watched chocolatiers create footballsized milk chocolate Easter eggs and sampled some of the most delicious cheeses I’ve ever had. My favorite was the macadamia cheese, which is made with local nuts for a nutty, creamy, almost-chocolatey flavor. We lingered over plates of local specialties in the café for lunch before grabbing some takeaway cheese and chocolates for dinner that night. As we continued our tour, we stopped along the road to marvel at towering strangler fig trees and kept our eyes peeled for kangaroos (which we saw). We also tried to spot the elusive platypus in local streams (which we did not see). The next day, we took to the skies! Sort of. We wanted to explore the Wet Tropics Rainforest, the oldest rainforest in the world, and the perfect way to do that is on the Kuranda Skyrail. The Skyrail experience was unlike anything we’d ever done before. A cabled gondola whisked us above the lush forest, making stops along the way so guests could
But there was so much more to explore than the beaches, so we headed inland. The Atherton Tablelands, which lie southwest of Palm Cove, encompass some of Australia’s most fertile farmland. We decided to take a self-guided food tour of the area by visiting some of the highlights. Our first stop was Jaques Coffee Plantation for a morning cup of joe. Tours of the facilities were available, but we settled into the café for some snacks and coffee. Caffeinated and ready to explore, we set off toward the town of Atherton. Along the way, we found a local roadside market called The Humpy. This small store in the town of Tolga is a local institution. Here you can find produce, nuts, and gifts from around the Atherton Tablelands. If you’re like me and don’t come from a tropical climate, stopping in for some locally-grown macadamia nuts or dragonfruit is a true treat. Our next stop was Gallo Dairyland, a familyowned farm just outside Atherton. There we
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