A Foray into the Atherton Tablelands
“Bloody Bandicoots!” my friend shouted as we screeched to a halt in the early evening pitch black darkness somewhere between Kuranda and Mareeba in Far Northern Queensland. “Bandi-whats?” I asked. A few moments of recovery and a quick explanation later, we were on our way again, this time nervously looking out for naughty eyes reflected in our headlights. Hidden away up the range behind Cairns, the Atherton Tablelands is a collection of villages and settlements set amidst agricultural land. Atherton, Tolga and Mareeba are places to get away from things, or life in noisy Cairns anyway. It is cooler up at the Tablelands than down on the coast, offering welcome…
Kuranda -The Rainforest Village
Kuranda, also known as the health resort of far North Queensland, is a village in the rainforest behind Cairns, on the way up to the Atherton Tablelands. It has long been home to the Tjapukai aboriginal people. But since the completion of the rail link to Cairns in 1891 and the hippy invasion of the 1960s it is a thriving market and holiday town, while still retaining a strong sense of aboriginal culture. The Journey or the Destination? A trip to Kuranda is as much about the journey as the destination. It is possible to take the Scenic Kuranda Railway or the Skyrail both to and from Kuranda. A popular…
