EZTrip.com International Destination Guide and Hotel Listings

Just 13km east of Atherton at the start of the Gillies Highway to Gordonvale, the self-conciously pretty village of YUNGABURRA makes another good base, and consists of the old wooden Lake Eacham Hotel , a store and a handful of places to stay and eat. Run by the Dreamtime hostel in Cairns, the pine-and-slate On the Wallaby Hostel , 37 Eacham Rd (tel 07/4050 0650; under $50), is very clued up on the area and also organizes canoe and wildlife-spotting trips. The upmarket cottages at Eden Park (tel 07/4095 3355, www.edenhouse.com.au ; $115-150) are another good bet, or for something special, treat yourself to a weekend at the romantic Mt Quinkan Crater Retreat , on the Peeramon Road about 8km southeast of Yungaburra (tel 07/4095 2255, www.mtquinkan.com.au ; $150 and upwards); self-contained wooden units with spa baths are all built on tall poles looking into an extinct volcano crater. Eating , there's always the hotel for a quick feed, or try bratwurst and rosti at Nick's Swiss Italian Restaurant (daily except Wed for lunch and dinner, with bands on Sat). Eden House has an expensive "Australian Contemporary" menu; or there's similarly pricey, eclectic gourmet treats - from Tuscan lamb to kangaroo pie - at the Burra Inn .

Before heading further afield after wildlife, visit the platypus viewing platform above a stream just on the edge of Yungaburra; it's best in the early morning and late afternoon, when the crowds have dispersed. Another good place for wildlife spotting is the Curtain Fig Tree , an enormous parasitic strangler fig just a couple of kilometres southwest on a minor road; while common enough in rainforest, one this size is extraordinary, with the base all overhung by a stringy mass of aerial roots drooping off the higher branches. Come here in the late afternoon or early morning to see tree kangaroos hopping along the branches, or well after dark to catch rare green ringtail possums.