Top Things to do in North Queensland
10 Nature & Wildlife Areas in North Queensland That You Shouldn't Miss
Discover the best top things to do in North Queensland, Australia including Daintree Rainforest - Cooper Creek Wilderness, Australian Butterfly Sanctuary, Wildlife Habitat Port Douglas, BatReach, Atherton Tablelands, Birdworld Kuranda, Atherton Tablelands, Michaelmas Cay, Mount Bartle Frere, Djiru National Park.
Restaurants in North Queensland
1. Daintree Rainforest - Cooper Creek Wilderness
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 497 reviews
2 or 4-hour Guided And Interpreted Walking Tours Through The Centrepiece Of The Oldest Rainforest In The World.
Reviewed By Finnaus75 - Sydney, Australia
Our guided walk with Neil was fantastic - such great knowledge and expertise. Couldn't recommend doing the guided walk with him more.
2. Australian Butterfly Sanctuary
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 1,329 reviews
The largest butterfly flight aviary and exhibit in Australia - an all weather experience in the heart of the Kuranda village. Home to over 1500 magnificent butterflies, youll be enchanted by the arial dynamics of these elusive wonders of nature as you wonder through the aviary's rainforest gardens.
Reviewed By jesseyf2015 - Paris, France
Incredible, if you’ve never been to a butterfly sanctuary you need to go! They have many different kinds of butterflies flying freely which is amazing to be amongst and watch them dance around the air around you. It’s a really pretty garden too!
3. Wildlife Habitat Port Douglas
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 3,076 reviews
Situated at Port Douglas, Queensland, the award winning Wildlife Habitat is a leader in eco-tourism and conservation. This immersion wildlife exhibit has five distinct Habitats - Woodlands, Wetlands, Rainforest, Savannah and Nocturnal, which are set over 8 acres of land to provide an interactive, and educational native wildlife experience. Meet an abundance of Australian animals including koalas, emus and the endangered Lumholtz's Tree Kangaroo and Southern Cassowary. Hand-feed wallabies and kangaroos and cuddle a koala. Enjoy Breakfast With The Birds or Lunch With The Lorikeets and enjoy a sumptuous buffet meal and meet some feathered friends.
Reviewed By Dcarno
Fantastic experience, great customer service and quite a range of Australian animals, with superb facilities.
4. BatReach
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 46 reviews
Fruit bat rehabilitation center
Reviewed By Dotticow - Adelaide, Australia
Second visit for us from South Australia and the reason we chose to stay in Kuranda for last couple of nights of our QLD trip. Always a pleasure to hear from Pam and see some of the rescues. Iain also was able to give some interesting facts and give us an unforgettable experience with the bats. They are not currently routinely open and rely on donations so it was lucky and a pleasure to visit briefly. The bats and wildlife rescues come first as they should and are not exploited or hurt in any way. Some of the long term residents that could not be released are used at times to provide education but never for long and not causing discomfort. As a someone who did wildlife rescue for few years I admire Pam's energy and dedication. I don't visit zoos or agree with animals in captivity. I like that Pam's focus remains on rescue,rehab and release. It's refreshing!
5. Atherton Tablelands
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 58 reviews
Reviewed By O3091NYstevea - Brisbane, Australia
Stunning scenery and very relaxed people. A vehicle is the only way to explore the area at your pace,
6. Birdworld Kuranda
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 759 reviews
Home to the largest single collection of free flying birds in Australia (some 500 of them!), Birdworld Kuranda in the Australian highlands of the Atherton Tablelands displays no less than 75 species of the most spectacular birds from all corners of the planet - as well as from the earth’s fast diminishing rainforests.Visitors are free to wander through the lush, tropically landscaped bird sanctuary to observe the birds in their own specific - yet natural - habitats. Two lakes connected by a tumbling waterfall for example are home to waterbirds such as stilts, herons and Australia’s own unique Black Swan. In Birdworld's rainforest canopy overhead, blue, gold and scarlet Macaws dazzle with colourful brilliance as they soar above the tree tops. One outstanding Birdworld denizen not to be missed is that rare avian giant, the Cassowary - an Australian bird now officially enlisted as endangered.Designed to "create a centre where birds would be showcased in their natural environment without the barriers of cages coming between them and their admiring public", Birdworld Kuranda is a photographer's paradise. (And without those barriers, visitors often find a feathered friend nestling on their shoulder - a golden photo opportunity!) Birdworld Kuranda can provide guided tours for all group bookings.
Reviewed By bmccl22 - Daintree, Australia
I was visiting Kuranda for work and decided to stop in and say hello to some feathered friends at Birdworld while I was there. I was quite impressed with the variety of species they have. At first the area seems small, but because it is a free flying aviary, I found I had to do about 2-3 loops around the track to see all the different birds. The experience is very interactive, they have several Parrots and Macaws who won’t hesitate to fly over and sit on your shoulder or arm. I would recommend being careful what jewellery or accessories you have on as birds do love shiny things and Tango, one of the younger Macaws, spent a lot of time eyeing off my earrings (though I wasn’t upset because he did a great job posing for me in the process). Overall I found this a much better way to view bird life than seeing them in small cages at a standard zoo, though I would not recommend it to people who aren’t comfortable being up close and personal with animals.
7. Atherton Tablelands
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 654 reviews
Reviewed By D6035PRkathyd
This was a really enjoyable area to explore by car at a leisurely pace. We did not get as far as we hoped, but thoroghly enjoyed Crater Lakes National Park (including the tea house on Lake Barrine), Yungaburra's walk along Peterson Train in search of a platypus sighting, Emerald Creek Ice Cream and the Cathedral Fig Tree.
8. Michaelmas Cay
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 639 reviews
Reviewed By UrsulaHans - St. Gallen, Switzerland
A great sandy island - inhabited by thousands of bird... A good spot to go snorkeling - even though the water is very shallow. One can still see a few fish, some corals, turtles - but it is not the reef of 30 years ago...
9. Mount Bartle Frere
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 10 reviews
Reviewed By RALennox
Came across wild pigs, flocks of parakeets and leeches which dropped from the trees , absolutely loved this challenge to the summit and back in 7 hrs. This was 26 years ago - 1993
10. Djiru National Park
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 19 reviews
Reviewed By joniquelife - Australia, null
We hired some bikes together for the afternoon to go do a bike trail at the back of mission beach, the Musgravea Track which is approx 5kms from one end to the other ???? Ended up covering about 20kms on the bike in total by the time you ride from the bike hire location up the hill to the start of the trail and return ⛰ The trail was corrugated and very bumpy with a couple of bridge crossings but overall not too difficult! Well worth it, great afternoon out! “Jonique Life” Follow our journey around Australia on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube as we highlight wonderful experiences and magical places you can add to your ever growing bucket list.
