The 10 Best Nature & Wildlife Areas in Atherton Tablelands, Queensland

At Bonadio's Mabi Wildlife Reserve you will have the opportunity of a lifetime when you get up close and personal with rare and endangered Australian wildlife like platypus, tree kangaroos, wallabies and possums. View the magical natural light phenomenon of bio luminescence provided by our resident glow-worm colony. Your contribution will aid the revegetation and preservation of the endangered Mabi rainforest that is home to much of the local rare and endangered wildlife.

The largest butterfly flight aviary and exhibit in Australia - an all weather experience in the heart of the Kuranda village. Home to over 1500 magnificent butterflies, youll be enchanted by the arial dynamics of these elusive wonders of nature as you wonder through the aviary's rainforest gardens.

Fruit bat rehabilitation center

Home to the largest single collection of free flying birds in Australia (some 500 of them!), Birdworld Kuranda in the Australian highlands of the Atherton Tablelands displays no less than 75 species of the most spectacular birds from all corners of the planet - as well as from the earth’s fast diminishing rainforests.Visitors are free to wander through the lush, tropically landscaped bird sanctuary to observe the birds in their own specific - yet natural - habitats. Two lakes connected by a tumbling waterfall for example are home to waterbirds such as stilts, herons and Australia’s own unique Black Swan. In Birdworld's rainforest canopy overhead, blue, gold and scarlet Macaws dazzle with colourful brilliance as they soar above the tree tops. One outstanding Birdworld denizen not to be missed is that rare avian giant, the Cassowary - an Australian bird now officially enlisted as endangered.Designed to "create a centre where birds would be showcased in their natural environment without the barriers of cages coming between them and their admiring public", Birdworld Kuranda is a photographer's paradise. (And without those barriers, visitors often find a feathered friend nestling on their shoulder - a golden photo opportunity!) Birdworld Kuranda can provide guided tours for all group bookings.

The Australian Platypus Park is home to a thriving platypus population. These wonderful creatures can be found in a spring fed pond surrounded by lush tropical vegetation. This magnificent setting draws in enthusiastic visitors from all over the globe. Dining is available in the Smokehouse Cafe, which serves a selection of great meals at reasonable prices, and we are licensed so you can enjoy a drink with your meal or snack. The Smokehouse Cafe opens at 8am with Guided Platypus tours starting at 9am and departing every 30 minutes throughout the day. Breakfast Menu 8am til 11am Main Menu from 11am to 4pm Platypus Tours every 30 minutes starting at 9am. Last tour starts at 4pm.

At Granite Gorge visitors have a fantastic opportunity to get close with the wild rock wallabies in their natural habitat. You can hand feed them macropod pellets which we have available. The Mareeba unadorned rock wallabies (Petrogale inornata, Mareeba race) are rare and endangered and only seen up close here.The wallabies are unique to this area of Mareeba. They are known to be on the top of a couple of mountain ranges but this is the only place they can be seen up close and fed in the wild. Possums, 5 types of gliders, Frilled necked and other lizards, 2 types of quolls, turtles and echidnas inhabit the gorge and park area. On winter nights dingo howls can be heard way down the gorge.