NORTH QLD ADVENTURE - DAY 17 – A DAY UP ON THE ATHERTON TABLELANDS….
We have a big day planned for today as we want to head up and cover the northern end of the Atherton Tablelands. Last time we were up here we did the all the waterfalls and we went up the Gilies Highway and came back down through Millia Millia to Innisfail and back to Babinda where we were staying at the time…
Today we want to head up the highway to Kuranda and through to Mareeba to check out Coffee World, and then down towards Atherton and into visit Lake Tinnaro. Next port of call was the Mount Hypipamee Crater and Dinner Falls, before checking out the Bloomfield Wetlands, on to Malanda to see the Falls there and then onto the Curtain Fig Tree before ending up at Yungaburra.
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| Views from the Lookout on the way up to Kuranda. |
We left home just before 8.30am as we knew it would be a big day with over 300kms to cover. The drive up the Kuranda Range was lovely, good highway and only 12kms of very winding road. We stopped half way up at one of the lookouts which had an amazing view of the plain below out to the coast.
We were up in Kuranda just before 9am. We decided to not spend too much time in Kuranda as we planned to head back up here again to check out the Butterfly House and Birdworld on another day. At this time of the morning Kuranda is still asleep. Nothing much opens here before 10am, so it was a good chance for me to photograph a lot of the artwork on the roller doors of the shops. We had a quick drive around town looking at some of the familiar landmarks from our last visit before heading off towards Mareeba.
We found a drive through Bakery which we went to, to grab something for morning tea. I decided to go in as we had no idea what they stocked and what we would like. Steve told me to surprise him. They had an amazing array of goodies and I ended up deciding on a Vanilla Slice and a jam and cream Lamington. They were both large and under $4 which represented great value in comparison to a lot of other bakeries we have been too.
Once I purchased these we set off to find Coffee World which was our destination in Mareeba.
Coffee World has grown from it’s humble beginnings as a single market stall at Rusty’s markets in Cairns in 1988. Roast and Post as it was known then was born at Rusty’s. Way back then their early clients discovered their stall by chance on their trips up to the Tropics and then continued to order their coffee from them once they arrived home…
More than 30 years on this dedicated and passionate family have grown this business to now contain not only coffees, but chocolates, liqueurs and local teas as well. It is all lovingly created in the back blocks of Mareeba but the business has now grown to include a beautiful gift shop with many locally crafted items also on sale or display.
Their shop is also a museum, and it’s walls resonate with the ambience and aromas of 500 years of the coffee making history.
When Ian Bersten, the founding maestro of Belaroma Coffee, started collecting the items on show in Coffee World, he was driven by a unique passion – the aim of amassing the world's finest collection of antique coffee and tea-making machinery and other equipment.
He spared neither time nor expense, visiting the leading patent offices of Europe to track down the world's first espresso-maker, the first plunger, the first filter and the first vaculator. These, and more than 2000 other items, are at Coffee World.
The Mareeba region grows more than 80 per cent of Australia's coffee crop so it is fitting that a coffee museum should be set up here.
Rob and Annie Webber had been pioneer coffee growers in the region since
the 1980s and had already put together a collection of coffee memorabilia so,
when the Bersten collection came on the market, it took some delicate
negotiations to ensure that its priceless treasures remained within Australia
and found a home at Mareeba.
We enjoyed our time at Coffee World, spent too much money as we stocked up on coffee beans for both Sarah and Colin and also Dan who are all Coffee buffs. Steve posted them a list of coffees on offer for them to make their choice and whilst we wanted for an answer back from them, we indulged in a hot chocolate in their café.
It was by far the best hot chocolate we have ever had being made on solid milk chocolate slab from their chocolate shop on their premises. We did a little damage to the credit card here picking up coffee for both our girls, a nice big beach bag for ourselves, so lemon and myrtle white chocolate to try, a couple of chocolate slabs for making our own hot chocolate at home, and a small tub of pomegranate and lime sorbet to try.
It was going on for 11am by the time we left Coffee World. Our next stop was to check out the Tinnaro
Lake.
On our way to visit Tinnaro Dam we came across the Rocky Creek Memorial Park. This was something we didn't know too much about but found out that it is situated on the 2/2 Australian General Hospital Laundry and medical stores site. Rocky
Creek War Memorial Park is dedicated to those who served at the Rocky Creek
Australian Army Hospital or the troops that trained or provided unit support on
the Atherton Tableland area during the World War Two.
The park has been chosen as the appropriate location due to the cultural, spiritual, historical and sentimental value to the local community.
Several Army Divisions camped on the Atherton Tablelands during 1942-45. Approximately 60,000 Australian soldiers were treated for war related conditions at these hospitals, by a caring and efficient staff of approximately 2,000. Many were rehabilitated at the adjoining 2/1 Convalescence Depot. The complex was recognised as the largest military hospital in the Southern Hemisphere.
From exploring here we were off to check out Tinaroo Dam. We had to pass through Tolga which is the home of another of the Big Aussie Icon, the Peanut...
Tinaroo Dam was constructed in 1952 when the Barron River was dammed to supply irrigation water to farming areas of the Atherton Tablelands and the lake there has become a large tourist attraction and a very popular spot for swimmers, skiers, walkers, fishing (but a permit is required), and it is ideal for picnics with barbecues available. There are also five camping areas located around the back of the dam in the Danbulla State Forest.
We checked out the Dam from a couple of different vantage points, took a few photos and then headed off to explore Mount Hypipamee Crater and Dinner Falls.
Both Dinner Falls and the Hypipamee Crater can be accessed on a short loop walk in the Hypipamee National Park.
This park sits at 900M+ on the southern Evelyn Tableland in the Hugh Nelson Range. Due to its altitude, the Hypipamee National Park is a hotspot for high-altitude birds and possums.
The first stop on the walking track was a viewing platform just above the Hypipamee Crater, approximately 400M from the car park.
From here, we got a clear views of the sheer granite walls which plunge into the 70M-deep crater lake.
The Hypipamee Crater is really a diatreme (volcanic pipe caused by a gaseous explosion), which was discovered in 1879 when a gold-prospecting party accidentally fell into it.
Once again we forgot to bring the drone. We watched one guy their fly his drone down into the crater and I am sure his footage would have been spectacular. In saying that, he had a small maveric drone which made transporting it much easier that our big set up. Maybe in the future we need to invest in a smaller one also, where we would be more likely to use it…
From the Hypipamee Crater viewing platform, we took the immediate left trail heading down the valley. This track forms the Dinner Falls loop, where wel spotted the several tiers of the waterfall along the way.
The first teir on the track is blocked by a steel barracade with warning-signs not to enter.
The second tier of Dinner Falls is the most impressive, and also the best swimming spot. The wide, 12M high waterfall cascades down in multiple streams into a 1.5M deep pool. This pool has been propped up by concrete walls on the edges, which helps maintain the depth.
Continuing up the Dinner Falls loop track, you’ll soon reach the second swimming spot. This one is a little shallower and the waterfall slightly smaller.
It was not a big walk, only 1.2kms return and the walking track is well marked, wide, and easy to navigate, albeit a little bit steep in some sections. In total, it took us just over an hour to complete with the stops we had along the way…
By now it was mid afternoon and we still had a few other stopped to cross off on our day up on the tablelands…
Bromfield Swamp is a shallow crater of an extinct volcano and forms part of the headwaters of the North Johnstone River.
Bromfield Swamp is home to a population of Sarus Cranes, elegant long-legged waterbirds that look like a large heron. These cranes used to be found from Australia to Northern India but have now become almost extinct in Asia. Australia has one of the last breeding populations in the world, with an estimated 5,000 to 10,000 birds, of which three thousand live on the Atherton Tablelands.
We could see these birds in the distance of the swamp. From the lookout it is very evident that this is a volcanic crater. When we got there, there was a sign on the lookout informing us that snakes have been seen in the vicinity recently and we saw evidence of this with a large snake skin which had been shed.
From Bloomfield wetlands we moved quickly onto Malanda and then took the short walk down to the waterfall to photograph it. It was 4pm by the time we arrived here…
While many of the waterfalls in the area are off the beaten track, Malanda Falls are right by the main road and were super easy to get to.
The falls are four metres high and 30 metres wide and the cool, fresh water tumbles over old basalt lava flows.
In front of the falls is a man-made swimming pool. It was first surveyed in 1906 and served as Malanda’s baths for many years, with a diving board and retaining wall added in the 1920s by the local council.
The extensive grounds around the falls are perfect for picnics and barbecues and the different levels and stepped paths ensure a quiet nook is easy to find.
The different terraces and beautiful trees mean shade is always on hand. There are lots of grassed areas, which are easily accessible for picnics or setting up the deck chairs.
The falls’ jungle fringe includes two walks of about half an hour which offer a range of flora and fauna. Both are easy tracks. Unfortunately, with daylight hours running our and we still had a couple of places we wanted to check out, we didn’t go on any walks here.
From Malanda it was off to check out the Curtain Fig Tree. We had seen this on our last visit to the Tablelands, but as we had to drive past it to Yungaburra, we decided to check it out again. It was only a small boardwalk in from the car park. Somehow it seems to have grown even taller since we were last here or at least from what we remembered of it.
This large fig tree in Curtain Fig Tree National Park is unique because the extensive aerial roots, that drop 15 metres to the forest floor, have formed a ‘curtain’. Starting from a seed dropped high in the canopy, this strangler fig grew vertical roots, which gradually became thicker and interwoven. Over hundreds of years these roots have strangled the host causing it to fall into a neighbouring tree-a stage unique to the development of this fig. Vertical fig roots then formed a curtain-like appearance and the host trees rotted away, leaving the freestanding fig tree. The tree is thought to be nearly 50 metres tall, with a trunk circumference of 39 metres, and is estimated to be over 500 years old.
Whilst we were here, we could hear the a strange Woop Loo sound coming from the trees above us. On looking up we could see a WomPoo Fruit Dove sitting on a nest above us. Of course we took several photos of it…
We left Curtain Fig National Park to head to our final destinations of the day, that being the township of Yungaburra. This village at the top of the Atherton Tablelands hasn’t really changed since 1910. Yungaburra has the highest portion of heritage-listed buildings of all regional centres in Queensland. This former timber town is steeped in history and it was just lovely to wander around and check out all the old shops and buildings in the town. It is a beautiful and colourful little village with hanging baskets of colourful flowers in every main street.
We also found quite a bit of street art which I also photographed. It was 5pm by the time we arrived here and we were both thirsty and hungry as we hadn’t eaten since we had left Coffee world that morning…
We decided to head back out to Lake Tinnaroo which also reached down to Yungaburra to have a late afternoon tea. We also wanted to check out The Afghanistan Avenue of Honour which was situated down at the Lakes edge.
The Afghanistan Avenue of Honour is a living memorial dedicated to the memory of all who served in the fight against terror in Afghanistan and to those brave and selfless Australians who made the ultimate sacrifice in defence of freedom and liberty.
It is quite a moving memorial and definitely worth the visit. These brave soldiers should never be forgotten. They were all young men, mostly in their 20’s and 30’s whose lives were tragically cut short in defending our way of life of freedom and liberty…
There was a lovely picnic area right on the lake, so we enjoyed a cuppa and shared the vanilla slice I had bought at the bakery earlier this morning whilst we watched the sun slowly creep down to the horizon over the lake…
By now it was just after 6pm and definitely time to head off, as we had a long winding 19km drive down the Gillies Range to head home…
By the time we fuelled up on the outskirts of Cairns, drove to Smithfield in search of a Red Rooster, (which I might add is no longer there) so we ended up getting Macca’s for dinner instead, it was almost 8.30pm when we got back to the caravan park. We had been gone for 12 hours and had done over 300kms and we were both exhausted.
It was dinner, showers, and then bed…
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