Townsville to The Atherton Tablelands

Townsville to the Atherton Tablelands

On leaving Townsville we decided to have a couple of nights in a free camp and just relax and have some time to ourselves. We did not travel far but as the winds were terribly strong our first choice of staying on the coast at Balgal or Saunders Beaches was canned. We decided to camp a little more inland and drive out to look around the next day. We spent two nights at Rollingstone Free Camp while the footy finals were on. Interesting to say the least seeing that we were in Cowboy Territory.
Below are some photos from Balgal Beach north of Townsville. The bird is a black cockatoo.

We travelled through ....

... Cardwell where we stopped to investigate their small museum and display which was very well done. An excellent stop for young families as there was just the right amount of i formation mixed with a very visual display. There was also the pier and beach to walk along with a view out to Hinchinbrook Island.

.... Tully is a cane mill town and had some interesting sculptures in the main street in front of the mill. We also had to stop at the lights for a cane train heading into the mill. This had become a common sight for us in Queensland.

 We spent the night at the Garradunga Hotel and experienced our first green grassed lawn in a long time ! The chickens nearly took over our site ! It was a free camp that encouraged you to have a drink and a meal. This often works out dearer than a caravan park but the meals are usually great and large, as this one was.

Our last stretch of road in this section of our trip was to finally drive over the ranges and head inland. Typical, when we have to drive a stretch like this, it rained ! Our little ute towed our caravan slowly but surely up to the top to arrive in Malanda in the Atherton Tablelands on a cold and wet day. Our first sight of something different was the tea plantations on the side of the road. We stopped to buy a packet from a roadside stall which had an honesty box.

 At Malanda we settled into a lovely tree covered site backing onto the rainforest and the Malanda Falls. 

Determined as we were to see some of the falls in this area before heading to Undarra we headed out to see the Millaa Millaa, Zillie, Ellinja  and Malanda Falls in the rain in the afternoon.
Below the Millaa Millaa Falls

 The Zillie Falls

 And finally some other different sights ! The first a possum walk above the road and below a private helicopter in the yard of a dairy farm on the back road to Millaa Millaa Falls.

We have promised ourselves that we will return to the tableland area to spend a lot more time looking around !

By Lynne