If you travel north along the Captain Cook Highway from Cairns and turn onto the Kennedy Highway, you’ll find yourself winding up the mountain range to a beautiful part of Tropical North Queensland that includes Barron Gorge National Park.
This is Djabugay country, and at the area that indigenous locals know as Din Din, there are comfortable boardwalks and trails that take you through the forest to two lookouts that point towards the remarkable Barron Falls.
Further downstream on the banks of the Barron River there’s a beautiful caravan and campground that is set within similar wilderness.
Lake Placid Tourist Park is leafy, and has great facilities. It’s accommodation options include camp and caravan sites and villas, cottages and cabins.
One of the activities worth giving a go, if you’re staying here, or in Cairns (which is less than half an hour away) is a Raging Thunder Adventure.
Its white water rafting guides use the power of the river to take inflatable boats full of eager paddlers on the experience of a lifetime.
It’s a grade 3 – or mid-range – challenge, but there’s plenty of time to float with the current and enjoy the environment between battles with rapids. The minimum age of guests is 13, but under 18s will need to be accompanied by a parent or guardian
