Discover the best top things to do in Atherton Tablelands, Australia including Historic Village Herberton, The Bat Hospital Visitor Centre, KUR-Cow Barnwell Farm, Australian Butterfly Sanctuary, Kuranda Scenic Railway, BatReach, Barron Falls, Jaques Coffee Plantation, Birdworld Kuranda, The Australian Platypus Park at Tarzali Lakes.
Restaurants in Atherton Tablelands
5.0 based on 719 reviews
A visit to the Historic Village Herberton is like stepping back in time. Showcasing Australia’s rich and diverse history this outdoor pioneer museum is testament to an era that is long gone.Open year round to visitors, the Village collects, preserves and displays fascinating historical exhibits from across Australia. The history of this museum is also closely tied with the township of Herberton and features many priceless antiques as well as buildings that have come from the town’s ancestors.The Village currently has over 50 original buildings that date from Herberton’s foundation years. Walking through the Village, visitors are given a sense of being in a real township complete with chemist, bottle collection, school, bank, grocer’s store, frock salon, toy shop, mechanic, jail and more.
This wonderful Museum does not appear in any of the travel brochures we read but I’m so glad we heard about it. Just the most amazing collection of memorabilia and history. What an amazing place to go for anyone young or old. Wheelchair accessible and so much to see. We thought we’d be there an hour or so we left at closing after arriving at 1:00 pm we could have easily spent another couple of hours. If you are going go early to make the most of it. Great cafe as well with reasonable prices. So so fab. Don’t miss it. If you have a choice between Paronella park and this museum choose the museum you won’t regret it at all.
5.0 based on 196 reviews
BOOKINGS ESSENTIAL. Enter an upside down world and meet the real stars of the night! Our personalised tours only run during feeding time 3-6pm, when the bats come down to eye level from their 6 metre-high roost. Eclectic collection of bat art , world-class facilities and bat information set among restful gardens. Open all year but bookings essential as tour times vary between 3 and 6pm. Entry $20 adult and $10 children.
We stumbled across this place as it’s not highly advertised, but what a gem of a place it is! The tour was outstanding with all things “bats” carefully explained to us with such passion. So wonderful to see the bats rehabilitating. And it’s so clean!! We were amazed. Keep up the good work
5.0 based on 15 reviews
G'day mate! Looking for a fun day out for the family? Welcome to Kur-Cow Barnwell Farm - a working cattle station located in tropical North Queensland. We've got activities to entertain the whole family! We are also open for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner! Bookings essential.
Popped up to KUR-Cow on a cosy winter Saturday morning for a fun activity (we wanted to try ATV quad biking!). The course was great fun, the instructor, Jennifer was lovely and gave us two options of a more basic route... or a more adventurous option... We took the latter through the creek, stopping to feed the bull and cows (and a baby calf) on the way! After the ATV we stayed for lunch, while it was cooking we got to feed the horses, goats, alpacas and ponies as well as have a look at the bird menagerie. The food was epic! We sat with an incredible view of the rainforest... and some of the best ribs I've had in Cairns (we went for the low n slow lunch as we were there early... But talking to the staff they mentioned better for evening BBQ (they also said they host a sunset view, which I think would be nice, so thinking of driving back again one evening). There aren't any signs, but easy enough to find with Google maps or sat nav, at the junction it top of Kuranda range just follow the road opposite (reverse direction) to Kuranda Village. Overall definitely worth a morning trip, and tempted to go back for a horse ride and sunset BBQ!
4.5 based on 1,329 reviews
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.
Incredible, if you’ve never been to a butterfly sanctuary you need to go! They have many different kinds of butterflies flying freely which is amazing to be amongst and watch them dance around the air around you. It’s a really pretty garden too!
4.5 based on 2,049 reviews
The original Kuranda Scenic Railway is a spectacular journey comprising unsurpassed views of World Heritage Listed rainforest, steep ravines and picuresque waterfalls within the Barron Gorge National Park. This famous railway winds its way from Cairns to Kuranda, the village in the rainforest. Constructed between 1882 and 1891 it is considered an engineering feat of tremendous magnitude. Hundreds of men were employed to build the 15 hand-made tunnels and 37 bridges that stand as a monument to the pioneers of tropical North Queensland
4.5 based on 46 reviews
Fruit bat rehabilitation center
Second visit for us from South Australia and the reason we chose to stay in Kuranda for last couple of nights of our QLD trip. Always a pleasure to hear from Pam and see some of the rescues. Iain also was able to give some interesting facts and give us an unforgettable experience with the bats. They are not currently routinely open and rely on donations so it was lucky and a pleasure to visit briefly. The bats and wildlife rescues come first as they should and are not exploited or hurt in any way. Some of the long term residents that could not be released are used at times to provide education but never for long and not causing discomfort. As a someone who did wildlife rescue for few years I admire Pam's energy and dedication. I don't visit zoos or agree with animals in captivity. I like that Pam's focus remains on rescue,rehab and release. It's refreshing!
4.5 based on 1,055 reviews
Highly recommend even if you don’t do the Skyrail or train you can easily drive to the falls and follow down the natural wetlands to the viewing platform.
4.5 based on 400 reviews
Jaques Coffee Plantation is situated on the Atherton Tablelands in Mareeba, North Queensland, Australia, with a beautiful backdrop looking over the surrounding peaks of the Great Dividing Range. The fully licenced restaurant / cafe is at the center of the plantation's 85,000 Arabica coffee trees with a large deck over looking the garden or the inside air conditioned area, you can sit and enjoy a coffee and home baked scones and cakes or a full lunch with a beer or wine. Take a tour and enjoy an enchanting insight into the finer details of coffee from the tree to the cup. Other activities onsite include Microlight Flights, Gyro Flights and Segway Tours. Closed during February each year for maintenance
A most interesting place to have a delicious cup of home grown coffee. Australian owned and family run- I think 3 generations! - the best was chatting with the family members and watching the movie telling of their highs and lows of starting a business and seeing their determination to make a go of it. Very inspiring. Their focus is promoting and undertaking a sustainable ethical business definitely needed for our future. Fantastic food, coffee and ambience. Highly recommend the coffee and watching the movie as a small package. Scones were homemade as well. :-)
4.5 based on 759 reviews
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.
I was visiting Kuranda for work and decided to stop in and say hello to some feathered friends at Birdworld while I was there. I was quite impressed with the variety of species they have. At first the area seems small, but because it is a free flying aviary, I found I had to do about 2-3 loops around the track to see all the different birds. The experience is very interactive, they have several Parrots and Macaws who won’t hesitate to fly over and sit on your shoulder or arm. I would recommend being careful what jewellery or accessories you have on as birds do love shiny things and Tango, one of the younger Macaws, spent a lot of time eyeing off my earrings (though I wasn’t upset because he did a great job posing for me in the process). Overall I found this a much better way to view bird life than seeing them in small cages at a standard zoo, though I would not recommend it to people who aren’t comfortable being up close and personal with animals.
4.5 based on 158 reviews
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.
Such a lovely place for a stop in the Tablelands. The staff are very friendly and beyond helpful, offering so much information about the property and the area. The grounds are immaculate and peaceful, very enjoyable to walk around. Food in the cafe is delicious and affordable. The hand smoked salamis and ham are also well worth taking home. Thoroughly recommend stopping for a visit.
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