TNQ Writer
Foodies take a deep breath and prepare your tastebuds for tantalisation. Here’s how to get your foodie fix on the Atherton Tablelands.
Mt Uncle Distillery
The Atherton Tablelands is unique with its foodie offerings. Meet quirky Mt. Uncle Distillery, an award-winning boutique distillery set on a banana plantation with resident alpacas, donkeys, goats and free-roaming peacocks.
Quench your thirst with a tasting paddle of handcrafted liqueurs and spirits at their Cellardoor before playing meet and greet with the farm animals.
Australian Platypus Park
The oversized barramundi poking above green pastures on the Kennedy Highway is the first sign that you’ve reached fish-frenzied nirvana, otherwise known as Australian Platypus Park. Once you’ve sampled the in-house smoked meats, head to the lakes to spot the elusive platypus.
Lake Barrine Teahouse
A glorious old teahouse on the banks of Lake Barrine, itself a former volcanic crater, Lake Barrine Teahouse serves up one of the best Devonshire Teas on the Tablelands. Afterwards, walk off cream-laden calories on the rainforest trail circling the lake.
Skybury Coffee Plantation
Serving up aromatic Australian Arabica Coffee as well as bananas and papayas plucked straight from the farm, Skybury Coffee is Australia’s oldest coffee plantation. Linger over lunch or take home your preferred blend coffee capsules which are compatible with Nespresso machines.
Gallo Dairyland
Stop by Gallo Dairyland for lunch, morning or afternoon tea in a dairy farm café or take home delicious house made chocolate and cheese. Cheese addicts can linger in the Cheese Factory to check out the cheese making process.
Coffee Works
Get your caffeine fix at Coffee Works in Mareeba while learning about growing, roasting, savouring, trading and drinking the enticingly pungent brew we can’t seem to get enough of. Not into coffee? They’re pretty handy at hand-crafted chocolate too.
Mungalli Creek Dairy
Pop into Mungalli Creek Dairy and Teahouse for bio-dynamic (as in unpasteurised) yoghurt, cheese and milk that comes with a decadent layer of cream (even the low fat variety). Linger over lunch on the verandah overlooking implausibly green dairy pastures.
The Falls Teahouse
The Falls Teahouse is a gorgeous old Queenslander oozing high country charisma plopped on top of a hill just outside Millaa Millaa. Go here for lunch or Devonshire Teas on the way to or from the Waterfall Circuit.
Golden Drop Winery
Originally a tobacco plantation that diversified from the weed that kills to the fruit that nurtures, Golden Drop Winery was the first commercial mango winery in the world. These days they’re cultivating luscious Kensington red mangoes to produce still and sparkling wines.
Shaylee Strawberries
Between Atherton and Yungaburra, find Shaylee Strawberries. During the cooler months, you can pick your own strawberries, paying only for what you pick, or stop by throughout the year and pick up homemade gelato, sorbet and strawberry jam.
The Humpy
Not sure what you fancy? Head to the Humpy in Tolga to browse the ultimate smorgasbord of local produce. Pick up farm-fresh fruit and veggies, nuts locally produces jams and chutneys and more.
Brett's Outback Tasting Tours
Fancy a whole day food trail? Head to the Atherton Tablelands with Brett’s Outback Tasting Adventures for all of the foodie action without any of the planning. Head to delicious stops including Lake Barrine Teahouse, Nerada Tea Plantation, Sunset Ridge Farm and Mt Uncle Distillery.