The unexpectedly cool Queensland town you’ve probably never heard of

Before pulling into the quaint rural village of Yungaburra, about an hour inland from Cairns on the Atherton Tablelands, we had spent three days in the salty suds on some of Far North Queensland’s prettiest beaches. We were, as far as we knew, in pursuit of waterfalls and a tiny house perched on a hill as we drove along the Kennedy Highway, out to a honey vending machine in a dusty Biboohra paddock and into Mareeba’s Coffee Works roastery. Landing in Yungaburra was perfect, wonderful happenstance.

Yungaburra – meaning “meeting place” in the local Dulgubarra Yidinji language, describing a place once home to about 16 different First Nations groups – is built on the basalt plains of volcanic eruptions millions of years old. This fertile Tablelands destination is home to one of the region’s biggest markets (held every fourth Saturday, with 260 stallholders, for those keeping track), with a main street punctuated by hanging flowerpots maintained for over a decade by the town’s Beautification Committee.

Arriving mid-afternoon, we expected closed shopfronts and a quiet main strip. We were mistaken. After exploring Spencer and Murphy Booksellers, housed in a cavernous shed with warrens of books stacked in nooks and crannies, we find Pluto & Nessie. Owned and run by second-generation Yungaburra local Sophie Thomas, who grins at us from behind her Queensland silky oak counter, the game store stocks puzzles from France and American card decks alongside carefully curated, lesser-known sets, which Sophie buys directly from individual makers and indie publishers. Her store is a direct response to the town she grew up in.

“Yungaburra and the Tablelands have amazing lakes and waterfalls, nature walks and wildlife but at night or if it’s pouring down, there isn’t really much to do besides go to the pub,” Sophie says.

Not any more. Sophie runs board-game nights, with locals and visitors cramming between shelves of puzzles to compete in Dungeons & Dragons evenings, mahjong nights and senior social events. She’s meticulous about puzzles, sourcing and selling sets that are eco-friendly and running a “missing piece service”. They have to be of good enough quality that you hear “the amazing little click when you put the pieces together”, she says. After chatting and watching Sophie show us how games can be played, we leave with a 99-piece Turkish-made puzzle and a speedy card game.

Yungaburra is home to Queensland’s largest collection of heritage-listed buildings outside the regional centres. They’re in great nick, with 18 listed on the Queensland Heritage Register and 24 historic buildings on the Old Town Loop trail (pick up the map from the Visitors Centre). Next to what was once the old auctioneer’s rooms – built in 1926 for young auctioneer, pig breeder and Gallipoli soldier O.L. Evers – sits Winter & Mann, a providore and homewares store celebrating North Queensland “and beyond”.

Owners Stuart Mann and Anna Winter are restocking shelves when we visit. Stuart enthusiastically shows us timber cutting boards made by Mahavira, once a sparkie, who uses electricity to imbue branch-like patterns on the wood’s surface before filling them with fluorescent resin. We’re travelling light, so we opt to leave with Davidson plum-studded chocolate and postcards instead – plus Stuart’s recommendation to check out Mungalli Creek Biodynamic Dairy the next day. (Platypuses, he tells us, are best seen from the viewing platform at Peterson’s Creek. BYO binoculars, Anna adds.)

That night, we watch the stars spill over rolling hills and complete Sophie’s puzzle while nibbling our new chocolate. The next day, we venture out on the Waterfall Circuit to splash beneath the falling cascade at Millaa Millaa Falls.

After a refuel at Mungalli, where we enjoy scones and to-go quark, we drive back to Pluto & Nessie. Sophie looks at us knowingly when we wander in to tell her we need another puzzle – and heck, while we’re at it, another game. She peels out from behind the desk to show us her favourites.

Her passion is so infectious that we leave only to head down past the Federation-style timber Yungaburra Hotel to Mr Belson – a cafe at Cedrella, a residence built in 1912 by the town’s former wood mill manager, Charles Belson, who hosted parties and lawn games – for piccolos. We sit at the outdoor tables, made of narrow, thick timber slabs, and open the box, then spread chips out as potted pansies and petunias sway in the gentle high-altitude breeze. Considering the unexpected route to get here, we’re pretty happy with the cards we’ve been dealt.

THE DETAILS

FLY
Qantas, Jetstar and Virgin all operate daily direct flights from Sydney and Melbourne to Cairns.

DRIVE
Yungaburra is an hour’s drive south-west of Cairns. Rent a car from Bargain Car Rentals just outside Cairns Airport.

DO
The Yungaburra Markets run until 12.30pm. See yungaburramarkets.com

The writer travelled at her own expense.