Atherton Tablelands also known as the Cairns highlands is located above the coastal plain and various in height from about 500 metres at the northern end to about 1200 metres at its highest point near the town of Ravenshoe and covers a area of 620 square kilometres. It is accessable from the Coast Via the Palmerston Hwy from Innisfail, The Gillies Hwy from Gordonvale, The Kuranda Hwy from Smithfield or the Rex Range Rd from Port Douglas. You can also reach the tablelands from Inland via the Savanah way or the Gregory Development Rd from Charters Towers.
We left Ringers Rest and headed towards our next destination Walkamin only 15 Km up the road (honestly these long drives are getting to me). Walkamin will be our next base for 6 weeks while we explore more of the Tablelands and a loop through the Daintree, Cape Tribulation, Bloomfield Track and Cooktown.
After 8 weeks in Cairns with much reluctance it was time to move on. We have enjoyed our time here and will miss the Spa, Free Bus into town and Pancake Breakfast Thursday. It was starting to get a bit expensive with so much to do in Cairns but there are other things to see further a field so it's time to move on up the hill into the Tablelands, enjoy whats on offer there and hopefully save a bit of money in the process.
Paronella Park is approx 100km South of Cairns about 18km South West of Innisfail. We had originally planned to camp there with the caravan while on the way from Tully to Cairns back in June but the rain had been so heavy we decided to try again another time.
Today is Mic and his brother Jeff's 35th birthday. I just so happens Mic, Carley anf Blake are in North Queensland as the same time as us so we caught up with them in Port Douglas for a Birthday Lunch.