Quintessential Queensland - in Style
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Trip Highlights
- Remote North Queensland and volunteering alongside Aboriginal rangers
- Stunning eco-luxury accommodation
- Authentic engagement with the Aboriginal culture, history and art
- World Heritage Rainforest and Great Barrier Reef
- Fabulous extensions to amazing eco-luxury properties
Your ''Taste of Volunteering'' Project
You can help conserve sea turtles alongside Aboriginal rangers and trained botanists at the Cape York Turtle Rescue camp in the Aboriginal community of Mapoon on Cape York Peninsula, in Far North Queensland.
Specific activities include:
- Quantify the size and structure of turtle nesting populations
- Monitor trends in the nesting environment
- Quantify nesting turtle success rates
- Protect nesting sites
- Identify and recording drift nets on beach
- Assist rangers with the removal and disposal of drift nets
NB: This trip runs from July to October only, due to the rains being too heavy at other times.
Trip Summary
This trip starts in Cairns, where you are transferred upon arrival to Thala Beach Lodge, a luxury eco-lodge located on the spectacular coastal road between Cairns and Port Douglas. On your first day, you can borrow sea-kayaks for some coastal exploring, join an escorted nature walk, attend a cooking demonstration or an evening talk by a local naturalist and if you feel like stepping out there are transfers to/from Port Douglas.
The following day, you are collected from your lodge and depart aboard Synergy II, the world renowned, luxuriously appointed, 62 foot sailing catamaran. This exclusive, luxury boat will whisk you off to a dynamic reef ecosystem bursting with a huge variety of exciting marine life including over 1500 species of fish and 460 varieties of coral.
Meals are a gourmet affair like nothing else seen on the Outer Reef because they’re freshly cooked on board, served al fresco on the split level rear deck. A fine selection of champagne, wine, beer and spirits are also available from the extensively stocked bar.
And with friendly, professional, qualified crew, you will want for absolutely nothing!
We have also included for you a day of exploring the Daintree Rainforest with a private Natural History guide who will introduce you to the abundant wildlife and explain some of the very rare trees and plants that grow there.
You have a free day to relax and enjoy the beauty of Thala Lodge. You can take a spa and massage, swim, read a book, or go kayaking if you feel active.
The next day, you are picked up from your lodge for the start of your cultural immersion, along the fascinating 'Bama Way' - an Aboriginal journey from Cairns to north of Cooktown, following story-lines through the two Aboriginal nations of the Kuku Yalanji and Guugu Yimithirr peoples.
The Bama Way links three Aboriginal-owned tours operated by the traditional custodians of the local area. Each tour provides a unique experience which will teach you about different facets of Aboriginal culture:
- At Cooya Beach you can track coastal resources and throw a spear with the Kuku Yalanji brothers of the Kubirri Warra clan;
- At Wujal Wujal, see the Bloomfield Falls with family members of the Walker family and learn about the resources of the rainforest; and
- High in the hills outside Cooktown, walk amongst ancestral rock art sites with Nugal-warra Elder and story-teller, Willie Gordon of Guurrbi Tours, who explains the meanings – both practical and spiritual – behind the art, giving you an unforgettable insight into Aboriginal society and spirituality.
On Day 7, after an absorbing interaction with Willie Gordon, you are driven back to Cairns (there is an option to fly directly from Cooktown to Cairns, or even to Weipa on a private charter flight). You have the night at Cairn's finest hotel, the Shangri-La.
On Day 8, we fly to Weipa from Cairns airport. On arrival, we transfer to the Western Cape Cultural Centre for lunch and an orientation briefing. The Western Cape is one of the most culturally strong Indigenous Areas in Australia. We transfer to Mapoon, 90kms North of Weipa, and later we are driven to Camp Chivaree by 4WD.
At Camp Chivaree, your Volunteer Project begins! You head across Flinders Beach (24 kms of magnificent coastline) by dinghy where the research work on the turtles takes place. You travel by 4WD up and down the beach, stopping frequently to spot turtles, watch them lay, and record research data.
For the following three days, your meaningful Volunteer Project continues. In the mornings, you will be looking for eruptions of nests and recording data of hatchlings. Once this is completed, roll up your sleeves as you help the rangers clear the beach of any ghost nets, as well as helping them with Predator Exclusion Devices (PED’s). You go back to Camp Chivaree for lunch and then have the afternoon at leisure. Optional activities include bush tucker walks, fishing or just relaxing. In the early evenings, you head back to Flinders Beach.
On Day 11, we drive to Mapoon Airstrip, where your flight to Cairns awaits. Your Quintessential Queensland adventure comes to an end and you have the option to extend your stay, and visit amazing places like the Atherton Tablelands near Cairns, or fly out to a private island in the Great Barrier Reef, or explore further afield, such as the eco-luxury Bamurru Plains in the remote Northern Territory, to name but a few!
For more information, please contact us.
If you like this trip, you may also be interested in:
Australia - Far North Adventure
New Zealand - Natural New Zealand - in style
New Zealand - Southern Encounter
Feel free to contact us if you have any enquiries about this trip.
