Savouring the Savannah Way - Far North Queensland, Australia

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Far North Queensland, Australia

A taste of the very different is what you get when you head west from Innisfail, Far North Queensland and pursue the Savannah Way (main Highway across the top of Far North Queensland) - savouring all of the changes that you encounter. The diversity within this region forces the reality of what a vast country Australia is. From a seemingly boundless view of tropical marvel to the scenery that tells the story of time!

Ravenshoe, the highest town in Queensland, with its pockets of rainforest and energy production in the form of windmills, allows you to see the stretches of environment altering. Red soil still prevails, but the vegetation is not as lofty. The climate has changed also, humidity has reduced encouraging a different habitat. Innot Springs - a naturally occurring spa bath for weary or indulgent travelers and Mt. Garnet is aptly named - the beginning of the trail for serious prospectors of minerals and semi-precious stones.

Undarra Volcanic National Park is next on the list. It is an excursion in Natural History - a revelation of the absence of time. Onehundred and ninety thousand years ago, Undarra (meaning "a long way" in Aboriginal terms) came to life, one of 164 volcanoes within the province. Its fingers of lava permeated 23 cubic kilometers and the area of the field it created was 1550 square kilometers - mutating the contours of the land, leaving in its wake 69 lava tube entrances, of which only 8 have been visited. One of these tubes ambulated for more than 160 kilometers, the longest known lava flow on the planet!

Awesome, fascinating, wondrous, inconceivable, overwhelming are all words that come to mind as you descend into the belly of the tubes. The hairs on the back of your neck stand to attention as it dawns on you just how much power was required to create these corridors of pure archaeological antiquity and just how much of our world as we know it has been transformed.

There are many options available for you to choose how you wish to utilise your visit. Many tours are scheduled - a quick peek of 2 hours to an overnight stay. All requirements are catered for and the guides can only be referred to as "outback professors" or "information on legs". They are brilliant with their verbal reconstruction of the events that caused what we know about today.
Onward to Georgetown - "The Middle of the Road" between Cairns and Normanton. The Newcastle Range shrugs its shoulders at you as you pass over The Einasleigh River. Further evidence of Undarra follows you and reappears as ridges along the way...reminding you of exactly where you are. Tempting creeks, billabongs and lagoons of crystal clear water forgive you for stopping and admiring them. Routh Creek - 23 kilometers east of Georgetown is a perfect example.

In May 2003, The Terrestrial Centre Georgetown was opened - 400 kilometers west of Cairns. This particular Information Centre houses the Ted Elliot Mineral Collection with 4,500 specimens on public display. The collection is presented in geographical order from all over the world - containing fossils, petrified woods, Agates - including "The Big Agate" Australia's largest cut and polished agate, quartz, the Red Dome Specimens (from Red Dome Gold Mine, near Chillagoe, northeast of Georgetown), opals, gold, silver and many more intriguing categories. At each section there is a TV monitor and video awaiting you to inform you of all details regarding the displays. Located in the heart of Georgetown, the Centre is an excellent opportunity to soak in the ecological history of the areas you have or will be traveling through, as well as treating yourself to the visual beauty collected and put together from other parts of the world.

The Terrestrial Centre also offers souvenirs, maps and general information on the multitude of captivating and engaging terrain and localities along The Savannah Way.

Whether you are travelling independently or on an organised tour, "The Top End" presents to you an extensive menu of entrees, main meals and desserts according to your individual tastes and preferences as a tourist - Bon Appetite!

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