60 Australian Geographic
Points of interest
1 Behana Gorge
2 Yungaburra
3 Babinda Boulders
4 Mount Hypipamee NP
5 Nandroya Falls
6 Mamu Tropical Skywalk
7 Tully Gorge
8 Fan Palm Walk
9 Cardwell Forest Drive
10 Blencoe FallsMore information
Queensland parks
http://www.npsr.qld.gov.au/parks/Tourism Tropical North Queensland
http://www.tropicalnorthqueensland.org.auWet Tropics Management Authority
http://www.wettropics.gov.au/exploringTHE WET TROPICS
When to goNovember to April is the Wet, when
the waterfalls and rivers run high and
full. The days at this time are hot and
steamy: humidity often climbs above
60 per cent and average daily tempera-
tures can regularly reach above 30oC,
although they are usually tempered
by a cooling storm in the evening. The
‘dry’ winter months are more temperate
but also much busier.
Getting thereFrom Cairns, it’s a 90-minute drive to
Atherton and the southern tablelands
via either Gordonvale or Mareeba. To
the south, Tully is two hours drive
and Cardwell two and a half
hours drive.
Where to stay
This large region has all manner of
accommodation. In cosmopolitan
Cairns, the Double Tree by Hilton is
centrally located on the waterfront
and close to all amenities.
Five and a half hours drive south-west
of Cairns on the Tableland, the Big4
Atherton Woodlands Tourist Park
at Atherton has single and multi-
roomed cottages and villas, plus
caravan sites and camping,
all in a tropical rainfor-
est setting.
On the Cassowary
Coast, the Cardwell
Beachcomber
Motel and Tourist
Park offers motel
rooms, villas and
camping areas, all
on the waterfront.Cardwell Forest Drive.Fan Palm Walk.Wooroonooran NP.A tightly folded
young king fern
frond. Mature
fronds can grow up
to 9m long in the
Queensland tropics.
Reached via the scenic Cardwell Forest Drive,
the Cardwell Spa Pool (right) is a sensational
place to escape the heat. The Fan Palm Walk
(below) is another cool, although slightly less
wet, diversion in Djiru National Park, inland
from Mission Beach, where a 1.3km
boardwalk passes under tall fan palms.
Immense buttress
roots (far left ) are a
feature of several
rainforest tree species
in the Wet Tropics.
This one is on the
path to Nandroya
Falls. Umbrella
tree (Scheffl era
actinophylla) fruit (left )
is eaten and spread
by many rainforest
bird species.