Monday 23^rd July

We have been staying with friends and rellies as we wind our way home. We hope you have enjoyed our journey. We certainly have and can’t wait to set off again!

Take care until we travel again.

Friday 6^th July

We have been staying with friends so the blog is behind. So a little catch up. Steve and Denise are working, so we borrowed their car and explored. They live at the top of the Somerset dam that is connected to the Wivenhoe Dam, west of Brisbane. Beautiful country and we enjoyed our drive and exploring little villages. Had a lovely evening with their friends who had fish and crabs they had caught in the gulf. Interesting people who have tried their hand at many occupations - building, restaurants, B&Bs etc.

Denise and Steve have some chooks and lots of fruit trees and a large vegie garden.

We had a lovely visit with them.

Saturday 7^th July

We headed off early to the coast. We ended up in Burleigh Heads at a park at the south end of the beach. It was a great spot as we could walk into town and to the beach. We settled in and went for a walk and discovered Mass was at 6.15. Then we went for a long bike ride. There is a bike track that virtually goes all the way into Surfers and is mainly along the beach. We headed north and went as far as Miami Beach. This has only low rise buildings and no trees along the waterfront so we had a beautiful view as we rode. Much busier back near our beach and we had to get off the bikes- too many people. We were able to walk to Mass as it was very close. The church is in the basement of a large apartment building, circular in shape. A large crowd with a cross section of ages. Then we opted for fish and chips- always necessary at the beach! Lovely weather all day!

Sunday 8^th July

We headed to Lismore. We were amazed at the amount of traffic on the freeway in and out of Brisbane. Too much civilization! We headed to the beautiful country behind Lismore where among other things macadamias are grown. There our friends from Canberra live. We met up with them at the local boat and caravan show which was being held in the showground. Had a lovely afternoon and headed home. They have a beautiful view all around and can see trees, valleys and more trees. This is sub tropical rainforest area and very beautiful. We were given a crash course in growing and harvesting macadamias so now we are experts! Had a yummy baked dinner (we have no oven in Fanda) which we thoroughly enjoyed.

Monday 9^th July

We spent the day exploring around Ballina, Byron Bay and Lennox Head as our friends had to work. We especially enjoyed Lennox Head where we walked around the headland and had lunch overlooking the ocean. We noticed board riders going in over rocks which we thought odd but apparently the current takes them back to the surf beach. At Ballina we did a very long walk along the breakwater. We could see dolphins. Apparently there a few groups live there. Another man pointed out a whale to us but we couldn’t really see it. We headed back to Lismore for another delightful evening. They were very hospitable and it was great to catch up.

Tuesday 10^th July

Not a great day weather wise so we spent some time at the shops and then in the van reading. We were able to buy some presents as we have lots of birthdays on our return! We caught up with my friend Judy who had been my bridesmaid. Another lovely evening and home cooked food

Wednesday 11^th July

Back down the coast and we have ended up at Emerald beach- not sure if it part of the emerald city! We are about half an hour north of Coffs Harbour. We are in a very child friendly park close to the beach. There is a heated pool, sauna, jumping pillow, games room, playground to keep kids amused. We walked thru bush onto the beach and then walked along the beach. There is a headland that I,{Fay] walked up. There were kangaroos at the top of the headland just grazing. A beautiful view out to the sea and up the coast and down the coast. Another wonderful day in sun and sand.

Sunday 1^st July – 1770

We continued to drive south to start the social 2 or 3 weeks of the trip home. 1770 is off the highway and a coastal visited by Captain Cook in, yes, you guessed it, 1770.

It is a quiet little town where the river enters the sea, where the sun shone brightly and breeze was gentle and we walked along the sands around the headland and back again. We didn’t want to go back to the park too early, so we found a little spot near the inlet and set up our chairs and had a read and a cuppa for an hour or so. A very pretty place well set up for day trippers. As always the best caravan park is the council one on the beach. Our park was a bit further out and completely surrounded by trees. You could walk thru the bush to the beach. There was a cycle track across from the park and I did a bike ride back towards Agnes Waters. The area looks to be doing okay but there was a building that had been stopped before completion.

Tomorrow we have a reasonably short drive to Bargara, 15km south of Bundaberg, where our friends from the Canadian trip of 2006 live. The Heads, Lynn and Brian have visited us in Canberra a few years ago and this was our chance to reciprocate.

Monday 2^nd July

We got away reasonable early, but we took our time and had some lunch before we arrived in Bagara. It was great to see our friends again. No rest for us, as they whisked us away and we did some sight seeing around town. They had an evening engagement with Rotary, so they left about 5.15, and we had an early tea of soup which Lynn had already made for us. It was a bit of a treat to sleep in a bed and we looked forward to it.

Tuesday 3^rd July

It was an all day sightseeing trip with visits to the marina area, sugar factory, the Bundy factory, the Ginger Beer area, then on to the Bert Hinkler Museum (a Bundy hero and early aviation pioneer), botanic gardens and a beautiful late 1880s house redone as a museum to the area.

It was a long day and we had a very nice meal with them at home and we played Ricketty Kate until about 10pm. It was a very relaxing night and great fun.

Wednesday 4^th July

After a fantastic visit with Brian and Lyn we headed off to the Sunshine coast. True to its name the weather was [and is] beautiful. Once again we are right behind the beach at Mooloolaba. We went for a walk along beach. Wooden walkway one way and path the other. Lovely spot. The boardwalk was covered all the way so would a lovely cool walk in summer.

It was origin night so we watched the game in the camp kitchen. A lot of fun with surprisingly lots of blues supporters. We won’t mention the result!

Thursday 5^th July

Headed off to a place called Kilcoy about 1 hour north of Brisbane, to stay with friends Steve and Denise. Way back when, Adrian lived and trained with Steve in Melbourne. They have a lovely home with a 360 deg around to lovely hills just north of the Wivenhoe Dam. They overwhelmed us with their welcome and we had a great night as well. Tomorrow they are having friends in for a barbecue so we also get tp meet some of the locals

Monday 25^th June – Lake Placid

We had an appointment with fear and terror. The cable car to Kuranda awaited with a smile on its face. We even got there early and there was no waiting to board the terror car. Some of the towers were 70metres high – I personally think some were 7km high or it seemed like that when viewed through clenched hands from the floor of the cable car.

We were all happy and expectant – till we set off and we reached the first of the towers. When it went bump-bump-bump-crunch, well we were not quite as confident. The trouble was that every tower produced the same sounds …….. and same reaction from me.

The Train with a waterfall just in the background

The Train on the curve

The drop into Kuranda

ALL cable cars were empty going the other way!!! Does this mean something?

Baron Falls in full flood

I can't look!!!!!!!!

The first way station on our cable ride

Theonly time we have seen a Cassowary

For Campbell - Pop's EvilTwin Brother with a Friend

No really it wasn’t that bad (yes it was). The views from the cable cars were spectacular as we cruised over the canopy. We took numerous photos but really they do not mean a thing compared to being there. They did not give the feeling of (fear) awe as we floated above the forest.

The trip was broken into 3 sections for the ascent by cable as it required 3 changes of (underwear) cable car. The first stop was Red Peak where we could wander through the upper reaches of the rain forest on an elevated walkway – something we had seen before.

The second stop was Barron Falls where we walked through a trail to the vistas of the falls and took numerous photos. We would love to see it in the wet season. We were also to see this with a different perspective in the afternoon when we came down the mountain via train.

The third was the final section into Kuranda village. This was spectacular as we could see the village laid out below us as we descended across the Baron River, even going over the top of the train that was doing the ascent via rail. We would catch that train in the afternoon. Two trains do the climb in the morning, then stay to do the descent in the afternoon.

We wandered around the village, through the markets (every town in QLD has markets) down to the park, where we had our lunch which we had made that morning.

Before we had lunch, during our wandering through the village, we had run into Deano and his wife and Mum and Dad, and then 10 minutes later we ran into the Ceccere’s, doing a walk and an ice cream stop.

We walked down along the river amongst a grove of paperbarks and ran into an English couple and we chatted with them till it was time to catch the 2pm train back down the mountain.

The return trip was not as (frightening) exhilarating as the morning climb, but we could manage to enjoy the views with a bit less height between us and terra firma. The train slowed and sometimes stopped at the places where the view was a bit special. It even stopped at a station for 10 minutes to allow for that Kodak moment (or is that now an XD Card moment) I managed to get some photos of the terrain, the dam, the river, Fay, the waterfalls and the train doing tight bends as we did the trip to the station at the bottom of the mountain. We then had to catch a shuttle bus back to the Cable Car Terminus, where we left Fanda in the morning.

We had to do a little shopping (at the suburb called Smithfield… there is a suburb of Cairns called Parramatta) then we returned to the park where we had prepaid for a Chinese meal in the morning.

A long day but an enjoyable one.

Tuesday 26^th June - Flying Fish Point

Quite a catchy name for an area – Flying Fish Point. I didn’t point out to them that the fish they have on the sign is a sail fish NOT a flying fish – but who cares?

We picked it out of the area map, but it had been recommended to us by someone along the way. The weather is beginning to go overcast on us.

We booked in and did a walk along the beach then down to the mouth of the river. Flying Fish Point is where the Johnson River meets the Ocean. Let me tell you that the Johnson River is quite a large and wide river. Once again a river we had never heard of.

We found the take-away just down the road, so I walked down to get the fish and chips take-away for tea. We managed to have tea in the camp lounge and got to see our first ABC news for a while. Where are we off to tomorrow? We have sent Emails to some people we met on the Canadian trip who live near Bundy (we will stay there early next week), and the fellow I flatted with 40 years ago when doing the ATC course, Steve (later in the week).

Wednesday 27^th June – Mission Beach

Overcast and misty rain was the order of the day. We had hoped to do the Tully Cane Processing Mill (they do tours) but maintenance/breakdown cut that short – they said we might be able to do it on Friday- I don’t think so.

We drove through Tully in the rain which should not be a surprise. Tully is the wettest place in Australia. They even have a largest gumboot as you drive into town. Apart from footwear too large to wear, there is very little to be said about Tully. To be fair we didn’t stop and walk around, we decided to go straight to Mission Beach. We found our park (the council run $20/night – what a bargain. The one across the road is 37.50 and that is the discounted rate). We chatted with the other park residents then had a spot of lunch. We started to do the beach walk but the rain started – it is still raining. I think we will walk down the road to the shops to buy something to eat (we have run out of morning tea/afternoon tea fare). The TV is non existent so we might do some reading a have a DVD. We head further south tomorrow.

Friday 22^nd June Port Douglas

Had a wonderful night in the hotel. Room with balcony over water.

Sheraton Mirage - 5.5acres of pools

that's Our room 2nd from left, ground floor

Went sunbathing at one of the pools where they have sand in the water! All very lovely. We caught up with boys and co again today for brunch before they headed off for the wedding. It has been great to see them.  They had enjoyed their day on the reef. We then booked into a different caravan park. Only little but closer to town and the beach. There are sports grounds adjacent and then CWA rooms. All this land was left to the public in a will and the land must be always used as a caravan park. It is right next to the Peppers resort and would be valuable land. We go out the back gate and across the road and the 4 Mile beach is there. It is very flat and the sand is hard enough that we can ride our bikes along the beach. Lovely!

Riding on the beach

They have seats and umbrellas that can be rented! Haven’t seen this on Australian beaches before. The lady at the park is very friendly and helpful and we would love to come here again.

Saturday 23^rd June Port Douglas

We had a wonderful day out on the Great Barrier Reef. After much deliberation we chose a boat that took us to a pontoon where we could snorkel, go in an underwater observatory and go in a type of glass bottom boat. It took an hour and a half to reach the pontoon.

Fay snorkling

the submersible

One  of Fay's Swimming companions

We went first in what they call a semi submersible and we could see fish and the reef thru the windows of the boat that were below the waterline. Amazing! (An overused word I know) I, Fay, went snorkeling. All the gear is provided and there are areas cordoned off with ropes for people like me to hold on to. Once I figured out how to use the snorkel all was good. It was wonderful to swim among the fish and see the reef. It is not flat as I Imagined but there were like mountains of reef and then it would go down. As we sailed back to port parts of the reef were very visible on top of the water also. Food was provided and all in all it was a fantastic day.

Sunday 24^th June Port Douglas to Cairns.

Left our park early and did the groceries before we went to mass. Actually had a priest! He was very erudite and interesting to listen to. We wondered whether he had a background as a lecturer because his sermon seemed in parts more of a lecture then homily. In saying that though, he was concerned that all visitors were able to get where they wanted to go. We then headed off to the markets. Very big. Bought some second hand books, fruit and a lovely present for a new baby.

We then headed to Cairns. We were sad to leave Port Douglas as we have really enjoyed this area and would be keen to come back again. We are in a lovely Park In Lake Placid. This is on the edge of the Barron Gorge National Park. We are surrounded by rainforest. We are opposite the river where the water comes down from the gorge into the lake and then the river. We have been for a walk and once again it is lovely. I –Fay- went for a ride for about an hour today. I was on bike paths all the way and very flat. Also went around a wetlands. Very enjoyable. Tomorrow we are off to the skyrail and railway.

Tuesday 19^th June Port Douglas

We rode the bikes into town and did the cruise up the inlet. We actually saw a couple of crocodiles, but they were only very small ones.

The captain was reduced to throwing cat food into the river to try to attract cat fish, and it worked. They really do use cat food to attract cat fish, but it has to be a good quality dry stuff, not the black and gold. See the photos to see the result.

After the cruise we wandered around to try to decide when we would go out to the reef and which boat we would go on. As the wind was getting stronger and promised to be increasing over the next few days we decided to wait till Friday or Saturday to cruise.

It was great to be able to catch with Ben and Simon and the girls. They are up here for a wedding. That night Ben and Jane picked us up from the caravan park and we drove to where they and Simon and Kate had their apartment for a few drinks and then we walked down and found a place for tea. It would appear that they lost our dinner order and after 45 minutes we asked what’s going on. Sheepishly the apologies flowed but we ended up with free garlic bread and free drinks, but boy were we hungry.

It was a great night and we walked Jane back to the apartment and then we walked home. The other three stayed out a bit longer. They enjoyed the cane toad races and some karaoke.

Wednesday 20^th June Daintree and Cape Tribulation

We set off early the next morning to head for the Daintree and Cape Tribulation. We still passed lots of cane fields. The harvest has started and we have seen some harvesters in actions and trucks on the road transporting sugar cane. Trucks are used up here not trains.  After we caught the ferry across, we had a good drive on winding roads all the way to the Cape. We actually stopped about a kilometre after the ferry to have a look at the first of the lookouts right along this coast. It was a very overcast day and the photos look like they were taken in black and white – you’ll see what I mean.

There were a couple of roosters there wandering around .At the lookout we met a couple who worked for the cruise company we are doing the cruise with. We could see out to the reef. They said their company was the best (What a shock!!!). They also said that some of their passengers had stayed at the Sheraton Mirage in Port Douglas and they had a free cruise thrown in – something we did investigate, with no results.

We also stopped at another place and did the walk through the tree tops. This was a great place even if we did pay for it. At one time after walking along the elevated walkway we then climbed 112 steps to the very top for yet another great view.

There were numerous places like this along the way, all free, and all great. Many lovely boardwalks that wind there way thru the forest. They are of various lengths and go thru a variety of foliage including mangroves. The Daintree is older then the Amazon rainforest. So many amazing trees etc. There were trees with buttress that look like cement and the actual buttresses are very wide.

The foliage is just spectacular and the photos do not do justice. 

Cassowaries live up here but only about 1200 are still alive. There are lots of signs to be careful of them while driving. 

We even have a photo of the giant spider, a golden orb spider, whose body was the size of my thumb’s first knuckle and the body the size of my hand. Amazing but non-poisonous.

We also have a photo of a painting of a prehistoric bird from around here called a Thunderbird – yes people! Thunderbirds are go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We drove to the end of the tarred section of the road and not knowing we were already at Cape Tribulation, we kept driving on the dirt track – the 4wheel drive track to Cooktown – only 100km or so up the road. After about half a km we decided we had done the cape trip and found a place to turn around and went back to the tarred road. Going onto the beach at Lake Tribulation was very special. The rainforest comes right down to the beach and then there is the sea. There is a beautiful picture book called “Where the forest meets the sea”. The pictures in there show what we saw.

We drove past the ice cream factory, coffee plantation and the tea plantation, and visited none of them. Imagine us passing up a visit to a tea plantation!

We eventually found our way to our caravan park and settled in for the night – after a walk along the beach (yes! More signs about crocodiles in the area – apparently there is a 3 metre one living in the local creek – we didn’t investigate) Because it was low tide we were able to walk out to the reef about 100 metres away. It was all dark coloured. On the beach there were people riding horses and a family had bought their table from the park to have tea.  

Parked next to us were a couple from Freemantle in WA. They were a great couple and after talking for about half an hour they joined us for a pizza at the camp ground shop and then we went back to their caravan area and had a cuppa and some cake. A really nice couple. This was one of several place to stay up here at Cape Tribulation and from here we were right on the beach. This is the first park that had a bar.

Thursday 22ns June – Daintree and Port Douglas

We set off early once again and after catching the ferry for the return trip we drove into the Daintree village. We followed the river all the way along. It is quite winding. The ferry is the old cable type ferry and the river where we crossed was only about 50metres across and took about 5 minutes.

Daintree village was small and pretty. From the wharf lots of cruises can be taken.

The road to Mossman was only built in 1933 so the wharf was very important for transport of people and goods. Horseback was the other option.  After a brief stop we set off for Mossman Gorge a few KM down the road.

Mossman Gorge is run by the local aboriginal community and is only about 4km off the road in the middle of town. The new information centre which is where you start the visit to the Gorge, was only opened yesterday. If we had visited it when we were on the way to the Cape, we could have driven our own car there. As from yesterday, you park your car and pay $4.80 and catch the shuttle bus back and forward. There is a marvellous raised walkway to the gorge. We had been warned about midges, sanflies bugs etc and advised to use insect repellent before we got out of the car. I [Fay] decided to cover up completely including my attractive net hat - See photo. Lots of interesting stares!

Once again the Gorge was beautiful but I don’t think it was as spectacular as the Daintree and the Cape.

Off to Port Douglas and after lunch on the seat next to the church we booked the reef tour, but we had to book it for Saturday as Friday was booked out. This meant we had to stay another day in Port Douglas, so we booked a night at the Sheraton Mirage Resort just out of town and I sit here typing from that Resort. This place has about 6 or 7 pools everywhere, but these are not your normal sized pools. The total pool area here is 5 and a half acres. They are enormous and there was one right outside our balcony (ground floor).

Tomorrow will be a lay day and we will be chilling at the caravan park we also booked today.

We have come as far North as we will go. Cooktown was the next town North, but that requires a 560km round trip – we will leave it for next time. We are revelling in being warm! The weather south looks atrocious.

Monday 18^th – Port Douglas

We were off early 8.12 (no applause please!) as we had a decent drive from Cardwell to Port Douglas approximately 400km.

For the first time this trip we have seen bananas ready to be harvested. Along with all the sugar cane fields along the way it will prove to be a busy time for the area.

The sugar harvesting began late last week so there will be plenty of cane trains and harvesters all around the place. On the way south we will call in to a sugar mill and do the tour and Fay wants a ride on the cane train (not too sure about that).

The roadside vistas have certainly turned green over the past few days on the road. The sugar is close to the height of Fanda and the bananas are even higher.

Tully was the first sugar mill we saw in operation today, but we drove past as the steam was pouring out of the chimneys. The mills will be in 24 hour operation right through till all the cane has been harvested.

The road was an easy drive as the road continually turned left and right and, after Cairns it was a non stop series of round-a-bouts for about 10km.

The road for the last 20km into Port Douglas skirted the coast with views to the right of surf and sand (low tide) and to the left, the tall green forest. Quite a few mountains along the way as well, including Mount Bartle Frere, the second highest or highest mountain in Queensland, depending which information board you read.

We arrived just after 12 and had a quick lunch and walked into town.

Marinas and high price stores everywhere but we did manage to see a fish and chips meal for $8 so that’s lunch for tomorrow settled. Walked through the town and consulted the various travel places and information boards to plan the next day or so. The boys arrive tomorrow so we have tomorrow night’s tea sorted – ah no cooking tomorrow.

The Old Port DouglasRailway Station

The Old Catholic Church

View from back of church

We have booked a cruise up the river for tomorrow morning. The inlet here is called Dickson Inlet. We look forward to a day on the water.