RatPacker Holly tells us all about her North Queensland Adventures – If you’re heading to Cairns, you’re probably there to check out the epic Great Barrier Reef right? – the most recognised attraction, the must-see thing to tick off your Aussie bucket list?
But, have you ever heard of the Atherton Tablelands? No? – Neither had I until I got to Cairns but, the waterfall tour ended up being one of the highlights of my time in Oz and I got to see:
- The most EPIC Waterfalls..
- Unreal wildlife including Platypus
- Natural Waterslides
- AND the music video location for a certain cheesy song…
About an hour and a half South West of Cairns, the tablelands are a must do day trip! The landscape is a mix of rainforest and wetlands; from waterfalls to lakes, to impressive trees, it has it all!
Click images to see more.
Spots to visit
Babinda Boulders
Such an aesthetically pleasing spot (great photo op)! As you emerge through a short walk through the rainforest, watch as the fast flowing tropical creek beside you flows over huge boulders. The water is sometimes suitable for swimming, but on my tour we were advised against it as the water gets pretty rough. Nonetheless, it was a beautiful spot!
Josephine falls
I would describe this spot as Cairns’s natural playground – it’s honestly so much fun! It is pretty much a huge slip and slide, but surrounded by rainforests and completely natural – cool huh!? The guide will make you aware of the slippery rocks, so go steady and you’ll have a great time. The water is absolutely freezing, but just brave it – find a spot and jump on in. If you swim on over to the ‘slide’ there are submerged rocks under the water that you can hoist yourself up on, then climb up the non-slippery sides to the top, get your camera on selfie mode and slide on down!
TOP TIP: If you are bringing a camera/GoPro, make sure to tie it around your wrist – I unfortunately dropped mine and lost it under the water! [Side note] Luckily, as we were leaving the site, one of the other tour guides dived down and found it for us! It’ll always be a mystery how he found it, but thank you Aussie tour guide!
Millaa Millaa falls
Remember Peter Andre? The questionable top hit Mysterious Girl? Well, this is where it was (allegedly) filmed! This plunge waterfall is an incredible site – it’s huge! No wonder it is one of the most photographed in Australia; it just looks completely like how you would picture a waterfall, like something out of a movie. Again, the water below is extremely fresh, so pretty cold but, don’t let this stop you from taking the obligatory hair whip photo – herbal essence style (this is the site for one of their ads).
Lake Eacham
This was by far the highlight of the tour for me. It is essentially just a huge, natural lake but we had such a laugh here! It was formed by a volcanic crater, so the water is naturally really warm and super clear. There are numerous pontoons around to jump in from and swim between. It is a pretty cool, unique location; make the most of it whilst you’re there.
TOP TIP: Look out for tree kangaroos.
What to take with you
If you’re unsure of what to bring for these epic experiences in the Rainforest around Cairns, I’ve popped together a short list of things to bring:
- Swimmers and towel (obvs) but, remember a change of clothes- the drive to and from the tablelands is pretty long, so you don’t want to sit in the car soaking wet for 2 hours!
- Camera – ideally waterproof – the place is so photogenic.
- Insect spray – be warned, there are horse flies about that bite!
- Comfy shoes – there is a lot of walking.
- Water!
About the Author: Sammy
with RatPack Travel?
5-Star Google Rated
From our RatPackers
Ben was amazing and went above and beyond to find us amazing deals and exactly what we were looking for. He did it all in record time too! We were very close to our travel date and Ben was doing so much for us so quickly! Definitely recommend
Mikey was fantastic from start to finish. He was so efficient and easy to talk to. 10/10 for him, would highly recommend the service. So happy I chose to go with RatPack Travel.
Friendly helpful and accommodating. Thanks Ryan. You made it all very easy.
Great service from Ben, came back with answers within minutes and walked us through the process, great experience, thanks Ben
George was fantastic, I came in very vague and he gave me the time and examples to lock in what we were looking for. He found great deals and was easy to talk to - he was able to give tips about the process without putting any pressure. Would recommend using Ratpack.
Ben made it so fast and easy for us to reserve our camper van for our trip in the fall! Excellent service!’n
I had a call with Ryan who was super nice, knowledgable and made me feel really at ease with making my decision. He asked me all about what I want to do and achieve on my trip, although I didn’t really want to pack too much in… nor gave much detail on what I want to do, he gave options and ideas for me to look into. He used his own experience as an example which was really helpful to hear and made me feel like I’m right at home with RatPack, I knew then I was making the right choice by talking to him. He answered any questions I had, even if they seemed like silly questions to ask. The booking process is really easy and straight forward, they do all the hard parts for you. Once Ryan talked me through my options, I made my selection and all I had to do was enter my card details for the deposit and I was done! Thanks to Ryan’s detailed and calm approach I knew I was booking with the right company/team. I can’t wait for the next step!!
George has been amazing. He put together the costings for our trip, and then I changed the dates completely and he redid everything and said it wasn’t a problem. I felt that he worked hard to get me the best deal, advised me which pickup town was the best deal, when was the best time to travel, and how I could save money by adding a day to our trip (yes, it was cheaper to go for 21 days than go for 20!). George sent through mountains of advice on travel destinations, camping sites etc. I would definitely recommend RatPack Travel and George.
The Ratpack team and specifically Ryan f were great for booking our dream New Zealand campervan trip. Ryan worked hard over several days trying to find the best possible deals for us and the communication was great with updates regularly. He was able to get us 2 vans that out did any other quotes that we received and we are really looking forward to our trip with Ratpack being by our side. Thanks a lot Ryan F!
Lovely people, more than helpful.
I am so stoked with the service I received from Ryan at RatPack Travel. He was so proactive and on the ball to help me with all my questions and variations. He gave me several options and gave me other things to look at to make sure I had all that I needed. Ryan did all the legwork in following up the availability of the type of van I wanted. If you are wanting to go on a Campervan holiday no matter how long or short, I would recommend RatPack Travel! They will be you support in every step of the process, in the lead up and while on the road. Thanks Ryan! You're a legend! They are a one stop shop when it comes to sourcing campervans and motorhomes from different providers! I nearly forgot to say - he got me a great deal on a newer model. ;)
Thijs and Gemma were just so lovely to communicate with and explained everything so well. Booked us our campervan seamlessly, and with a great deal too 😊 10/10 service from them both!! Couldn’t recommend more! 😊
Ben was super helpful, easy to deal with and always got back to all my questions nice and quickly, with all the campervan options out there we really didn’t know what one to go with but Ben did all the searching for us and made the whole process really simple.
Amazing and outstanding customer service, Ryan exceeded all expectations, he and his team found the perfect deal for us, if you are looking for renting a campervan in NZ or Oz, don’t look for more! Go straight to them and you’ll see you are in the best hands! 🙌
Greg was superb! We told him what we wanted in a camper van. Even with less than two weeks notice, he didn’t disappoint. We loved our camper van and it was perfect for the two of us!
