World Heritage Wet Tropics Rainforest

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…

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…

Photo credit: https://www.tropicalnorthqueensland.org.au/listing/product/mt-bartle-frere/ Sitting at 1622m above sea level in the Wet Tropics of Far North Queensland, Mt Bartle Frere is an imposing site and one of my absolute favourite hikes. It is not a hike for the faint hearted, at 15km return with a vertical climb of 1500m it is essential to be very…

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,…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…