Dinner at Eden House was great. I had an onion and cheese tart for entree, slow grown and slow roasted pork belly for main, and a fabulous vanilla cream with poached quince and gingerbread men for dessert. Jane had a creamy prawn fettuccine for entree, grass fed beef fillet for main, and cheese for dessert.
There was way too much food, but it was so good, we just had to try everything! The cheese was from a local maker- Gallo Cheeses, and we resolved to visit them the next day. The servings of cheese were enormous. We decided to take the cheese back to bed and nibble on it with the complimentary port! The pork was also stunning. There was little fat, flavour was brilliant, and the meat was rich and moist. Jane really enjoyed it too, and it gives her a first benchmark for how good ethically grown pork can taste.
On Sunday, we ate a leisurely breakfast (not that we needed it) before getting a list of 'must visit places from Susie Chuck. First stop was the 'Curtain Fig' followed by the loop of all the villages that would take in Atherton, Herberton, Milla Milla and Malanda. The area prides itself on its dairy, and apparently there are fantastic views to be had. As you can see below, a little Taranaki sunshine prevents the vista... or maybe the Tablelands are just shy!
We went to the Curtain Fig, which is the amazing predatory vine that has used an existing tree to create a support and food source for itself- and then killed the host tree. From there we tried to drive into Atherton, before realising that all roads up there lead to Atherton. We just happened to drive past Gallo Cheeses, so had to call in. We realised (to Jane's excitement) that Gallo also does chocolate, and has a window through into their chocolate room. We would have liked to have bought cheese, but not with the drive we had ahead of us. All was not lost however, as we did buy chocolate, and found out that we can get the cheese in Townsville.
We also went for a drive to Lake Eacham, which is a lake in an old volcanic crater. The walk around the edge is 3 km, and the lake is apparently 65 m deep. They have some very funky fish, including the Archer fish, which shoots a stream of water to kill low flying insects. Clever little buggers! We also saw turtles! Don't think it really matters how often you see turtles, they are always really cute! The most bizarre thing though had to be the preponderance of divers- even if you are not really supposed to!
From there we drove to Atherton (inevitable by this stage!), and had a bit of a look. Nothing really to see, except the Crystal Caves which are the country's largest collection of crystals. We were feeling a bit tight, so didn't stump up with the $20 (each) to go underground. We drove into Herberton, which is a strange historic tin mining town that boasts a spy camera museum. And some dodgy looking locals! It is only a short drive, but the change in vegetation and terrain is immense. In the space of only twenty km or so you go from lush, green vegetation (and on our visit slightly misty) to dry, rocky country with eucalypt instead of rain forest. Our last port of call for the drive part of the day was the Hypipamee Crater and Dinner Falls. Again part of a volcanic formation, they are just fabulous.
All the photos are at the link below- There were just too many to put on the main page. (Click on the picture)
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| Atherton Tablelands July 2010 |
When we got back to Yungaburra, we spent the last part of the afternoon looking for platypuses in the local rivers, and were finally rewarded with sightings of two of the ancient little mammals!
On Monday we began the drive back home to Townsville, but had plenty to keep us excited for the journey! Our first stop was at Milla Milla, where we stopped at the waterfalls. I hadn't seen falls like these since leaving NZ, and can only imagine how busy they are in Summer!
From there, it was a stop at Mungalli Dairy, which is a biodynamic organic dairy farm that produces lovely soft cheeses, yoghurts and milks. Good product, but I probably wouldn't put it on the must see list! From there we thought that we might stop at MaMu, which is a rainforest canopy walk. Very nice on a fine day I am sure, but we just didn't see the need to pay $20 each to walk in the clouds!
We did decide however to visit Paronella Park on the way home. To get the full history, it is worth doing a google search. The photos are at the link below (again, click on the pic), and don't really do the place justice. Jos'e Paronella was a Spaniard from Catalonia who came to Australia in about 1913. He had dreams of owning a castle, and eventually built one for himself. He didn't live in it, but opened it to the local people. He built Australia's first hydro electric power generator, and had power 13 years before the rest of North Queensland. The concrete balusters you see in the photographs were all cast by him- some 8000! He built everything from materials on the property. The Kauri avenue is simply majestic. The property is magical- everywhere you walk there is another building, another path, or another set of stairs. The property has been ravaged by flood, fire and cyclone, so is now largely in ruins, but the old photographs showing the cinema and ballroom in full swing are just wonderful.
Just shows you what can be achieved with a dream!
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| Paronella Park July 2010 |
The photo below we took in a small town on the trip back- someone has a similar idea to Jos'e, but without the same finesse!
You can't see it in this photo, but this place has a couple of domes on the top, fashioned out of pvc downpipe. Still, the world needs its dreamers!
