mareeba tropical savannah and wetland reserve

Well worth the time to visit if you love mangoes, really nice wines, ports and liquers - made from tropical fruits.

The short walk around the lagoon in front of the reception area / gift shop / restaurant is easy and flat (though muddy, if it has rained recently) but offers little of interest. There's an unusual giant stainless steel lizard sculpture on the left of the path that's rather out of place in the nature reserve. Not many animals; just a few birds, insects, and termite nests. The 30-minute "nature eco cruise" was pleasant enough but unremarkable, with minimal commentary. FYI - The wetland reserve is man-made, not naturally occurring.

We approached Greg and Marg to celebrate a birthday at the reserve by picnicing and then doing their boat and safari tour at sunset on a Monday. It was off-season and in the first week of January but that was seemingly no trouble for our hosts, who were welcoming, warm and friendly. As were the frillneck lizards, emus, plentiful birds and the roos. This kind of country is bush Australia and beautiful and the reserve itself is stunning and worth a trip out to see. We saw lots - swans, jabirus, cormorants and much more and were armed with binoculars that were provided to us. Mostly, for busy people like us, it was a chance to stop and be at peace and to take it all in. Marg made us a beautiful dip platter and offered yum wines as we watched the sunset over the lake at the end of our day. We did not stay the night but our experience was authentic and we would not hesitate to. Do not expect five stars accommodation - it's remote and quiet and beautiful and bursting with birds. That was enough for us. The property runs cattle and Australian Stock Horses and the lakes are manmade in the mid-90s, something I was not aware of. Barra and lots of other wildlife has taken advantage of this great spot, you should too.

Despite the fact that the reserve is advertised as being open from April to December inclusive it was closed when we tried to visit on December 22nd. A 40 km drive wasted so advise checking before trying to visit.

We enjoyed the wonderful stay in Mareeba Reserve wit our two children (3 and 4 years old). The restaurant was Beautifull, so was the sunset. The owners, Greg and Margreth were very helpfull with the children. The Safaritent was excellent! IT was a great experience tot sleep in a tent there with all the sounds of the savanne at night.Thank you for a warm welcome and a wonderful stay!Bart, Eeke, Diede and Brune.

We are bird watchers so this lovely place was on our list as one of the places we wanted to visit. It was a roasting hot day and the surrounding area is parched dry. We birded the 7 kilometres down to the centre and saw some really good birds. One of the birds that we really wanted to see was Goulian Finch. This bird is scarce and this centre have been involved with a project to help to protect it and help increase it's numbers. We enjoyed both hot and cold drinks and muffins and cookies. Black Swans were on the water along with a few other species. Lovely place to visit and the Emus are great entertainment so long as you keep your distance.

We visited this centre and were very impressed by both the wetlands and the work that they are doing there with some very attractive finches and reintroducing them back into the wild.The building is very attractive with a massive verandah looking out over the wetlands. They serve very nice food there. I think it is possible to stay there. They have boat trips out over the lake. We saw some beautiful horses on the way into the property and there were some emus out the back near the car park.If birds are your thing then you will love it!

We arrived soon after lunch, as recommended by friendly email correspondence, in good time to settle in before the evening safari. The next day, we took the "early bird" safari option, before being guided to a great day in the Atherton Highlands, before returning for our second excellent dinner. Accommodation was comfortable, and walking back by torchlight with a chorus of wildlife was most romantic!We saw some wonderful wild life, and had great personalised attention. We were really sorry to have to leave. Grateful thanks to Greg and Margaret for giving us a memorable experience.

Wonderful overnight experience in the wetlands - tents and bed comfortable (glamping, not camping!) Food great and the safari through the wetlands and around the lagoons was a wonderful experience.

Spent 3 nights there. Welcoming and gracious hosts. Great fellow travellers. We were only Australians staying there. We saw birds and wildlife on our trips and walks. The water is superb at sunrise and sunset. I feel that it is best to stay there to take full advantage, Birds and wildlife don't turn up on cue. For that you go to Zoos and bird parks.

We arrived at the wetlands at 4.15 only to discover they shut at 4.30. We decided to go in anyway in the hope that we might see some birds returning before dusk, in hindsight that was probably the best decision we made on our whole holiday. We were met by Linda who despite being due to go home, offered to take us round the lake provided we agreed to look after Armani her 7 week old kangaroo while she was steering the boat. To help make the trip more comfortable she provided us with drinks and I can assure you that bird watching and wine drinking is the way forward !We saw a whole load of different birds and we eventually returned to the lodge after about an hour. We were then offered more drinks and invited to join the resident guests for an evening meal, a buffet with plenty of food and stacks of choice. During the meal we were joined by some Wallaby's and treated to a host of birds arriving to spend the night at the lake. We also had the added treat of seeing a quoll up close when he paid a visit to the dining room just as we were about to eat our desserts. Finally when all the eating and drinking was finished we retired out back to sit at the bonfire and look up at probably the best view of the Milky way I've ever seen.An absolutely wonderful day, nice people, plenty of wildlife and a cracking location, if I ever go back I'll make sure we book one of their lodges and stay on site.

We wanted very much to see the wetlands but got all the way to the gate to be confronted with a sign Dogs Prohibited They could have at least mentioned that at the first signage to the wetlands We drove approx 14klm for nothing!

If you like wine then this is the place to visit, Sam and the family are very friendly and helpful, the wine is so good . We have visited for the last two years and are made feel very welcome.I was surprised that I could't find this place on tripadvisor so I have added it.When you get there mention you saw this recomendation from " the bogged Juicy driver "

Advertised as a bird sanctuary. Cannot be accessed until 8 30am so most bird life has retired for the day. The best area has no viewing possibilities, closest to water 50 meters.The walk is basic with minimal interest.Coffee in the cafe only positive.

We only gave it a Three Star rating because on the time of year and the birds which we came to see were not there.We did the Clancy Lagoon walk which is pleasant and easy walking,track is easily identified and not difficult.The reception were so helpful and friendly the cost is $10 per head and you can entertain yourself quite easily and make a day out of the whole experience even if you are not a twitcher.Time of year and time of day should be considered before going there with high hope.