Lunch Included, Port Douglas Pickup

The half-day Hook-A-Barra option for Port Douglas visitors: four hours with farm tour, pond fishing for barramundi, and lunch included. Pickup is from Port Douglas, and the listing states no Cairns pickup, so plan your own transport north if based there.

Overview

This tour puts you on the banks of stocked earthen ponds in the Daintree with one goal: hooking a barramundi without ever stepping on a boat. Run by Hook-A-Barra, a farm entirely devoted to the species, it packs a farm tour, viewing tanks, an hour of catch and release fishing, lunch and fish feeding into roughly four hours. The fish run big, some past the one metre mark, and even the farm raised ones fight hard, jumping and thrashing once hooked.

The day is built around the ponds. Hotel pickup in Port Douglas comes first, and once at the farm the visit covers a farm tour, the viewing tanks home to rare albino, speckled and gold barramundi, and rod time around the ponds with crew on hand to coach beginners through the fight. Lunch on the farm's own produce is part of the package, along with fish feeding. Mangrove jacks share the ponds too, so the catch is not guaranteed to be barra only in spirit, though barra are the headliners.

It suits an unusually wide spread of ages. Reviewers have described groups ranging from small children to people in their seventies, and one reported that even teenage boys ended up enjoying it. Anyone who wants a taste of Australian fishing without a full day on the water will fit right in.

What's Included

Itinerary

1. Port Douglas hotel pickupThe guide collects guests from Port Douglas hotels and drives them toward the Daintree farm.
2. Farm tour and viewing tanksA guided farm tour, plus access to the viewing tanks, home to rare albino, speckled and gold barramundi.
3. Pond activities and lunchThe inclusions for the day are one hour of catch and release fishing around the earthen ponds, guided help, fish feeding, and lunch featuring paddock to plate produce from the award winning farm. The exact running order is set on the day.
4. Return transferDrop off back at Port Douglas hotels closes out the four hour experience.

What To Expect From The Tour

A few practical points will help you get the most out of the ponds.

• What to wear. The listing advises weather appropriate clothing, since the fishing happens outdoors around open earthen ponds.
• No experience needed. The crew lends a hand around the ponds and the operator pitches the tour at anyone from age five to ninety five. Reviewers often describe the guides as friendly, helpful and knowledgeable, and praise the tips they share for hooking barra.
• Pace and fitness. Everything is land based, with covered tables and seating at the facility. One reviewer described a group ranging from four years old to seventy five, with the youngest helping reel in a fish.
• Food and drink. Lunch is included and comes from the farm's own paddock to plate produce. Multiple reviewers singled the meal out as a highlight, calling it delicious and really good.
• Photos and bragging. There is a brag board to beat, with fish over one metre in the ponds. Several travellers described reeling in multiple barra in a single session.

Common issues. The fishing portion itself is one hour within the four hour tour, so anyone expecting a half day on the water may find it shorter than imagined. Catch and release means no fish to take home, though lunch covers the tasting side. Pickup covers Port Douglas hotels only, with no Cairns transfer offered on this listing, so Cairns based travellers need to make their own way. Cancellations must be made at least 24 hours in advance for a full refund.

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