Wildside Adventures

The Tully River carves through World Heritage rainforest on Queensland's Cassowary Coast, fed by a catchment that records some of the highest rainfall in the country and keeps the rapids running reliably through the year. Wildside Adventures, a family-owned operation out of Mission Beach, guides both classic eight-person river rafts and smaller sports rafts where guests paddle and steer their own boat alongside a guide, through Grade 2–3 water. The company also runs Echo Creek Adventure Centre, a 240-acre property in the Tully Valley bordering the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area, and pairs rafting with snorkelling trips out to Dunk Island for visitors wanting to see the reef the same day. Local guides, several with decades on the river, lead every trip, and transfers run from Mission Beach for both morning and afternoon sessions. Children from age six can raft with an accompanying adult. It's one of the last independently run rafting outfits on a river now dominated by larger tour groups.