Atherton Tablelands - Around Atherton

For the next part of our stay on the Tablelands we based ourselves at Bonadio RV and Nature Park on the Barron River. It is part of a farm that has revegetated their bottom paddock and is a haven for birds and other wildlife and is definitely somewhere we'd like to come back to. 

Platypus

Red-legged Pademelon

Brown Cuckoo-Dove

Yellow-breasted Boatbill

Macleay's Honeyeater 

Lewin's Honeyeater

Brown-capped Emerald-Dove 

Pale-yellow Robin

Welcome Swallow 

Eastern Whipbird

White-cheeked Honeyeater

Little Shrike-thrush

White-throated Gerygone 

Brown Gerygone

Fairy Gerygone

Shining Bronze-Cuckoo

Spectacled Monarch

Lake Eacham

One of the reasons we stayed at Bonadio was because it was close to the crater lakes, and we had a stunning day to kayak on Lake Eacham.

Danbulla State Forest Drive

We've had an intermittent squeak in the back of the truck for about a year and we've tried tightening various things and it seemed to settle for a short while, and then came back. It was becoming more annoying, though, especially with the thought of it continuing all the way to the top of Cape York. The forest drive went around the north side of Lake Tinaroo on a dirt road (which always brought on the squeak), it was a sunny day, and we were in a quiet caravan park where we could empty everything out of the back seat and the rear of the truck... so operation "figure out the squeak" began. It only lasted a few hundred metres back along the drive through the farm and we identified it as the rear door catch. We replaced the hinges on the right door ages ago because they had worn and sagged, and now there is also wear on the catches. We turned around and went back to the van and put some lithium grease on them, and continued on our day trip - squeak-free!

Our first stop once we got going was Lake Barrine and the massive kauri pines.

Next was the Cathedral Fig Tree.

The Mobo Creek walk wasn't particularly stunning, and the sunny day made for impossible photos with the contrast.

Lake Euramoo was pretty.

There were only some glimpses of Lake Tinaroo from the road, so we went into the Platypus Camping and Day Use Area. On the way in there was a sign to Platypus Rock. When we got out of the car Dazz spotted a Ulysses Butterfly, so I climbed the stairs to the top but there was only a view of the trees. Nothing worthy of a photo.  

Scarlet Honeyeater

The Tinaroo Dam was spilling.

A view of the Lake.

Hasties Swamp

Hasties Swamp had been recommended to us by someone in Cairns as place for bird watching. Our first visit was one afternoon, which meant we were looking into the sun. Dazz noticed the light catching on spider webs and making rainbows.

Victoria's Riflebird (female) 

We went back another morning and the light was much better.

Purple Swamphen

Pacific Black Duck

Plumed Whistling-Ducks

White-banded Plane

Red-browed Finch

Australasian Grebe 

Eastern Yellow Robin 

Little Shrike-thrush

White-browed Scrubwren 

Eastern Spinebill

Malanda Falls and the Curtain Fig Tree

These were the last of the "attractions" for us to see in this part of the Tablelands.