Our guides at FNQ Nature Tours are passionate wildlife ambassadors, we believe are at the forefront of wildlife conservation every single day. The way we observe and interact with wild animals is extremely important to us.

The welfare of the animals must always come first.

Our guides will instruct guests to move slowly and quietly around wildlife, keep a respectable distance from all wildlife, avoid surrounding the animal/s, and back off if an animal shows signs of fear or aggression.

We do not follow or chase wildlife that is attempting to escape

We use red-light torches/flashlights once a subject is located.

We avoid touching a wild animal unless the wild animals or one of our guests is in direct danger, for example, a snake sunbathing on the road, may be removed by one of our team.

None of our tours involve feeding or enticing a wild animal. The best way to observe wildlife behaving naturally is through a pair of binoculars or zoom lens!

The use of technology including bird apps with sound recordings have become a major resource for bird guides and enthusiasts all around the world. We must therefore use these supports sparingly to minimise the impact we have on native birds.

We use playback calls responsibly. Never during breeding, continuously, at high volume or in the same locations.

When spotlighting we encourage the use red light torches to avoid disturbing the birds and animals. Low beam white light torches are fine for use on the trail but not for shining at wildlife. Our guides will instruct guests to turn their torches off once a wild animal is spotted. This way our guests are free to enjoy the moment and take photographs while our guides use a red-light torch on the subject 

We stay on roads, paths, and trails wherever possible and where not possible we keep habitat disturbance to a minimum.

We keep as far back from known roosting and nesting sites as possible.

We want future generations to be able to enjoy the things we show you now.

Flash photography is sometimes necessary to photograph wildlife at night. The best way to minimise the impact of a flash is to use it sparingly. Practise beforehand is beneficial, so it takes less photos to get ‘that perfect shot’. Also, good knowledge of your camera settings under those circumstance can really help! Our guides are always willing to offer assistance when required. 

We do not condone flushing a bird or animal to get a better view or photograph.

We do not intentionally break the law or ask others to do so to see or photograph a bird or animal.

We avoid disposable plastic bags or use compostable bags where possible

We transport food in hard containers which are washed and re-used, or in paper bags which are composted or recycled.

Our vehicles are equipped with a high-quality stainless-steel water station and washable tumblers.

We discourage the use of throw-away plastic water bottles by recommending that travellers bring their own bottle which we re-fill on request. If travellers don’t have their own bottle we offer a cup which we wash and re-use.

Throughout an 8-day nature and wildlife experience, our groups will participate in many activities conducted by our affiliated partners. We stay in local accommodation and eat at local restaurants. It is our responsibility to ensure our tourism partners share the same sustainability and conservation values that we uphold. Over the years of our tour operation, we have changed suppliers and adapted our itineraries to support natural preservation and ecotourism where possible. 

FNQ Nature Tours has been successful in joining world-leading ECO Certification Australia by demonstrating best practice in sustainability and ecotourism! By achieving Ecotourism Certification, we have demonstrated that we are an exemplary operator in terms of sustainability and provision of authentic, high-quality nature-based tourism experiences.