James from FNQ Nature Tours guided me for three days in the Atherton Table Lands to find specific birds. It was a superb and spectacular experience. The guiding was enthusiastic, experienced, well planned, imaginative and very friendly. The accommodation and meals organised for me were excellent. James is not only a first-class ornithologist who knows many locations to find rare birds, but was prepared to be flexible to make changes in the itinerary as necessary. He was always thinking of how to help me and to give me a good experience. The wet tropics of northern Queensland are a fantastic ecological treasure and I could not have had a better guide to them.

We spent a few days in Cairns on a recent Australia wildlife trip and had a day with James, from FNQ Nature Tours, exploring the Atherton Tablelands. This was a wonderful day, right from being picked up at the hotel after breakfast until being dropped off there in time for supper. James is incredible - his knowledge of the flora, fauna and history of the area is unparalleled and he was entertaining and informative about everything we saw. We were able to get great views of a tree kangaroo, a platypus, flying foxes, a huge number and species of birds ....there seemed to be a better view around every corner. I would not hesitate to recommend James and his company to anyone looking to do some wildlife viewing in the Cairns area.

We had an extraordinary day experiencing everything that the Atherton Tablelands has to offer with James of FNQ Nature Tours. His deep and heartfelt knowledge and enthusiasm for nature, the birds, the animals and the geology of the region is wonderful. It was just absolutely outstanding seeing the endemic birds, animals, Cathedral Fig, the Eacham Lake and the huge fascinating bats. James went out of his way to make our experience unique and wonderful.

We had such a fabulous time and our guide James was incredibly knowledgeable, fun and tolerant of all of our questions! We did the four day nature, wildlife and conservation safari in Daintree and Atherton Tablelands. We were fortunate to meet some fantastic conservationists/rehabbers/scientists doing such important work, in addition to seeing so many wonderful Australian plants and animals including Cassowaries, pademelons, crocodiles, bats, tree kangaroo, gray kangaroo, platypus, possums and so much more! Would highly recommend! These guys know their stuff and are extremely professional and engaging.

This was an excellent excursion. James , our guide , was very personable and became a friend. His knowledge of bird song and likely habitat was a major factor in our seeing and enjoying many of the endemic species which we would not otherwise have found . He was able to work around the unseasonable rain to ensure we had an excellent experience. He is also an excellent and safe driver. Accommodation and food was enjoyable, with the dinner at the Mt Molloy Hotel very pleasurable. As well as the birdlife, this tour showed facets of this part of North Queensland which one might miss on one's own. Can be highly recommended. Paul and Glennys

The August 2023 Aus Geo/Far North Queensland Birding Tour was excellent in all respects. Our Guide James was perfect for the job and went over and above any Guide I have experienced before. It was very difficult for him as it rained most days and at time with torrential downpours. Despite this we still managed to see and photograph most of the target species. Accommodation was very good in both Lodges and the food over the 5 days was exceptional. James's photography skills were great and he was constantly helping and advising on how to get the best shots in the circumstances we found ourselves. I have one piece of constructive feedback. The (unadvertised) 6km walk at Shared Earth Reserve was too long for this group of Baby-boomers. We wasted 4 hours of good birding time here and there were very few birds found. My suggestion is to scrap this walk. I suggest still go here for breakfast as we did but then go back and focus on the entry road which was a very rich habitat for birds on the way in. Do it again on the way out and forget the walk. Overall a terrific Tour and highly recommended to any birding enthusiast interested in NQ birding and habitat experiences.

My husband and I did the four day FNQ wildlife and conservation tour. It exceeded all our expectations. We saw lots of amazing wildlife including crocodiles, cassowaries, platypus, tree kangaroos and more. A highlight was meeting a number of people who do wildlife rescue, conservation or research and hearing about what they are doing. It was a small group tour which meant there was a lot more flexibility than with larger groups and we had a very nice group of people. Our tour guide Matt was amazing, very enthusiastic, knowledgeable and flexible. I think we saw a lot more because of him. We stayed and ate at local businesses which were all excellent. We would happily go back to any of them (in fact we did go back to one cafe at Mossman after the tour on our way to our next stay). We would highly recommend this tour to anyone with an interest in our local wildlife. It's a truly beautiful area with lots to see.

Our small group 4 Day Nature Wildlife & Conservation Safari was excellent. The guides knowledge, engagement skills & flexibility were exemplary. To ensure we were not wasting any time, the guides introduced several additional activities. It was lovely to enjoy such a high level of organisation and anticipation of our interests & requirements. We were so lucky to meet local people engaged in supporting the unique wildlife. The meals far exceeded our expectations & were indicative of considerable local knowledge. Be prepared to be tired but exhilarated at the end of these 4 action packed days.

We (my husband and I) originally selected FNQ for the small-group aspect of their tours and they exceeded expectations! We booked two separate trips with them - the Daintree Afternoon & Nocturnal tour, as well as a private day of bird watching in the Tablelands. For our first day tour to the Daintree, we were picked up by Aaron and were pleasantly surprised to find it was a lucky private tour! Mind you, we fully anticipated other groups would be with us, but it was amazing to learn FNQ didn't cancel due to it only being the two of us. The weather was more wet than we expected (as it was supposed to be the dry season) and we hadn't brought our raincoats, but Aaron did a great job of keeping it interesting and upbeat. He's newer to FNQ but was super knowledgeable about plants and animals. We also were fortunate to see an adult and juvenile cassowary early into the trip eating cassowary plum (big blue fruit) which was amazing. Our second trip was a private bird watching tour with James and unfortunately he had a family emergency requiring his attention on our original date. He was super professional and quick to offer either a different tour at a discount or a full refund. He also went out of his way to connect with fellow birders to see if someone else had availability. At first, it was looking like it just wasn't in the cards for us, but we had a tiny amount of flexibility in our travel plans and James was available for a later day instead! The bird trip ended up being even better than I could have hoped for! We came in with only a couple 'target' birds but saw both of them and so so many more! James is great at birding and was super helpful for spotting and IDing throughout the day. He was very accommodating to flex based on our interests. Also, we got lucky and randomly saw an echidna as well! Overall, if your interest is getting out into nature to maximize the experience, I highly recommend going with a small group and with guides with passion for wildlife. FNQ Nature Tours checks all these boxes and more!

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.

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.

We had a full-day tour of the Daintree Rainforest with James. It was absolutely amazing! James has a staggering breadth of knowledge and an infectious enthusiasm that kept our whole family fully engaged for the full 10 hour tour. His ease with the various spiders, lizards, snakes, centipedes, birds and bugs we encountered helped us all feel calm and comfortable. This was a real highlight of our two weeks in Australia!

I would highly recommend FNQ Nature tours, and particularly James as a guide. He curated an entire day trip for us (me, my wife and 21-year old son) which included a Daintree river excursion on a solar-powered boat, lunch at a fabulous teahouse, and two hikes in the Daintree rainforest. We saw plenty of tropical birds, fruit bats and baby crocs as well as an orange legged paddymelon! James was an expert on the wet tropics flora and fauna and also provided amazing digital photographs to us with his high powered camera. In all, we had a wonderful excursion!

An outstanding day in the Atherton Tablelands rainforests and lake region. Matt and Rowen were perfect guides. Their knowledge about the rainforest wildlife and foliage was amazing. Each time a bird called Matt identified it, and he constantly had his binoculars out searching for tree kangaroos, dragon lizards, platypus and a possum unique to the area. We had mixed results, seeing several species but not all…..and clearly it was not for lack of trying. All in all a day well spent.

This was truly exceptional trip - one of the best have taken anywhere or anytime. James took us into the Tablelands, where we saw a variety of animals,including tree kangaroos, red-legged pademelons, and a variety of birds and lizards. He identified bird songs, and even helped with visual identification - a challenge with the thick canope. The scenery was wonderful as well, including a beautiful blue-green lake with turtles and a variety of interesting fish. A day very well spent!