Just to the southwest, the Cairns Highlands, better known as the Atherton Tablelands, are a cool, calm contrast to this bustling, hot tourist city.
Between 500m and 1280m above sea level, the good soil, sun and rainfall have made these uplands the region's prime agricultural area, producing an astonishing range of fruits, nuts and vegetables together with dairy farms and tea and coffee plantations.
This contributes to making it one of the prettiest parts of tropical North Queensland.
Rent a car in Cairns and drive up through the World Heritage rainforest to Kuranda, the "village in the rainforest" where you can potter around the original markets which have been open since 1978 to sell local arts and crafts.
The newer Heritage Market nearby is an all-weather covered market mall. Across the road is the helpful information centre with brochures and maps.
Ask for details of the Food and Wine Trail that takes you to distilleries and wineries which use tropical fruit to make wines and liqueurs, as well as to dairies producing artisan cheeses and yoghurts and to coffee and teashops.
Mareeba is renowned for its coffee and there are plantations between Kuranda and Mareeba serving snacks and some of the best coffee this side of Milan.
At Coffee Works, a gift shop on Mason St, the Coffee World section boasts the world's largest collection of coffee artefacts.
Stop in Atherton where the Kennedy Highway leads south out of town at the extraordinary volcanic pipe known as the Hypipamee Crater, a huge hole 58m below the viewing platform caused by an ancient volcanic explosion.
It is filled with water and surrounded by wildlife that is reputedly best seen at night by torchlight.
Discover the history of the Tablelands, starting at Yungaburra which has changed little since 1910 and is the largest National Trust village in Queensland. It is home to 18 heritage-listed buildings.
Check out the Eacham Hotel, better known as the Yungaburra Pub, with its old-world Federation architecture, the cosy Whistle Stop Cafe across the road, the curiously alpine-looking Vienna Inn with a traditional Middle European menu, and the award-winning Nick's Restaurant and Yodellers' Bar serving mostly Swiss-Italian food.
The Herberton Historic Village is an outdoor museum of pioneer history and the most significant ever assembled in Queensland. There are more than 50 original buildings with intact interiors, old vehicles and thousands of antiques and sundry memorabilia. Relive the settlers' lives at the bar of the old pub, in a school classroom or scoffing homemade pies and ice creams at Bakerville Tearooms.
In the town of Malanda, famous for its milk and cheeses, catch a movie at the Majestic Theatre, one of the oldest continuously operating country picture theatres in Australia. Opened in 1928, the timber-framed structure clad with weatherboard and a gabled roof was built entirely of local rainforest hardwood, and inside are original oak-framed canvas seats.
The enormous Malanda Hotel, with its grand staircase and ballroom, celebrated its centenary last year. It is reputedly the largest single timber structure in Queensland.
The Malanda Dairy Centre is as a factory and museum, paying tribute to the pioneers who lived and farmed in the area more than a century ago. Third-generation dairy farmers guide tours through this operational dairy busy with milk and cheese production, and the restaurant is open for breakfast and lunch.
At Gallo Dairyland, just south of Atherton on the Malanda Rd, the Gallo family's 500 Friesian cows produce the fresh milk they use to produce award-winning gourmet cheeses and chocolates hand-crafted from imported Swiss couverture.
In the bright, airy cafe that seats 100, you'll find a display cabinet loaded with tempting chocolates and the dairy fridge with Greek-style yoghurts and more than a dozen varieties of cheese created by master Swiss cheese maker Johannes Minder.
Cobble together a picnic lunch and explore the Waterfall Circuit amid the cool beauty of half-a-dozen different waterfalls, including the spectacular Millaa Millaa plunge falls more than 18m high and the steadier, cascading Mungalli Falls.
Head to Glen Allyn Rd near Malanda for the Nerada Tea Plantation, one of Australia's largest. It has a visitor centre where visitors can take guided tours covering tea production from seedlings to harvesting and tips on how to make the perfect cuppa.
Lake Barrine is a crater lake created by an ancient exploding volcano and its surrounding crater rim is one of the most complex and fascinating rainforest ecosystems in the world. Get a close-up look at its wonders on the 40-minute Lake Barrine Rainforest and Wildlife Cruise that operates from the Lake Barrine Teahouse where you can sample award-winning devonshire teas and scones.
All of this and more, including bucolic scenery to die for, sunshine and blue sky just before brief torrential rain and then sunshine again glistening on rolling green pastures, on lakes, waterfalls and cute, old colonial towns.
Even in the wet season, this has to be one of Australia's great drives.
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The writer was a guest of Tourism Tropical North Queensland (queenslandholidays.com.au/ ttnq.org.au/ and athertontablelands.com.au)
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Atherton Tablelands, Queensland
Staying there:
Kuranda Resort in the rainforest at 3 Greenhills Rd, Kuranda, has dormitories from $45 per person and lofts and chalets with doubles from $130-$220 (kurandaresort.com.au/ or tel: 07 4093 7556).
Eden House Retreat and Mountain Spa at Yungaburra has luxurious country-style cottages and contemporary villas with doubles from $360 and two-night packages including arrival champagne, breakfasts and two 60-minute massages in the day spa from $520 (edenhouse.com.au)
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