Cairns Region

The Ultimate Atherton Tablelands Showdown: Comparing Tour Experiences by Barefoot Tours The Atherton Tablelands, a region of breathtaking natural beauty, offers a mosaic of tour experiences catering to diverse interests. Whether you seek adrenaline-fueled adventure, serene communion with nature, deep cultural understanding, or gastronomic delights, there’s a tour that promises to captivate your heart. In…

Part of the formation of Far North Queensland and the Atherton tablelands was due to volcanic activity. It is thought there were as many as 15 active volcanoes throughout the region from as early as 200 million to 10 million years ago. The lava and basalt from these eruptions helped form the tablelands the way…

One of the most beautiful aspects of the Waterfalls Tour with Barefoot is its flexibility. Depending on the conditions we can adapt where we go to give passengers the best once in a lifetime experience. As a guide it is phenomenal to work in in Far North Queensland as there is so much variety in the region to keep every day exciting, no matter what the conditions. On most days we would frequent the Babinda Boulders for it has a truly majestic rainforest, the granite boulders and an idyllic calm swimming hole. Babinda Boulders Blog At just over an hour from Cairns, the Boulders tend to be either the first or last stop of the day. Generally it is great to get there before the crowds and have some time to ourselves. On a usual day we would spend quite…

Photo credit: https://www.tropicalnorthqueensland.org.au/listing/product/nandroya-falls/ Hooray for Henrietta. The area around this campground is the gateway to the Misty Mountains and other brilliant hiking destinations in Wooroonooran National Park. There are short walks to some amazing waterfalls, great lookouts and longer hikes to tantalize the senses of the more determined bush walker. You can also connect a…

Photo Credit: https://kids.sandiegozoo.org/animals/tree-kangaroo People come to Australia and Far North Queensland for numerous pleasures, but one of the most common requests we get on tour is to see some of the different wild life this country has to offer. This country is notorious for having some of the strangest wildlife in the world. We are…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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,…

“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…

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,…

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…

Here in Australia we have lot’s of different animals that are special to us… However we do eat our coat of arms, both the Kangaroo and the Emu. Here is the Australian Coat of Arms (Yum! – Just kidding) Growing up in all through Primary school every year we would pick an “Aussie” animal and…

Camping is an ideal way to experience the glorious, sprawling landscape of Australia. Waterfalls, pristine lakes, a magnificent coastline, and some of the world’s most unique flora and fauna – Australia has so much for nature lovers. But its vastness makes it important to have the right equipment and planning in place as you set…