Welcome at our Sunday Read Part 2: Roadtrip Kununurra to Cooktown
In our Sunday Read part 1 you could read about our adventures during our first week on the road, and today we will take you on our journey during our 2nd week on the road, which we spent in the Atherton Tablelands. In our first Part of this Sunday Read we left you when we arrived at Lake Eacham in the Atherton Tablelands, letsFar North Queensland, let’s take it from there.
Tropical North Queensland
Tropical North Queensland is one of the most diverse region in Australia with lots to discover and the Atherton Tablelands are in the middle of it with the beach and vibrant places like Cairns only an hour away.
From amazing waterfalls, scenic routes, lush rainforest, rugged outback and stunning lakes, this region has lots of contrast and there is so much to do for everyone.
The little villages are all really friendly and historic with beautiful houses and stores, cosy streets and great restaurants and cafe`s with local produce.
Because the rich soils of the Atherton Tablelands there are lots of plantations with coffee, tea, fruits, veggies and flowers.
Let`s talk about the weather
We spend a week in the Atherton Tablelands, and the weather was really all over the shop, from cold to warm, from blue skies and sun to rain and grey cloudy days. This has not much to do with Tropical 😉 But the good thing is, when it gets really steamy and humid in the coastal towns like Cairns and Port Douglas, the Tablelands are still nice and livable because the humidity here is much lower, with some parts of the Atherton Tablelands above 1000 Meters.
Lake Eacham
We arrived in the Atherton Tablelands for our first stop at Lake Eacham. We stayed in a cabin for 2 nights at the Lake Eacham Holiday Park, which was a real treat. It was really nice to relax and enjoy the surroundings for 2 nights, instead of arriving, sleeping and taking off again early in the morning, so we decided from now on, we would stay at least 2 nights in every accomodation.
The staff was very welcoming and friendly and the eco style park is really beautiful and located at only 2 kilometers from Lake Eacham. They have 5 cosy cabins in various colours and spacious camping spots. There is a pond with ducks you can feed and chicks and bush turkeys are all over the place.
The cabin in the woods ( not from the movie 😉 ) was really nice and it felt really cosy and homey.
Lake Barrine Tea House
We planned for a quiet day, ( we all know what happens if you say you want to have a quiet day or only 1 drink 😉 Exactly, so this quiet day turned out a bit different 😉
In the morning we went out to check out the Lake Barrine Tea House, which was absolutely amazing.
Click here to read more about the Lake Barrine Tea House and after chilling out and taking in the breathtaking views, we decided to go for a little drive, but ended up going all around Lake Tinaroo, which was absolutely amazing! Read and check out more pictures from that day here
Chasing Waterfalls
That night we moved to the Atherton Holiday Park for 2 nights and stayed in a cottage, which are cosy and spacious with a nice outside area.
The staff is also really friendly and helpful, which is always a plus. They have a small salt water pool, and the park is clean and well maintained. It`s located around 4 ks from Atherton, the biggest place in the Atherton Tablelands, with more variety in shops, a big wollies and other services.
Herberton Historical Village
The day after we got invited to visit the Herberton Historical Village, which was a great experience and a great attraction for every age.
Click here to read our Herberton Historical Village article
Lake Tinaroo Holiday Park
A great start of the week, as we also got invited to stay 1 night at the Tinaroo Holiday Park. We got a very happy and warm welcome and figured out they have given us one of the water front villa`s, which was a real treat and ideal for families with children as they have 2 bedrooms and are very spacious.
Read our experience and all about the Tinaroo Holiday Park here
Curtain Fig Motel, Yungaburra
It was time for another happy dance and reminder that all the hard work, hours and love for this blog gets greatly rewarded by people who are like-minded as we got another invitation to stay at a great accommodation. This time we got invited by Jane and Mark from the Curtain Fig Motel in Yungaburra for 2 nights.
Read our experience and all about the Curtain Fig motel here
Tolga Wood Works, Tolga
We also visited Tolga Woodworks, a must do for design, art, interior and wood lovers like us at Woody World Packer. Check out our pictures and see a few pieces of the beautiful things they sell at Tolga Woodworks here
Coffee Works, Mareeba
Drive from Mareeba to Cooktown ( 280 km / 3.5 hr )
After a week in the Tablelands is was time to move on, time flew this past week and we drove all around from east to west from north to south and we really feel we did every highlight in the region. The weather was really changing all the time, but mostly cloudy and rainy and even cold!
So we drove up north in the hope for some good weather and more new adventures. Our first stop was at Mareeba.
Mareeba the biggest place in the Atherton Tablelands and known for the coffee plantations and fresh fruit and veg.
And of course coffee lovers paradise Coffee Works
Cooktown
We got an insider tip to go to the Granite Gorge Nature Park to feed kangaroos and and enjoy the beautiful surroundings, but we got lost in time in Coffee Works, and we had an accommodation booked in Cooktown, another 2.5/3 hour drive so we had to skip this for now.
And then at the end of the afternoon we made it to Cooktown!! What a stunning route we drove from Mareeba all the way to Cooktown. At some parts it really reminded us at the Kimberley, but a bit more green.
Cooktown was our final Holiday destination as we decided we would drive to our next destination Port Douglas and look for work and settlement from Port Douglas and further down again.
Read here about our Cooktown experience and where NOT to stay in Cooktown
So all up we drove from Kununurra to Cooktown in less than 2 weeks with plenty of fun stuff along the way and a week in the Atherton Tablelands Area. Not bad!
Lions Den Hotel
After Cooktown it was time to turn back South in the direction of Port Douglas, but first we had a stop at the Lions Den Hotel, which was amazing! They offer great accomodation and the best pizza`s ever!
Read about it here!
After a stunning drive down south where we crossed mountains, outback stretches and tropical rainforest we arrived in beautiful Port Douglas. More about Port Douglas later 🙂
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Happy (Sun)day
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