Undara National Park and Lava Tubes

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We were ready for the road trip inland on the Savannah Way, after having spent all our time to date, on the Coast.

Our drive through Karanda, Mareeba and the Atherton Tablelands was, as expected, very pretty. The very inviting signs prior to entry into Mareeba, to the "Coffee Works", was too much to resist! What a treat! And, we bought a bag of coffee beans and two varieties of chocolates to take with us. A brief stop for lunch at a free-camp spot at Archer Creek kept us going until arriving at the Undra Lodge and camping area, at the Undara Volcanic National Park. Around 190,000 years ago, Undara crater funnelled huge volumes of lava onto the Atherton Tableland, thus resulting in the formations we see today. We were privileged to take a guided tour of one of the tubes, with the great great great grandson of one of original landowners, whose whole family have owned approximately 260square miles of land surrounding the National Park since 1862, and have managed the tours of the Undara National Park for more than 25 years. A google search about the region is well worthwhile. We also enjoyed one of the beautiful bush walks later in the day. A typically Australian bush evening meal in the large Bistro didn't disappoint, with the added attraction of the beautiful natural bush in the background and a fire pit to top off the Aussie setting!

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