Atherton Tablelands Rain Forest by Night from Cairns

Overview

Available languages

English

8 hours

Mobile ticket

See Australia's unique animals and birds in their natural environment on a rainforest wildlife-spotting tour in the Atherton Tablelands. Led by an expert nature guide, your small-group nocturnal tour visits a number of locations including lush tropical rainforest and a volcanic crater lake. See tree kangaroos, lizards and musky rat kangaroo by day, and search for platypus at dusk. Enjoy afternoon tea at Lake Barrine and dinner at a country restaurant, then go spotlighting for possum, bandicoots, owls, bats and tree kangaroos by starlight on this fascinating nocturnal wildlife tour.

Additional Info

Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness

Children must be accompanied by an adult

Please wear closed toe shoes and a jacket for night time.

A moderate amount of walking is involve. Low fitness level required

Please advise any specific dietary requirements at time of booking

Please bring insect spray as this is not provided

Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

What‘s Included

Local guide

Hotel pickup and drop-off

Afternoon tea

All equipment (binoculars, spotlighting gear, rain ponchos, reference materials)

Dinner

Air-conditioned vehicle

National Park fee

Drinks, unless specified

Meeting and Pickup

Pickup points

Select a pickup point

What To Expect

Lake Barrine

After our drive from Cairns up the scenic but very twisty Gillies Range Road we arrive at Lake Barrine. A beautiful volcanic crater lake surrounded by the Rainforest. Firstly we take a break for afternoon tea and there is no better setting than Lake Barrine to enjoy it. Afterwards we take a slow walk through the surrounding forest searching for Forest Dragons and Musky Rat Kangaroos!

1 hour • Admission Not Applicable

Atherton Tablelands

There is no better place close to Cairns to see some of the rarest animals in Australia in the wild. We spend the majority of our tour exploring the region searching for wildlife. Walking through the oldest tropical rainforest in the world is an amazing experience by itself. You will be immersed with all the sights and sounds within it. In the late afternoon coming up to sunset we then go searching for the Platypus. The thrill of catching sight of this amazing creature will always stay with you. We do not stop looking until we run out of time to make sure you get the best possible chance of success. That is why we really do see them 90% of the time :)

4 hours • Admission Not Applicable

Options

RainForest by Night ex Cairns

RainForest by Night Cairns: Atherton Tablelands Rain Forest by Night from Cairns
Pickup included

Reviews

4.80

410 reviews

Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

360

Amazing true wildlife experience
813flipb,
Nov 5, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00
Had an amazing day with Clayton! Beautiful scenery as well as some amazing birds and multiple species of mammals including platypus! Would highly recommend!
Go see wildlife in their natural habitats!
Laurie O,
Nov 2, 2025
- Review from Viator
4.00
The tour provided a great opportunity to see Australian wildlife in their natural habitats. Our guide, Clayton, was extremely knowledgeable and shared much information and answered everyone's questions.
Unique Tour
Hannah S,
Oct 24, 2025
- Review from Viator
5.00
What an incredible and unique experience. Paul was so knowledgeable and taught us so much about Australian wildlife and the rainforest. You will go on an adventure and see some things you’ve never seen before. Definitely book this tour!
Amazing experience!
833benyaminy,
Oct 15, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00
Paul was highly knowledgable and entertaining. We had a great time with him guiding us through some beautiful parts of nature, while explaining a lot of interesting facts about the local animals and plants. He answered every question and was also very funny. The dinner was also great. We got very lucky, as we got to see platypus, rat kangaroos, tree kangaroos, pademelons and many other exciting animals! Can definitely recommend the trip to everyone.
Possums and foxes and platypus oh my!
Mary D,
Oct 7, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00
We were excited to get to experience some of Australia’s wildlife and this tour delivered! Paul was our guide and he was very passionate about the flora and fauna of Australia. We were able to see three platypus, flying foxes, possums, wonderful birds and more! Walking in the dark was magical with Paul pointing out night sky constellations. This tour is closer to Cairns so is easy if you have just one free day and are unable to get up into the Daintree Rainforest.
Small group, amazing animals, local expert guide
Culture39970023698,
Oct 6, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00
Wonderful experience, the guide was incredibly knowledgeable in a multidisciplinary fashion: he took us on a journey through the area’s geologic, anthropological, botanical, and zoological history during the drive and the 5 stops. We saw, among many other things, 3 platypuses, several wallabies, hordes of fruit bats, rainforest birds, lizards, and incidental fun moments (a darter struggling to eat the giant crayfish it caught, nighttime glowing mushrooms).
A very knowledgeable host
Stig0505,
Oct 6, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00
The trip was great as we got to see a number of platypus, birds and mammals. The host was very knowledgable and engaging and ensured that people in the tour treated nature with respect.
Unique rainforest experience
BasudevBasu,
Oct 2, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00
One of the best nature and wildlife experiences we ever had, and we have been to the African bush, the rainforests of Borneo and the dry forests of India before. What made this tour unique was Paul's immense knowledge of the local flora and fauna and his keen eye. We saw many interesting plants and trees, varied wildlife including platypuses, possums, a couple of tree kangaroos, a rat kangaroo and heard some wonderful bird calls/songs. The dinner was one of the best we had in Australia. Highly recommended.
Bucket list tour!
aaronw58,
Sep 21, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00
This tour was everything I hoped it would be. The rainforest was beautiful. Our guide, Paul, did an excellent job of finding so much interesting wildlife and vegetation. We saw three platypuses in the river swimming around looking for food. Saw the rare tree kangaroo. We also so many other reptiles, wallabies, birds, etc. There is a trail he took us through so don’t worry that you are just wandering through the dense rainforest. We had a delicious dinner at a pub in Yungaburra. The food was included and you could purchase your own beer if you wanted. The walk at night was amazing seeing a gigantic strangler tree, bats, and other things. The night sky was an emotional moment for me. Seeing all the stars and the Milky Way without light pollution was absolutely incredible. I’ve never seen the sky like that before except in pictures or TV programs. I would recommend taking a little motion sickness medicine for the curvy road up to the rainforest if you ever have any sort of motion sickness issues. I usually never do at all but it even made my stomach a little weird.
Visit to the rainforest was quite a thrilling experience!
Jyothi V,
Sep 17, 2025
- Review from Viator
4.00
It was a well organized tour and quite an experience! Paul's knowledge and passion shone through the whole tour and he made sure we were able to see the creatures that were out there. The dinner (vegetarian) was decent too. We spotted some wild creatures (Possum, Flying Foxes, Forest Dragon, Platypus, Gecko, Wallabies, Bush Turkey). We couldn't see the Rat Kangaroo, Tree Kangaroo, flight of the bats. It was raining for some part of the tour. Feedback that I would like to give is: 1. We spent too much time looking at Platypuses as after spotting 2 it wasn't exciting to spot 4 in total. That time could have been used elsewhere (perhaps flight of bats?) 2. Paul was quite funny but could be more patient in answering questions and not make us feel stupid while asking questions. 3. In the description of the tour rain ponchos were mentioned but he had umbrellas instead. It was raining for some part of the tour and I didn't have a waterproof jacket so ended up getting really wet.