Top Of Australia
 

My husband and I are wanting to join a tour to the Top of Australia during June this year. We have not been there before (Australia) and am wondering if anyone has experienced the day tour to the top of Australia with Daintree Air Charters from Cairns. We have seen many reports on the day tour to Lizard Island which are very positive but can not find any reports on the Top of Australia Tour.
Many Thanks for your help in advance.

iindiamth, its very popular with Australians in our dry season, which includes June. People who post here do seem more interested in the far shorter Daintree Air trip from Cairns to Lizard Island. Book well ahead, I had some guests who were on standby for a week out of Cairns, but still didn't make it.

Another alternative if you have 5 spare days is MV Trinity Bay - a cargo ship which takes about 40 passengers. It does a return trip Cairns-Thursday Island (a little north of the top of Australian mainland)with several stops at Cape York communities. www.seaswift.com.au/passenger.html

PS, and of course there are overland 4WD trips from Cairns to the Top, this is remote country so most accommodation would be camping.

Been on any of them yourself, Pat?

Thank you for the information. I have booked on the Lizard Island tour with Daintree Air but now I am worried as you say you have people stay at your B&B on stand by for 5 days. Was this because the weather was bad ? Greg at Daintree Air told us he would not take us to the reef if the weather was windy and the ocean was stirred up. He also said during June the weather is not often so bad so they can not go.
As far as the Cape york tour is concerned we have read about the freight boat sailing to Cape York but do not want to risk the boat in case the weather is windy. Also sitting on a boat with freight for several days is not really our thing. We are definitely not campers and do not want to camp for five days so the flight up at low altitudes seems like a wonderful way to have the opportunity to stand on the tip of Australia.

Hello - I took the trip to the tip of Australia twice on a little ship called the Kangaroo Explorer out of Cairns which is no more. Fabulous trip with snorkeling all the way at very remote locations. We raised an Australian flag at the tip but in my opinion I would not go there just to say I had been - there is absolutely nothing to see. Sorry, just my own opinion.

iindiamth, these people were actually booked on MV Trinity Bay, due to some mix-up they found on their arrival in Cairns that they had not been allocated a cabin with private bathroom, the boat was fully booked by then, so they cancelled.

Their whole reason for being in FNQ was to see the top of the Cape, and they spent the entire week phoning Daintree Air for possible cancellations, there seemed to be hope sometimes, but they never did make it before they had to return home to Brisbane. Nothing to do with weather which was fine, just fully booked, so this is why I suggested to you to book early.

Daintree Air will cancel Lizard Island trips if weather is bad, impossible to predict weather these days, we've just had a week of strong SE's in April, but today is much calmer. Having said that, July and August usually seem to be the windiest months, June can be lovely.

Afterall, have been to the Cape and a couple of Torres St Islands the other way(from Weipa) in a fishing boat but that was years ago. Hoping to take the MV Trinity Bay trip this November, friends who live in Cairns went in November last year and loved it. If interested will get more details from them.

Thank you to Pat and Louise for your information.

I looked once more to the web site of www.daintreeair.com.au and see that the Top of Australia Tour is the longest scenic flight in the world. I thought flying along Australia’s most remote beaches, rainforests, Islands , reefs and so on would have been a nice way to experience remote Australia. My husband always wanted to stand on that pointy pieace to have a photo. But as Louise says there is nothing to see so we have now cancelled this tour. Louise would a tour to Cape Tribulation be better than a tour to Cape York.

Pat do you think we would be better to maybe plan a visit to green island in place of Lizard Island.

I am now a little worried you have told me people staying with you could not go with Daintree air for many days. We do not have spare time to wait for many ays if tour is cancelled. What time of the year did the people have to stay with you waiting for Daintree air. We are planning on June.
Thank you for your help.

I love the area around Cairns-Port Douglas. There is so much to do including Cape Tribulation. We rented a car for a couple days and went up into the Atherton Tablelands also - it was beautiful. I cannot recommend Green Island at all - it is a real tourist trap as far as I am concerned. Maybe it has changed. I loved Lizard Island. Did not stay there as we were on the ship so it was a "day" visit but I would go back and spend more time there. That opinion is coming from someone who loves snorkeling - it has the best on the reef from the shore.

Louise and Pat. I apologise for being a nuisance.

I have a dilemma with our travel plans and need your help.
We wanted to visit Lizard Island but cancelled the tour after Pat says there is a big chance Daintree air will not go and she had people staying with her for a week after being bumped off a freight boat and Daintree Air.

So I thought maybe Green Island would be OK but Louise said she would not go there because of too many tourists.

My husband is very disappointed there is nothing to see on Cape York Top of Australia tour as Louise has indicated, so we are now thinking maybe we should spend more time in Melbourne and Sydney and just forget queensland as there seems to be too many places where no one will go with nothing to see any way and we may be wasting our valuable time.

Should we be planning more time in the Blue Mountains seeing the forests there and perhaps plan a visit to the Grampians and say spend more time on the GOR with maybe a flight along the 12 Apostles area in a helicopter.

Please help as this is a once in a life time event.

I sure didn't realize I gave the impression not to go to the area. In fact I think it was the opposite. It is a big area - not just the top and Green Island. That area of Queensland is one of my favorite places in the world. There is tons to do so don't discount it in favor of another area. In my opinion it would be a mistake.

no, no, no iindiamth; it was the Daintree Air trip to Cape York (the tip of) which my guests couldn't get on. Not the Lizard Island trip with Daintree Air. Greg will cancel the Lizard Island trip IF its bad weather, but he's already indicated to you that most days last June were fine for the trip.

Green Island and Lizard Island snorkelling can't be compared, Green is very close to Cairns city and although its a pretty little true coral cay its proximity to the city has made it super popular with large Asian tour groups. I must say though, the last time I went there about 18 months ago, its coral had vastly improved but still not be compared with marine life you'
ll see on Lizard. But these islands are extremes in terms of tourist visitation, there's plenty of day trips from either Cairns or Port Douglas to take you to reef and sand cay areas further out than Green Island.

Louise is right in saying there's tons of nature based things to do in FNQ - I wouldn't have moved here from a lovely part of Sydney if there wasn't - not only the GBR, and World Heritage rainforests on the doorstep, there's the Atherton Tableland just behind Cairns and accessible outback just west of that.

Hi lindiamth,

Wow...my head is spinning with these posts; seems to be alot of confusion!

First, always listen to Pat - she lives there and there's no one on this board that can give you more reliable information as this is her "backyard".

Thought I'd stick in my 2 cents - for a comparison of Green Island vs. Lizard, think of: DisneyWorld vs. Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous! :)

Green Island, in addition to the large Asian tour groups Pat mentioned is a magnet for "day trippers" - very touristy. Lizard is pristine, with amazing snorkelling. It's expensive - is it worth it? As you say this is a "trip of a lifetime", I'd have to say YES.

As Pat says, there are TONS of things/tours to take in this area; there's something for everyone - beaches, Aborginal experiences, rainforest, all kinds of wildlife - don't scratch it off your list!

Hope this is helpful!

Regards,

Melodie
Certified Aussie Specialist

There are two massive areas of pure white silica sand dunes on the east coast of Cape York Peninsular, these areas are known as Shelburne Bay and Cape Flattery. There is a sand mine on a tiny section of Cape Flattery and 70% of the Shelburne Bay sand dunes have high wilderness quality. There is little doubt that both of these areas rival the temperate Fraser Island sand mass in both beauty and environmental importance. In both of the above places, the vast expanse of white dunes is dotted with freshwater lakes, and patches of vegetation, including towering Hoop Pine forests left over from the time of the dinosaurs. I have seen both these places and I can tell you it’s some thing else.

There are also two huge mountains on Cape York which consist of black rock boulders that are dated back 225 million years. They appear black because of dark algae which covers the individual granite boulders. These massive piles of boulders are stacked up almost like they have been placed there one by one. One of the mountains is known as the Black Mountains South of Cooktown and the other is known as Cape Melville which is situated at the South East end of Princess Charlotte Bay.

I have also seen these magnificent land marks up close and personal. The Cape York coast is enormously varied. Along the eastern side of the Cape, are many sweeping bays, rocky headlands, sandstone cliffs, mangrove-lined river mouths and massive white sand dunes. On the west coast, beside the Gulf of Carpentaria, there are shallow mud flats, as well as beaches overshadowed by red bauxite cliffs. The coast is exceptionally beautiful, and it provides increasingly rare undisturbed habitat for a whole host of coastal plants and animals.

On the beaches live some of the world's largest flocks of Beach Stone-curlews, Mongolian Plovers, Ruddy Turnstones, Grey-Tailed Tattlers, Pied and Sooty Oystercatchers, and Torresian Imperial Pigeons. I have seen many of these birds and every inch of that coast line. About 1200 kms of it in fact . Huge sea grass areas follow the coast parallel to the beaches. These seagrass areas are vital habitat for endangered dugongs or sea cow. There are estimates of between 7 and 9 thousand dugong living along this amazing coast line. Closer to the top of Australia you will find thousands of square kms of Heath Lands dotted with many thousand tall ants nests towering above the low lying heath scrub. I have seen this as well.

Frangipani beach on the top of Australia is not only Australia’s most Northern Beach and extraordinarily beautiful but it is also home to large stands of mangroves which again are home to many critters which can not be seen any where else. One of these critters is known as a mangrove goanna. I have seen one of these swimming between the roots of the mangroves. An unsuspecting visitor would immediately mistake this timid creature for a salt water croc and why not. The mangroves are home to some of the largest crocodiles in Australia.

I have also seen crocodiles on the Cape. I was lucky enough to spot several at a place known as Margie Bay and then I spotted an other while standing on the top of Australia.

During W.W.11. many thousands of American, English, and Australian airmen called the Northern town of Bamaga home. They flew hundreds of sorties to the Solomon’s , New Guinea and North West Australia. The Japenese Zeros would howl across the top of Cape York on their way to bomb such places as Darwin. In those days Bamaga was known as Kennedy field and was the longest air strip in the world.

There is still wreckage of WW11 aircraft spread across the Cape and I have seen three of these wrecks.
I sat on Frangipani beach for a half hour to watch at least ten indigenous people slowly pulling in a net filled with fish, rays and crabs. They offered me an eel to take home. I explained to them I am a vegetarian so I would not offend.

I have also seen the reef Cook ran aground on and I have seen the place where Cook spent 6 weeks repairing his vessel after he ran aground. I have also seen the magnificent Flinders Island group, Furze Point, Turtle Island Group, Lizard Island Group, Howick Island Group , and too many other places to mention here.

While standing on the tip of Cape York, looking across to York Island, and back over Frangipani beach towards Possession Island where Lieutenant James Cook took possession of our great nation in 1770 one can not help wondering about the degree of difficulty which must have been encountered by the first explores to this fiercely harsh but hauntingly beautiful landscape.

As far as I am concerned the views across the Torres Strait Islands, the Great Barrier Reef, seeing the indigenous people, reflecting back on the history which happened on this very spot is one of the most exciting moments of my life.
Most importantly iindianmth I got to see all of the above in just one day.

That’s correct one day. I did the Cape York Day Tour with Daintree Air last September. Any one who says there is nothing to see on the tip would surly be blind. I am sorry to contradict Louise however in this case the contradiction is certainly warranted. Tell your husband not to miss it iindia. If you can afford it do it. You will see and learn more about Australia during that one day than most of us Aussies see in a life time.
The Cape York Day Tour is a world class expedition.

Thank you for contradicting me. I would have loved to see all that you experienced. I will have to go back a third time with a different guide!

And when you do Louise , make sure you do not forget a really good camera.

Yuri.

Yuriprint - Wherever I go I always carry a "really good camera".

Hello again, thanks you for all your information.
We have rebooked both tours to Lizard Island and the Cape York Day Tour. Yuri my husband is once more excited about visiting the top of Australia more so than ever now after reading your very interesting report. Thank you!!

Good on you Indiamth.

Cape York and Lizard Island.

It does not get a whole lot better than that.

Have a wonderful time.

Im sure there are many people that visit this site whom would be interested in a tour reprt if you have time once you have returned.

iindiamth, you are two lucky people to be going on the two Daintree Air trips. We have done the one day to Lizard (in July 2004) and it is fabulous, the only better snorkeling we have done is on a liveaboard (also around Lizard Is.) Greg is very personable and informative, so I know you will have a fabulous time on the Cape York trip. I suggest you read up on Aborigine culture and Queensland if you can find books. None pop to mind, but check your local library, and maybe post here. In 2007, we stayed in Cooktown and took an Aborigine led tour there, also in Laura with another Aborigine led tour. Both were fabulous although different. The culture is facinating and the countryside so scenic and varied. Wish we were going with you!
Sally in Seattle