This tour combines marine biology, botany, zoology and ecology into a full 10 day tour programme of tropical ecosystems. It is designed to take in as wide range of ecosystems as possible, going from the deeper water reefs, along the coastal beaches and mangroves, into the lowland rainforest, up into the mountain forests, and finally into the savanna woodlands and wetlands of the outback.

Hard at work taking notes!

Day 1 - Arrival in Cairns

Arrive Cairns (time varies). After your arrival, there is time to settle in to your shared accommodation. We conduct an introductory orientation tour of Cairns; depending on your time of arrival, this is either in the bus on the way from the airport or on foot after check in. Meals today are on your own, as time of arrival varies and people may wish to be less or more active. Overnight at the Cairns Queenslander, Cairns. No meals included.

Day 2 - Coral Reefs, the Great Barrier Reef

We have breakfast at the hotel. That morning we are picked up from Cairns and board a ship and head out to the deeper water. The Great Barrier Reef is the biggest protected area in Australia and naturally has a high diversity of species. For example, there are over 2,300 species of fish. We begin with some snorkelling time to get comfortable with the equipment and the species of coral and fish. Those that are weaker swimmers can participate in the assisted snorkelling with the floating safety station. There is the option of an introductory lecture on the identification of the main groups of fish. Because these are the same basic groups of coral fish all around the world, the skills learnt in this session can be applied throughout the Indo-Pacific and even the Atlantic/Caribbean reefs. Lunch is supplied out on the reef. Dinner tonight is supplied at the hotel. Overnight at the Cairns Queenslander, Cairns. B, L, D.

Reef observations

Day 3 - Coral Reefs and Tropical Islands, Green Island

Breakfast is at the hotel. This morning we are picked up and taken for the short drive into the pier in Cairns. There, we board a boat headed for Green Island. Today we will continue to explore the underwater world, this time in the shallower waters off a coral cay. Previous groups have conducted diversity surveys at different sites. We will also have time on the tropical seashores; the tide will determine when we explore the tidal flats. Lunch is supplied on the island. We return to Cairns that afternoon and dinner is supplied at the hotel. Overnight Cairns Queenslander, Cairns. B, L, D.

Day 4 - Mangroves and Lowland Tropical Rainforest, the Daintree coast

After an easy breakfast at the hotel, we check out at 1000. Today we leave Cairns and head for north for the Daintree coast, the largest remaining area of lowland tropical rainforest in Australia. We pass through the sugar cane country and cross the Daintree River. We stop for a supplied lunch. We then continue to drive through the Cape Tribulation section of Daintree National Park and check into our accommodation just back from the beach at Cape Tribulation itself. Here, we will explore the mangrove ecosystems along the beach. The Wet Tropics have the highest diversity of mangrove species on the continent. We walk through the mangrove forest, identifying the main families and species and examine the challenges faced in his environment, such as water logged soils and high salinity, and the solutions that mangroves have evolved, such as above ground root systems and salt excretion capabilities. Previous groups have mapped mangrove distributions. We have dinner tonight at our accommodation. Overnight The Beach House, Cape Tribulation. B, L, D.

Day 5 - Lowland Tropical Rainforest, the Daintree

We have breakfast at our hotel. Today we explore the lowland tropical rainforest, the most species rich of all terrestrial habitats. Here in the Daintree we visit a conservation property and learn the special field techniques for collecting and identifying plants in the lowland tropical rainforest. Previous groups have also surveyed the local freshwater streams. We have lunch supplied today in the Daintree. We have dinner tonight at the hotel. If it is wet, we may conduct a night search for invertebrates and amphibians. Overnight the Beach House, Cape Tribulation, B, L, D.

Surveys in freshwater creeks of lowland rainforest

Day 6 - from lowlands to uplands, Daintree to the Atherton Tablelands

After breakfast at the hotel we depart the steamy lowlands and begin our long drive for the cooler, less humid uplands. We have to cross the Daintree River and drive along the coast again before driving up the mountains to the Atherton Tablelands. We stop at the popular tourist village of Kuranda to allow some free time to buy your own lunch. We then enter the upland rainforest and stop at the volcano Lake Eacham. While the lowlands allowed us to deal with the plants, the uplands allows us to experience some of the wildlife of the rainforest. We check into our lodge in the middle of the rainforest. That night we look for small nocturnal mammals around the lodge, such as rainforest kangaroos (pademelons) and sugar gliders. We have dinner at the lodge. Overnight Chambers Rainforest Apartments, B, D.

Day 7 - Upland Rainforest and Highland Rainforest, the Atherton Tablelands

To see many of the animals of the rainforest requires patience, being active at different times of the day, and being in the right place. By staying at a rainforest lodge and exploring the upland rainforest early in the morning and late at night, we increase our chances of glimpsing native birds and mammals. For the early risers there is a chance to bird-watch around the lodge. After breakfast we depart to spend the day exploring the mid-altitude rainforests of the upland rainforest, including a giant fig tree and then have lunch at Lake Barrine. We continue to rise higher in altitude, and stop at the rainforest at 1000 metres in height. That afternoon we look for what is often referred to as the ‘most unusual mammal in the world', the platypus. (If we have no luck this afternoon, we offer the chance again early the next morning.) After dinner is provided, we return to the high altitude forest to go spotlighting for some of the rare and endemic arboreal mammals of the forest. Overnight Chambers Rainforest Apartments, Lake Eacham, the Atherton Tablelands. B, L, D.

Observing the wildlife of the rainforest canopy

Day 8 - Wetlands and Woodlands, from the Tablelands to the outback

After an easy breakfast at the lodge, we check out and start to head out of the wet jungle and into slightly drier forests. We pass through ecotones, where one ecosystem changes to another, and explore the wet sclerophyll forest and the waterways around Lake Tinaroo. We stop for lunch in Atherton. We continue onto what is locally known as the 'dry country', the Australian 'Bush' or the 'Outback' to check into our accommodation in an Australian town of Mareeba. After a chance to settle in, we are then are off to explore another tropical wetland, the Mareeba wetlands, a private conservation area (during summer when this centre is closed down, we instead visit Hastie Swamp). These areas attract birds from the surrounding drier areas. Dinner tonight is in Mareeba. Overnight Mareeba, B, L, D

spotliighting for rare and endemic species such as the Green Ringtail possum

Day 9 - Savannah Woodlands, the Mareeba outback region

For the early risers there is a chance to check out the birds of the outback, including kookaburras, colourful parrots and honeyeaters. After breakfast at the hotel, we explore the savanna and along the way examine the dominant plant groups and stop to look at the distinctive, huge termite mounds. The road ends at an area of granite outcrops with a rock wallaby colony. We have lunch back at Mareeba before returning to the kangaroos, where previous groups have done mammal behavioural observations and food preference experiments here. We have our final dinner tonight, in Mareeba. Overnight Mareeba B, L, D.

a rock wallaby, mareeba

Day 10 - from Mareeba to Cairns and depart

Today the group departs from Cairns. The schedule is determined by the time of the flights booked. B

Notes -

For examples of trip reports similar to this tour, please check out the trip report section. We can do variations of these tours, with more of a focus on botany, zoology, anthropology, geography and geology.