Mareeba is located approximately 64 km in the
ranges west of Cairns at an elevation of 450 metres above
sea-level.
With a population of approximately 8,500 residents, it is the
largest of the communities in the Atherton Tablelands
district.
Road access to Mareeba from Cairns is via the northbound
Captain Cook Highway as far as the Smithfield roundabout, where
clear signage instructs motorists to take a left turn onto the
Kennedy Highway and proceed up the scenic Kuranda Range.
The sealed, double-laned road makes its way through dense
tropical rainforest, but soon after passing the Kuranda
turnoff, the countryside changes to lightly timbered open
forest and grasslands, spotted here and there with the
occasional large termite mound, commonly referred to as
anthills.
While Cairns is celebrated as "Where the Rainforest Meets
the Reef", Mareeba has been heralded by some as
"Where the Rainforest meets the Outback".
Mareeba's European history, like most other population
centres on the Atherton Tablelands, began in the late 1800s
with the gold rush on the Hodgkinson River to its north-west
and the discovery of tin in the Herberton district to its
south-west.
A rough track servicing these two mining centres was blazed
from Port Douglas in 1877, with the track to Herberton passing
directly through the Mareeba area.
The legendary Australian transport icon, Cobb & Co, also
ran a coach service along this trail.
Phone: 07 4092 5674
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