8 days
Availability: 8
Tropical North Queensland Expedition in Style featuring Kinrara
2020-07-31T05:26:02+00:00
Main Information
An immersive, hand-crafted seven-night expedition through the Queensland Outback—from volcanic-fed Kinrara to the World Heritage Daintree Rainforest.
Limited to strictly eight participants.
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A seven-night expedition in style taking guests from the fertile volcanic bushland of Kinrara to the lush Daintree Rainforest, this voyage takes guests off the beaten path through Northern Queensland, staying at destinations that showcase the state’s environmental diversity. Fully hosted by world-class guides whose passion for the region is interconnected with their roots, guests will have access to their encyclopaedic knowledge for full immersion into Queensland’s most striking landscapes.
This is an adventure for those seeking exploration with authentic cultural engagement. You’ll be hosted in virtually untouched bushland and rest amongst some of the oldest botanical life in the world, experience nature’s splendour across the Great Dividing Range alongside the precipice where two World Heritage-listed areas meet, and venture to remote locales that most travellers will never experience. Combining the historic and contemporary with the natural and constructed, all while led by the most passionate hosts, this is an unforgettable expedition into Australia’s Tropical North.
Your Personalised Odyssey
With your own family or friends
Designed with intimacy in mind and perfect for families or groups of friends, you’ll tour exclusively with seven of your nearest and dearest. Choosing your own group and travelling with familiar faces enables you to enjoy your journey from the very first moment.
In your own space
There’s no cattle class here. All locations, experiences, and transfers* are completely private. Privileged access and intimate experiences ensure your absolute safety and privacy, while still remaining authentic.
In your own time
Each day is adapted to your needs—forget scheduled departure times and by-the-numbers sightseeing. Spontaneity is welcomed, and your personal whims, wishes, and desires are shaped by your guide into truly one-of-a-kind experiences wherever you are.
With genuine characters
Meet hand-picked locals whose very roots are intertwined with the region. You’ll take a seat at the table with families whose passions span several generations, and a range of characters who will welcome you into their everyday lives with genuine enthusiasm.
With your own personal guide/s
Your personal guide is there to elevate your experience without intrusion from arrival to departure. Both in tune with the surrounding environment and your own needs, they’ll freely share their knowledge of and passion for each area to enhance your journey.
With luxury standard
We know the finest experiences. We’ve hand-picked the best available accommodation, and teamed it with the best local cuisine and beverages in each region to elevate every single moment.
*See Terms & Conditions.
Callum O’Brien
Your Guide & Host
Introducing Callum O’Brien: Tropical North Queensland local, distinguished marketing professional, welcoming host, and Founder and Chief Experience Officer of Kinrara Expeditions.
Cathy Wharton
Your Guide & Host
Introducing Cathy Wharton: Founder of North West Safaris, guiding extraordinaire, passionate conservationist, and North Queensland local.
Kinrara Expeditions
Offering adventure and rustic, outdoor hospitality, Kinrara operates on a working cattle station sitting on 70,000 acres of remote land in Far North Queensland, 250km south-west of Cairns. Fed by volcanic spring water and teeming with diverse wildlife on the site of Australia’s second youngest volcano, Kinrara’s camp is designed with sustainability and authentic country hospitality in mind, to respect the station’s history and protect the environment that surrounds it.
The camp offers eleven private safari-style canvas tents with individual balconies overlooking the water’s edge, and each stay at Kinrara is hosted by the O’Brien family, custodians of the land for four generations in collaboration with the Gugu Badhun Indigenous people.
Daintree Ecolodge
Daintree Ecolodge is folded into ancient rainforest, nestled upon the southern banks of the Daintree River. This sustainable and uplifting destination offers eco-friendly bayans (treehouses) looking over a rainforest canopy of Bull Kauri trees, and a lagoon strewn with lily pads. The lodge boasts a private waterfall and swimming hole, while modern facilities include a bar, restaurant, and dining area overlooking the lagoon where you’ll enjoy delicious meals created with locally grown produce. A multitude of stunning, quiet areas immersed in lush tropical rainforest make this destination the perfect place to unwind in sustainable and uplifting comfort.
Situated high in the rainforest canopy with premium views overlooking the lagoon and Julaymba Restaurant, your Lagoon Bayan accommodation ensures a relaxing rainforest escape and the perfect base from which to explore the region. Daintree Ecolodge is ideally situated between two of nature’s finest displays, where lush tropical rainforest meets white sand beaches and fringing coral reefs, making it the perfect place to enjoy the sights and sounds of nature.
Price is based on a minimum of 8 paying passengers, based on double occupancy and is valid for travel until 31 March 2021.
Minimum 8 passengers – $7,750.00 per person
The above costs are dependent on availability at the time of booking. Blackout dates and seasonal surcharges may apply and costs are subject to change.
Please consult your Travel Designer to check on full terms and conditions and availability.
*Terms and conditions apply.
- 8 day/7 night tour hosted throughout
- The Kinrara journey begins with a four-hour 4WD tour from Cairns to the camp and includes a visit to Queensland’s highest altitude pub, the charming Ravenshoe Hotel, where you will enjoy lunch
- 4 nights at Kinrara Outback Retreat in canvassed tents including all meals and selected beverages
- Activities on offer are flexible at Kinrara, ensuring each day is personalised to suit you. Activities include kayaking, hiking, 4WDriving, nature walks, fishing, bird-watching and swimming in spring-fed streams.
- Explore outback life by taking a homestead tour, and learn about working cattle station life.
- On Day 5 enjoy a full day tour including lunch from Kinrara via the Atherton Tablelands en route to the Daintree in 2 x 4WD’s
- 3 nights at Daintree Ecolodge in a Lagoon Bayan including breakfast daily
- 2 full days private touring exploring the Daintree with Northwest Safaris
- Private Daintree River Wildlife and Crocodile Cruise
- Private lunch and tour at Botanical Ark hosted by the owners, Alan and Susan Carle
- Private full day tour of the Daintree with our guide and Aboriginal Elder Mooks, including lunch
- Dinner daily including selected beverages
- Private Transfer from Daintree Ecolodge to Cairns
- Fully hosted by professional guide
- Flights to and from Cairns
- Telephone calls
- All items of a personal nature
- Travel insurance
- Gratuities
- The tour will depart on a Sunday and finish with an airport transfer on the Sunday.
Gallery
Itinerary
Download Brochure
Day 1: Touchdown on Basalt
This morning at Cairns Airport, you’ll meet your guide who will be with you throughout your journey. Sit back and relax in your 4WD vehicle as you begin the 4.5 hour voyage south-west of Cairns through morphing landscapes, from dense rainforest to open savannah as you head further into the outback. Along the way, you’ll stop for lunch at the charming Ravenshoe Hotel, the highest altitude pub in Queensland, and get a taste of outback Australian life.
Upon arrival at Kinrara's campsite, you’ll meet your hosts: the O’Brien family, who have lived in the area of four generations. Take a tour around the property to immerse yourself, and get comfortable while enjoying stunning views over the lake. You’ll take a seat at the O'Brien's enormous blue gum dining table for home-cooked dinner and drinks, and get to know each other, as they'll help personalise each day to you.
Days 2-4: Kinrara Activities
Your time at Kinrara is flexible to suit the weather and your personal interests. You’ll be able to participate in many of the activities on offer, such as morning bird watching walks, hosted 4WD driving to springs through rainforest thicket, and water activities like kayaking, fishing, and swimming in the basalt-lined lake, spot the abundant wildlife in the area, and hike along nature paths. With the guidance of your hosts, you'll discover the secrets of the site—potentially with a one-of-a-kind lava walk experience for adventurous guests.
For those interested in history, you can take a homestead tour and learn about working cattle station life. The camp
also provides ample space to relax, read, and soak up the views in both the communal lounge, canvassed tents, or amongst nature itself. With each day concluding with dinner and drinks with your hosts, your four nights at Kinrara will reveal the mystery and beauty of one of Australia's best kept secrets in Tropical North Queensland.
Day 5: Transfer from Kinrara to Daintree
From Basalt to Bayan
Say farewell to Kinrara and the O’Briens—today you’ll embark on an overland expedition up to the Daintree through the Atherton Tablelands by 4WD. You’ll stretch your legs at rural localities, venture through tropical National Parkland, learn about the local geology at enormous Mt. Hypipamee Crater, and visit Curtain Fig Tree —one of the largest trees in Tropical North Queensland and well-known Heritage-listed attraction on the Atherton Tablelands, estimated to be nearly 500 years old.
Stop for lunch along the way at a local producer such as Skybury, where you may taste their spectacular home-grown coffee beans and papayas, and further explore the region's Gold Rush history with a visit to early explorer Mulligan’s grave at Mount Molloy. Upon arrival at Daintree Ecolodge in the late afternoon, you’ll settle in with dinner and drinks amidst the rainforest.
Day 6: Rainforest Crocodiles & Botanical Ark
Your day begins with a scenic drive to the oldest continuously growing rainforest on earth—the World Heritage-protected Daintree. Led by Cathy, you’ll cruise silently through rainforest rivers on an informative and comfortable electric boat cruise that enables you to get up close and personal without harming the habitat. Keep your eye out for waterbirds, endemic frogs and snakes, and formidable saltwater crocodiles—from hatchlings to enormous dominant males.
In the late morning, you'll enjoy a visit to the world’s greatest collection of tropical ethno-botanical plants: The Botanical Ark. Nurtured for over 25 years by the Dr. Dolittle of rainforest fruits, Alan Carle and his wife Susan, this unique garden uncovers the link between plants and peoples with true conservationist and environmentalist ethos, revealing the everyday usage of over 3,000 species of tropical plants. Enjoy a home-cooked lunch featuring some of their own produce, and on the way back to your accommodation, enjoy spectacular views of where ancient rainforest and fringing reefs collide.
Day 7: Jawunkarra k'aday (Our Friends are Coming)
Today's journey will take you further into the World Heritage-listed Daintree Rainforest. Drive through cane fields, cross the Daintree River by cable ferry and head up to the Alexandra Ranges. You will see places of spectacular beauty, rugged
mountains, deep gorges, and crystal-clear rivers and waterfalls.
Say yundu yalada (hello) to Aboriginal Elder Mooks of the Kuku Yalanji people. Alongside Cathy, he’ll guide you around the Daintree for the day, beginning with a traditional Welcome to Country before a full day of cultural education. Mooks’ knowledge of the area is profound, with incredible wisdom in both tracking and healing passed down through generations. You’ll traverse his ancestral land under his guidance, learn about bush tucker, and share some of his ancestral Aboriginal Dreamtime stories. A spectacular local produce lunch will be served deep in the forest.
Your journey will conclude with a special barbecue dinner amongst rainforest scenery, before your private transfer back to Cairns the following morning.
