Private Daintree Mossman Gorge Exclusive Nature and Wildlife Focus

Posted By : Dale L
We went out with Mel who was very personable, attentive to our needs, and knowledgeable. We loved the wildlife boat ride with the crocs and kingfishers. She found us a cassowary which was great.
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Posted On : 2024-05-03 05:46:09

Posted By : FuninPhx71
FNQ was set up for us by our travel agent, and they did a bang-up job.

Brett arrived at our property and first took us to go on a crocodile spotting tour with Solar Whisper Nature and Crocodile Cruises. David, the tour guide, was so informative and although it was raining and there was a cyclone a couple of months ago, we saw two crocs. We were dry and had good visibility in his quiet, solar-powered boat, along with a doodle called Dougie.

After that, we went to lunch at the Daintree Tea Room. We had a very good meal, which we chose beforehand, and was ready for us upon arrival. The owner gave us a presentation of the native fruit in the area, which was very interesting.

Next, we were scheduled for walkabout, however, I wanted to see the large bats, so Brett took us there, and we did a little change and I wanted to see some wildlife, and Brett took us to the Port Douglas Wildlife Habitat (upon my request) and we saw so many birds and animals from the area that we were likely not to see on the tour. Brett had a lot of knowledge about the animals we saw. We were able to hold a koala!

At the end of the tour, Brett treated us to an ice cream in Mossman.

Understand, this was not a typical tour for FNQ, but it was perfect and bespoke for us. I am sure the regular tour is amazing, just as ours was. I definitely recommend FNQ.
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Posted On : 2024-04-06 20:15:19

Posted By : TheCaptq
Our guide Melanie was exceptional. She is passionate about her job and it shows in her guiding. We had a phenomenal day in the gorge, with a swim in the Mossman River, and enjoyed seeing the star salty, Scarface 14ft long and 1,100 lbs, on the solar whisper cruise on the Daintree River. Dan is more informed about crocs after 24 years of observation than any academic. Lunch in the middle of the rain forest was special. We had a great sampling of local fruits and a very informative presentation about the origins of everything we were served. If value is what you are looking for, there is nothing more valuable than a FNQ Tour.
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Posted On : 2024-03-28 06:45:54

Posted By : Balancedreviewer52
My wife and I booked a private tour with James and it's not to be missed. Daintree is filled with plants and animals not seen anywhere else in the world and James was an expert in locating and pointing it out. Not only is he extremely knowledgable, he's also extremely passionate about his work, which makes the trip more fun. He loves his work and we loved exploring with him!
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Posted On : 2024-03-06 21:28:28

Posted By : rmazor
I can't recommend FNQ highly enough. What a wonderful experience!

Because FNQ did not have a tour scheduled for the dates I was planning to be in North Queensland, I ended up booking a private tour (focusing on Daintree and Atherton Tablelands, but not Mossman Gorge). I am so glad I did. Our guide, Matt, was able to give us an amazing experience, showing us animals I never thought I'd be seeing in the wild (cassowaries! platypus! tree kangaroo! saltwater crocodiles! and that was just our first day!)

Matt arranged for us to meet with local wildlife conservation specialists (such as the Tolga Bat Hospital, Tree Roo Rescue, and Wildlife and Raptor Care Queensland), and we were able to learn so much about efforts to conserve north Queensland's amazing wildlife.

Because we were a small group, Matt was able to customize the itinerary and adapt on the fly (e.g., he added a bonus night walk for us, which was fantastic).

As with any wildlife experience, it's best to approach it with an open mind and patience, because you never know what the day will give you.
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Posted On : 2023-06-22 20:16:43

Posted By : Jean R
We spent a full day with James touring the Daintree Forest. We thoroughly enjoyed the tour and particularly liked that James was flexible and adjusted the tour based on our interests.

We started by taking a boat ride on the Daintree River. It was a small private boat with a very knowledgeable guide/ captain. We saw birds and crocodiles and learned a lot about the area.

Next we went to a small cottage in the forest for lunch. The menu emphasized local foods, particularly a great selection of local fruits. They offered kangaroo, which we didn’t sample. 🥴

Finally we went into the park and explored the scenery. James was very knowledgeable about the area’s history and significance. We took a walk on a boardwalk through the forest to the beach. We were always on the lookout for wildlife and were rewarded by catching a glimpse of a cassowary through the trees. We also saw several very large spiders, but let’s not dwell on that.

We would highly recommend this tour company and its owner, our guide James.
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Posted On : 2023-04-30 13:32:01

Posted By : X8812NWdavidt
See the crocodiles "scarface" and "elizabeth in their natural habitat, informative walks in the rainforest. James is knowledgeable and personable.
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Posted On : 2022-10-29 17:33:12

Posted By : 362katelynr
We booked the private tour to celebrate our honeymoon and boy did it not disappoint! James was an incredible tour guide and we learned so much about the wildlife, rainforest and overall Queensland history. He was extremely passionate and knowledgeable and kept us engaged the entire time - we didn't want to go home, we wanted to keep searching for cassowaries! We also had the pleasure of searching for crocs with Dave & his sweet pup Doug and saw the mighty Scarface as well as many 'cute' baby crocs & wildlife. Out of our two week honeymoon traveling throughout Fiji & Australia, this was by far our favorite day!
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Posted On : 2022-10-26 10:58:35

Posted By : Colorchap
Don't think twice about this one, just do it !! These guys are so enthusiastic, professional and hell bent on giving you a good experience. I had 2 days with them, Atherton Tablelands and Tropical Wetlands. Fantastic knowledge of their surroundings and wildlife. I was there specifically for birds but got educated about all the local wildlife and got impromptu photography lessons too. Picked up at hotel, dropped off there and fed all day too! Saw everything I asked to see and a whole lot more. Have no idea how to improve on this ! Awesome. Go do it.
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Posted On : 2022-08-19 23:33:22

Posted By : Nancy_H
If you want to experience the flora and fauna of this incredible ecosystem with a guide who knows its life history intimately, book this tour now. I cannot overstate how incredible this experience was!

Matt knew so much about everything we were seeing and was able to explain it in the detail I wanted (I'm a biologist) and was also able to explain it clearly to my kids as well, which is a particular skill. He was so fantastic with the kids and was even able to get my son to smile when he was determined to do grump face for photos.

He knows how to really tell the story of the Daintree, and it's clear he is passionate about conserving it. He is an ambassador for the Southern Cassowary and although we weren't lucky enough to see one (you need to sort of plan to do an outing specifically to look for those, and we had not done that), he explained how important they are to the health of the rainforest. He is great at spotting birds and crocs, and the river cruise was absolutely amazing... four different kingfishers (Azure, Little, Forest, and Sacred) in rapid succession, plus a Papuan Frogmouth. We also spotted crabs, mudskippers(!), and of course saltwater crocs. The baby croc chilling out on the mangrove root above the water (a "dropper") was a special treat. He also spotted a Black-necked Stork for us on the way to the river cruise as well as an Osprey nest on the drive north. Matt got us up close to see golden orb-weaver spiders as well as a St. Anthony's cross spider. He showed us green tree ants (and their incredible leaf nests!).

Matt also introduced us to the wait-a-while palms, and my 8yo twins are still talking about those trees months later. It's testament to his ability to engage people of all ages and help them care about the living things around them.

Yes, this is a pricey tour. I waffled on whether to book it, but it was worth every penny, and I would not hesitate for a moment to book another with FNQ Nature Tours (in fact, I'm hoping to contract with them in the future as part of a study abroad experience for my students). My family will never forget this experience!
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Posted On : 2022-08-11 11:56:38