Chillagoe Caves and Outback Day Trip: Explore Australia's Natural and Historic Gems from Cairns

Embark on a full-day adventure from Cairns to explore the Chillagoe Caves, Granite Gorge, and other natural and historic gems of the Australian Outback. Discover the region’s wildlife, history, and Aboriginal culture while enjoying morning tea at a local coffee plantation and lunch at a 100-year-old pub. Limited to 14 people for a personalized experience.

Duration: 11 hours, 30 minutes
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Cairns - Your driver guide will pick you up from the Cairns area. Transfers from Port Douglas and Northern Beaches are available at an additional cost; please book with reservations before traveling.
  • Skybury Cafe & Roastery - Located in the heart of one of Australia’s most diverse and rich food bowls, Skybury Tropical Plantation has been…
What's Included
  • Chillagoe-Mungana Caves National Park Guided Tour with a local ranger
  • Granite Gorge National Park and see local rock wallabies
  • Return transfers with local driver guide and live commentary
  • Morning Tea at Skybury Cafe and Roastery with tea, coffee and sweet treats
  • Visit the Chillagoe Smelter Ruins
  • Visit Balancing Rock and see Aboriginal Rock Art
  • Lunch at a classic Aussie pub in Chillagoe
What's Not Included
  • Port Douglas & Northern Beaches transfers additional cost (book with reservations before travel)
Additional Information

Experience the ultimate Outback Full-Day Tour! Discover the Chillagoe Caves, Granite Gorge, and other treasures of the Australian Outback on this comprehensive day trip.
Accompanied by a naturalist guide, journey in a 4WD vehicle through the McAllister Ranges, the Great Dividing Range, and the Australian Outback, all while enjoying insightful commentary…

Location
Cairns
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.8
(169 Ratings)
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Gerald_w
Mar 9, 2025
Caves - Andrew was a great guide. Mick at the caves was excellent. To us the guides make the trip. So the travel, extensive, was filled with tales (don't know how tall) of the area and the characters. The Caves are marvelous, a treasure.
Review provided by Viator
Royal_k
Mar 5, 2025
Excellent tour. Guide... - Excellent tour. Guide was great, very educational. Cave was different than many we have visited. Seeing the rock wallaby was a real treat!
Review provided by Viator
Mark_b
Feb 16, 2025
Fantastic opportunity to see the Australian Outback - What a great day! We wanted a tour that would bring us out of the city, and into the Outback. Our tour guide, Mike, picked us up in a great all wheel drive vehicle, and proceeded to take us on a fantastic tour into the heart of the countryside. We stopped for tea and scones along the 100km drive, and then toured the Chillagoe caves and abandoned smelter sites. Beautiful scenery and history behind these sites. The tour of the caves was exceptional. We then had lunch at a local restaurant, and proceeded to the balanced rock site. Our final stop to see the rock wallabies was interrupted by a major storm, and Mike gave us the option to wait it out, or proceed. We voted to proceed, and all I can say is it was good we had the all wheel drive vehicle for the return trip. Mike traversed the creeks, and got us back safely. Overall, a long, but fantastic experience seeing the outback countryside.
Review provided by Viator
Maria
Feb 7, 2025
Yes yes yes and some more yes - Wow!! What an incredible experience!! I arrived in Australia the day before this tour, and it left me speechless. I saw a multitude of different ecosystems, crazy landscapes, awesome wildlife, and an incredible cave full of bats (I'm a bat fanatic) !!! It is wet season, and it rained for a very small portion of our tour. The rain usually leaves as fast as it comes. Idk why I was even worried about the weather. I forget how rain works in the tropics!! No big deal!!! Anyways, I traveled solo and am loving australia so dang much already. Our tour guide was incredible and made the experience so much fun. He also took the time to recognize my love for nature and to point things out to me that he knew I would appreciate. The wallaby experience at the end is bonkers. You get to pet them!!! Insane!!! I found myself smiling for nearly this entire trip. Perfect for the nature-loving adventurer!!!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Trish21000
Jan 26, 2025
Chillagoe - Mike was an encyclopedia of knowledge. Tour is very informative. Lunch was great. Was very well organized and you're well take care of. Great job
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Sharripicard
Jan 6, 2025
A Great Experience - Fantastic tour - the tour guide has a ton of information! And really mixes things up with a different vibe from the rest of the activities from the Cairns area! The caves were fun to explore, lots of wildlife, fun dining experiences, great coffee room, and lots of gorgeous views! While I completely understand that the truck is necessary to get into the harder to drive areas, it is definitely a bumpy ride, so warnings to anyone with back/neck/joint issues - it could be a bit painful for those guests, especially in the back.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Doertheb2024
Dec 18, 2024
Great. - Our tour guide Roan (hopefully I spelled it right) was great. Everyone has felt welcome as in a family. Great info, Good locations, super professional. Thanks for the great day and the tips for the next few days.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jadat21
Nov 25, 2024
The chance to see the outback - Great out and back trip. Lots to see. This gave us a chance to see what I had expected to see from Australia. The coast is lovely. In this trip you drove through some great country, saw agriculture, looked at cute wallabies. Loved this outing.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Guide47822458514
Jan 27, 2025
Chillagoe Caves - The trip is quite long but the driver stopped at various Restaurants. At one coffee stop he managed to show a snake curlled up in a toilet. It was exciting and we all enjoyed the spectacle. The caves were good but then we went to see the kangaroos. Very exciting. The driver was very knowledgable.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Marcel_l
Dec 2, 2024
Wonderful outback adventure with a small con in the end - The best way to explore the Outback is in a guided tour with a local. In our case, Tony drove us through the Outback with several stops explaining us a lot about the history. He did a really good job - it was a really good experience. The walk through the cave was exciting. However, we ended up with mixed feelings about the last station: Seeing the rock wallabies is cool and they are walking free, but why do they have to sell food to feed the wild animals and why do they need to have other animals like birds or lizards in absolutely too small cages?! We absolutely didn't need the last stop as it has nothing to do with the Outback - we would rather skip that. Otherwise, we absolutely would recommend this tour for everyone who wants to visit the Outback and thanks again, Tony, for this cool experience!
Review provided by Viator
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up to 10 guests
1 Adult
March 2025
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