Up at the Tablelands

The Atherton Tableland is a fertile plateau which is part of the Great Dividing Range in Queensland. It is located west to south-south-west inland from Cairns, well into the tropics, but its elevated position provides a climate suitable for dairy farming. It has an area of around 32,000 km² with an altitude ranging between 500 and 1,280 m. The fertility of the soils in the region can be attributed to the volcanic origins of the land. Crops grown in and around Atherton include banana, sugarcane, avocados, strawberries, macadamia nuts,   mangoes, citrus and coffee! 

We visited "Coffeeworks" in Mareeba, a boutique roastery which is totally dedicated to the art of coffee! They are renowned for premium Arabica coffees selected from local plantations on the Tablelands and from around the world, which are roasted in small batches daily. There is a cafe serving delicious food ...

and  also "Coffee World". Probably the largest collection of coffee and tea making treasures ever assembled. If it has anything to do with growing, roasting, serving, drinking or trading coffee, you will find it here!

There are plungers, filters, percolators, samovars, espresso machines, grinders, balance pots spanning over 350 years and from all over the world.

 

 And if that wasn't enough, they are producing delicous chocolate in their very own chocolaterie!

Best of all: the entry fee to the coffee museum includes unlimited tasting of their coffees and chocolates.... can't get much closer to heaven than this!!!

After all that indulgence we had do get ourselves moving again. So we went to nearby Mareeba Wetlands Reserve for a little boat ride.

Birdwatchers should love this place!

And then in the middle of nowhere we stumbled across this gigantic steel lizard. A donation from a japanese Artist to honour the fact that wild rice is growing in this area. Strange but true!

And the best climbing frame ever!