Splendid examples of the spirit of nature and the human spirit are on display when you go north to Cairns, then turn left. Bev Malzard reports

Mamu Rainforest Canopy Walkway.

Every time I’ve visited Cairns, the cheery tropical city has been my base for activities that take in the reef, reef and more reef. But on my last visit, I turned my back to the sea and headed inland and uncovered another amazing world beyond the shoreline.

After an indulgent breakfast at the Novotel Cairns Oasis Resort, six of us began the journey to the Atherton Tableland for the ‘inside’ story.

We headed south from Cairns and made for Innisfail on the Palmerston Highway and then to the main event, Mamu Rainforest Canopy Walkway, high above the Wooroonooran National Park. The walkway structure is elevated to 350m. There are 10m of cantilevered walkway. Don’t worry, the cantilevered part holds weight equivalent to an adult African elephant at 6610kg – just don’t go for seconds at lunch.

It takes about an hour to walk the 2.5 km. You don’t need to be super fit to enjoy the walkway or the forest walk, and there are wheelchair accessible tracks and facilities provided. If you are uncomfortable with heights, don’t climb the tower, nor the tower’s steps if you aren’t confident of reaching the top at 37m above the ground.

This is the heart of the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area and the surrounding rainforest, protected as the national park, is home to many plants and animals and the views are majestic. We looked down over the North Johnstone River, marvelling at the primeval spectacle of this pristine environment.

Inland and a little cooler than the coastal region we were in the perfect ‘scones for morning tea’ climate. Before heading off for a cruise on Lake Barrine, we moseyed into the tea house for a cuppa and fat scones with jam and cream. It was getting better and better.

We boarded the MV Lake Barrine and enjoyed a leisurely cruise on the clear waters of an extinct volcanic crater. All around the edge of the lake is vibrant, old growth World Heritage listed rainforest. Back on shore we strolled along a boardwalk to stand by an ancient giant curtain fig tree – nature at its most resplendent.

We then drove on to watch falling water at Millaa Millaa, Mungalli and Mena Creek waterfalls.

Lunch in a gazebo overlooking Mungalli Falls (the Atherton Tableland’s tallest falls), a little kick-back time and we were off again.

And the next big thing on our journey is Paronella Park, an anachronism that emerges from the forest, glimpsed from the edge of the road, ghostly and otherworldly. It has a crazy kind of beauty: it’s a dream come true with a few nightmarish, crumbling undertones.

Jose Paronella was a visionary who arrived from Spain in 1913 to plan a life for himself and his fiance Matilda (who was left behind). Jose worked hard for 11 years buying, improving and selling cane farms. He discovered virgin forest alongside Mena Creek Falls and that was where he realised his dream of building a castle, a park and an outdoor experience to rival no other in Queensland.

Jose returned to Spain to collect Matilda but she had married another man, so Jose married her younger sister. Jose wasn’t coming back to Australia without a bride.

What was built over a period of years hosted weddings, extravagant parties, people rowing boats under waterfalls, croquet games, tennis, theatre productions and secret trysts in Lovers Lane. All is ruins of the vision splendid now, but a visit is romantic and supremely enjoyable. There’s the little castle (below), the melancholy remains of the grand ballroom, steps trodden and worn by the bright young things of the first half of the 20th century, a stunning lake and waterfall and the crowning glory of the trees of Kauri Avenue.

The fascinating history of Paronella Park reads like a gothic novel. The buildings have been ravaged by time, fire, cyclones and other violent acts of nature, and what’s left stands proudly, if precariously in defiance of what’s still to come.

Getting there: Virgin Blue has direct daily services to Cairns from Sydney. Connections from Brisbane are available.
Stay at the stunning Novotel Cairns Oasis Resort, to enjoy elegant surrounds, great food, a free-form swimming pool with a sandy beach and a swim-up bar set in tropical gardens.

Currently there’s a fantastic deal on offer. For $270 per person twin share, you can have two nights at the resort with full buffet breakfast; a day tour with Tropical Horizon Tours which takes you to Mamu rainforest walkways, Lake Barrine, the townships of Yungaburra and Malanda, lunch at Mungalli Falls and the ruins of Paronella Park castle and its gardens. Lunch included. For $270, this is the bargain of the year. (Offer available until 31 March 2010.)

Visit: www.novotelcairnsresort.com.au or tel: 1300 65 65 65.

Also visit: www.virginblue.com.au; www.tropicalhorizonstours.com.au; www.cairnsdome.com.au; www.pullmanhotels.com; www.paronellapark.com.au