Tropical North Queensland Exclusive Itinerary

Becky is the queen of itineraries (in my mind) and here’s an exclusive into how we did so much on our Tropical North Queensland Trip. I’ve kept the original itinerary but made my notes in the bullet points on what we accomplished or random fun facts.

This is a great overview for planning your own trip to Queensland and you can tailor it to your timings and preferences. Queensland is a huge state, so bare in mind we focused on as far North as possible.

Wednesday 1st August – Flight to Queensland

Wake up bright and early (leave by 6:30am latest) to arrive at airport by 7am – flight departs at 8:15am and lands in Cairns at 11:40am:

• The view from the plane while landing in Cairns was spectacular and Becky changed seats with me so I could experience it. Queensland is the go-to local travel destination for all Aussies for a reason…

Shuttle bus transfer to collect rental car at 12pm from Jucy Rentals, 55 Dutton St, Portsmith.

30min drive to Palm Cove for lunch, stop at the jetty to take photos, then 45min drive to our accommodation at Global Backpackers, 38 Macrossan Street, Port Douglas.

Explore Port Douglas – visit Four Mile Beach, Trinity Bay Lookout, Rex Smeal Park:

• The hostel we stayed at was simple and down the road to Four Mile Beach. We drove to Trinity Bay Lookout and then later did a walk of the beach, walked up the cliff pathway and checked out the lookout again. Ending in Rex Smeal Park for the evening. There was a tranquil atmosphere here, someone was playing a guitar and we sat along the edge checking out the sea in one direction and palm trees in another.
  
• The brilliant part of being in Australia is, when you go to a beach on a winter’s day and go in the water, you won’t freeze your tits off. Unlike England, where wet suits are your best friend against the cold.

We can also try to visit the QT or Pullman to use their pool. Try the Mexican for dinner.

• This didn’t happen, instead we went to The Court House Hotel for seafood platters and I was subjected to dissecting beady-eyed prawns after watching a YouTube video on the procedure! We followed this by covering the prawns with a paper napkin and pretending they didn’t exist.

Thursday 2nd August

Check out bright and early (by 8:30am latest) then a 20min drive to Mossman Gorge Centre, take the shuttle bus into the gorge to explore the rainforest for $10 each.

• Here I learned about buttress routes and aboriginal culture. I’ve been obsessed with these routes ever since – they’re massive!
  
• Mossman Gorge Centre is an Indigenous eco-tourism development and leads you to Mossman Gorge.  This is nestled in the Daintree Rainforest, a World Heritage listed rainforest. This is the oldest, continuously surviving rainforest on earth.
  

After this, a 2-hour drive to Millaa Millaa lookout, stopping in Atherton for lunch and a quick lookout at Mount Hypipamee Crater on the way. From the lookout, we can complete the waterfall circuit, stopping at Millaa Millaa, Zillie and Elinjaa Falls.

• The Waterfall Circuit was great… did I mention it was dry season?
  
• Millaa Millaa didn’t disappoint and here’s a fun fact – it’s where they shot the famous Herbal Essences advert. My version wasn’t as aesthetically pleasing. Plus it’s not sandy under the water – bloody rocks were close to being shards of glass.

Further down the Palmerston Highway we can visit the Mamu Tropical Skywalk for $25 each.

• You can explore the rainforest from the floor to canopy with an elevated walkway of 350m, risen from the ground by 15m. There’s also an amazing 10m long cantilever jutting out into the rainforest. This was all in the traditional country of the Mamu Aboriginal People. From the observation deck you’ll get a panoramic view of the rainforest landscape. It was incredible.

Finally, a 1.5 hour drive to our accommodation at Tropic Days Backpackers, 28 Bunting Street, Bungalow. We can check in, get dinner and chill out!

Friday 3rd August

Today is free to take a trip out to the Great Barrier Reef – snorkelling – sunbathing on deck.

• I’ve never thought about this before but Becky’s impressive tip about sitting at the back of the boat was smart and neither of us felt seasick. We also took tablets in case we were going to feel sick. Better to be prepared than leave it to chance and not enjoy the Great Barrier Reef.
  
• I was surprised by how little colour I saw – potentially due to the part of the Great Barrier Reef we were shown – but it made me aware of the environment, how drastically it’s changing and the small things we can do. Even the sunscreen offered on board was waterproof.
  
• Go snorkelling and also opt for some sunbathing on deck while others are still in the ocean. It feels like you have your own private boat.

Saturday 4th August

Leave hostel bright and early (by 8:30am latest) with a packed lunch and drive 50min south to Babinda Boulders Lookout.

• For all intents and purposes, I should reveal that our packed lunch consisted of spinach in tortilla wraps. It did the job and it was a good plan considering we were driving for hours around sparsely populated areas.

• Babinda Boulders was beautiful and we hung around the rocks (where allowed) – Becky told me a few horror stories about people trespassing and dying so we stuck to the rules (she’s very good at freaking me out about dying in Australia). Simply Google Babinda Boulder deaths and you’ll get the gist…
  
• There’s a great rock pool but this area also holds significance for the local Aboriginal people. According to legend a beautiful young girl named Oolana, from the Yidinji people, married a respected elder from her tribe named Waroonoo. You can read the story at the Babinda Boulders or on the Cairns tourism website.

From here, continue 1.5 hours to Cardwell Spa Pools. Cardwell Forest Drive also has a lookout and Attie Creek Falls to explore before going for a swim in the naturally heated pools.

• We didn’t swim in any pools… August/September wasn’t the right time for any pools, let alone naturally heated ones.

Option 1: Leaving by 2pm at the latest, continue driving south another 2 hours to Wallaman Falls Lookout, Australia’s largest single drop waterfall. The drive back to our hostel is 4 hours from here, which would get us home at 8pm and may be a tight squeeze.

Option 2: Leaving by 2pm at the latest, drive 1.5 hours north to Josephine Falls – a great place to stop and dip your toes in! The drive back to our hostel is 1 hour from here, which means plenty of time to hit up ‘town’ for some drinks.

• We did option 2 and  went to Mission Beach after Babinda Boulders. On the way I saw a Cassowary. After being told that it’s rare to see one. I was holding both mine and Becky’s phones, and starstruck. So there’s no proof other than a postcard with a cassowary to mark the moment.
  
• Mission Beach was beautiful and had a lot of older sun bathers but it wasn’t crowded. If hungry, you can also stop around here for a bite to eat.
  
• Josephine Falls was our last stop before a night out to town for drinks. Cairns is known for being a bit wild… that was the night we started at a little cocktail and burger joint with Becky’s mate Ros and then somehow ended up at the Pier with a random group… leading to the Woolshed. Which I despise. It’s safe to say, I don’t care much for a night out there.

Sunday 5th August

Today, we can sleep in a little… (leave by 9:30am latest). Take a short 50min drive to Barron Falls lookout and consider the Kuranda Rainforestation to fill in some time.

1 hour drive back to drop off our car at Jucy Rentals, 55 Dutton St, Portsmith by 12pm, then we can go and grab some lunch before taking a short Uber ride to the airport (approx. $15). Arrive at airport by 2pm absolute latest – flight departs at 2:45pm and lands in Melbourne at 6:10pm.

• Firstly, On the last day we just went to Trinity Beach in the morning because we were a little hungover and got breakfast and walked along the beach…
  
• There’s nothing wrong with having such high expectations for your hangover day. But if like us, you managed to get in at stupid o’clock, maybe skip it all and instead lay on the beach. I do recall Becky’s long hair whipping my face while I tried to capture the last sun beats of our holiday.