Lake Eacham is a hole in the ground filled with water. About ten thousand years ago, magma met groundwater beneath the Atherton Tablelands and the ground blew apart in a steam explosion, leaving a deep, round crater that gradually filled with rain. Today it is a lake about sixty-five metres deep, ringed with rainforest and clear enough that you can see turtles in the shallows. It is part of the Wet Tropics of Queensland, a World Heritage Area inscribed in 1988.
The forest around the lake is dense and ancient, with giant trees, strangler figs, ferns, orchids and palms. Southern cassowaries, huge flightless birds with blue necks, still live in this area, and signs warn drivers to slow down for them. Platypus can sometimes be seen at dusk in the creeks nearby, particularly around Yungaburra, the small village about five kilometres away, and the Curtain Fig Tree, an enormous strangler fig with aerial roots hanging like a curtain, is a short drive from the village.
Swimming in the lake is popular, with a path around the shore and picnic tables under the trees. The water is cool, clear and soft, and there are no crocodiles. Early in the morning, mist rises off the surface and the birdsong is loud.
Reaching the Tablelands from the coast is part of the fun. The Gillies Range road, which climbs from the lowlands near Gordonvale to the plateau, is famous among riders for its 263 bends, tight and well surfaced, through rainforest. It can be wet and slippery, with leaf litter on the road, and trucks are a hazard. The tablelands themselves are green, rolling farmland with dairy herds, lakes and small towns.
Yungaburra has a few cafes and a pub, and Malanda and Atherton, both larger, have fuel and supermarkets. The wet season runs from December to April, with heavy rain, while the dry season, from May to November, is the best time to visit. Evenings are cool at altitude.