A beautiful sunny stay at Atherton Tablelands after exploring Cape Tribulation...

Hello! We’ve been out of mobile and internet range for the past week, so now I can finally update our travel news. Internet very slow though, so no more photos just yet!

A sad goodbye was said to mum in Cairns and then Adam and I drove north to Cape Tribulation-a place where the rainforest really does meet the sea. It’s very beautiful and while we were there it was also very wet….I guess it is a rainforest after all! The rain came on and off though, with sunny breaks and sudden weather changes so we still got out and did a lot. Rainforest walks, birdwatching (yep we are into it now) and drives around the area. We took a trip up the 4WD Bloomfield track to see Bloomfield Falls and of course more beaches and rainforest- it was all really beautiful- there was a croc laying on a rock just near the falls too. We also did a tour of an exotic fruit farm which was really interesting…the farmers grow a huge range of tropical exotic fruits and we got to taste ten different kinds. On that particular day we headed out for a fancy dinner to celebrate Adam’s 34th birthday! We went to Coconut Beach Resort and lived it up away from the campground for a night….was lovely. J

The next day we left and drove up to the Atherton Tablelands, where we still are. This is our fourth and last night here, staying in a lovely quiet park right next to Malanda Falls. The weather finally cleared on the day we arrived here- to brilliant blue skies and sunshine! So lovely after all the rain, wind and clouds. As a result of the weather and also the beauty of the surrounding area we have really loved our stay here.

On our first day we explored the volcanic lakes of Lake Eacham and Lake Barrine…we walked around both of them, saw lots of birds as well as tiny musky rat kangaroos. We had a Devonshire tea in the 80 year old tea house on Lake Barrine. We also saw some huge curtain fig trees and lovely views, plus the heritage listed town of Yungaburra.

Our caravan park is also right near some rainforest walks and full of wildlife. At night Coppery Brushtail possums come around and we’ve fed them fruit scraps etc. They are so cute. We’ve had a fire going a couple of nights also, as it’s quite a bit colder than the coast and has been dropping down to about 8 degrees at night.

Yesterday we did the “waterfall circuit” and saw Milla Milla and other well known falls up here- we jumped in for a swim too…it was FREEZING, but refreshing J. We also went to Mt Hypipamee National Park, and walked in to see an amazing volcanic crater lake…the walls of the crater drop straight down to this eerie looking pool of water below…pretty cool. That park also has some nice waterfalls.

Last night we went on a wildlife spotting night walk which was fantastic. A local naturalist took us and another couple on a nearby walk….we saw rare green ringtail possums which only live on the Atherton Tablelands. And best of all we spotted a rare Tree Kangaroo, which also only lives on the tablelands here in north qld also. We’ve been looking up into the trees hoping to see one since we arrived and we were all excited to actually spot one. They have a face a bit like a possum I guess, but are really strong and good climbers, with a super long tail. They are also much smaller obviously than a regular kangaroo and can hop and also use their hind legs independently to climb etc.

Today was another full day and bright and sunny again and we continued to have a great time up here. We went to Granite Gorge near Mareeba which is home to a colony of rock wallabies, which you can hand feed. They are so tiny and one I was feeding had a little one in her pouch- so cute! We also went to a wetlands area which was full of birds! And in the afternoon went to one of the many coffee plantations at Mareeba for a nice coffee…they also make chocolates…so of course I was in heaven.

Right now I am sitting by the campfire typing this…we are going to have dinner and head out with our own torches tonight to another spot which houses about 6 different species of rare possums…hopefully we’ll see some!

Tomorrow we head further west, to Mt Surprise.

Hope everyone is well and happy. Do stay in touch…and Marcus thanks for the comment. We look forward to seeing you and Tarni too!

Love Emma and Adam xx