Day 1 - Cairns
Upon arrival in Cairns transfer to your accommodation, located a block from the ocean and a minute walk from the city center. Relax and explore the Cairns Esplanade, the central city, and the swimming lagoon at the waterfront. Overnight The Hotel Cairns
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Day 2 - Daintree Village
Bird the mudflats, mangroves, and inter-tidal zone of Cairns Esplanade and Trinity Inlet region. Visit Centenary Lakes in the Cairns Botanic Gardens, boasting an extensive collection of palms, heliconias, gingers, calatheas, bromeliads, and orchids, many of which are rare. Visit the Cattana Wetlands, a habitat for some of the region’s lowland and waterbirds. After lunch at the Botanic Gardens travel along one of the most scenic drives in Australia, the Captain Cook Highway, with views of golden beaches and the translucent sea. Habitats include lowland rainforest, paperbark and feather palm swamp, pastureland, freshwater and saltwater lagoons, mangroves, estuarine, mudflats, and the inter-tidal zone. Species include shorebirds, waders, Varied Honeyeater, White-breasted Woodswallow, Rainbow Bee-eater, Little and Azure Kingfisher, Green Pygmy-goose, Australian Darter, Papuan Frogmouth, Shinning Flycatcher, Large-billed Gerygone, and Yellow Oriole. Overnight Daintree Wilderness
Lodge (BLD)
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Day 3 - Cairns Highlands
Start the day early with a pre-breakfast Daintree River birding cruise to explore a number of different riparian habitats along the course of the river as it meanders through the Daintree Valley. Habitats here include mangroves, lowland rainforest, and pastureland. Later traverse the Rex Range and Carbine Tablelands to the Cairns Highlands, birding en route and crossing a number of different habitats including dry sclerophyll woodland, savannah woodland, and freshwater wetlands. This route also passes through dairy country and quaint Aussie country towns such as Mt. Molloy, Mareeba, and Yungaburra. Accommodations tonight are awardwinning eco-friendly luxury treehouses on 230 acres of private wilderness, where guests may be lucky enough to spot one of the duck-billed platypus that swim in the property’s creek. Species include Great Bowerbird, Squatter Pigeon, Red-tailed Blackcockatoo, Red-winged Parrot, Blue-faced Honey-eater, Australian Bustard, Black Swan, Nankeen Kestrel, Apostlebird, Grey-crowned Babbler, Pied Butcherbird, Olive-backed Oriole, and Blue-winged Kookaburra. Overnight Rose Gums Wilderness Retreat (BLD)
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Day 4 - Cairns Highlands
Early birding before visiting Warrigal Highland Rainforest
Preserve, a 300-acre private wildlife refuge. The property adjoins the largest single tract of tropical rainforest remaining in Australia and is on the eco-tone, located on the very western edge of the Cairns Highlands. Warrigal has been used as a scientific research site for rare arboreal mammals and is now recognized as having one of the largest concentrations of rare rainforest ringtail possums in Australia. In addition, 239 species of birds have been recorded in the preserve, including all the local endemics. Golden, Satin and Tooth-billed Bowerbirds, Victoria’s Riflebird, Chowchilla, Bower’s Shrike-thrush, Fern Wren and Atherton Scrub-wren are common on the preserve. Evening ‘spotlighting’ looking for nocturnal birds and rare arboreal mammals. Visit Ravenshoe, Queensland’s highest town, and skirt savannah country that marks the start of the Australian outback. Overnight Rose Gums Wilderness Retreat (BLD)
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Day 5 - Atherton Tablelands
The Atherton Tablelands, part of the Great Dividing Range, is former active volcanic region which became a very fertile plateau around 750 metres in elevation. These rich volcanic soils created a suitable environment for the growth of lush tropical rainforests, resulting in this region having the largest avifauna in Australia. Habitats visited today include upland rainforest, riverine/riparian forest, arable/pasture lands, and freshwater wetlands. This diversity of habitats attracts a large number of bird species within a relatively small area as well as mammals and marsupials including kangaroos, possums, gliders, wallabies, and the platypus. Species include Forest and Sacred Kingfishers, King Parrot, White-headed Pigeon, Wompoo Fruit-dove, Laughing Kookaburra, Spotted Catbird, Eastern Whipbird, Golden Whistler, Macleay’s Honey-eater, Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike, Orange-footed Scrubfowl, Brush-turkey, Wandering Whistling Duck, Great-crested Grebe, Magpie Goose, Australasian Grebe, and Australian Darter. Overnight Rose Gums Wilderness Retreat (BLD)
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Day 6 - Ingham
Depart the Atherton Tablelands and descend the Great Dividing Range, passing through the Palmerston section of Wooroonooran National Park towards the coast. Late afternoon birding in the lowlands and at the spectacular Tyto Wetlands at Ingham. The wetlands showcase more than 230 species of birds, including the ground-dwelling Eastern Grass Owl (Tyto Capensis), from which the area took its name. Habitats visited today include lowland rainforest, grasslands, pasturelands, foreshore, and extensive freshwater wetlands such as billabongs, swamp, and both permanent and ephemeral lagoons. Ingham is a sugarcane town with a distinctly Mediterranean flair thanks to the Italians, Spaniards, and Basques who migrated there. Species include the Cassowary, Olive-backed (Yellow-bellied) Sunbird, Black-necked Stork, Royal Spoonbill, Straw-necked Ibis, White-faced Heron, Black-winged Stilt, Rufous Night Heron, Combcrested Jacana, White-browed Crake, Crimson Finch, Golden-headed Cisticola, Tawny Grassbird, Bush Stone-curlew, and Grass Owl. Overnight Ingham
Tropixx Motel (BLD)
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Day 7 - Cairns
Early morning birding at the Tyto Wetlands. Hundreds of Agile Wallabies appear at the wetlands in the early morning, adding to a superb wildlife experience. Return to Cairns in the afternoon for leisure time and exploration of the town. Overnight The Hotel
Cairns (BLD)
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Day 8 - Great Barrier Reef
No trip to Cairns is complete without a visit to the outer Great Barrier Reef, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and easily one of the world’s top natural wonders. Travel to Michaelmas Cay, an important seabird island refuge and marine park. During the summer breeding season as many as 20,000 birds nest on the island. Enjoy the rare opportunity to snorkel and scuba dive in protected calm waters. Among the 1,800 species of fish and 450 species of coral, guests can expect to see colorful hard and soft corals, angelfish and starfish, elusive white-tipped reef sharks, giant turtles, butterfly and parrot fish, sea cucumbers, starfish, and virtually the whole cast of ‘Finding Nemo.’ First-time snorkelers will receive instruction on how to get the most out of the reef experience, and can also try an introductory one-on-one SCUBA dive with an instructor. In the winter season (June - September) both humpback and minke whales make frequent appearances in these waters. Bird species include Greater and Lesser Frigatebirds, Brown Booby, Sooty Tern, Crested Tern, White-capped Noddy, Ruddy Turnstone, and occasionally Red-footed Booby, Masked Booby, Red and White-tailed Tropicbirds, and White-bellied Seaeagle. Overnight The Hotel Cairns (BLD)
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Day 9 - Departure
After breakfast transfer to Cairns International Airport for flight home. (B)
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