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From Paronella Park we headed for the Atherton Tablelands, expecting that we may be able to pick up some seasonal work there. Being the eager tourists that we are, we ensured that we didn't pass by a single point of interest on our Hema map without inspection - at our current rate of movement we may still have not broken past the QLD border in 6 months' time!
We pulled into Innisfail for a peek before continuing on our way to Jospehine Falls and The Boulders (at Babinda). Both sites were lovely and well worth a visit. It was during a beer at the Babinda Pub that we decided to book 4 nights' accommodation at Lake Tinaroo Holiday Park. It was considered a good central location for exploration of the Tablelands and was intended also to satisfy Dougie's urge to catch a barramundi.
The first two days at Lake Tinaroo were spent waiting for the rain to ease so that we could get onto the water, however it wasn't to be. (It was difficult to fathom that elsewhere was in drought). Feeling a little tent-bound, we escaped to Atherton for an afternoon and visited the Crystal Caves. The Crystal Caves consists of a shopfront where various crystals and gems are for sale and a back section which is an amazing exhibit of crystals from around the world, displayed in a man-made cave setting. We found it interesting enough to warrant spending a good hour there, goggling at rocks and gems.
We were keen to spend a day of sunshine at Lake Tinaroo so we extended our stay to 7 days in the hope that this may happen. In the meantime, we took the opportunity to visit; Gallo Dairyland, the Curtain Fig Tree, Malanda Dairy Centre, Lake Eacham, Atherton markets, Hypipamee Crater, Tarzali Lakes, Mamu Skywalk and Lake Barrine.
Gallo Dairyland is an operational dairy that produces cheese and hand-crafted chocolates which are for sale on site. We were sure to sample every cheese option available before walking away with 2 cheeses and a handful of carefully selected chocolates. I only got to sample 2 of the chocolates though since I chose to stake the rest in a bet with Doug - I was certain that I was going to win the bet otherwise I would have betted carrots rather than chocolate! Doug took much pleasure watching me sulk and squirm as he devoured my chocolates. It sucks to be wrong!
The Hypipamee Crater was formed by ancient volcanic activity and was really cool to see. It is filled with water to a depth of 80m and a unique habitat is expected to exist at depth - It's never been properly explored.
Tarzali Lakes was previously a commercial fish farm however is now purely a naturally-derived platypus sanctuary. It was here that we each got to see platypus for the first time. We had approximately 15 sightings, all within 10m away. It was great. Platypuses occur naturally in such numbers on the farms that the owners' redclaw industry failed as a result, despite efforts to keep the platypus out. A transition had to be made from fish farm to platypus tourism for the owner to remain viable.
The Mamu skywalk offered a walk through the various layers of the rainforest canopy whilst listening to voice recordings that relate to the flora, fauna and history of the area. It ended with a spectacular view from the top of the canopy which was pretty exciting.
Prior to departing Lake Tinaroo we did get a couple of opportunities to kayak and fish, however no barramundi. Apparently Dougie isn't going to cut his hair until he catches a barramundi. Hmm…. We need to spend some serious time on the water otherwise I'm going to be hanging with Cousin It!
We found that the opportunity for seasonal work at Atherton had just passed so we decided to travel inland in search of some sunshine before making our way to Cairns.
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