Behind the Scenes WILDLIFE Tour, River Boat Cruise, Butterfly Sanctuary & Bat Hospital

On this small group tour you'll enjoy the intimate experience of 4 to 11 guests per tour. This is a truly personal experience going behind the scenes in the sanctuary's and animal hospitals of Far North Queensland. Inclusions and Highlights A ranger guided ‘behind the scenes' tour of #1 bat sanctuary facility in Australia. Relax on a Riverboat Cruise along the famous Barron River, featuring Elvis the Cassowary, turtles and ducks. (sometimes we see Crocodiles) A guided ‘behind the scenes’ tour of the Australian Butterfly Sanctuary. Aboriginal cultural dance performance (**selected guests can join in the dance performance on stage) Aboriginal boomerang throwing lesson, didgeridoo performance and spear throwing demonstration. A Aussie BBQ Lunch offers a range of BBQ favourites including Minute Steaks, Pork Sausages and BBQ Chicken Thighs, Mixed Roast Potatoes, Rice, Korma Vegetable and Tofu Curry (Vegetarian), Mixed Salads and Coleslaw, condiments and Tropical Fruit Platter. Summary This ultimate wildlife experience is led by your lead tour guide in conjunction with several wildlife experts and rangers, a behind the scenes educational experience of Australia’s Koalas, Butterflies, Bats, and Indigenous Culture. Get up close to Australia’s most iconic marsupials in the ‘Exclusive Access Koalas” experience. Join a keeper for a 30-minute experience to learn more about koalas and head into the koala enclosure to meet the resident koalas. There’s plenty of time to take up-close photos and even selfies! Wander the trail through the wildlife sanctuary, home to many animals including crocodiles, dingos, the Tasmanian devil, Koalas, Wallabies, Echidnas, and a Wombat before we sit down to dine on delicious BBQ lunch as you take in the panoramic rainforest views. After lunch we head to the amphitheatre for an onstage performance by the Pamagirri Aboriginal tribe, the traditional dance shows insight into this ancient surviving culture, and the connection with the oldest surviving rainforest in the world. After photos with the dancers, we split up into small groups to embark on an in-depth and interactive boomerang and spear throwing experience, your Pamagirri Aboriginal guide will teach you about the traditions that were learnt in the wilderness, before preforming a demonstration on the rainforest instrument – the Didgeridoo. A short drive away we arrive at the Australian Butterfly Sanctuary, home to over 1500 butterflies, all of which are bred inside the on-site breeding laboratory. Species include the electric blue Ulysses, the Majestic Green and Yellow Cairns Birdwing and the Monarch butterfly. View first-hand the breeding laboratory through special viewing windows, whilst the expert guide talks about their incredible journey from Caterpillar to Butterfly. Our next stop is the Barron River Cruise – where you will acquaint yourself with the wonders of the world heritage rainforest while you meander along the famous Barron River. Enjoy the commentary and incredible photography opportunities of the wildlife including Elvis the Cassowary and his chick, that wander on the far side of the river most days, we also see freshwater crocodiles, turtles, snakes, water dragons and fish, together with over 100 species of tropical birds. *Please note crocodiles and cassowary's are wild animals and are sometimes not seen on the cruise experience We complete this an unforgettable day with a 45-minute drive through the rolling hills of the Atherton Tablelands to one of the world’s greatest wildlife wonders ‘The Tolga Bat Hospital’. This fully accredited award-winning eco-tour is restricted to a small number of very lucky guests, here we embark on a 1 hour tour and enjoy an educational walk and talk experience through the bats home, whilst we watch the bats feed and interact with each other, you will also see and hear the echolocation calls of a microbat on a bat detector. **Translator tour guides are available on request for an additional cost - German, Japanese, Mandarin, Korean, Spanish and other languages.