With so much focus on the region’s UNESCO World Heritage-listed sites,the Atherton Tablelands can sadly end up being overlooked. But the fertile plateau,an hour or so’s drive inland from Cairns,is brimming with beautiful crater lakes and cascades,which can be found along the 100-kilometre-long Waterfall Circuit. Millaa Millaa Falls and Ellinjaa Falls are particularly pretty,but the highlight would have to be careening down the natural rock waterslide at Josephine Falls. Seebarefoottours.com.au
Wunyami Cultural Tour
Plenty of tourists make the day trip out from Cairns to Green Island. What most don’t realise,though,is that this is the only one of the 900 islands on the Great Barrier Reef that offers an Indigenous tour. Led by Bindaburra-Yidinji man Isaac Cassady from the Black Seahorse gift shop,guests on the Wunyami Cultural Tour hear Dreamtime stories and learn how to find bush food and traditional medicine on the island. Seeblackseahorse.com.au
Cardwell Spa Pool
The turquoise waters of this natural swimming hole are about as enticing as they come,so it’s worth making the journey to Cardwell for a dip. The colour of the rock pool,about180 kilometres south of Cairns,is enhanced by the mineral-rich water that seeps through from under the ground. The shade can vary greatly depending on the time of the year,and indeed the time of day. Seetropicalnorthqueensland.org.au