We had a quick lunch before departing and heading to Atherton. I had a nap on the way, which has been really unusual for me to do, so when I woke and we were getting closer to Atherton, it was as if we had arrived on a different planet! We had left the Savannah behind and the landscape had changed dramatically. It was not only green, but hilly, and, in fact, as we came into Ravenshoe, we discovered it was the highest town in Queensland! We stopped for a look around the town, fuel and afternoon tea. It was a very pretty place and so green and ordered and “towny” we were a little shocked! It only got more shocking as we drove closer to Atherton. A winding road led us up through rolling green hill after another, dotted with farm houses and cattle that literally disappeared in lush deep grass, then through forest, climbing up on to the Atherton tableland.

There is such a huge contrast between where we have just spent every day for the past 5 weeks (apart from Darwin) and here, that it is almost unbelievable. It was like a slap in the face; here, have a windy road that goes UP, and here’s so much green grass your eyes hurt, and here, have some traffic and lots of people, oh, and here’s a huge town all built with cement and tar and not a scrap of red dirt in sight; weird.

We all felt a little sad to have left the Savannah, it was such an amazing and natural place, but we also loved the feel of this lush new spot. We all enjoyed the tropical feel of the caravan park and the boys all went exploring the bushy hill behind. That night we all froze, lol! The very cool night air took us quite by surprise.

The next day we decided to stay and do some exploring in the area, following the Waterfall Way to check out 4 waterfalls; Malanda, Milla Milla, Zillie and Ellinjaa. They were all a little different, but all very pretty. We drove on to historic Herberton for lunch at the local pub then home for the afternoon and a swim in the very pretty pool.