I was so excitied to hear about the outback tour to Chillagoe just behind Cairns so we booked our seats as soon as we had a day spare so we could go off and experience it for ourselves. We were picked up at the Smithfield bus stop at 7.15am and made our way up the Kuranda range. Our guide /driver Mark was accompanied for the day by Tina who came along to make sure that everything would run smoothly.
Mark pointed out everything of special interest along the way. Once on the Kennedy Highway we came into the drier tropics but because of the storms over the past few weeks everything was green and beautiful.
We did a detour before Mareeba going onto some dirt roads to give us a real 4WD tour experience.
We were going to explore the Mareeba Wetlands first and saw several of the lakes/dams in the area and quite a few local wildlife. Also a few Ostriches which are being farmed on the way.
Once at the Wetlands centre we grabbed a coffee and took off in the electric boat (very quiet) for a tour of the wetlands and saw several birds, one of which was really struggling to swallow the fish it had caught – eyes too big for the beak!!
After the boat cruise we checked out some of the rare Gouldian finches in an enclosure, they are being bred in captivity and then released.
From here we travel on to some of the old mining towns in the areas. Dimbulah is now
An agricultural centre having mangoes, sugar cane and heaps of vegetables grown here.
We have a short stop at the Espanola pub at Lappa Junction. Built in 1901 it still has a bar – but you will have to BYO. Interesting place.
Then we head off to Chillagoe. We stopped to check out the historic smelters which date from the beginning of the 20th century. It was hot by the time we arrived there we checked out what remained of the buildings – they were certainly well built – great brick work – there are information stations all around – the people who worked there had a very hard job. We stop at the Post Office Hotel for a well earned beer and lunch – fish and chips or home made burgers and chips – very tasty.
After lunch we travel a short distance to the Chillagoe Caves. These were discovered at the time the smelters were being built and were a cool refuge for the people, as they used to come down to the caves for a picnic. The temperature is around 22 C most of the year.
There are some beautiful limestone labyrinths to explore – the tours take up to 1 ½ hours
We only had time for a half hour.
Back on the bus we enjoy the air conditioning again and some of the beautiful scenery on the way back to Mareeba.
Our next stop was at the Skybury coffee plantation for afternoon coffee and scones!!! We have a short coffee tasting and then relax for a while. I went to check on the rescued wallabies which are kept in a nursery next door. The all looked very healthy and seem to like company – coming to the fence to say Hi. We leave here at around 5pm and make our back to Cairns.
This is a really great alternative to the rainforest trips and is a very comfortable way to see the outback and also some of the early settler’s history.
We thought that the vehicle was very comfortable and highly recommend this tour to anyone spending a few days in the region.
Susan TTS
For information about this Chillagoe tour and other Billy Tea Bush Safaris please visit these pages here
For all other tours and attractions use the Refine Search button to view all of your options on The Tour Specialists website.
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