pvpdll

We're a family of 4 entertaining the idea of taking the 11 day Daintree Air tour during our 2 week visit to Australia this August. I've read good things about their Lizard Island tour, but not much on their longer excursions. Has anyone had any experience with their multi day tours? Are there other similar operators anyone might recommend? Thanks very much.

SnRSeattle

There was at least one trip report on the forum where a couple went all around the far north end and over to Arnhem Land, too, looking for Aboriginal art to buy, I think. They had a lovely time. Also I corresponded with Greg about doing an extended trip and he had lots of great ideas. We ended up not doing it (way over our budget), but it sounded grand. I am sure Greg can tailor the trip to fit your interests, too. Good luck! Oh, by the way, I found one other company that would take us to Carnarvon Gorge (which is out of Brisbane)--the web site is http://www.ausairtours.com.au/flyaways.htm I don't know anything about them except their emails to us were very friendly (as usual with Australians) and they seemed like a good company. We didn't do that, either, because of the high cost and the fact that what we really like to do is snorkel. So we put our money on a liveaboard for our splurge and had a wonderful time (www.spiritoffreedom.com) Good luck and happy planning!
Sally in Seattle

pvpdll

Thanks Sally. I'll search the forum a bit further for that. I'm in the process now of trying to put this together with Greg. If we decide to do it, I'd be happy to provide details and a verdict on whether the experience was worth the price. Regards

54fun

Hi there pvpvll ,
I’m not certain if we are the folks Sally is referring to about the tour over the top of Australia.
We booked on with Greg from daintree air last year. We did spend much time on this and other web sites we found researching Australia. The air tour was probably the biggest adventure we have ever had or ever will have.
We find it impossible to convey to others the shear vastness and beauty of the land down under. We swam with Giant Mantas and Whale Sharks in the North West.
We photographed crocodiles in the wild along the beaches of the Timor Sea. We swam with Dolphins and seals in the Mid North West. Before meeting Greg we thought the biggest rock in the world was Uluru, he had has climbing to the top of a rock named Mount Augustus he said was twice the size of Uluru. We met up with local aboriginal people nearly everywhere we went, we slept next to the giant rock formations known as the beehives, we wandered through the lost city, and found a Black Headed Python in the hollow of a log, we fished for Barramundi underneath the most beautiful water fall ever cascading down a thousand foot bright red cliff face, hiked to rock formations with 12 foot figures painted on the massive boulders said to be 15,000 years old. The list goes on. Every single day was planned to the point where not a minute is wasted.
One minute your flying across rainforests, mountains, deserts and beaches, then the plane lands, a 4wd appears from heaven knows where, and before you know it your sitting in a canoe or a boat or a jeep or a cave, or on top of a waterfall, or on an Island, in places which can best be described as off the set of an Indiana Jones movie.All of this action,adventure, and beauty does not come cheap. But in our opinion it’s the best money this family ever spent.


54fun

pvpdll

Thanks very much for that feedback, I really appreciate it. I have a feeling that if our adventure turns out to be only half of what yours was we'd be blessed. We're set to go for a week, and it sounds as if our itinerary may be similar at points to yours. It'll be a different kind of vacation for us, and I'm still trying to figure out how to pack for this part of the trip, but it all sounds great and we're really looking forward to this. If you have any tips (ie, what you think I really need to know to prepare for this) or any suggestions in general, I'd love to hear them. Regards.

lasalle49

We will throw our hat in the ring for daintreeair as well. Unfortunately we only had time for the Snorkelling tour to Lizard Island. In hindsight we could have spent more days touring with them. You experience so much in one day and at a very relaxed pace. The Views from the plane of the barrier reef and rainforests complete with huge waterfalls and picturesque rivers and coastline are unforgettable. If your planning on touring in North Queensland be prepared for warm weather day and night. We were there during January when the weather was very hot,humid and wet. We could have done with half the stuff we had packed.