Today was our last full day in Cairns and we planned to make the absolute most of it! We had booked in a full day “foodie tour” with Brett's outback tasting adventures and were under strict instructions to not have breakfast and come hungry!
We were picked up about 7.30 am and driven to our first stop, which was about an hour away. We were served a delicious two-course breakfast at a private property with an incredible view. After buying some of the delicious jam, relish and treats that they stocked we loaded ourselves into the van and headed to our next stop.
Our next stop was at a place called Rainforest Bounty for delicious rainforest inspired products served to us with cheese and wine. The property itself was stunning and were seated beside a beautiful creek where we were served our tasting boards. The guide explained each combination we were trying and what ingredients were involved. We made some more purchases of jam and curry sauce and jumped back in the van. The seven of us had managed to polish off four bottles of wine in about 45 minutes, so everyone got a lot more chatty and friendly at this point in the tour.
Our lunch stop was at Platypus Park, which was an awesome surprise. The guide led us down to the platypus pond and told us if we were quiet and lucky we might see some platypus. It only took about a minute to spot the first one swimming around. After this, we saw about five more in the space of 20 minutes. They were much smaller than I had imagined them to be but very cute!
As we headed back up to the cafe, our lunch was being served. We had a tasting plate of Australian foods such that included Crocodile and Chorizo sausage rolls, Kangaroo skewers and Moreton Bay bugs. This was served with locally made fruit wines and beers. Again, the seven of us polished off several bottles of wine with our lunch and everyone was having a wonderful time.
With full tummies, we loaded back into the van to head to Gallo dairyland to try their delicious chocolates. Everyone spent A LOT of money here stocking up on their delicious treats. There were also some farm animals here that you could pat (well I am not sure if you are meant to but I did anyway).
Our next stop was at Humpy nut world to try a number of local nuts. This is a little bush grocery store, so there were actually quite a few local items here (not just nuts). Again, we spent quite a bit of money getting some delicious nuts (the honey roasted macadamias were the winner in my book).
We were coming close to the end of the day, but we still had a couple of stops left. The Mt Uncle distillery was next on the agenda and we we each given a tasting of our choice from their range of products. I went home with a bottle of their “Sexy Cat Marshmellow liqueur” and Noel got a bottle of their coffee liqueur. Super yummy stuff!!
Our final stop was at Kur-cow Barnwell farm for scones and tea or coffee out on their deck. The farm was beautiful and I would have liked to spend more time here.
Our guide told us that only about 20% of the tourists that visit Cairns get away from the coast and visit the Atherton Tablelands, which is such a shame because it is absolutely beautiful and full of great places to visit. If you are planning a visit to Cairns this tour is a great way to pack lots of great places into one day.
You might have thought that we had eaten enough for one day but we had some friends arrive in Cairns that day and they invited us for dinner at Salt house. Since it was the last night of the trip we thought why the hell not and had a delicious dinner with them.
I didn't take many pictures of the food because I was too busy enjoying it!! oops!!
Links to what we did:
Full day foodie tour - https://www.cairnsfoodwinetours.com.au/
Salt House restaurant - https://salthouse.com.au/
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