Our sleepy start had us back on the road by about 10:30 this morning. While it may sound decadent taking so long to get ready we really had no great distance to travel today and the undulating hills meant that we weren’t going to be speeding anytime soon.
Our first stop was a lookout that gave an uninterrupted view of the Atherton Tablelands. The roads that brought us to this point felt like they were inclining at 45°, although they weren’t, and there were times when we were sure we going to start slipping backwards. However, the ascent wasn’t in vain and the vista was well worth every cursing word from tailing truck drivers.
From there we detoured back a little to a place called Mt Hypipamee. This is the home to a volcano-formed crater now covered with duck-weed that makes it look green all year round. Then it was just a short stroll down to Dinner Falls, another waterfall boasting above-average rainfall, and ignored the brown, murky water to take a quick dip. Jordan and I even made it against the current to traverse part of the rockface as water gushed over our bodies. Trust me, it wasn’t as soft and spa-like as it appears in the photos.
Then, back in the car we left the tablelands heading for Ravenshoe. After this little town it was on towards Millstream Falls, the widest off all the falls in this area, hoping to have a swim. Even Deb had mustered up the desire once the weather had warmed a little. Alas, there was no easy access to the bottom of the pool – certainly not a public path, anyway – and so we opted not to risk our lives for a quick dip. Probably a sensible move given the circumstances. Sadly, though, this was the last of the waterfalls as we continued west.
Our destination for the night was the Undara Lava Tubes, marketing itself as the Real Outback Experience. We decided against stopping in a rest spot overnight choosing instead to stay two nights at Undara as we psyched ourselves up for almost a week of long drives ahead.
The last pit stop before Undara was a little town called Innot Hot Springs. Boasting a series of hot springs that one could bathe in we were somewhat tempted to explore. However, it seemed that the springs were contained within a dodgy caravan park – having been fashioned into baths – so we kept going.
When we finally arrived at Undara we set up the van and then headed down to the pool area for a more relaxed dip. While the chances of being eaten by a crocodile, stung by a snake or marauded by a wild Cassowary were minute it still paled into significance when compared to the falls that we had just endured. Still, it meant that Deb would come in and we spent the dying hours of sunlight splashing around with the kids.
Part of the Undara experience is joining some of the other tourists for their nightly activity. Tonight’s attraction was a bush walk through the savannah led by one of their guides. As we congregated around the camp fire our guide finally arrived, a young buck who would have given Crocodile Dundee a run for his money. The kids thought he was wonderful as too did the two female staff members who joined us for the tour and failed to leave his side for the whole hour.
