From Ravenshoe, follow the Kennedy Highway to Innot Hot Springs, famous for its unique natural thermal mineral springs. Up until the 1900s, the mineral water was bottled and sent to Europe for medicinal use. Travelling further west, the highway passes through the heart of Forty Mile Scrub National Park - part of the Undara Lava Fields. Here the thicket includes bottle trees and giant fig trees and is home to possums, gliders, wallabies and a large number of birds usually associated with rainforest.

Turn off the highway and follow the dirt road to Undara Volcanic National Park, one of Australia's greatest geological wonders. The Savannah Guide Station offers a variety of tour options into the largest lava tube system on earth.

Overnight camping or lodge facilities are available in the park.

The Undara Lava Tubes are the largest lava tube systems on earth and require at least one day and two nights to take advantage of the tour options offered by the Savannah Guide Station. Take an early morning walk when wildlife are most active, and don’t miss the sunset tours, when thousands of insectivorous bats stream from the caves. Take a short drive to the Kalkani Crater, another feature of the volcanic activity which created the lava tubes 190,000 years ago.

From Undara, follow the highway west to Mount Surprise. The nearby banks of O'Brian's Creek are a good place to try your hand at fossicking for gems: everything from topaz to aquamarine. If you don’t find any of your own you can admire one of the world’s biggest personal fossicking collections, on display 92 km away at TerrEstrial in Georgetown. This collection, which is all the work of one man, Ted Elliott, contains over 4,500 mineral specimens in a myriad of fascinating colours and shapes from the region and throughout the world. A true test of one man’s passion for fossicking!

The road from Georgetown to Forsayth is unsealed but suitable for conventional 2WD vehicles. From the small township of Forsayth you can take a sidetrip to Cobbold Gorge or travel further south to Agate Creek - an area renowned amongst fossickers for the abundance of agates.

Cobbold Gorge is hidden away within rugged sandstone formations on a working cattle station. The local Savannah Guides offer guided boat tours of the gorge. You can stay at the private camping ground near the Gorge or return to Forsayth where the local Tavern offers comfortable accommodation.

Continue your journey today through the McBride Volcanic Province to the former copper mining township of Einasleigh, set among some unusual scenery with flat top hills, or mesas, that rise out of the grasslands. From here you can explore the Copperfield Gorge and River, where sheer walls drop into the sandy river bottom.

Located on the intersection of the Kennedy Highway and Gregory Developmental Road, don’t blink or you may miss The Lynd Junction. Enjoy a refreshing drink at the Oasis Roadhouse – reputably the smallest bar in Queensland!

From The Lynd Junction you can return to Ravenshoe on the Kennedy Highway (206 km) or continue east along Gregory Developmental Road to Townsville (390 km).

For further detailed information visit one of the local Information Centres on the way, or one of the following.

Cairns:
Gateway Discovery Centre
51 The Esplanade, Cairns
Tel: (07) 4051 3588
www.tropicalaustralia.com

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