Babinda Kayaking

Babinda Boulders isn’t dog friendly which is so sad. However there is still a lot of fun to be had in Babinda with your dog!

Babinda Kayaking is an amazing, fun and relaxing experience that you can do together with your dog.

The great thing about Babinda Kayaking is that the river is very easy going (no crazy streams!) and it doesn’t take too much effort to do this self guided trip. It therefore makes it the perfect outdoor activity to do together with your dog – if your fur friend likes water that is, because you will get wet 😉

From Cairns it’s about 1 hour and 15 mins to Babinda Kayaking. When leaving from Cairns, drive into the direction of Innisfail as there is minimal signage that navigates to Babinda.

If you have the time we would recommend to drive by the Babinda Bakery. It’s a quick stop as they are located close to the highway and they have a wide variety of amazing sausage rolls, beef pies and a great selection of sweets. Otherwise, just continue on the Bruce Highway and keep driving in the direction of Innisfail.

Once you pass the bridge in Babinda you will see a sign saying “Babinda Kayaking”. Take the first right after the Babinda bridge onto Stager Road. After a few minutes you will see a Kayaking hanging between the trees with “Babinda Kayaking” written on it – you have arrived!

Once checked in you’re able to grab a life-vest and will receive some instructions as to where to go and where you will be picked up. After this, you are ready to go and off to a great adventurous day!

When we were there, the water was crystal clear and it was just an absolutely stunning day for a Kayaking trip. If your dog loves to swim, he is going to have such a great time swimming around in the clear and refreshing river.

You can choose between a single kayak (which fits a dog), a double kayak and a SUP (stand up paddleboard).

You can check out their prices on the Babinda Kayaking website.

The great thing about this tour is that you can do this at your own pace! It is a 9KM paddle to the pickup location which can take you between 2 to 5 hours.
During the day you will notice that the scenery is constantly changing which is really cool.
There are a few mini rapids where the level of the creek drops a bit which makes for some excitement. There are also various logs and other objects that you will have to navigate around.

The water in the creek is crystal clear and on most spots you will be able to stand up. You will however have to be careful as there are stone fish present in these waters so make sure not to stand in areas where you cannot see the sandy bottom. If you are lucky you might even see a Platypus!

When we were doing this tour we made a few stops on the many sandy beaches to rest or have some snacks and enjoy the amazing views. If you are taking your dog on this self guided tour you will notice that these beaches come in handy as your dog might want to get off the kayak for a little play, swim or explore.

Once you reach the pick-up point which is at the Babinda Rotary Park Campground, you can call the owner of Babinda Kayaking and someone will come and pick you up.

When you do this tour with your dog, one of the owners will have to stay with he dog at the Rotary Park Campground as they don’t have the facilities to transport dogs in their shuttle. It is only a few minutes drive, so no biggie there.

We got some ice cream when getting into the shuttle bus, which was amazing after a long day on the water!

We highly recommend doing this kayaking tour with your dog if you’re looking for an outdoor activity that’s not too intense. You can bring the whole family as it really makes for a great day out!

You might be interested in this post:

Have you already read our blog post about Tropical Woopen Creek Camping? This is a great place to stay while you go kayaking.