Cairns Explorer

Welcome to the city where rainforests meet reefs, lagoons meet luxury hotels and boardshorts and business suits live side by side. We'll enjoy an included interactive Bush Tucker tutorial and dinner at Ochre restaurant. An experienced chef will guide us through a history of Bush Tucker as you sample a variety of native spices and fruits, explaining their tastes, origins, and traditional uses before we enjoy our dinner, which features native game. It's in an incredible cultural feast, and the perfect way to start our adventure in Cairns. (D) Stay: Gilligan's Backpackers

Rise and shine, today is day packed with history, heritage and natural beauty, as we take a day trip to the oldest tropical rainforest in the world: Daintree. With its ancient ferns and vibrant canopies, this place will take our breath away. There's a reason David Attenborough called it 'the most extraordinary place on earth.' As well as admiring the lush rainforest, we'll also meet the local Kuku Yalanji people and learn about their rich Aboriginal culture and history. We'll get the chance to view a smoking ceremony and take an art class with an Aboriginal artist. We'll also learn about ancient Dreamtime stories, local history and how these ideas shared through art. Then, we'll get to create our own unique souvenir to take home in the form of a canvas that tells our own stories. What a day; and we're not done yet. (B/L)

We'll board a catamaran out to the reef with options to snorkel or dive in the crystal waters and gaze at the colourful coral and even more vibrant marine life. Back on board, the expert marine crew will tell us all there is to know about this stunning, but vulnerable, natural miracle. (B/L)

Our adventure ends this afternoon, but not before we have a chance to escape our comfort zones and try some of the adventurous activities that Cairns is famous for. Anyone for bungy jumping? (B)