Tropical Queensland – Solo Group

Welcome to our amazing tropical North Queensland tour, exploring some of the state’s most beautiful destinations. Cairns is considered to be the gateway to the Great Barrier Reef and is a laid back city best enjoyed outdoors. Your Solo Connections Tour Manager will be travelling from Brisbane today and will be at the hotel to meet the group this afternoon. During the week your Tour Manager will ensure that everyone who wants to be, is included in any additional activities outside of the confirmed itinerary.Tonight, we are introduced to our fellow travellers as we have dinner at the unique Bushfire Flame Grill. This award Winning Brazilian inspired Cairns restaurant has a unique Australian BBQ style experience that brings the theatre of the kitchen right to your table.

Meals Included: Dinner
Stay: Pacific Hotel Cairns or similar (2 nights)

Surrounded by world heritage rainforest lies the picturesque village of Kuranda. The quaint village is full of vibrant arts and craft shops and time to wander the markets before heading to the Skyrail Rainforest Cableway. We embark on our gondola journey down the mountain, across the rooftop of the tropical rainforest. Stretching 7.5kms along the rainforest canopy, the views are spectacular. Arriving at the bottom of the range we arrive at Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Park to explore the rich history of the world’s oldest living culture. For the first time an entire park has been dedicated to preserving and presenting authentic Aboriginal culture with the aid of modern technology. Following our delicious lunch, we have time to enjoy 3 theatres, a museum, an art gallery and a traditional Aboriginal camp combined to give us a complete and meaningful glimpse of the Tjapukai Aboriginal people’s ancient culture. We’ll return to Cairns late this afternoon and dinner tonight will be at leisure. Your Tour Manager will be on hand to assist with making some arrangements that suit everyone.

Meals Included: Breakfast, lunch

Our destination today is an area known as the Atherton Tablelands. The Tablelands are a beautiful, scenic and unspoilt, undulating tableland between 500 and 1000 metres above the Great Barrier Reef. Here we can find ancient rainforest, volcanic lakes, waterfalls, wetlands, national parks, World Heritage listed rainforest areas, and an abundance and diversity of flora and fauna. Today we travel to Lake Barrine, a beautiful volcanic crater lake. We enjoy a relaxing cruise on the stunning lake followed by lunch in the Tea House. We visit the remarkable Curtain Fig Tree, with its curtain of aerial roots that drop 15 metres to the ground. Large basalt boulders cover the forest floor which is probably why the forest here wasn’t cleared for farming – and why the tree remains standing. Tonight we’ll have dinner at our motel.

Meals Included: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Stay: Jackaroo Motel Mareeba or similar (2 nights)

This morning we visit Jaques Australia Coffee for a delightful morning tea as we discover the world of coffee and how it’s grown. Continuing to Gallo Dairyland, we hear about the cheese making process and sample some of the yummy cheeses before a lovely lunch overlooking the dairy farm. Travelling to the small township of Herberton and step back in time at the delightful Herberton Historic Village. Showcasing Australia’s diverse history this outdoor pioneer museum is testament to an era that is long gone. We have time to wander the village, which features many priceless antiques as well as buildings that have come from the town’s ancestors. Dinner this evening will be at the hotel.

Meals Included: Breakfast, lunch, dinner

We farewell our wonderful hosts in Mareeba as we make our way to Port Douglas. We stop at Mount Molloy, home of the Great Bowerbird before arriving in Port Douglas, a coastal town known for its beach resorts and for being a gateway to the Daintree. This afternoon is at leisure. Perhaps time to kick back and have a swim in the pool and a cocktail, or perhaps explore this famous town a little further. Your Tour Manager will discuss options with you. Dinner tonight is at the hotel.

Meals Included: Breakfast, dinner
Stay: Oaks Resort Port Douglas or similar (3 nights)

We have a fabulous day planned today as we discover the unforgettable Outer Barrier Reef. For an experience of a lifetime, we board Quicksilver’s wave piercer catamaran which will take us to a reef at the very edge of Australia’s Continental Shelf, to an underwater world that is a dazzling kaleidoscope of colour and brilliance. At Agincourt Reef, a magnificent ribbon reef, we experience firsthand the magic that is the Great Barrier Reef. We can choose to snorkel or stay dry and explore the reef from the comfort of the semi-submarine, just one metre underwater. Watch the fish feeding from the unique underwater viewing platform and underwater observatory, or fly in a helicopter over the reef (diving and helicopter flights are optional and at own expense). We’ll be given a talk by a Marine Biologist, to answer all our questions and enjoy morning and afternoon tea and smorgasbord lunch. When we return to the hotel late this afternoon dinner will be at leisure.

Meals Included: Breakfast, lunch

Step from one UNESCO site to another as Cape Tribulation is where the ancient Daintree Rainforest and stunning Great Barrier Reef meet. Cape Tribulation is a remote headland and ecotourism destination which offers a combination of rainforest and beaches. Beginning at Mossman Gorge, learn the fascinating secrets of one of the world’s oldest tropical rainforests. Stop at the historical Daintree Village on the banks of the Daintree River before arriving in Cape Tribulation. Today we’ll walk along the spectacular coastline and stroll the scenic boardwalk surrounded by lush tropical rainforest.

Meals Included: Breakfast, lunch, dinner

After a leisurely breakfast we return to Cairns for a free afternoon. Take a stroll through the shops in the city centre or explore further afield. Once again, your Tour Manager will check with everyone as to what they’d like to do. This evening we have a special venue overlooking the water for our farewell dinner.

Meals Included: Breakfast, dinner
Stay: Pacific Hotel Cairns or similar (1 night)