Overview

 Highlights


  • Daintree Rainforest and Cape Tribulation exploration
  • Snorkelling on the Great Barrier Reef
  • Explore Fitzroy Islands Turtle Rehabilitation Centre
  • Indigenous cultural immersion program
  • Whitewater rafting experience
  • Food and comfort pack service preparation for the needy
  • This program is 100% carbon offset. World Expeditions Schools absorb the cost of credits mitigating 100% of the unavoidable carbon emissions as its ongoing commitment to responsible travel

This program is a stunning and engaging learning experience encompassing marine biology, biodiversity, indigenous learnings and service to the local community along with physical challenges. No other region of the world is like far North Queensland. An area that includes the Great Barrier Reef, the ancient Daintree Rainforest and Fitzroy Island.

Countries:

Start and Finishing Point:

Melbourne

Activities:

Grading:Introductory   

Addressing:


On arrival in Cairns you will be met by our experienced guide and taken to your centrally located 3* hotel only 1 block from the waterfront. Here we will have a full trip and safety briefing as we discuss all aspects of your journey. We then head to a commercial kitchen and use food that has been donated by various companies and restaurants to prepare a meal that will be served to needy people tonight. This is very hands on with the group using a commercial kitchen with the help of a local caterer and the meal is prepared for patrons from Rosies Friends on the Street or Anglicare – both of which are local charities that serve the homeless and needy. We will learn more about the people who we are creating the packs for. The students will also prepare Comfort Packs which are given out to those two organisations along with Wheels of Wellness and Queensland Health – Indigenous Health Unit. During food prep, the local staff will teach you how to make special bags using upcycled materials (which helps them save money!) You then put food and hygiene items into the bags you've made--items most needed by those living on the street.. The food packages are distributed by two local charity organisations. Overnight Cairns Queenslander Hotel

Meals:  L,D

Today is a special day! This morning after breakfast we transfer to the pristine Fitzroy Island. A fringing coral reef surrounds the island, part of the inner Great Barrier Reef, providing a sheltered home for a wide range of marine life. We join a marine naturalist for a safety briefing and background on the island and its inhabitants before we walk straight into the water to explore the reef system. After some exploration we will join a Coral watch and data collection program along with a reef restoration program, addressing climate change and coral bleaching. The data collected goes to the University of Queensland's Coral watch scientists who analyse the results. All students will receive a graph of their findings. This afternoon we visit the Cairns Turtle Rehabilitation Centre on Fitzroy Island. The CTRC is a volunteer operated, non-profit organisation dedicated to the rehabilitation of sick and injured turtles. The Great Barrier Reef is home to six of the world’s seven species of marine turtles. A number of these are seriously threatened by a diverse range of natural and, more significantly, human induced factors. We will meet some of the volunteers and see hands on the great work being done here. We return to our accommodation. Tonight we can decide where we eat as a group, tonight's dinner is at your own expense.

Meals:  B,L

This morning we pack our bags and head north from Cairns on what many people call the most scenic drive in Australia. We arrive at daintree and head to the Mosman River where we engage in a Stand Up Paddle Boarding activity. The river’s pristine wilderness and suit both first timers and experienced paddlers alike. First you are fitted with safety equipment and after a safety briefing we have a run down on paddling skills. We then spend the morning winding our way down the river, its banks cloaked in lush green rainforest. Whilst we paddle board our guide will tell us all about this special place. After we finish we join an indigenous artist in residence in the area, Binna, who teachers us how to re-create the dot paintings that are a typical aboriginal style and symbolic of Australian art. He explains the meaning behind his paintings and what this art means to his people. You will be able to take your canvas painting home with you - a perfect souvenir for your time in Far North Queensland. Binna has an extra special story to tell students: Binna has lived since early childhood being profoundly deaf, he has at many stages of life, and in business; relied more on lip reading then hearing aids. We continue our journey into the Daintree Rainforest – where we find some of the oldest continuously growing rainforest on earth. For students, this is an important area for study: this area of the country has the highest concentration of primitive flowering plant families in the world, Australia's rarest mammal (the Murina florious bat) and 13 species of birds found nowhere else on earth. Your Daintree lodge boasts two attractive swimming pools, games lounge, guest laundry, BBQ area, and a superb location in the rainforest. Students sleep four to a cabin, and the sounds of the jungle surround you. Overnight Ferntree Rainforest Lodge

Meals:  B,L,D

After a night of immersion in the rainforest, you wake to birdcalls and the chatter of the jungle. This morning after breakfast we can walk to a nearby crystal-clear rainforest swimming hole used by locals and a perfect place to cool off. We then join a fast boat to the nearby Great Barrier Reef! We visit a section of the reef on which Captain Cook famously ran aground. This is also the place where quite literally the rainforest meets the reef. With full use of our snorkel gear, you can jump right into the water to explore this magnificent reef system at Cape Tribulation. Just offshore in the turquoise sea a kaleidoscope of marine life beckons to be discovered: colourful corals, parrot and lionfish, turtles, cuttle fish, rays and giant clams. With no other boats around, this is one of the most serene reef experiences you can get. Later this afternoon we return to our accommodation at the Ferntree Lodge.

Meals:  B,L,D

Today we discover the Daintree Rainforest at Mossman Gorge, an area important to the Kuku Yalanji peoples. Beginning with a traditional smoking ceremony, we wander rainforest paths with your Aboriginal guide discovering how indigenous people found their way through dense rainforest, made shelter and learned which native plants were tasty to eat and those that served as weapons and medicine. As your guide shares his stories, you learn how the seasons dictated life, what falls under men’s and women’s “business”, how to make fire in the rainforest and how to make fish very easy to catch. We can then sample billy tea and wattle seed damper (bread) made on the fire topped with jam from rainforest berries. Next you learn some of the ways Traditional Owners have SUSTAINABLY managed both marine and terrestrial environments during a talk by a Yirrganydji ranger. He speaks about traditional use of marine resources, agreements relating to “sea country” (TUMRAs), and the significance of totems and being stewards of the Great Barrier Reef. We return to Cairns and can decide as a group where we have dinner. You may wish to visit the nearby night markets where you can buy everything from basketball jerseys to jewellery to local souvenirs. Overnight Cairns Queenslander Hotel

Meals:  B,L

Today we will embark on a physically challenging trek in the Wooroonooran National Park, with a great surprise at the end! Wooroonooran hosts some of the oldest continually surviving rainforest in the world, and the park reaches its highest diversity in the area of today's hike. We hike to the enchanting Nandroya Falls, where Douglas Creek drops in a narrow, uninterrupted, 50-metre fall into a cool tropical pool. This magical section of the park also has a special connection to the Wari and Dulgubara Aboriginal people who once lived here. Our walk is around 6kms. One of the most picturesque places in the entire Wet Tropics is the Josephine Falls! As we trek through the jungle, we can listen for the call of the king parrot and the bowerbird as we emerge at Josephine Falls, where Josephine Creek plunges down a beautiful set of cascading waterfalls. Below the falls, boulders surround a large clear swimming hole and provide us with a large natural water slide down a smooth sloping rock face. The perfect way to refresh after our trek! Overnight Cairns Queenslander Hotel

Meals:  B,L,D

Your service project today involves working together to protect waterways, ocean and reef. By stencilling messages on drains, you contribute to raising awareness of urban stormwater pollution and its impact on the local marine environment. Every hour, 1580kg of plastic waste enters Australian oceans – much of this makes its way from land through our drains and creeks. There are more than 260 drains and waterways in the Cairns Region that flow out to the Great Barrier Reef. When it rains a variety of rubbish, oils, pesticides, and fertilisers are carried down the drains and into our local creeks that flow to the ocean. This stormwater is not treated, nor sieved for items that shouldn’t be in there, like plastic. The colourful and creative designs are a pleasant way to remind the community that all rubbish drains to the ocean. This morning we have time to explore the vibrant city of Cairns and prepare for the next phase of our adventure. This afternoon we travel from Cairns to the Barron Gorge National Park where we embark on an exciting rafting experience. We will be fitted with life jackets and helmets and have a full safety briefing with our experts. We join 6 person rafts and paddle through UNESCO World Heritage rainforest, past waterfalls that tumble from the gorge. The river provides good year round flow and is graded as class 3 suiting first time rafters. Tonight we will celebrate by sharing our last dinner together in Cairns. Overnight Queenslander Hotel Cairns

Meals:  B,L,D

This morning we rise for breakfast and have the morning to explore and do any last minute shopping before we pack our gear are transfer to the airport for our flight to Melbourne.

Meals:  B


Addressing the UN Sustainable Development Goals

Quality Education:  Obtaining a quality education is the foundation to improving people’s lives and sustainable development.

Life On Land:  Sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, halt and reverse land degradation, halt biodiversity loss


Learning outcomes for students

A World Expeditions Schools adventure is a unique learning experience. Our journeys are designed to encourage thriving and positive youth development along with leaving the communities and environments where we travel in a better condition than when we arrived.
The programs are designed to enhance the following life skills that will help you grow as an individual:
• the confidence to lead a group and make decisions
• the value of working together as a cohesive team to achieve a common objective
• the ability to face mental and physical challenges
• the ability to adapt to new environments outside of their 'comfort zone'
• to appreciate and care for the natural environment. The environments we trek through are beautiful and often pristine, invariably the students will gain a deeper appreciation and understanding about how their individual actions impact on the environment
• build strong friendships and bonds with their peers and also the local peoples
• basic outdoor skills obtained on trek such as personal hygiene, pitching a tent, helping to prepare meals
Importantly our adventures help increase general well-being and build resilience in young men and women to help them deal with adverse situations in life.
CARBON NEUTRAL
World Expeditions Schools absorbs the cost of credits mitigating 100% of the unavoidable carbon emissions. This is our commitment to being part of the solution to climate crises.


Inclusions

  • Flights Melbourne to Cairns return
  • Meals as indicated in the itinerary
  • Expert experienced guides, educators and specialist instructors
  • All accommodation as listed in the itinerary
  • All transfers and transportation in private vehicles
  • 24 hour on call assistance
  • All activities and permits as listed in the itinerary
  • Supplies for all community service programs
  • Mask, fins and snorkel hire for inner and outer Great Barrier Reef trips
  • National Park and Marine Park taxes and levies

  • Bottled water or aerated drinks outside of meal time
  • Items of a personal nature such as phone calls, laundry, email etc
  • Sleeping bag (can be hired at an additional cost)
  • 2 x dinners not included
  • Travel Insurance **essential**

Grading

Introductory


Customise your program

We can fully customise a School Travel Program to suit your students' learning objectives and budget. Whether you require a Service Learning program, physical challenge, cultural immersion or certain curriculum targets - talk to one of our educational travel experts about the elements you need in your itinerary. We pride ourselves on developing unique itineraries to meet the learning requirements for schools.

World Expeditions Schools is a division of one of the world's leading adventure travel companies, World Expeditions. We can develop itineraries in any destination that is offered by World Expeditions, which is to every continent on earth.

Use our simple Expedition Design Form to contact us with your requirements and an educational travel expert will be in touch to assist.


Why travel with us

Why travel with us

Assisted over
14,000 Students Worldwide

Since the 1980's, we have helped students from around the globe to experience the world's most exciting destinations, allowing them to travel, give, grow.

400+ Service Learning
Programs

Together with students, we have completed over 400 Service Learning programs in developing countries. We will always continue to support causes including social justice, animal welfare, the environment and more.

Fully Customised
School Travel Programs

Want to include service learning, your school curriculum and a physical challenge, or any of the above? Contact us and we can design a program fully catered for your students and budget.

Safety and
Support - Our #1 Priority

Every school receives a detailed risk management plan that is guided by government advisories and the local partners we work with. We never compromise on the safety of your students to reduce the price of the program.

Testimonials


Want to find out more?

Our educational travel experts are ready to help you tailor an itinerary or service learning project to suit your school’s needs and budget. Contact us today to receive a free consultation.


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