Discover the natural wonders of Tropical North Queensland on a full-day tour to Chillagoe Caves and Granite Gorge. Travel from Cairns by rugged 4WD vehicle with a naturalist guide, passing over the McAllister Ranges and the Great Dividing Range as you explore the Australian Outback. Visit Chillagoe-Mungana Caves National Park, drive near the wetlands to spot Australian native wildlife and stop by historic mining towns. Numbers are limited to 16 people on this small-group tour, with morning tea and a pub lunch included.

Chillagoe Caves and Australian Outback day trip from Cairns
Tour of Chilagoe Caves and see fossilised remains on ancient coral reefs
See Aboriginal Rock Art in Chillagoe
Tour of the Smelters and visit Granite Gorge
Small-group tour with a maximum of 16 participants ensures a more personalized experience
Morning tea and lunch included

Why Travellers Choose This Tour

On board a 4WD vehicle, you'll gain access to remote spots for excellent wildlife viewing and off-roading around the wetlands, Great Divide and Outback. This itinerary balances wilderness adventures with creature comforts like morning tea, souvenir shopping and pub lunch.

What's Included

Local driver guide
Lunch at a 100-year-old Aussie pub
Transport by air-conditioned vehicle
Chillagoe-Mungana Caves National Park Tour
Hotel pickup and drop-off (Cairns and Northern Beaches area only)
Chillagoe Smelter Ruins
Visit Balancing Rock and see Aboriginal Rock Art
Granite Gorge National Park and see Wallabies
Morning Tea at Skybury Cafe and Roastery

Port Douglas transfers (min 2 people, contact reservations after booking to confirm)

Meeting And Pickup

Pickup points

Select a pickup point

Start time

06:30 am

What To Expect

Billy Tea Safaris

10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Skybury Cafe & Roastery

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Chillagoe-Mungana Caves National Park

2 hours • Admission Ticket Free

Chillagoe Smelters

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Balancing Rock

1 hour • Admission Ticket Free

Post Office Hotel

1 hour • Admission Ticket Free

Granite Gorge Nature Park

1 hour • Admission Ticket Free

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Please advise any specific dietary requirements at time of booking
Please wear closed-toe shoe and bring a light jacket or sweater
A reasonable level of fitness is required, as there are steps and uneven terrain leading into the caves
Not wheelchair accessible

Infant seats available
Not recommended for travellers with back problems
No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
Travellers should have a moderate physical fitness level
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 14 travellers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.

Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
This experience requires good weather. If it’s cancelled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.
This experience requires a minimum number of travellers. If it’s cancelled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund.

Traveller Photos

Featured review

Toddy_B

Our guide Gav is the best ever guide we’ve ever met around all countries we been, he is very nice, knowledgeable and kind . He know almost everything in this region, Queensland, this country and every field such as geography, history , culture and the most important is he’s very humorous to make whole group laugh all day. His plan and the views are really worth the drive time from cairns. Strongly recommended for travel with family like us.

Reviews

5.0

89 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travellers.

Showing 1-10 of 89 reviews

Cave was interesting and...

Lindy_S, Apr 2023

Cave was interesting and our guide was good. Made an extra effort so we could see kangaroos in the wild. Fun trip

Awesome outback travel from carins

Toddy_B, Apr 2023

Engaging, fun, and informative! Great day!

Alicia_C, Mar 2023

We had Gavin as a tour guide and he was phenomenal! What an energetic guy with a zest for adventure, a great storyteller, and a fountain of knowledge! I learned so much about Australia's history and ecosystem from Gavin. The Chillagoe Caves were more impressive and more vast than I expected. It was really cool to get to walk around and explore the caves with a lamp. It was incredible to get to see some of Australia's unique wildife, including kangaroos! Part of the day included interacting with rock wallabies! They are very sweet and cute, and so gentle!

Great views of the cabbed and the outback

Cheryl_D, Jan 2023

We drove quite a ways watching the landscape change from rain I town ascending the mountain rainforest to the Savannah’s of the outback. Frequent rains had fallen in the area making the temperature pleasant. The caves were beautiful. There were many stairs but easily managed.

Went Beyond Expectations

Carolyn_W, Jan 2023

It was a great day trip and enjoyed by everyone on the trip. Gavin our guide was every informative and we share a laugh or two along the way.

The whole day was such...

Lyn_P, Dec 2022

The whole day was such good fun and interesting. The driver was excellent and made the day special.He was very knowledgeable and such great fun.

Lot of time in the car

Shannon_L, Nov 2022

Very nice tour. The only down side was a lot of driving from one place to the other. Good if you don't like long drives on your own. You can rest and watch scenery while someone else does the driving for you. Our guide Mark was very nice

Outback get away

Carl_W, Oct 2022

A great trip, one of the highlights of are stay in Cairns. While there is a lot of travel involved, we got to see parts of the country we would not normally see. We really enjoyed the trip and the guide was great as well. Well worth doing to see something different from the standard things in Cairns. Would recommend, great stuff.

Breathtaking, hot and memorable

alexandra_e, Oct 2022

The most memorable of the trip was the caves and the balancing rock. Absolutely breathtaking views and great meal at the pub.

Squeeze a lot into a little

David_C, Sept 2022

We wanted to experience the Atherton Tablelands and the semi-arid outback beyond. We also like seeing caves (and on a hot day, caves are great). This was a long day but worth it, with a really good coffee stop, enjoyable cave visit and yes, caves. A bonus was a visit to see rock wallabies at a sanctuary. There was more beside. Our guide for the day was Gavin, a ready wit and easy conversationalist, who provided many facts and interesting tidbits along the journey plus our eyes for spotting kangaroos, wallabies and wedge-tail eagles among many. He did an excellent job. Weather was great (31-32C), mainly cloudless and low humidity. And yes, 21-22C in the caves was the perfect place to ‘chill out.’

Many varied and interesting experiences in one day.

MERRENJANE_C, Aug 2022

Loved seeing so much in one full day. Also loved the small group of 14 people. Mark was great. He explained everything, but also allowed for quiet periods, which is always appreciated. Loved the coffee and lunch breaks.

GREAT DAY OUT CAVES WORTH SEEING

kallinterise, Aug 2022

caves worth visiting reasonable level of fitness as some spots were small to get through. seeing wallabies was great you were able to feed them

Great day of exploring!

David_L, Aug 2022

We really enjoyed our trip. It was carefully thought out in detail and we were glad to get out into the more rural parts (Outback/savannah) and see some of the natural wonders away from the coast. Each part - from a nice coffee at Skybury Roasters, to the caves and history of the Chillagoe area, to even Wallaby rock— it was all an enjoyable day. We also liked the small size of our group, and our guide was wonderful!

Excellent Chillagoe cave trip

Ann_L, June 2022

Well organised day trip with knowledgeable guide. Harani was fantastic - knew everything - geology, plants and animals, Indigenous and European history and settlement, and mining. Excellent lunch was included. Would definitely recommend.

Wonderful experience

Raechel_Y, Mar 2022

A wonderful experience was nice to sit back and watch the scenery change from coast to rainforest to outback. Caves were wonderful would have been nice to have had a bit longer otherwise a fantastic day

So worth the long day! Really interesting places with friendly guides

Helen_B, Oct 2021

Very enjoyable day out, Mark our driver was very knowledgeable and friendly. Happy to answer all our questions. Delicious MT at Skybury Coffee with scones andPapaya Jam. Interesting history at Chillagoe Copper Smelter and surrounding natural areas. Caves were a cool refreshing change from the heat of the day with some interesting formations pointed out by Ashley our helpful guide. Definitely worth the long day!

Response from Host, Nov 2021

Hi Helen, we are so pleased to read that you had an enjoyable day out with Mark! Thank you so much for choosing to join us in adventuring the Chillagoe Caves and Outback!

Awesome driver. Gavin was...

Patricia_B, Sept 2021

Awesome driver. Gavin was very informative. Great scenery. Just an awesome day out and well worth the money

Response from Host, Nov 2021

Thank you patricia for joining us and specifically Gavin for and awesome day in the Daintree Rainforest & Cape Tribulation!

Underwhelmed

Angela_B, June 2021

Caves were great, would like to have seen more of them though, a very long day for only an hour at the caves. Pub food and owners were lovely.

Response from Host, June 2021

Hi Angela, we are disappointed to read your review. Having done this tour myself previously to working here, I am very surprised that you were underwhelmed by the tour! It is a long day as you are travelling out to the Outback for the day and there are many other activities than just the caves portion of the tour. We are happy to hear that you enjoyed your lunch and we hope you enjoyed the rest of your time in Cairns.

Experiences Galore

Edward_H, Mar 2020

A fun day filled with a lot of Information, several great stops/destinations and opportunities to see the natural beauty and wildlife. All led by a very entertaining, polite and knowledgeable guide.

Response from Host, Apr 2020

Hi Edward, we are so happy to hear you had a great time! Hope to see you again.

A fun day from Cairns, it is...

Steven M, May 2018

A fun day from Cairns, it is interesting to see the difference in the landscape a couple hours away. Our tour guide Fin was a little on the crazy side, but it was a fun interesting crazy. He was able to talk all day about the plant and animal life as well as aboriginal culture. the cave was nice to see, nothing new if you have been in caves before. Lunch was good, a big old burger in a tiny old mining town. We were able to see a lot of different Australian animals throughout the day and of course topped that all off with a trip to hand feed the Wallabies, definitely an unforgettable experience.