6 Things To Do These School Holidays on the Atherton Tablelands

Hooray!  The school holidays have arrived at last!!  The Fealy Family absolutely limped to the finish line this term, everybody worn out from having the flu, the hockey season and just general school and life craziness – we always seem to find the end of the third school term tough to get through – does anybody else find this too? So, for the next two weeks, we are looking forward to no lunch boxes, no rushing and some relaxing days doing nothing at home.

While we are talking about school holidays, I have been seeing lots of posts on the internet that look like this;

Now – that post has some fantastic ideas for things to do around Cairns, but being the patriotic Tablelanders we are (we do live in a pretty special part of the country!), it was decided we needed our own list.  So here are ‘6 Things to Do These School Holidays on the Atherton Tablelands’, Fealy Family style!

1. Climb the Highest Mountain in Queensland – Mt Bartle Frere

Image Credit www.queensland.com

Nothing like starting our list with a BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal!)!  Although the climb to the top of Mt Bartle Frere is said to be tough, it can be done by experienced hikers in a day, departing from the small campground accessed by Topaz Road, Butcher’s Creek, on the Tablelands.  Or make it a real adventure and camp out overnight on the track.  The September school holidays have the best, most reliable weather (little likelihood of thunder storms) for tackling the climb up the mountain.  The views from the top and along the track are said to be spectacular, but beware of the leeches!  Click here for more information on the Mt Bartle Frere Trail.

2. Attend Dairy Camp

3. Go to the movies at the Majestic Theatre

The Majestic Theatre in Malanda is Australia’s oldest running commercial cinema and it is still showing all the latest movies these school holidays.  Kids will love buying their tickets and snacks from the old fashioned candy bar and then watching a movie from the comfort of their hessian seats.  The Majestic offers a very special old style cinema experience but there is nothing old about the picture and sound quality.  The cinema uses state of the art digital projection and sound processing equipment.  The kids will love it so check out the movies showing and session times here.

4. Feed the Wallabies at Granite Gorge

Granite Gorge is just west of Mareeba and has some spectacular volcanic rock formations, walking tracks, swimming holes, canoeing, rock hopping, birdwatching and the kids favourite – feeding the rare and endangered Mareeba unadorned rock wallabies.  Fun for all the family definitely!

5.  Vist the Windy Hill Wind Farm at Ravenshoe

Image Credit www.abc.net.au

The wind mills at the Windy Hill Wind Farm really are a spectacular sight – you have to see them to believe it. There are twenty wind turbines which generate enough power for 3,500 homes.  It is an easy way to sneak a little bit of an educational lesson in about wind power while admiring the view.  To make the drive out to Ravenshoe (pronounce ray-venz-hoh) doubly worth the trip, make sure you pick yourself up a few loaves of bread from the Ravenshoe Bakery – they have the best bread on the Tablelands!

6. Have a Swim at Lake Eacham

Best Swimming Spot in all of Australia!

No school holiday on the Atherton Tablelands can be complete without a swim at Lake Eacham!  The lake is an extinct volcanic crater lake filled with cool, clean, crystal clear water and there is a beautiful, easy walking track (about 4km’s) all the way round the outskirts of the lake.  The best time of day is to go early for a BBQ breakfast and swim, or go in the evening for a BBQ dinner and dip!  If you haven’t been there yet, make sure you go soon!

So there you have it, six unique and amazing things to do on the Atherton Tablelands these school holidays! We’re hoping to tick a few of these off ourselves over the next week. What do you think locals – what else should be added to the list?  We’d love to hear what you have planned for your holidays, fill us in!

Oh and if you still want some more ideas for what to do these school holidays, then check out Adventure Mumma’s website, she has some fantastic posts about great things to do in Cairns and surrounds!