About Chillagoe Tours from Cairns

1 DAY CHILLAGOE & OUTBACK

1 DAY CHILLAGOE & OUTBACK

Ultimate day in the Outback! Chillagoe Caves & Outback including Granite Gorge and Aboriginal Rock Art!  Billy Tea Safaris is a small locally owned operator. Custom built 4WD vehicles with a maximum 16 passengers per vehicle. Naturalist guides have extensive knowledge of flora, fauna, history of the area and aboriginal culture.  

  • Pickup from Cairns, Northern Beaches. 
  • Departing mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays. Tour does not operate Good Friday, 17th July or Christmas Day.
     

Highlights of your day in the Outback

Highlights of your day in the Outback
  • Travel off the beaten track down exclusive 4WD backroads
  • Morning tea Skybury Coffee Plantation
  • Spot kangaroos, emus, wallabies, wedge-tail eagles (wildlife galore!) all day in the Outback
  • Drive past diverse dry tropical farmlands
  • Pass through historic mining ghost towns and small outback communities
  • Visit the local Aboriginal Rock Art and Balancing Rock
  • Local Chillagoe Gift Shop is a must see!
  • Find fossils in ancient limestone casts at Chillagoe
  • Explore the famous Chillagoe Caves
  • View the once booming Chillagoe smelter ruins
  • Outback Aussie lunch in 100-year-old pub
  • Visit the wallabies at Granite Gorge and see local wildlife 
  • Small-group tour in a luxury 4WD

Itinerary

Itinerary
  • Your day begins when your accredited guide meets you at your accommodation Cairns CBD around 6.45am, Holloway’s Beach and Yorkey’s Knob will be approximately 7.00am. Guests from Northern Beaches and Port Douglas will be picked up from their accommodation by International Coaches and transfered to meet the Billytea Tour at the Canopys Edge Bus Stop .
  • After introductions all round we’ll ascend the McAllister Ranges and head to our first stop at Skybury Coffee Plantation, looking for many different species of bush birds, including Emus, Wedge Tail Eagles, Squatter Pigeons and Kangaroos, Frilled Neck Lizards, before reaching our first stop.
  • Rolling hills rich in mineral eventually giving way to towering limestone karsts scattered around Chillagoe Township. 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…. Now it’s time for a wonderful lunch at a true Australian Outback Pub built back at the turn of the century, before setting off to have a look at this historical town on route to our National Parks guided Chillagoe Cave tour where you will take a step back in time and be inspired by the knowledge of your guide as he explains about the fossilized remains of the ancient coral reefs some 400 - 420 million years old, with hidden limestone labyrinths give a portal to a lost world just like our own Great Barrier Reef. This was once the inland sea.
  • Millions of years in the making, the limestone formations and Chillagoe Caves are nothing short of spectacular. 
  • Visit the Aboriginal Rock Art and the Balancing Rock.
  • Visit the unique gift shop which specialises in gifts of Chillagoe marble and local Arboriginal Art.
  • After the cave tour, we head back towards the east coast, stopping at Dimbulah for comfort stop.  
  • Visit Granite gorge and admire the wallabies. Tropical fruit tasting.
  • The tour then returns back down the Karanda Range to Canopys Edge where we will transfer the Northern Beaches and Port Douglas clients to International Coaches for their return to desired accommodation ,arriving back in Cairns at approximately 6.30pm.  

What to bring

  • Please take Hat, Sunscreen, Camera, extra batteries & memory cards Water bottle, extra cash for cold drinks, souvenirs or an ice-cream.
  • Please wear comfortable clothes as you are in the tropics, and the outback in winter you will need to take a light coat. Flat comfortable shoes closed in. No thongs and ladies no high heels as there is uneven ground and you will be in the outback and they aren’t allowed to be worn in the Caves.  If you do not have closed in shoes you may not be allowed in the Caves this is for safety reasons and decision of National Parks.

Chillagoe Tours from Cairns Reviews

SH

Samantha Howell

Did the Chillagoe caves with Billy Tea and had such a fun day! Would definitely recommend to get off the beaten path and see something different. Our tour guide, MJ, was awesome! Hands down the best tour we did in Australia over our 2 week stay!

JH

Janeen Hardwick

I was lucky enough to be on the Chillagoe tour with Gavin on Monday 30 October. It was wonderful to have a guide that was knowledgeable about a range of subjects and who had a true love for our amazing country. It was also great to have Dana and Annie from reception on board so that they could experience the day and be able to truly advise people on the tour they are looking at. Best day out. I will be highly recommending Billy Tea to anyone who is looking for a tour from Cairns.

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Chillagoe Tours from Cairns

Pickup from Cairns, Northern Beaches. Departing mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays.


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