Morning Tours run daily 8:30-10:30 am.  Afternoon tours are available on request.

Night Walk Tours 6.30 – 8.30 pm Wednesdays. Other Nights are available on request.

Special Night Walks in the School Holidays are 6.30 – 8.30 pm.

For Let’s Go Buggin Tours (Morning and Night Walks) For Shroomin Tours… scroll down for the location details.

Please come to the Cairns Botanic Gardens and we will meet at the main entrance on Collins Ave.  There are some seats in a covered entrance.  Please wait here and I will meet you and finalise any last-minute details.  There are toilets behind the cafe about 50 metres inside the gardens.  NIGHT WALKS PLEASE NOTE:  No access to garden toilets for the night walk.

For Let’s Go Shroomin Tour

Please come to the Nature Playground, Centennial Lakes, Greenslopes Street, Edgehill.  There are toilets nearby.  please wait here and I will collect your payment if you do not have a booking and we will conduct a short safety briefing before we start.

I strongly suggest closed shoes, with light long sleeves and long pants.  Wearing this will allow you to avoid using any or excess repellent for mosquitoes and sandfly (midges and no-see-ums) bites which may affect your chances of getting that closeup shot of a critter. During the wet season however, it is advisable to wear repellent on any exposed skin.  Also please consider wearing sunscreen and a hat.

Suggested items to bring include…

ALL WALKS:  Your choice of camera, your prescription eyewear. During the wet season, camera protection is recommended, and you may like to bring a poncho or light raincoat in case of a short shower.    If you don’t have a camera, perhaps you would like to Hire one?  See Camera Hire.

BUGGIN MORNING WALKS:  Sunscreen, hat, sunglasses. Most areas are shady however, there are a few sunny spots as well.

NIGHT WALKS: Torches are needed for Night Walks.  The light on your mobile phone will not be bright enough to give any decent visibility in the rainforest.  Feel free to bring your own, or I have some simple head torches to use free of charge.

SHROOMIN WALKS:  If you like to get onto the ground to take pics of mushrooms (recommended for the best angles), then I suggest a towel or pants that you don’t mind getting dirty.  Knee pads for the serious mushroom photographer.  I highly recommend light, long sleeve shirts and pants for this walk to avoid mosquito and midgee bites.

Welcome to the Tropics!  During the wet season (November – March) we can expect rain to be a regular event in Cairns.  Sometimes it’s monsoonal, occasionally cyclonic, sometimes it’s a passing shower or it could be light drizzle all day.

Please keep in mind that the weather apps will usually have ‘Raining’ as their preview for the daily weather.  In reality, this may be for 1-5 minute downfall during the day at any time.

In the event that rain is likely on the day of your tour, a confirmation Text message will be sent out the day before with a contingency plan if we need to cancel.

Please come prepared for rain.  An umbrella, camera cover, poncho?  This is up to you.

Customers may cancel the booking outside of 24hours before (prior to 8.30am), and request a full refund OR change the date.  Cancellation within 24 hours of tour the customer will forfeit 100%.

Aussie Macro Photos reserves the right to be discretionary with the tour ‘Go Ahead’.  Decisions will be based on the likelihood of the weather disrupting the tour.

There is plenty of on-street parking around the Cairns Botanic Gardens.

There is a bus stop at the main entrance on Collins Ave (Buggin Morning & Night Walks) and also on Greenslopes st (Shroomin Walks). Plan your journey here: 

If you would like to pre-arrange an Uber or Taxi, I have a regular driver who we can book in advance.  Please contact me if you would like to book an Uber or Taxi.

Minimum age of 8 please. All children under 16 must be accompanied by an adult.

MORNING WALKS: I have specific locations to see Cairns Birdwing Caterpillars, Four O’Clock moth caterpillars, Dwarf Eastern Tree Frogs, Orange Tortoise Beetles and many other animals which have a regular host plant that they live on. As we are in a natural environment, there are no guarantees of seeing a specific creature. Most animals in the insect kingdom will move from plant to plant so they can be spotted anywhere.  Rest assured I have excellent bug-spotting eyes and will see things most people won’t notice.

NIGHT WALKS:  There is a number of nocturnal insects and spiders that can be seen all year round for example, Crickets and Katydids, Huntsman spiders and Net Casting spiders.  Flying Foxes and Microbats are also seen all year round.  Frogs can be seen all year round, but we see MANY during the wet season.   Papuan Frogmouth Birds, Striped Possums, Giant White-tailed Rats, Bandicoots are seen regularly.  Occasional encounters with Pythons, Echidnas, Pademelons.

MUSHROOM PHOTOGRAPHY WALKS: Stinkhorn Mushrooms (Phallus species),  Ganoderma species, Fairy Inkcaps, Mycena species, Gymnopus Species, Yellow Jelly Fungi, Boletus species, Earth Stars, Marasmius species, Birds Nest Fungi, and various slime moulds.

Whilst you can walk around the Cairns Botanic Gardens for free, my tour will give you the opportunity to see the smallest beautiful animals that live in the gardens. I have spent over 1000 hours scouting the gardens to find these creatures, many of which will go completely unnoticed by people. I have learned the host plants and behaviours of many animals so I can provide you a fast-tracked way of seeing them and photographing them in their natural habitat.

There is something to see all year round with changes in specific animals throughout the year. For example, Four O’clock Moth Caterpillars are seen mostly in the dry season and rarely seen the rest of the year. The fungi and mushroom species are only seen during the wet season.  I adjust the tour route accordingly to maximise the wildlife encounters.

I promote the ‘Take only photos, leave only footprints’ philosophy, and do not condone the touching of any animals or the removal of any plant matter, including leaves and twigs. As long as you stick to these rules there should be no risk of animals biting you.

If you have a known allergy to insects or bees, please advise me at time of booking and I may decide to alter the itinerary to better suit you.  Please take responsibility for your own allergies and carry any necessary medicines relevant to your allergy. Ie: Epipen.

Not necessarily.   You can capture great images using a smartphone, a simple compact camera or a zoom lens.  Having said that, a macro camera setup is an extremely rewarding and fun style of photography.  I have a range of Olympus Cameras available for hire if you would like to try.  See Camera Hire. 

To get the most out of the tour, please bring your most suitable camera equipment.   It could be your mobile phone, a compact camera or a DSLR.   I highly recommend bringing a flash.  Even though it is during the day, we are getting in very close to subjects and a lot of the time they are in the shade and a flash will help bring out the detail.  Please contact me if you require more information.  Camera Hire is available.  Visit Camera Hire.

No camera? No Problem. There are 3 options available for camera hire, Beginner (Option 1), Intermediate (Option 2) and Advanced (Option 3).  Please visit Camera Hire for more information and to reserve.  Please come 20 minutes prior for your tutorial and a quick practice before we head off on the tour.

Night Walks offer an exciting alternative to see animals that we don’t normally see during the day.   We see many nocturnal insects, spiders and frogs.  If you want to take photos, I recommend buddying up with someone to help you take photographs.  One person shines the torch while the other takes the photograph, and then swap.   Feel free to bring your own torch, or I have some head torches available free of charge.   To read more about Night Walks please visit Night Walks. 

If you are interested in a group booking please email me details about your group to info@aussiemacrophotos.com

While most of the gardens is wheelchair accessible, some areas are not. However, I can adapt the walking route to be wheelchair accessible. Please advise at time of booking.

Macro photography is close-up photography of small subjects, including things like bugs and flowers.  By the original definition, a macro photograph is one in which the size of the subject appears life-size or greater.   More information can be found with a simple google search.

To secure your preferred date and time, advance bookings are highly recommended.

If you are booking directly with Aussie Macro Photos, you are welcome to amend your booking (date of tour, tour type etc.) at any time prior to 24 hours before the commencement of your tour without penalty*.  Please email info@aussiemacrophotos.com with your request.

Changes to your booking within 12 hours of the tour commencement may incur an amendment fee.

Please note that any changes are subject to availability and any additional experiences/upgrades added to your itinerary will require additional payment.  A cancellation fee of 100% may be charged for bookings or any tour components (including transfers and camera hire) canceled within 24 hours of your tour date.

Credits for tours may be offered at the discretion of the operator and must be used within 12 Months.

*Cancellation fees apply to All Tours, including Special Tours. Bookings canceled within 24 hours of travel are subject to 100% cancellation at Aussie Macro Photos discretion.

Please contact our friendly reservations team to amend your booking.  info@aussiemacrophotos.com