James Boettcher, founder of FNQ Nature Tours, gives you the best tips to enjoy your Atherton Tablelands trip. Photo / FNQ Nature Tours 1
James Boettcher, founder of FNQ Nature Tours, gives you the best tips to enjoy your Atherton Tablelands trip. Photo / FNQ Nature Tours 1
FNQ Nature Tours offers small group tours across the Daintree National Park, Atherton Tablelands and beyond. Here James Boettcher, the company’s founder, shares his top tips for making the most of Atherton Tablelands.
Inspired by the rich natural beauty of Australia, I began guiding multi-day safari tours when I was 21 years old. More recently, I established FNQ Nature Tours in 2016. It was the beginning of a dream, creating unforgettable and life-changing connections with the natural world and inspiring the preservation and support of native flora and fauna through responsible eco-tourism.
I now manage a team of three incredible naturist guides, who use their local knowledge to tailor some of the most exciting wildlife encounters available in our region. As a young company with a motivated team, we are highly focused on influencing how people travel. Along with our partners in the Australian Wildlife Journeys Collective, I am confident our range of touring products will continue to benefit the region’s ecology.
The Atherton Tablelands is a rainforest hinterland that blankets the mountains west of Cairns, a region encompassing a stark contrast of experiences. The Tablelands offer an abundance of wilderness, wildlife and culture, along with locally farmed/grown food and wine.
The Atherton Tablelands are easily my personal favourite region of the Wet Tropics. A convenient 60-minute drive from Cairns, there is something for everyone, from vast crater lakes to incredible forest giants, endemic wildlife around every corner and waterfalls galore. Heading up into the mountains to the west away from the coast, you immediately feel you’ve stumbled onto a secret.
Visit the majestic Millaa Millaa Falls at Atherton Tablelands. Photo / Tourism Tropical North Queensland
Best things to see and do
You haven’t experienced the Atherton Tablelands until you’ve sat on the lakeside timber deck of the Lake Barrine Tea House enjoying fresh, warm, locally made tea and scones. The nearby Rainforest Walk only serves to complement the Tea House, with ancient rainforest trees up to 1000 years old. Keep an eye out for Victoria’s Riflebird of Paradise, too.
For lunch, I would pop into the Malanda Collective Café, located in the Malanda township. This cute boutique family business offers a beautiful selection of homemade produce, very well catered to those who like to “do it like the locals do”. Customers are often welcomed by owner Lucia, who will go above and beyond to ensure your comfort. The coffee is excellent, and you’ll be surrounded by local knick-knacks. Checkout the wildlife calendars by local wildlife photographer Matt Cornish, a dead giveaway that wild tree kangaroos can be spotted on the nearby walking trails.
Meet the country's national animal hanging out on a Lumholtz tree. Photo / FNQ Nature Tours 1
Seeing the region’s endemic wildlife is always a big highlight of any trip to Atherton Tablelands. The one that sticks out the most for me would be spotting a platypus in the wild. If you’re not choosing a guided tour, you should. But if not, visitors can try their luck at Peterson Creek in Yungaburra.
Another “must do” I would highlight for an Atherton Tablelands day out would be the Curtin Fig Tree. Only a five-minute drive from the historic town of Yungaburra, it’s an explosion of nature with an intricate life story. Photographers, bring your wide-angle lens.
If you want to experience the region’s delicious local produce, is a short drive from the infamous Millaa Millaa Falls. The only Biodynamic Farmhouse Cheesery and Café in North Queensland. All the products are made on site and with a backdrop of Queensland’s highest peak, it’s hard to pass up.
Nature photographers should add the Curtain Fig Tree to their dream photo destinations. Photo / TTNQ 2
Where to stay
When it comes to local accommodation, there are plenty of holiday cottages, rainforest lodges and boutique motels to choose from on the Atherton Tablelands.
My wife and I eloped at The Canopy Rainforest Treehouses & Wildlife Sanctuary near the town of Tarzali, just a 10-minute drive from Malanda. You might be greeted by Dan, the warm and humble caretaker. Dan has a customer service standard like no other, and the lodges have both resident cassowaries and tree kangaroos.
I can highly recommend Chambers Wildlife Lodge near Lake Eacham for wildlife enthusiasts. You’ll see catbirds and pademelons from your balcony. See Meg at Eden House Retreat or Gina at Blue Summit Lodge in Yungaburra for super clean and tiny lodges, central to all the Tableland action.
Join a lake cruise to see Lake Barrine. Photo / FNQ Nature Tours 1
Top tips for visiting
Not all walks within the national parks have rubbish collection. Plan to take your rubbish with you on your visit, or take it into one of the nearby towns such as Atherton, Malanda or Yungaburra.
Being so close to Cairns, some of the Tablelands’ highlights can be done in half a day, such as Yungaburra and Lake Barrine. This could be combined with a flight in or out of Cairns.
The beautiful and well-known Lake Barrine Tea House was once the sight of a convalescent camp during World War II. In 1943 the guesthouse at Lake Barrine was taken over by a detachment of the 2/1 Australian Army Convalescent Depot. Jump on one of the lake cruises operated by Steve Curry, third-generation owner of the Tea House and hear about the family history.
Easily the most underrated place to visit on the Atherton Tablelands is the Tolga Bat Hospital. Located 10 minutes from Atherton, this incredible bat hospital is run by Jenny Mclean.
The Tablelands area is very family-friendly, with short driving times, engaging nature, huge open playgrounds and kid-friendly restaurants. You can go nocturnal kayaking in Lake Tinaroo with Uncle Brian’s Tours, and explore the European history at Herberton Historic Village or one of many botanical walks. Malanda Falls is another close waterfall for families with nearby food and facilities.
