ll head on to the aptly named Waterfall Circuit in the Atherton Tablelands region. Our walks today will be easy but indescribably beautiful, with the aquamarine and emerald colours cascading all around us. We walk to the iconic Mila Mila falls an 80-metre waterfall surrounded by lush rainforest  We will then enjoy a delicious lunch at a local cafe taking in the views and enjoying locally sourced organic produce. We head to Nandroya Falls, a 50-metre vertical plunging waterfall located in the rainforest valleys of Wooroonooran National Park, Queensland. One of Tropical North Queensland’s most incredible rainforest waterfalls. From here we make our way to the charming Castaways Resort and Spa, Mission Beach. Ideally located on the beachfront this Resort offers sweeping views of swaying palm trees and the beautiful Coral Sea. Tonight enjoy a 2-course dinner in the beautiful poolside Buko Restaurant which specialises in a modern menu of fresh local cuisine such as reef fish. Dinner will be accompanied by Australian wines.

TRAIL NOTES: 6.5km

*Please note that a very difficult hike up a 900m granite pyramid is available on this day for the brave and/or adventurous in addition to a 6.5km walk

TERRAIN: Well maintained walking tracks with some ups and downs with occasional slippery stream crossings.

ITINERARY: After breakfast, we bid farewell to Mission Beach and head north towards Cairns. Enroute we will discover a number of short walks to some favourite locations frequented by the locals. Our first walk is a 4km circuit track up Bicton Hill at Bingil Bay is in the Clump Mountain National Park, and has unsurpassed views and an enormous variety of rare rainforest plants and animal life, one of which is the unusual nesting site of the buff-breasted paradise-kingfisher.  Next we head to Babinda Boulders, an iconic local attraction surrounded by lush rainforest, and its fast-flowing creek and learn about the legend of the Devil Pools. We finish our tour with pretty Josephine Falls, ranked as one of the most beautiful in Tropical North Queensland. From here we make our way back to Cairns. The end of a fabulous journey.

FINISH TIME: We arrive back at the Shangri-La Cairns at approximately 3.00pm.
Clients wanting extra nights in Cairns should book these independently.