Australia World Heritage Listed Sites and 15 National Parks (NP) are highlighted in this North Queensland journey, one of two Queensland based Nature Bound Australia tours. We commence with delightful guided walks each day on two beautiful tropical islands and a traverse across one of Australia's most scenic tablelands featuring many small Queensland National Parks, extensive tropical rainforest, crater lakes, waterfalls and abundant bird life.

We visit the pristine wet tropics wonders of the Daintree River and Cape Tribulation National Parks then head inland for a day exploring one of the most extensive areas of Aboriginal rock art galleries in Australia. We travel on to an historic area of limestone caves and fascinating volcanic lava tubes regarded as the best preserved in the world.

We then enter the Australia outback, travelling through vast, golden savannah lands dotted with fascinating termite mounds. Here we join an eccentric, century old motor-rail journey "through the middle of nowhere" along an historic gold rush trail to the humble and arguably most remote fishing port in the country. The sea harvest is the envy of every Aussie fisherman.

Startling tropical contrasts continue to unfold as we journey through large private rural holdings arguably as big as some nations. Instinctive survival is etched into the character and psyche of the outback people who have settled there, committed to their remote commercial enterprises and pursuing their dreams.

Finally we reach an area of World Heritage Listed fossil discoveries and the picturesque outback oasis of Lawn Hill National Park with its magnificent gorge and serene limpid waters. This provides a relaxing retreat in the wild for a couple of days before we beat the trail to Australia's most famous outback mining and rodeo town, Mount Isa where our journey ends.

This Nature Bound Australia journey may be conducted in reverse travelling from Mount Isa in the distant outback to the Coral Sea and Townsville.

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JOURNEY HIGHLIGHTS

From Townsville to Mount Isa (Queensland)

We commence our walking holiday in Townsville - regarded by locals as the capital of the north, given its distance from southern cities. It is a major centre of commerce and industry with picturesque Magnetic Island nearby.

Lumholtz National Park - Wallaman Falls with its fringed cloud of mist and rainbow, clear drops 305 metres off the coastal Seaview Range, making it the largest permanent clear drop waterfall in Australia.

World Heritage Hinchinbrook Island National Park, even today, remains relatively unexplored. It is 35 kms long with peaks of 1000metres, rainforested slopes and winding mangrove lined creeks. The island is surrounded by protected marine habitats including seagrass beds supporting a dugong population. Here our classic Australian guided walking vacation takes form as we roam the beaches and trails and contemplate the outback adventure lying ahead.

Mission Beach offers 14kms of pristine coastline with some 65 wide golden beaches, lined with palms and rainforest. An horizon of tropical islands are located along this north east coast, some with extensive or hideaway resorts.

Beautiful Dunk Island part of the Family Islands National Parks is where the eye-catching Ulysses Butterfly with its vibrant electric blue swallowtail wings spanning up to 10cms was first discovered. This is a continental island with fringing reef.

We spend a day travelling over the lush rainforested Atherton Tableland with its waterfalls, crater lakes and abundant bird life all protected in a series of smaller National Parks.

A stroll through the vibrant tourist village of Kuranda precedes our rainforest canopy ride on the Skyrail down to sea level.

Daintree- a naturalist's haven for crocodiles, birds, primitive lowland rainforest and nocturnal wildlife. The beautiful and tranquil Cape Tribulation area is where the rainforest grows down to the high water mark of the Coral Sea. Fringes of the Great Barrier Reef lie just offshore. Here two of the world's richest ecosystems meet, a prized feature of Australia ecotours.

The Wet Tropics of Queensland meets all four important criteria needed to gain World Heritage Listing. The Australia rainforests contain an almost complete record of the evolution of plant life on earth and the highest concentration of primitive flowering plant families in the world. It is one of the wettest areas with 4000 mm of rain falling across 200 days a year. Rare and threatened animal species include the stunning but potentially dangerous southern cassowary which has a unique role in maintaining the forests future. It roams the littered forest floor, capable of safely consuming wild berries and fruits from the canopies above and depositing seeds with its "fertiliser" droppings throughout the forest..

We visit Australia's first white settlement, the sleepy village of Cooktown.

Quinkan galleries is an evocative landscape, home to hundreds of extraordinary Australian Aboriginal rock art galleries dating back some 14,000 years and containing the spirit figures of native mythology. We dedicate a day to this enlightening awareness of Aboriginal culture .

Chillagoe-Mungana Caves National Park features a landscape of limestone, deposited as a reef when the area was a shallow sea 400 million years ago. Now located 160kms from the sea, weathered towers, a labyrinth of tunnels and lofty caverns form the Chillagoe Caves.

Undara Volcanic NP - we'll explore the extensive Undara lava tubes, regarded as the longest and best preserved geological wonder of their type in the world. 190,000 years ago a major volcano erupted with its longest lava flows stretching 160kms. Molten lava flowing down a dry river bed, cooled and created an outer crust. The hot inner lava continued to flow through and outwards leaving a series of long and dramatic tunnels.

The Australia Outback village of Georgetown is a gemstone and gold fossicker's paradise. It is the centre of the Etheridge gold field.

The golden savannah lands of the Gulf of Carpentaria where the outback meets the sea encompasses 186,000 sq kms. Trapped in time, here is Australia as it once was. Your senses will turn to the serenity of vastness, untouched bush and wetlands teeming with wildlife, also remote cattle stations.

The historic goldrush village of Croydon and its heritage listed buildings, once boasted 26 hotels. Croydon's Chinatown is an important archaeological site. Thousands of native birds, galahs and corellas, provide a sensational flight and sight by dawn and dusk.

An eccentric 150km rail journey on board the Gulflander or Rattler (1891) follows, through towering grass and termite mounds, remarkably on its original rails and sleepers.

Classic Gulf fishing at Kurumba, memorable expansive sunsets and the lifestyle realities of remote outback villages and rural stations feature vividly in this region. Thousands of wading birds from 83 woodland / grassland species frequent the nearby wetlands. We may see Great Billed Herons and Jabiru, flocks of Brolga and Magpie Geese.

World Heritage Listed Riversleigh fossil fields - here contemporary discoveries of creatures formerly unknown to science all but doubled the knowledge base of Australia's unique fauna and spanned 25 million years of evolutionary history.

Lawn Hill National Park and gorge is an oasis of limpid waters in the vast arid landscape.

Freshwater crocodiles, historic aboriginal sites and a crystal clear gallery of stars by night, all lend delight to a couple of nights comfort camping in the outback.

Mount Isa, the remote mining city services a land area the size of Switzerland. Site of Australia's largest underground mine (copper, silver, lead and zinc) and a destination for thousands of rough riding rodeo cowboys and fans each August - best of the classic outback rodeos in the country.

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WALKING ACIVITIES

Day/Half Day walks scheduled for Hinchinbrook Island NP, Atherton Tableland, Cape Tribulation , Quinkan Galleries, Chillagoe Mungan NP, Undara volcanic lava tubes, Lawn Hill NP.

Short strolls included in all travel days as we shift from one National Park base or reserve to another.

ACCOMMODATION

Selection from environmental and wilderness lodges, quality motels, outback stations or hotels, culminating in two or three nights comfort camping under the stars of the Southern Cross at Lawn Hill Gorge. Private and shared facilities

MEALS

All main meals (BLD), morning and afternoon teas included on all days.

GETTING THERE

The journey starts from the city of Townsville 1 hour 55 minutes flight north of Brisbane and a short flight (350kms) south of Cairns. It concludes in the Queensland outback mining town of Mount Isa, a 3 hour Qantas return flight to Brisbane with daily departures. Reverse journey features the same destinations.

DURATION

Ultimate Expedition Series journey 14 days.

DEPARTURES

Our groups meet at the departure point the evening before, for final administration and a Meet 'n Greet function.

BEST MONTHS TO VISIT

May to September

PARTICIPANTS

Available to both independent travellers and groups.
Minimum of 14.

INCLUSIONS

Meals as indicated, tour memento, National Park entries, accommodation twin share, transport and guide services, celebration dinner, local guide fees, various feature entries and travel extras.

EXCLUSIONS

Free time and personal costs. Any optional activities elected by participants and not part of our guided journey. Personal travel insurances. Pre and post travel arrangements. Australian departure taxes. Food and beverages additional to those provided.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

HEALTH AND FITNESS
Walks on this tour require a moderate degree of fitness. They will range in duration from 30 minutes to 6 hours. Tracks will vary from the well formed to moderately rough with rocks and tree roots encountered. There will be pristine beaches to roam, wet tropics trails and rough dry walks in the outback. You will need to carry a small day pack with essential provisions for the day. ...More

WHAT TO BRING
On receipt of your confirmed booking and deposit we will forward to you general information and checklists relating to your preparation for a comfortable journey.

WEATHER
This tour is conducted in a wide range of tropical and sub equatorial coastal climates. Temperatures are warm and rainfall decreases during the autumn /winter months. We expect the temperatures to range from 20° C - 28° C (68° F - 82° F) during most of the journey, possibly broadening to a range of 14° C- 33° C (57° F - 91° F) in the outback regions. Some rain could be expected in the coastal wet tropics region fading to glorious dry days in the outback.

PRE AND POST TRAVEL SUGGESTIONS

Contact us if we can assist you with travel arrangements complementing this Tropical Contrasts journey.

These may include the following suggestions:

FROM TOWNSVILLE / CAIRNS

A large selection of Great Barrier Reef cruises and island resorts are within reach of Townsville.

FROM MOUNT ISA

If your heart is in the outback, you have time and you enjoy extended self drive options, you can travel from Mount Isa west to the Northern Territory and Central Australia, south to the edge of the Simpson Desert or through the Channel Country, along development roads or the Matilda Highway to Brisbane. Please note these drives involve extensive distances and planning.

 

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

We invite you to read the terms and conditions of travel with Nature-Bound Australia before placing a reservation. You will be asked to confirm your understanding of these details when booking. Participation in our journeys will be on the basis you have read, understood and accepted the terms and conditions ...More

PRIVACY AND DISCLAIMER

Our privacy and disclaimer statements govern the manner in which we manage and safeguard private information you supply us in enquiring of and participating in our journeys. Please read these before communicating with us ...More

ENQUIRE FURTHER

To enquire about a tour, please select the appropriate option below...

	Independent travellers
	Group travel organiser

PRICE ON APPLICATION

To find out more, click to see the online price on application form.

RESERVATION REQUEST

	1 - 4 people
	5 or more people

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