With our Cape York trip now behind us but not forgotten, we head to the Atherton Tablelands, inland from Cairns. We spend a few days at the small caravan park at Milla Milla and begin to explore the area. We are still having mixed weather with rain and being of a higher altitude it’s cooler overnight than we had expected.
We first went to the visitor centre at Malanda to see what was around the area. We were very impressed with this centre as not only were the staff helpful but there were also some very interesting information boards and displays to study.
We drove around the area, checking out the small towns, the waterfalls and lookouts and also the Mamu Rainforest Canopy Walk. In Atherton we went into the Crystal Cave, saw some amazing crystals and watched a young lady pay her money to crack open her own crystal. We then went up to the lookout for lunch and then on to the cheese and chocolate factory.
We spent a day at the Herberton Heritage Village and enjoyed a really interesting few hours where we were immersed in the local history. We took the train journey from the village into the old railway station where dedicated volunteers were refurbishing old trains, carriages and tracks. We also did something which for us was very extravagant. There was a wood turner at the village and we watched him put the finishing touches to a bowl he was making.This bowl was made of Avocado wood and Lyle told us the story behind the wood.
Back in 1915 four avocado trees were planted at Evelyn, near Herberton, for four young men who didn’t return from the war. Then in 2020 the trees were chopped down and the wood left to season before Lyle started working on it. We loved the bowl, the story behind it and the fact that we saw the bowl being finished while we were there so $150 later the bowl was ours.
Our entry fee into the Herberton Village entitled us free reentry within 3 days so after a rest day the next day we then returned as we wanted to see the blacksmith at work who had not been there on our first visit. We watched this guy make a wrought iron hook for lifting cooking pots from camp fires. The hook was decorated with a bulls head and it was interesting to watch it being made. Our purchase this time was not as expensive, only $65.
After leaving the village for our second visit we stopped in Herberton itself. A typical small country town, quite hilly and with high curbs on the roadside in the Main Street. We then visited the Tin Museum in town and were treated to the grand tour by Neil. An Irishman who has been in Australia for I think 48 years and he still has the thick Irish accent. Neil told us things of interest and showed us some of the working models that he had made or had a big part in making. Well done Neil, you have every right to be proud of your efforts!
By now we are at the caravan park at Yungaburra, a beautiful spot near the banks of Lake Tinnaroo. Yungaburra is a pretty little village and it was here that we really saw our first platypus. We’ve only seen one once before in the wild but it was a long time ago and so far away that a good imagination was needed. This one was right below us as we stood on the old suspension bridge. He was swimming around for a long time and it was great to get such a good view. We visited the Op Shop in Yungaburra and coming out, I was recognised by a lady from Tweed Heads. She knew me from going into the Lifeline Op Shop in Tweed where she volunteers. We all talked for a while and I left her with the information about our Cape York trip which is something she would love to do, and promises to see each other later in the year at Tweed Lifeline.
There are many beautiful lakes and walks in this area and we have walked around both Lake Barrine and Lake Eacham. We drove around the very large Lake Tinnaroo, stopping off to see the majestic Cathedral Fig. This tree is believed to be about 500 years old and started life as a small seed no bigger than a sesame seed. (Note how small Chris looks in the photo) We also called into a couple of the many camping areas around the lake. All beautiful spots and popular with campers. We visited the Nerida Tea Plantation but were disappointed that there was no tour that day. We did wander around the gardens though, searching the trees for the elusive tree kangaroos that live in the area but with no luck.
From Yungaburra we moved onto “Ringer’s Rest” a bush camp just out of Mareeba which is run by Dave a old “bushy” and a real character. We stayed out in the open paddock along with other travellers and the horses that roamed around us. Each morning we watched the hot air balloons as they flew overhead. On the Saturday we drove to Karanda as we had arranged to meet our friends, Claire and Matt and their kids Lily and Liam. We haven’t seen them since June last year as they have moved from the Gold Coast up to Cairns. We enjoyed a nice Vietnamese lunch while catching up on each other’s news. After lunch we said our goodbyes and arranged to meet again the following Friday as we have agreed to housesit for them for a week in the upcoming school holidays. We then drove out to Barren Falls and yet another rainforest walk.
At Mareeba we called into the visitor centre and wandered around another heritage village. (We wondered who will keep these places going as all the oldies die off.) We drove out to and walked both the Emerald Creek Falls and Davis Creek Falls. We visited the Mango Winery and while Chris chatted with the owner, I sampled some of the wine and liqueurs on offer before buying a bottle of the Mango liquor. While here in Mareeba we also spent time in the Centrelink office but that’s another story!
On the Sunday evening Dave holds his damper night at “Ringer’s Rest” where we all enjoy a pleasant happy hour with other travellers while he cooks his very tasty damper and tells us his old bushy stories.
After leaving Mareeba we head back down to Gordonvale where we have stayed before. We notice the difference in temperature and humidity now as we are down from the tableland and the Karanda Range. It’s certainly hotting up! While at Gordonvale we get talking to Brian who helps Chris with our tv arial which we realise is stuck. As we haven’t used the arial since we had the roof on the caravan replaced back in June we were not aware of the problem. We only realised now as I wanted to watch the queen’s funeral. As we later wander over to Brian and Christine’s van we realise we already know their neighbours Lynn and Gavin, who we had met late last year at a camp in Kilkivan. We spent a good happy hour with these two couples and then as we could still not get reception on our tv we were invited to watch the funeral with Lyn and Gavin. We squeezed into their van with them, enjoying nibbles and watching history in the making. Conscious that we were in someone else’s van and our hosts may want to go to bed we watched until about 9.30 and then said our goodnights, not knowing that Lyn would stay up until 2.30am watching the whole thing!
After another day and pleasant happy hour we say our goodbyes and head again to Edmonton and the park we stayed at a few weeks ago. We have arranged to put our van into storage there while we are at Claire and Matt’s at Trinity Beach which is where we are now.
We are here to look after Patches the dog, a budgerigar and Pretzel the cat who we have only caught a short glimpse of. Claire tells us Pretzel has found another family that must be feeding him so he tends not to come home much these days.
We have driven up to Mossman Gorge where we did all the walks and then on to Port Douglas where we looked around. The place was very busy due to the school holidays so not much parking. We moved on to Palm Cove and it was the same here so we decided to try Ellis Beach where we had our very late lunch before heading home.
Having checked out the beaches up the coast from Trinity Beach we decided we should check out the ones below so today we called into Yorkeys Knob, Holloways Beach and Machans Beach. These beaches were not as well known as Port Douglas or Palm Cove so nowhere near as busy. These would be our preference over the upmarket spots every time.
Now as I’m writing this we are coming to the end of our week here then it’s back to Edmonton for a few days. We are hoping to have a visit with Josh and Ellie next Tuesday as they will be up here in Cairns with their other grandparents. They have planned a full on fun packed few days so we are keeping our fingers crossed!