Malanda is located about 25kms southeast of
Atherton. It resides in one of the wettest areas of the
Atherton Tablelands, and is surrounded by pockets of rainforest and rolling hills . Freshwater creeks snake their way through this region, culminating in waterfalls that cascade into refreshing swimming holes. The principle reason for Malanda’s existence is the Tropical North Queensland dairy industry. One of the world’s largest dairy factories provides the main source of employment here, and is supported by over 190 local dairy farmers. The dairy products sourced from this town travel along the longest milk run in the world, reaching south to Townsville, west to
Alice Springs, north to
Darwin and overseas to New Guinea and South East Asia.