Description - What to expect

Your Atherton Tablelands & Waterfalls day trip commences on Cairns’ coastal lowlands, traveling south from the city to visit the Babinda Boulders. The Babinda Boulders have cultural significance for the region’s Indigenous people and are ‘home’ to a tragic Aboriginal love story.



Rainforest Waterfalls & Rock Slides

The next stop is Josephine Falls, which has a huge natural rock slide. This is a favorite swimming spot for locals and your first chance for a dip; we’ll even bring along some inflatables, to ramp up the fun factor. Fabulous photo opportunity, keep your eyes peeled for local wildlife.



Traveling up the Palmerston Highway we leave the lowlands behind and make our way to the Atherton Tablelands. Tour across this volcanic landscape is a patchwork of farms, country towns, crater lakes, national parks, and wild rainforests.



Millaa Millaa Falls is the next stop and it’s an impressive one. This 18m single-drop waterfall has framed on either side by rich rainforest and tree ferns. It stakes its claim as being one of the most photographed in the country and was chosen by Qantas and Herbal Essences (hair shampoo) to feature in television commercials. Get snap happy at this postcard-perfect waterfall with a hair flick or two.



Lunch on this Atherton Tablelands tour is taken at the Malanda Pub. She’s big, she’s old and she’s full of character. A delicious pub lunch will power you up for the next stop of the day, a visit to Mount Hypipamee.



Crater Lakes & Rainforest Giants

Walk through the rainforest on easy pathways to gaze down at ‘The Crater’. 61m in diameter with a viewing platform 58m above the water, this is a remnant from the Tablelands volcanic past. Continue along to see the pretty little Dinner Falls. Top tip, lots of wildlife here including Brush Turkeys and the Boyd’s Forest Dragon.



No Atherton Tablelands Waterfalls tour is complete without a stop at the Curtain Fig Tree. As high as a three-story building, the Curtain Fig Tree is hundreds of years old and shows what can happen in nature, if we leave it be. Another great photo opportunity and believe me, you will be impressed!



Next up, we try our luck at Platypus spotting in Yungaburra. Ever heard of a Platypus? Just one of the crazy critters that evolved in Australia. Has a duck-like bill and an otter-like body. Really hard to see in the wild, as they are quite shy. Ever heard of Yungaburra? Well, you have now!



The last swim of the day on this Atherton Tablelands & Waterfalls day trip is at Lake Eacham, which is 65m deep, volcanically formed, and surrounded by beautiful rainforest. Home to many freshwater turtles and fish, the water is a comfortable 23 degrees Celsius all year round.