Granite Gorge is a nature park about 10 kilometers outside of Mareeba, Queensland that is an excellent spot to kick back and enjoy the outdoors whenever the cities get to be a bit too much. It takes about an hour to get to Granite Gorge from Cairns. Once there, you can take a dip in a nice swimming hole, go for a hike, feed rock wallabies and get up-close and personal with many different types of wildlife.
The park is privately owned and has excellent facilities to help make the stay enjoyable. The people in charge are just about as nuts about the park as one can imagine, which is always refreshing to see when someone appreciates the job they do. Within a few minutes of being there, I was already holding a soft-feathered chicken and taking pictures of wild turkeys.
Granite Gorge is home to giant boulders, some bigger than a house, and others taking on the shape of random animals. There is a path laid out amongst the rocks (marked by white dots and arrows) that take you through the twists and turns, but beware that this may be a little difficult at times as you’ll be climbing up and down.
DOWNLOAD OUR TRAVEL GUIDES
FOR FREE
There are a couple of good swimming holes – the people in charge assured that no crocs were in the area – that you can relax in if the day gets too warm.
A big draw for most coming in that way are the rock wallabies, which are actually a rare form of wallaby made especially cute because of their tiny size. You can hand-feed them roo food that is for sale on-site ($1/bag).
Campsites are either powered or un-powered, and there are even a few cabins to choose from.
See more of what Granite Gorge has in store by visiting their official website.
This stop was part of the 16-day Cairns to Sydney trip. You can get to Granite Gorge on the drive from Cairns to Cooktown.