Mission Beach

Everyone has a dream. José Paronella's dream became a reality. On five hectares beside Mena Creek Falls he built his castle, a picnic area by the falls, tennis courts, bridges, a tunnel, and wrapped it up in an amazing range of 7,500 tropical plants and trees.

The Mamu Rainforest Canopy Walkway is a spectacular walk through the canopy of World Heritage rainforest. It is an iconic tourist attraction in the heart of the Wet Tropics. With a 350 metre long elevated walkway through the canopy, a cantilever, a 37 metre observation tower and more than 1200 metres of walking tracks, this attraction is a must do for anyone visiting the region.

View a spectacular curtain fig tree from different vantage points along a boardwalk in this small but popular national park. This large fig tree is unique because the extensive aerial roots, that drop 15 metres to the forest floor, have formed a 'curtain'.

Plunging over the edge of a columnar basalt lava flow, Big Millstream Falls is reputedly the widest single-drop waterfall in Australia. Wander down the walking track leads to spectacular views of the falls.

Beaver Reef is one of the most popular dive sites off Mission Beach with coral gardens, bommies and sloping coral walls in depths to 22 metres. Off the southern side of the reef is a site called Shark Alley.

Millaa Millaa Falls are magnificent waterfalls surrounded by lush rainforest located on the Waterfalls Circuit, along with Zillie and Ellinjaa Falls. The falls cascade perfectly to a pristine waterhole below where you can enjoy a refreshing swim in the cool water.

Djiru National Park, near Mission Beach, protects some of the last remaining lowland rainforest in the Wet Tropics, including a rare patch of Licuala fan palm forest. It is also one of the few places you're likely to see the endangered southern cassowary.

Plunging over the edge of a columnar basalt lava flow, Big Millstream Falls is reputedly the widest single-drop waterfall in Australia. A walking track leads to a viewing area over the falls. Here, in the rainshadow of the eastern dividing ranges, the dry, open woodland vegetation is dominated by eucalypts.

Eubenangee Swamp, an important wetland in the coastal lowlands between Ingham and Cairns, is a birdwatchers' paradise. Over 190 species of birds have been recorded here. Sitting below the Bellenden Ker Range (the wettest part of Australia), much of this park is flooded during the wet season.

Souita Falls are near to Millaa Millaa on Middlebrook Road off the Old Palmerston Highway which once was the road connecting Millaa Millaa and Ravenshoe - the highest town in Queensland, now a scenic route (not suitable for caravans) between the two towns.