Mareeba is a town on the Atherton Tableland in Far North Queensland, Australia. The town is 417 metres (1,368 ft) above sea level on the confluence of the Barron River, Granite Creek and Emerald Creek. It is within the local government area of Shire of Mareeba (between 2008 and 2013, it was within the Tablelands Region). The town's name is derived from an Aboriginal word meaning meeting of the waters. At the 2006 census, Mareeba had a population of 6,806.© Wikipedia
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When visiting Mareeba during our caravanning trip around Queensland we were advised to stay at the Mareeba Rodeo and Camping Ground. Even though this camping ground is out of town it is very popular with the grey nomads - only $17 per night for a powered site (2014). Mareeba is a busy town with all the facilities which is close to Cairns and a number of tourist attractions. Head down to the Mareeba Heritage Museum & Visitor Information Centre to find about what to see in the area and look through the displays showing the history of this beautiful town.
The Atherton Tablelands is apparently known as the Hot Air Ballooning capital of the world, and we awoke one morning to the sound of a hot air balloon landing at the Mareeba Rodeo and Camping Ground - quickly jumped out of bed to take photos.
We visited the Coffee Works - an historical collection of coffee machines and tea making equipment from all over the world. A lovely place for morning tea or lunch. Jaques Coffee Plantation is just out of town and well worth a visit to join a tour to learn about the growing, harvesting and processing of this delicious coffee.
Found a small deli in the middle of town called Dino’s Europa Deli/Café with a lovely outdoor covered area behind the shop which is not visible from the road. Service was very good and staff extremely friendly.
We were lucky enough to be in Mareeba to watch the start of the famous wheelbarrow race. This wheelbarrow race goes form Mareeba to Chillagoe which is 139 kilometres away. You can enter on your own but most join a team of up to 10 competitors. The teams parade down the main street in costumes before changing into running gear to commence the race. A Kelso Wheelbarrow is used and each competitor (on a team) will push for about 100 – 200 metres before handing over to another team member, then jump on board their bus for a rest. We could not believe how fast some of the competitors run while pushing these big wheelbarrows.