Location: the southern Evelyn Tableland, in the Hugh Nelson Range in north Queensland

Mount Hypipamee National Park is centred around a diatreme or what is commonly referred to as a volcanic pipe or vent, thought to have been created by a massive gas explosion. The pipe was opened upward through surface rocks by gas produced from molten rock below and as a result of tremendous pressure, the vent exploded sending volcanic bombs far across the landscape.
The crater is less than 70m across with sheer granite walls (the surface rock through which the gas exploded). Fifty-eight metres below the rim is a lake about 82m deep covered with a thick green layer of native waterweed. Underneath live perch-like fish and small crustaceans.
The crater is not a vertical cylinder but a submerged passage. It turns under the lookout, 80m below the water level. Deep silt and trees cover the cave floor. Further exploration may reveal the crater's extent and facets of a unique habitat.
A remarkable variety of vegetation types, including high-altitude rainforest, grows in the small park surrounding the crater. It is a hot spot for possums with several different species inhabiting the area and a good place for seeing high-altitude birds.
A platform provides an uninterrupted view of the remaining crater. Access to the crater is via the Crater Track, a 400m stroll through the rainforest leading to a viewing platform. An alternative route back to the carpark from the crater leads down to Dinner Falls, a series of cascades in the headwaters of the Barron River.
Mount Hypipamee National Park is about 110km south-west of Cairns, 25km south of Atherton and 15km from Malanda.

Dinner Falls