Lake Eacham
Lake Eacham is near the top of the Gillies Range Road, and is the quieter of the two volcanic lakes in the region. Like all the other stops on our waterfalls tour this is as picturesque as they come, with numerous activities to pursue on arrival. I like to explain Lake Eacham to the passengers, as being a ‘Choose your own Adventure’ type of spot. The lake is 3km in circumference, has a small jetty, a walking track and some amazing bird and animal life. This bestows many options to visitors here. It is proclaimed by locals from the nearby town as “The Beach of Yungaburra”, as many come here for a swim, kayak, hike, run or even a family BBQ and picnic. They do not allow any powered vehicles on the lake and there is no fishing allowed so…
October 1, 2020
Hiking in the Wet Tropics
Photo credit: https://www.tropicalnorthqueensland.org.au/things-to-do/hiking-walking-trails/ Having lived and guided in Far North Queensland during the last 15 years I am still yet to complete my hiking bucket list of the region. As a tour guide in the Wet Tropics, a love of nature is essential and one of the most amazing ways to really get in touch…
September 15, 2020
Welcome to Cairns
Welcome to the Barefoot Blog, and no I’m not wearing shoes. Barefoot has been touring the waterfalls of Far North Queensland for over a decade. We love nature and the outdoors and have prided ourselves on making it accessible, fun and informative. Due to the current conditions of travel around the world we have been…
September 1, 2020
The Giant Fig Trees
The top of the Gillies Range is quite sensational and this is enhanced by the sheer number of Fig Trees in the region. There is one you walk through (yes, walk through) half way along the hike around Lake Eacham, but that is dwarfed in comparison to the phenomenal examples seen at the Curtain and Cathedral Fig trees. It is a must to see one of these sensational stranglers up close and we choose one of them on each waterfalls tour with Barefoot. The Strangler Fig Tree In the surrounding environment over 5000 species of flora battle for survival. Throughout evolution, plants and animals have adapted to survive. Far North Queensland’s rainforests are a perfect place to witness some of the wild ways these natural wonders have modified themselves over time. The Strangler Fig Tree is a prime example of…
August 1, 2020
Far North Queensland, the Superlative Wet Tropics & Heritage Listing – Series 1.4 Stepping back in time
Welcome to the final of our series of articles about the World Heritage Listing of the Wet Tropics… Walking into the Wet Tropics is like taking a step back in time. We have talked about the ancient flora, prehistoric reptiles and the endangered cassowary, but this only scratches the tip of the iceberg. Each time…
July 22, 2020
Far North Queensland, the Superlative Wet Tropics & Heritage Listing – Series 1.3 Biological Evolution
Welcome to the third of our series of articles about the World Heritage Listing of the Wet Tropics. The Wet Tropics is not only inscribed by UNESCO for its superlative natural beauty and its wide variety of endangered species but it also displays much about the history of the natural world. This is where we…
July 15, 2020
Far North Queensland, the Superlative Wet Tropics & Heritage Listing – Series 1.2 Endangered
Welcome to the second of our series of articles about the World Heritage Listing of the Wet Tropics. We have already discussed about the natural beauty of the region, and it is amazing. But this is only a fraction of the importance of the region and it’s universal value. Throughout it’s huge array of diversity…
July 8, 2020
Far North Queensland, the Superlative Wet Tropics & Heritage Listing – Series 1.1 Beauty
The Wet Tropics was inscribed as a World Heritage listed area in 1988. It begins just north of Townsville and runs 450km north to Cooktown and includes an amazing array of natural wonders throughout 31 national parks. We visit many of them through Barefoot Tours and this series of articles will help outline some of…
July 1, 2020
The Peculiar Platypus is no stranger to the Wet Tropics…
Photo Credit: http://wildmelbourne.org/articles/2013/11/5/platypus-magic One of the most peculiar and definitely the strangest of animals found in the Wet Tropics would easily have to be the platypus. From its first discovery there has been much controversy surrounding them, for they are a venomous mammal that lays eggs, has a duck bill, the tail of a beaver,…
June 1, 2020
Millaa Millaa Falls
“Beauty is an essential vitamin” in life is a quote I heard once. If this is the case Millaa Millaa is essential for the soul. Depending on the day, we might decide to run the waterfalls tour in a number of ways. The favoured way for my tours is to head south of Cairns and begin with Babinda and Josephine Falls as spoken about in previous blogs. After visiting those sites we have progressed through the entree of our menu in beauty. To many people on this tour, Millaa Millaa is viewed as the main course. However the drive from Josephine to Millaa Millaa is definitely one to start the salivation, wetting your appetite. Millaa Millaa Falls The drive struts through the banana fields near Innisfail before turning up the Palmerston Highway towards Millaa Millaa. One of the reasons this…
May 1, 2020
Josephine Falls
It’s a cracker of a day, we start early with a beautiful array of people to travel to spectacular settings through the Atherton Tablelands. Each day differs depending on the people and the weather, but the one constant is my ability to guide and bask in the beauty of one of my favourite regions throughout Australia. This is the Waterfalls tour. Many people ask whether you get tired of the same places everyday, whether you ever need a break from people. What they don’t understand is the nature of this job. It’s NATURE, and nothing can beat that. The variety on this tour is as vast as the landscape through this region and the diversity of people to enjoy the day with. It’s like making new friends everyday. Josephine Falls, Wooroonooran National Park Yes, we go to Josephine Falls everyday,…
April 1, 2020
Places you don’t want to miss on your day to the Atherton Tablelands from Cairns
Located at an hour’s drive to south-west of Cairns, in Tropical North Queensland, lies the cooler-climate of The Atherton Tablelands that accents of a wide variety of landscapes and attractions. A region that changes from agricultural land, to scrub forest, to ancient rainforests, it is definitely a natural wonder which is worth exploring. Everything from…
March 1, 2020