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Chillagoe Caves and Outback Day Trip: Explore Australia's Natural and Historic Gems from Cairns
4.8
139 Ratings
Cairns
Embark on a full-day adventure from Cairns to explore the Chillagoe Caves, Granite Gorge, and other natural and historic gems of the Australian Outback. Discover the region's wildlife, history, and Aboriginal culture while enjoying morning tea at a local coffee plantation and lunch at a 100-year-old pub. Limited to 14 people for a personalized experience.
Duration:
11 hours, 30 minutes
Cancellation:
1 day
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Highlights
- Billy Tea Safaris - pick up from the Cairns area
-
Skybury Cafe & Roastery - The heart of one of Australia’s most diverse and richest food
bowls Skybury Tropical Plantation has grown the country’s best coffee and tropical fruit for the past 30 years. Enjoy morning tea, with coffee, tea and sweet treats. - Chillagoe-Mungana Caves National Park - Explore the Chillagoe Caves. Follow your guide through the fossilized remains of the ancient coral reefs over 400 million years old. Once an inland sea, these limestone labyrinths are a spectacular sight to see.
- Chillagoe Smelters - Here we delve into the history of the Chillagoe copper smelters, whose old chimneys dominate the western horizon. We visit the remains of the once-mighty smelters to ponder what it was like working there.
- Balancing Rock - Visit Balancing Rock for an iconic photo opportunity. Then, see Aboriginal Rock Art and learn about some Dreamtime stories with your guide.
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Post Office Hotel - Enjoy lunch at a true Australian Outback Pub built back at the turn of the century! Burgers, Fish & Chips and Vegetarian meals are available and refreshments at own cost. Mingle with the locals and
leave a handwritten message on the wall of this classic 100-Year-Old Aussie Pub. - Granite Gorge Nature Park - A privately owned nature park near Mareeba with stunning scenery as you walk along the short circuit navigating massive boulders. Striking scenery and wildlife galore.
The big drawcard at Granite Gorge is the rock wallabies. This colony is an endangered species that is unique to the Mareeba area. Plus, you’ll see other native wildlife.
What's Included
- Granite Gorge National Park and see Wallabies
- Hotel pickup and drop-off (Cairns and Northern Beaches area only)
- Morning Tea at Skybury Cafe and Roastery
- Transport by air-conditioned vehicle
- Chillagoe-Mungana Caves National Park Tour
- Visit Balancing Rock and see Aboriginal Rock Art
- Lunch at a 100-year-old Aussie pub
- Chillagoe Smelter Ruins
- Local driver guide
What's Not Included
- Port Douglas & Northern Beaches transfers additional cost (contact reservations)
Additional Information
Embark on an exclusive full-day journey into Australia’s Outback from Cairns and Port Douglas! Discover Chillagoe Caves, Granite Gorge, and more treasures of the Outback, guided by a professional naturalist. Ride through the McAllister Ranges, the Great Dividing Range, and the vast stretches of the Australian Outback in a 4WD, while enriching your knowledge about the area’s fauna, historical chronicles, and Aboriginal traditions. Visit the Chillagoe-Mungana Caves National Park, take a drive beside the wetlands to observe Australia’s indigenous wildlife, and explore historical mining towns. Relish morning tea at Skybury Coffee Plantation and enjoy lunch at a Chillagoe Pub that’s over a century old, as part of this small-group tour capped at 14 participants.
- Please advise any specific dietary requirements at time of booking
- Please wear closed-toe shoe and bring a light jacket or sweater
- A reasonable level of fitness is required, as there are steps and uneven terrain leading into the caves
Location
Billy Tea Safaris
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.8
(139 Ratings)
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Khuan_j
Jun 8, 2024
Awesome outback experience - We started off with breakfast at Skybury cafe which was great. Then we went to explore a cave followed by lunch. Smelter was next then balancing rock and rock art. Lastly was granite gorge park to feed wallaby. They were so cute! We enjoyed this tour so much with our driver guide Ro. He’s easily one of the best around. He looks after everyone. Thank you.
Review provided by Viator
Les_e
May 31, 2024
Wicked Adventure - Gavin from Billy Tea Safaris was the guide to be with. Excellent commentary, humour and music play list. The caves are fantastic experience and the local topography interesting and diverse. A great tour across the ranges, tablelands into the arid outback.
Review provided by Viator
Martina_f
May 30, 2024
Great experience! - The tour was very well organized, with lots of activities. The guide (Dave) was very passionate about his job and his explanation were really great. Food was also amazing. Really hurry up booking this tour!
Review provided by Viator
Terese_w
May 24, 2024
Cave and All - The full package great spots good fellow passages and an excellent driver and commentary. Thanks Gavin.✅✅✅✅✅
Review provided by Viator
Sean_p
May 18, 2024
Best Day of Caves and Rock Wallaby Feeding - It was an amazing experience that exceeded my expectations. We went to the caves and saw lots of bats, cave formations, and even a toad. We stopped for fresh locally grown coffee, and got to feed wild Rock Wallabys that were very friendly. We also saw Kangaroos, Wallabys, and a Monitor Lizard beside the road, and the guide pulled over every time so we could get a good look. Despite the long bus ride, I 100% recommended it.
Review provided by Viator
N9938faaliciat
May 17, 2024
Awesome! - Great trip! Mark was a great guide, we got to see the caves, bush outback and some local stops including wallaby's. We really enjoyed it!
Note that this is definitely a trip to the bush outback (still grass, trees, etc), and not the flat barren desert outback.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Helena_t
May 16, 2024
Fascinating and fun - Such an interesting day trip! While yes there's a lot of time spent travelling because of the distances it's absolutely worth it. You get to see a really different side of Australia to most of the trips leaving from Cairns and the caves were spectacular! Roh was a fab guide, super informative and entertaining and feeding so many wallabies at the end was an added bonus. Thank you!
Review provided by Viator
Katie_c
May 12, 2024
Wonderful Wallabies, Cool Caves, and the Best Tour Guide I've Ever Had - Do you enjoy caves and views of the outback? Do you love learning about nature, agriculture, animals, and a million other things? Do you love kangaroos and wallabies? YOU MUST GO ON THIS TRIP! It is a very very long bus ride, so be warned there, but my goodness it is worth it and our guide Gav was easily the best tour guide I've ever had! He seemed to know a wealth of information about everything and made the most of our long ride by telling us all about our surroundings in a colorful, informative way that never got old. The Chillagoe Caves were beautiful in an earthy, strange way and home to a number of little bats who kept clear of us. Balancing Rock was an interesting site to see. We loved the scones and coffee we had at the coffee plantation we stopped at in the morning (don't normally care for marmalade but the kind they had was delicious!). I would advise bringing snacks if you get hungry quickly like me, as I was feeling a bit faint by the time we got to the old pub for lunch (lunch was quite delicious and they had a vegetarian option, which I appreciated a lot). Perhaps the highlights for me, as an animal lover, were Gav's decision to stop by a regularly kangaroo-infested gold course so we could see the famous Australian icons up close and our feeding of the rock wallabies, who were very friendly! Such a wonderful tour! I'd consider going on it again if I ever return to Australia!
Review provided by Viator
Kevinnf2985dt
May 8, 2024
Not you usual tourist experience - Caves very interesting and our guide Rowan engaging and informed.
Tour included extra experiences including charming encounter with wallabies
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Eva
Jun 1, 2024
A long day - It was a long day, we enjoyed the drive through the changeing spectacular landscape. Our driver Mark was a very competent driver, but we would have liked more information. This also applies to the cave tour. The morning tea at the coffee plantation's restaurant was excellent, a short tour of the plantation and opportunity for photos of the coffee bushes, and en route of avocado and mango trees would have rounded it up. However, the drive to the caves is a long distance, and we realise that you can't pack everything into the one day.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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