Day 75 / 2017 - Living in the North Queensland Tablelands

We sat down the other night and worked out that we have been based in North Queenland for 11 months, which suprised us as we didn't think we had been here that long. Apart from a few trips back to Perth, a short christmas stint in Sydney and few weeks in New Zealand, we have been up here the rest of the time. I guess it ticked of one of my to do list items, living in the tropics for a year. We hadn't planned to be here that long, it just seem to work out that way, but it gave us the opportunity to sample both Wet, and Dry Season's.

So is North Queensland a great place to visit any time of the year? Traditionally most people come here during the dry season (May to September) the temperature is cooler, the humidity is lower and very little if any rain. Everyday we watched all sorts of RV's going north and south along the Kennedy Hwy, sometimes in the hundred's per day.  The wet season (October to April) is usually warmer, the humidty is higher and lots of rain. There is also that risk of cyclones which brings dangerous winds and buckets of rain. This is the off season, with low numbers of RV's travelling the Kennedy Hwy, we would see less than 1 per day.

So, from our experience, if we were to base ourselves in North Queensland for a year where would we choose? Walkamin has been a great place to stop for our extended visit, we have really enjoyed our time here. The caravan park is large and spacious and takes all sizes of RV's. Presently the cost is $24.00 per night for 2 people on a powered site and there is no limit to how long you can stay. In the town there is a general store wich is also the local Post Office and garage, selling unleaded and diesel fuel's.  Walkamin is 15km South of Mareeba, 19 Km north of Atherton. These are larger centres with a good helping of commercial and government services. The even bigger tourist centre of Cairns, is about 70 km to the east, accessable by the Kennedy Hwy and Kuranda Range. There are alternative ways off the Tablelands to the coast, the Gillies Range about 30km south-east and comes out at Gordonvale, Palmerston Range about 70 Km to the south coming out at Innisfail and the Rex Range which is about 70km to the north of Walkamin and comes out at Mossman. If you need to go anywhere by plane, (especially a quick trip home), Cairns has an International airport. You can either drive and leave you car in the long term carpark (for a cost of course), or catch the bus directly from the Walkamin bus stop, right across the road from the General Store. The bus runs 3 times per day during the week, and twice per day during the weekend.  

One of the big concerns staying in North Queensland during the wet season is Cyclone's. According to locals here, Cyclones don't climb over the range of mountains which separate coastal and inland areas. Instead they tend to follow the range south and cross inland somewhere around Tully, the most you get is strong winds and buckets of rain. Of course there is always the risk that one day, a cyclone could come over the mountains, but look at the NSW coast, they seem to cop their fair share of violent storms during the summer. North Queensland can get humid especially along the coast but the tablelands are a good 20% less. In Walkamin the rainfall and humidy is even lower than the southern parts of the tablelands, such as the towns of Malanda and Yungaburra, having more of a savannah climate. Walkamin has a similar climate to Mareeba which boasts 300 days of sunshine (there is a sign spruiking this). We have friends who live in Barrine near Gillies Hwy in the Southern Tablelands and it is wetter with higher humidity there.  

Whats to see and do around here? Well Cairns is only 70km away which is an easy day trip. You can either drive or catch the bus there, where you have many tourist activities to choose from. Jump on a tour boat across to one of the islands, or sail to one of the outer reef pontoons. To the north is Cooktown, accessible via an all weather sealed road or travel up via Mossman and Cape Tribulation. If it hasn't been washed out from floods you can take the Bloomfield track through some of the best rainforest found anywhere in the world. The Boomfield track is being improved all the time with all weather bridges crossing many of the streams, but it is still recommended for high clearance 4WD vehicles only. On the Tablelands all the tourist attractions that are open during the dry, are also open during the wet. Waterfalls are spectacular especially if there has been enough rain to swell the rivers. You can do something a little different and ride the Skyrail from Kuranda to Smithfield, the opposite direction to everybody else. There are few travellers going down in the morning and a similar number come up in the afternoon. The country side is a lot greaner in the wet season. The grass grows like crazy, i'm sure you stood still it would quickly grow around you. One of our favorite activities was to drive to Lake Eacham for a picnic and a swim, we use to visit during the week, where it was a lot quieter. Lake Barrine is just a little further where you can enjoy a Devonshire tea on the cafe's balcony overlooking the crater lake. With Friends, we also tried the food at different hotels around the tablelands. A lot of the hotels had great character, considering most were built in the early 1900's, and the meals and drinks were still reasonably priced.

We've enjoyed our time here. The locals are friendly and the shops are very customer focused. There are plenty of places to explore and stopping in one place gives you the chance to ferret out those little gems, that only locals may know about. The climate is quite pleasent all year round, there have been a smatering days of heavy rain but it usually doesn't last vey long. There humidy is higher during the summer months but not as high as along the coast, the nights here are plesant you could easly stay outside late in the evening. If you are looking for somewhere to spend an extended time no matter the season you should consider the Atherton Tablelands in North Queensland as a place to stay.