Exploring the Savannah way

The Atherton Tablelands is famous for its diverse landscapes, cooler climate and is known as the food bowl of Tropical North Queensland, with produce from biodynamic dairies and coffee, to tropical fruit crops and beef. Where the southern tablelands is known for its rolling green hills, lush rainforest and tumbling waters; Mareeba and the outback is dominated by eucalypt woodlands, dissected plateaus and savannah plains peppered with stunning wetlands.
The heart of this area is Mareeba, which boasts up to 300 sunny days a year, creating ideal hot air ballooning conditions. Glide above the township, watching the sunrise over the distant mountains and illuminating orchards of tropical fruits, and kangaroos bounding through the bushland. With the whole day ahead, there’s so much more to explore.
If your ideal holiday involves roaming from providore to providore, seeing 400-million-year-old rock cave formations and exploring waterfalls in between, there’s a town on the Atherton Tablelands you’ll want to get to know.
While the town of Mareeba itself might be relatively small, the shire is one of the biggest in North Queensland (in fact, it’s three-and-a-half times the area size of Brisbane to put it in perspective) with a to-do list befitting of its land size.
The holiday sunshine-gods regularly beam down on this part of the Atherton Tablelands (with up to 300 rain-free days a year), inviting you to explore its food bowl, savannah plains and water holes.
If you’re looking for an adventure-filled day trip from Cairns, hit the Kennedy Highway and discover Mareeba.