Hervey Bay (cont.)

Thursday 25 July

We again woke early to catch a shuttle bus to go whale watching on Hervey Bay. We boarded the Whalesong catamaran and, once out of the harbour, it wasn't long before we found a pod of Humpback Whales. These whales were only young with our captain telling us he estimated they were 3-4 years old but would already weigh 20-30 tonnes. Thankfully they put on a great display for us, breaching several times and giving us plenty of photo opportunities. Linda managed to get these brilliant photos of the whales. After several hours of following them, and also managing to come into contact with a few bottlenose

dolphins, we headed over near Big Woody Island for some calmer waters where we enjoyed a buffet lunch. While in these waters the captain invited the children on the boat to go up and have a steer. Declan took up this opportunity to sit in the captains chair. He very proudly steered the vessel while I took some photos.
After lunch we attempted to find some more dolphins and some turtles. The turtles unfortunately did not come to the surface much because of the cooler weather Hervey Bay had been experiencing. We were told they surface much more often in the warmer weather.

Steering the boat

On returning to our caravan park we booked the tennis court for an hour. The plexipave court was in very good condition and Declan, Thomas and I had a good hit.
Linda and I decided to leave the boys at the campsite to make their own dinner and enjoy ours at Wild Lotus, a restaurant we had seen while looking through the shops when we arrived in Hervey Bay. The main course was delicious and we topped it off with some magnificent deserts - what a way to finish a great day!

Hervey Bay

Wednesday 24 July

This morning we were picked up by a shuttle bus for a tour around Fraser Island, the world's largest sand island (123km long and 22km at it's widest). The bus arrived at our caravan park at 7:25 and took us to the ferry for the 30 minute crossing of the small stretch of water that would be very difficult to navigate because of the moving sand banks in the area. Once on Fraser Island  we were picked up by a 4WD bus to begin our days tour.

The first point of call was Central Station, an area formerly used as the lodging place for the timber industry that once cut trees on the island. Mike, our bus driver and tour guide, was very funny and mixed his sense of humour with a great knowledge of the island. On our short walk we descended down into a gully where a freshwater creek flowed. The water on the island is so clear it is not possible to see it in a photograph and because it flows over sand you cannot hear it either. For this reason they are called the invisible creeks.

Lake McKenzie

Our next stop was Lake McKenzie where we stopped for a swim. The water was a little chilly but we had come prepared and had bought our wetsuits. Mike had told us that when we got out of the water and dried off our skin would feel softer and hair feel like it had been conditioned and if we rubbed some wet sand over our skin it would exfoliate it because the

sand grains are round instead of sharp. He was right on all of these things, it was amazing!

Maheno Shipwreck 

We boarded the bus and arrived for lunch at Eurong Resort. Thomas was very happy as it was a buffet lunch and had both hot and cold foods.

After lunch we boarded the bus again to drive along Fraser Island's highway, 75 Mile Beach (which is only 73 miles long). Along here we saw the Coloured Sands, Maheno Shipwreck and Eli Creek. We learnt about the Maheno which used to be a luxury liner for many years before being converted to a hospital ship during WW2 and then back again before ending up on 75 Mile Beach after being towed during a cyclone. Declan had a lot of fun at Eli Creek, running along the boardwalk and hopping into the water and letting the current bring him back down to the beach.

On our way back off the island after an enjoyable day, our bus started to vibrate before the back dropped down. It felt like we had dropped into a hole but the wheel nuts had worked their way loose and the back tyre had fallen off. Another bus was quickly called and after making sure a 4WD behind the bus could get past us, we boarded the second bus and continued on our way back to the ferry. Unfortunately we missed the best part of the sunset but it was still pretty good.

Trip from Airlie Beach to Hervey Bay

Monday 22 July

Unfortunately since we needed to start making serious inroads into our trip down to Brisbane, today was going to be a big travel day which meant an early start in the morning. Tom and Declan decided yesterday they should take their tent down while it was dry to make our exit in the morning quite fast. This worked really well and as we had booked a tour of the Mackay Sugar Mill at 9:30 we were on our way by 7:45.
We arrived at Mackay with about 10 minutes to spare and quickly changed to cover our legs and arms and put on enclosed toe shoes as this is now an OHS requirement. Linda remembers jumping into a massive pile of sugar when she visited a mill 30 years ago but times have changed.

Emptying the cane train carriages

The mill tour took about 2 hours and our guide ran through the whole process of converting sugar cane into raw sugar. The boys really enjoyed tasting the products at the different stages of the process of the conversion to raw sugar. It is amazing that the mill uses a lot of the same machinery as when it started it's life in the late 1800's although every part of the sugar cane is used now. In more recent times the mill has been upgraded to use the by-products of producing sugar rather than dispose of them.

Declan tasting sugar

The rest of the day was devoted to travel. After stoppping at a bakery for lunch we continued our drive to stop at a free campsite on the Calliope River. There were plenty of other campers who regarded this as a great campsite and, after a fast overnight setup where the boys sleep inside the camper trailer rather than their own tent, we had a quick meal before retiring for the night.

Tuesday 23 July

As we didn't have a lot of gear to pack up, we were back on the road quite early making our way to Hervey Bay. The roadworks on the Bruce Highway were really annoying - they seem to be repairing or upgrading the road every few kilometers and this added at least half an hour to our trip.

We arrived in Hervey Bay and after setting up the camper trailer wandered down to the main street for a bite of lunch. The boys were very happy with the cafe we found and each devoured a very big lunch. To work off the big meal we continued our walk down the street looking through the many shops before taking a stroll along the beach and returning to the caravan park. 

We are looking forward to the next couple of days as we have booked at tour of Fraser Island tomorrow and whale watching for Thursday.

Airlie Beach (cont.)

Sunday 21 July

On the way into Airlie Beach Linda saw some signs for a 10km Fun Run the Airlie Beach Running Club had organised and so decided to participate. Linda and I headed down to the foreshore this morning for the 7:00am start and found out there were 350 particpants. Linda ran very well to finish in 52mins 14secs as the 6th place woman and 22nd overall, an outstanding performance.
We thought, apart from the fun run, that today should be a relaxing day so Thomas and Declan went and hired putters for mini golf and played 2 rounds before Linda and I joined in for the last round.

Declan on the water slide

After lunch Tom and Declan played tennis for half an hour while Linda and I relaxed by the pool. Having finished their tennis they came to the pool and enjoyed going down the water slide.

We spent a few hours by the pool as it was heated and the sunshine was beautiful.

Tom enjoying his time in the pool

Airlie Beach

Saturday 20 July

Airlie Beach Market was advertised to start at 6:00am so Linda and I decided to take a look before the bus came to pick us up at 9:15 for Ocean Rafting. Upon getting to the foreshore at 6:15 we found many of the stall holders still setting up their site. We bought some nice fresh fruit and vegies and a coffee and hot chocolate before finding breakfast cooked by an ex-kiwi chef - delicious omelettes.

On arriving back at the campsite we found both boys had eaten breakfast and were eager to catch the shuttle bus into Airlie Beach for the Ocean Rafting. Once at Airlie Beach we boarded the boat, a large inflatable with a steel hull and 2 x 250 horsepower outboard motors on the back.

Ocean Rafting in "Wild Thing"

 The tour involved circling Whitsunday Island while stopping at Border Island for a 1 hour snorkel, visiting Hill Inlet lookout and eating lunch on Whitehaven Beach before heading back to Airlie Beach.

Declan snorkelling

The tour was fantastic. The snorkelling at Border Island was magnificent with the coral and fish probably better than that which we saw at Green Island.

Snorkelling with "Nemo"

From there we cruised around to Hill Inlet lookout to view the magnificent Whitehaven Beach from above. This is truly a stunning beach with the near-white sands contrasting against the aqua blue water and green vegetation.

Overlooking Hill Inlet at Whitehaven Beach

Once back aboard Wild Thing we cruised up the 7 kilometer length of Whitehaven Beach to have lunch at it's northern end. After a nice buffet lunch, while trying to stop the seagulls eating our meals, we relaxed on the beautiful beach sunbaking, swimming and playing beach cricket. On the return leg back to Airlie Beach we took in the sights of Hamilton Island and some of the exclusive resorts on the Whitsunday Islands before the drivers of our boat and one of the other Ocean Rafting boats thrilled all aboard with some surfing of the wakes of each boat and some "donuts". This was Declan's favourite part of the trip.

Wake surfing

Townsville to Airlie Beach

Friday 19 July

This morning Declan and I left Linda and Thomas at the campsite to go to Townsville Hospital for a quick check up. The doctor was very happy with the way Declan's burns are healing. They re-dressed the wounds and gave him some moisturiser to help prevent scarring.

When we arrived back at the caravan park Linda and Thomas were well under way with the packing up and it wasn't long before we were on our way towards Airlie Beach. 

Along the way we stoppped at an "award winning" bakery at Bowen for lunch. The food was really good and we stayed a little longer for Declan to have a play in a water park along the foreshore.

Water park at Bowen

Big Mango

On the way out of Bowen we came across the Big Mango. We thought we had to stop for a photo but it took a bit of persuasion for Tom to agree to be in the picture.
We finally arrived at Airlie Beach to some beautiful weather and, after a couple of days of nice weather in Townsville, it was great to see we hadn't driven away from it. We set up camp, booked Ocean Rafting for tomorrow, and put the boys to bed as it was going to be an early start. Linda and I decided to have a late night swim in the swimming pool before heading off to bed also. 

Townsville (cont.)

Thursday 18 July

Overlooking Magnetic Island From Castle Hill

This morning we drove into Townsville and up to Castle Hill to get a bigger picture of the layout of Townsville. I hadn't realised how sprawled Townsville is and from this height you can really get a great view of the large scale and compact nature of the industrial area as well as how far the housing extends. You can drive almost to the summit of Castle Hill and then there are a few short walks to view Townsville from all sides of the hill.
We have been able to persuade both boys they are in need of a haircut, so this morning we found a hairdresser and had their hair cut. This has been the best hair cuts we have had for both boys. They told us they need to come back here for their next cuts - I think they may have quite a few before we get back here.  

Following lunch we decided to go back to the Water Park on The Strand. When we were here yesterday we found the water park not running. Thankfully today it was operating so we put Declan's hand in a plastic bag with some tape holding it together so his dressings would not get wet. Even with our best efforts a little bit of water did get in so we had to abandon the water park and lie in the sun. It has finally arrived again!

Townsville

Tuesday 16 July

 

Alma Bay,  Magnetic Island

Today we decided to make our way over to Magnetic Island, only 8km off the Townsville coast. With the weather looking a bit dodgy we took the passenger ferry and hired a car over there to get around rather than take our own car over. The ferry trip is only a 20 minute trip as the catamaran ferry is quite quick. The weather limited us to some extent as there are many walks on the island we could have done but would have been saturated. Instead we looked through the shops and, when the showers broke, took some short walks. During one of the rain breaks we explored Alma Bay, climbing over the rocks and fossicking through the washed up coral. There are some very pretty areas on Magnetic Island and it would have been very nice to have been able to spend some more time exploring the island.

After lunch overlooking Horseshoe Bay and an ice-cream we decided to fill the hire car with petrol and take the ferry back. By the time we had done this, we arrived at the ferry to see the crew untying the ropes and leaving the dock - the next ferry was 85 minutes away.

Wednesday 17 July

As soon as Declan had seen the pedal carts in the caravan park we were staying at he wanted to have a go on them. This morning I took Declan down to reception and we hired them for an hour. Tom joined us a little while later and the three of us circled the park quite a few times. Exhausted after the hour was up, we returned them and headed in to Townsville to have a look around. 

After buying Tom some new runners, and then Linda and I some new tops and Declan a new beach soccer ball, we decided to go towards the beach for a bit of beach soccer. We ended up walking along The Strand, Townsville's beachside avenue, where we had lunch at the Longboard Bar and Grill. The food was fantastic and although everyone ordered something different each meal was very much enjoyed.

From here the boys and I worked off the lunch with some beach soccer while Linda caught some rays, making the most of the first sunny day we have had in a while.

Declan with his treated burns

When we got back to our campsite Declan went over to the camp kitchen and touched one of the electric stove elements that had been left on. After administering first aid, we decided that although we have a pretty good first aid kit that we should take him to the Emergency Department of the hospital to get him the best treatment. The staff at the Townsville Hospital were fantastic and after reducing Declan's pain and dressing the wound suggested we should come back for a follow up consultation on Friday. Guess we will be staying in Townsville a little bit longer.

Mission Beach to Townsville

Monday 15 July

Clouds rolling in with Tom and Declan in the Golden Gumboot

We left Mission Beach for Townsville on our continued search to find fine weather. We travelled through Tully mid morning and stopped to have a coffee and take a look at the Golden Gumboot, built to commemorate the rains of 1950. In this year they had 7.6m of rain which is why the Golden Gumboot is 7.6m high. Tully is regarded as the wettest town in Australia which is why we didn't stay for too long and, true to form, it was raining while we were there.

Lucinda jetty

As we approached Townsville we turned off to go into Lucinda to see the longest sugar loading jetty in the world and the longest jetty of any kind in the southern hemisphere. At 6km in length it looks as though it touches the horizon.

After stopping briefly at Ingham for lunch we continued on to Townsville, found our campsite and set up camp for a few days.

Mission Beach

Saturday 13 July

Today we had a nice late start to the day and while Tom did his homework Declan and I headed in to Mission Beach to ride the Blo Carts. Blo Carts are 3-wheeler carts that have a sail on them and you ride them along the beach. Finding out they did not start to 1:00pm, Declan and I decided to have a look around town and visit the Information Centre. After finding Clump Point Lookout (which would have a lovely view in sunny weather) and the boat ramp which we decided would be a good place to fish, we doubled back to find out what we could do at Mission Beach with wet weather. The place is set up for the sunshine, and it would be a lovely relaxing place in that sort of weather, but we are not having much luck with the rain - this is meant to be the dry season.

We were going to visit the Tully Sugar Mill but because of the rain they haven't been cutting cane and so there is no tour. There is a exotic fruit tasting session on Mondays and Tuesdays but we will have to see if we are still here by then. If the rain keeps up we will move on to Townsville.

Declan and I headed back to our campsite, picked up Linda and Tom, and headed back to the Blo Carts. We had hired 2 carts, a single seater and a double seater, for half an hour. These were great fun and you could have fun on these for a very long time. The half an hour seemed to disappear very quickly.

Declan and Tim on Blo Kart

Tom on BloKart

After lunch Declan and I headed back into Mission Beach to try our luck at fishing. The tides were not right and the time of year is not good for catching anything but it is relaxing for both of us to go through the process - or so I thought. Even though we were there for about 2 hours, I think I had my line in the water for about 10 minutes. I was either unsnagging, un-tangling, re-baiting, or attaching new tackle to Declan's rod - I think he enjoyed it!

Sunday 14 July

Kauri Pines walk

After talking to some of our neighbours at the caravan park we decided to go and have a guided tour of Paronella Park. Jose Paronella started building Paronella Park in about 1930 after coming to Australia from Spain and building his wealth buying and selling cane farms. His dream was to build a castle and his whole philosophy was built around entertaining people. He built castles, ballrooms, cafes, bathing areas, tennis and bocce courts and planted 7000 plants to landscape his gardens.
He even built Queensland's first hydro-electric power turbine to provide electricity to his estate from the waterfall in his backyard as there was no power in the area. Unfortunately his castle and gardens have been ravaged by floods and cyclones but you can still see the vision and forethought this man had.

Viewing platform and changing rooms

Natural Waterfall at Paronella Park

 This man was truly a visionary and even though Paronella Park is not still owned by the family, the current owners have received a grant from the National Trust to rebuild this beautiful place back to its former glory.

Water Feature powered by the creek

Trip from Atherton to Mission Beach

Friday 12 July

As we woke we noticed the sky was clear for almost the first time since we had been here so we decided to quickly pack up before the rain came again and made our camper trailer and tent wetter than it already was. With great work all round we managed to get the last things packed away just before the rain started again.
Leaving Atherton, hopefully for better weather, we decided to do part of the Waterfall Circuit. The 3 waterfalls that we looked at are on a road of about 15km that was only a slight detour from our drive to Mission Beach.

Millaa Millaa Falls

Zillie Falls

Ellinjaa Falls

 All 3 waterfalls were very nice but the rain was pounding down when we got out of the car at each of them. It takes away from the spectacle, especially as if the weather was warm we would have been swimming at these waterholes. It did, however, mean there was plenty of water cascading over the falls.
While on the same road we came across Mungalli Creek Organic Dairy and, being morning tea time, went in for refreshments. The food was delicious. We had milkshakes, devonshire tea and blueberry cheesecake between us and everyone enjoyed it.
Back into the car and the next stop along the way was Murdering Point Winery which makes very unusual wines, ports and liqueurs. After tasting  quite a few of their range we decided on Black Devil Port (a port made from the Black Sapote fruit which tastes like chocolate), Supherb wine (made from the Brazilian japoticaba fruit), and the Choc Mint Cream Liqueur (made from chocolate and mint). They had quite a lot of other unusual wines and we might have to get some more from their online store when we get back as well.

I just liked the sign

From here we were getting hungry so decided to go straight to Mission Beach and have lunch there. We ended up at the Fish Cafe and after a lazy lunch with a glass of white wine we had a quick look around Mission Beach. Our residence for the next few nights was at South Mission Beach at Beachcomber Coconut Caravan Park so we took off and set up camp. The campsite is very nice and has a great camp kitchen which we will utilise often and the kids are happy with the games and TV room, tennis court and pool.
While eating dinner in the camp kitchen it bucketed down rain and our campsite was flooded. It did however drain very quickly and we have decided not to move sites as the rain did not enter our tent. Although inconvenient it is more trouble to move the camper trailer than to put up with a temporarily flooded site. The boys tent is on higher ground so the rain did not affect them.

Atherton (cont.)

Wednesday 10 July

Since arriving in Atherton there has been showers throughout day and night. This has meant our camper trailer is very wet and it has sprung some leaks in the stitching in the roof and walls. When the boys awoke in the morning we decided to go and get them a new tent as theirs has been leaking as well. After finding the camping store we found a great 4 man tent so they would have plenty of room and we upgraded our lighting as well. We also bought some wax to waterproof the seams of the camper trailer but it cannot be used until the canvas is dry.
We have decided to have a quiet day today and let the boys recuperate after a busy schedule so far. Linda drove into Atherton with Tom to get some groceries and while there she took Tom for his first driving lesson. From all reports he did quite well and enjoyed the experience very much. Linda, Tom and the car came back all unscathed so we will be off again in the near future for the next one. Only 119 hours to go until he can go for his P's!

Thursday 11 July

Today we rose early to drive to Kuranda for the Scenic Railroad, Skyrail, and Tjapukai Experience. Once there, our day started with the Tjapukai Experience. The Tjapukai are the native tribe of the area and this part of the day was about learning about the way of life of these people.

Tom learning to throw a boomerang

We learnt about their story of creation, their dance, weapons and bush tucker, had a lesson on throwing spears and boomerangs, and some information and performance on the didgeridoo. While learning to throw the boomerang our instructor told us that if you catch one of your 2 throws you get to keep your boomerang. Tom threw his first boomerang and nearly managed to catch his first attempt but on the second was successful. He is now the proud owner of a traditional boomerang. Go Tom!

From there we took the short walk to Skyrail - a gondola style ride that took us up to Kuranda. This is a very impressive attraction that is a unique way of looking at a rainforest. We later learnt that even though there is over 30 poles up to 320 metres tall with massive concrete footings, only 4 trees were killed in it's construction. The towers were all brought in by a couple of Russian helicopters to minimise damage to the rainforest. The rest of the plants that were in the way of the building of the footings were transplanted.

Making rock candy

At the end of Skyrail we spent some time looking at the local shops and markets in Kuranda. Declan and Thomas were particularly interested in the rock candy shop. They were making cherry candy while we were there and giving out free samples. I think the boys enjoyed more than their fair share and we bought them a packet of mixed rock candy each.

Kuranda Station

After a large scone and milkshakes for afternoon tea we made our way down to Kuranda Station for the Scenic Railway trip back down the mountain range. The scenery along the descent through the mountain range is spectacular and the information about the construction of the railway line, bridges and tunnels is quite remarkable especially considering the lack of machinery at the time it was built.
The waterfall at Barron Gorge, which the train stopped at for a few minutes for photos, was running quickly because of  the amount of rain that the area has had and for the rest of the trip it kept coming.

Barron Gorge

Once we arrived at the bottom of the range we took a short bus transfer back to our car and then drove back through the rain to Atherton where we ordered delicious pizzas for dinner. It was quite a long but enjoyable day.

Atherton

Tuesday 9 July

The world's largest Amethyst geode "The Empress of  Uruguay"

Since arriving in Atherton we have experienced constant light showers. We decided to do some activities today which would not matter if it was raining. Declan wanted to see Crystal Caves ever since he saw the brochure about it. Crystal Caves is a shop that deals in crystals and gemstones and underneath the building is a fake cave. 

You go down the stairs with a miners helmet on and look at a crystal display that is lit up with strategically placed lights and obviously the light from the miners helmet. Linda and I decided not to go into the "cave" but both of the boys seemed to enjoy it. 

From there we went and saw the Curtain Fig, a very large Fig tree. The curtain fig started from a seed that a bird dropped on a host tree. The fig grew a root down to the ground and, now nourished by the soil, grew trunks up and more roots down and eventually strangled the host tree. The picture below does not show the trunks and canopy of the tree or the area below the boardwalk - it is a massive tree.

Curtain Fig tree

Gallo Dairy is not far out of Atherton and produces some beautiful cheeses and, although we did not try them, the chocolates looked good as well. The boys were not hungry after having a big breakfast and so had a milkshake each for lunch. The meals Linda and I had were very nice. Another short drive brought us to Lake Eacham. Lake Eacham is a crater lake spanning just under 200m and is about 65m deep with crystal clear water. We took the 3km walk that goes around the lake which is all covered by rainforest and the boys decided to run it so they could get back into the car sooner.

On the way back to Atherton we dropped in to Shaylee Strawberry Farm and bought a large punnet of Strawberries. There's nothing like farm fresh produce!

Trip from Cooktown to Atherton

Monday 8 July

After packing up the camper trailer we made our way towards Atherton, probably the furthest inland we will venture. Atherton is the most central major town in the tableland region of the Great Dividing Range. On our way there we called in to Golden Drop, a mango winery in Biboohra, which is north of Atherton. I was expecting some really sweet wines but after tasting their dry wine we decided that the medium style was more to our liking. We couldn't go past the Mango liqueur either - should be great with ice-cream.

While at Golden Drop we were told to go to Coffee Works in Mareeba, not far up the road. Mareeba has many different coffee plantations and Coffee Works uses the local coffee beans to make different coffee blends. They also make some very nice chocolates which we purchased with some delicious chocolate liqueur. 

Another recommendation just out of Mareeba was one the boys were really interested in going to - Emerald Creek Ice-creamery. We all chose different flavours and they all tasted delicious. I had Macadamia, Linda had Vanilla Bean, Tom had Caramel Choc Chip and Declan had Strawberry. Beautiful!

Gardens outside Mt Uncle Distillery

Mt Uncle Distillery is also in Mareeba and to complete the trifecta we headed there and bought some of their award winning marshmallow liqueur. The tastings were in a beautiful cafe next door to the distillery on the same premises. It has been very well built with plenty of natural stone, timber and corrugated iron. The gardens were very nice as well with banana plantations on the driveway in and landscaped around the buildings. 

We arrived in Atherton just after 4:00pm and the boys were pleased to find we had free WiFi in the caravan park we are staying at. Apparently this is now how you judge how good a caravan park is.
After dinner Linda, Declan and I headed out to the Atherton Show. It was a good country show but the rain did spoil it. Declan went on a bungee trampoline and bought a show bag and we watched an extreme moto cross and bicycle show. While looking at the cake and vegetable competitions the fireworks started and we ooh-ed and aah-ed before heading back to camp.

Cooktown

Saturday 6 July

After some great teamwork in packing up our gear we contemplated going for a kayak but it was too windy so decided to depart Cape Tribulation for Cooktown via the Bloomfield Track. This is a graded unsealed road taking in beautiful views of the coastline. It is a fairly easy drive with a few river crossings but we still managed to see a couple of cars that had left the track probably due to high speed. There was a couple of steep inclines where I had to engage low gear on the 4WD to get the camper trailer to the top of the hills but otherwise it was a good run.

At the end of the Bloomfield we came across Wajul Wajul Falls and so stopped to have a look. After a short walk we found the falls with a massive amount of water pouring over them even though it is the dry season. You can only imagine how much flow there would be in the wet season.

Wajul Wajul Falls

Black Mountain

As we travelled we saw a peculiar mountain made up of black granite boulders. Black Mountain rises up out of the middle of a forested area and is the home to rock wallabies and the Amethystine Python, which can grow in excess of 5 metres. Fortunately we didn’t see any of them.

Arriving at Cooktown we set up the camper trailer and headed into to town to look at some of the sights. The site for Cooktown’s Lighthouse is the point at which Captain Cook came to see a possible passage back out to sea while repairing the Endeavour. It provides a magnificent view of the coast as well as over Cooktown itself.

Cooktown Lighthouse

View from Cooktown Lighthouse

Cooktown’s Botanic Gardens are not a bad size considering the size of Cooktown. They house a good variety of tropical species and have a creek water feature running through the middle of the gardens that was built in the 1800’s and restored by the community in the 1970’s.
From there we took a short drive to Finch Bay which is beautiful. There are however many warnings in this part of the world about recent saltwater crocodile sightings. We had a quick look around before heading back to our camper trailer for the night.

Finch Bay

Sunday 7 July

This morning we woke up and took off to the Captain Cook Museum, which we all enjoyed. The beautiful old building was built as a convent and once WW2 started the nuns were evacuated and American soldiers used it as their base. After the war the nuns did not return and the building was converted to the James Cook Museum.

James Cook Museum

Declan in front of one of the Endeavour's anchors and cannons

The museum has a large wing at the back of the building for the display of Captain Cook stories and artefacts including one of the Endeavour’s anchors and cannons that were thrown over board when his ship hit a reef. The main building houses historic pieces and stories that pertain to the area. The boys enjoyed the treasure hunt which involved finding a list of historic artefacts scattered throughout the building.
After leaving the museum we walked along the main street of this sleepy town to discover more of it's history. Unfortunately as it is Sunday there really is not much open.

Declan and I headed down to the wharf after dinner to see if we could catch some fish but it started to rain and we came up empty. Since we have been here it has been very windy and it is a strange wind. You can hear a massive gale coming through the trees and it sounds like a train. It is extremely strong and you need to brace yourself - 10 seconds later it is reasonably still. The next massive gale will appear about a minute later. It does make sleeping min a camper trailer a little difficult!

Mossman Gorge and Cape Tribulation

3 July

Having packed our camper trailer and said our good-byes we headed off to Mossman Gorge. It is a place very special to the aboriginal people and they have developed the area to educate others about the aboriginal stories and history. 

Boardwalk at Mossman Gorge

This is a very beautiful spot and has a walking trail that takes about 90 minutes to complete the circuit. Along the way we saw many amazing rainforest trees and ferns and learnt about the way the local aboriginal tribe used them for food, catching food, medicine and for implements.

After lunch we continued our journey from Mossman into the Daintree National Park and across the Daintree River. The short ferry ride took us across the river and the short drive to Cape Tribulation though very winding and hilly roads takes in some beautiful scenery. After stopping at an information centre at Masons Café we found our accommodation for the night at Cape Trib Camping Grounds only 5 minutes up the road with it’s own information centre.

Mossman Gorge

We set up the camper trailer and tent, took a quick look at the beach (which is just the other side of a small stand of rainforest) had dinner and decided that tomorrow we should try out Jungle Surfing. Bring on tomorrow!

Thursday 4 July

We were initially disappointed to find out we could not Jungle Surf as it was booked out but headed off to the Daintree Discovery Centre. Upon reaching our destination we decided to walk the Jindalba boardwalk circuit and although it was raining we enjoyed the stunning scenery before having lunch in one of the many 
undercover picnic areas.

Even though the rain showers continued we decided to continue on to the Daintree Discovery Centre as the temperature was warm enough for the rain not to bother us. We obtained our self-guided tour headsets and learnt many things about the rainforest including the name of one of the blue fruit we had seen lying around on our previous walk.

On leaving the Discovery Centre we decided to have a look at the Alexandra Lookout, which provides a stunning view that looks south down the coast. While it was a cloudy day for us when it is fine you can see all the way down the coast to Port Douglas.

Alexandra Lookout

We decided to stop for ice creams on the way back to camp and found an ice-cream shop that sold flavours from the rainforest. We had 4 flavours: Wattle Seed which tasted like cappuccino, Jack Fruit which we were told tasted like bubblegum (I disagree with that but it was tasty), Coconut, and Black Sapote (tasted like chocolate). Linda and Declan didn’t like them but Tom and I enjoyed them. Declan decided to have a tub of frozen mango pulp instead.

On our return to camp we noticed a cassowary about 1.5m tall crossing the road. By the time we had driven there it had wandered off into the bushes and we couldn’t get a clear photo of it. 
I parked the car and grabbed the camera to get a photo. As I approached it saw me and started running after me. As I had about 100m to run to the car backwards, I managed to get some photos and although out of focus this was the best I could do while avoiding being attacked. The heart was definitely pumping!

Cassowary chasing me

The Cassowary taking a breather

Friday 5 July

This morning we decided to do a few more of the walks before leaving Cape Tribulation for Cooktown tomorrow. 
Our first stop was the Marrdja Boardwalk, which winds through the rainforest and out into the mangroves – an environment we previously had not explored in the Daintree. As the tide was low we were able to see plenty of crabs and fish in the shallow streams. The fan palms and mangroves were fantastic in this area and the information on the plaques during the walk gave us a greater understanding of the mangrove ecosystem.

Marrdja Boardwalk

Marrdja Boardwalk

The next stop was Dubuji Boardwalk, which was fairly similar to Marrdja, but we also took in a different section of Myall Beach (which is the same beach that we are staying next to). As the tide had gone out a long way Declan enjoyed playing in the rock pools and coral and watching the hermit crabs in their shells.

Ulysses Butterfly

Myall Beach

Lookout Point

We called in to PJ’s Village to buy some groceries and, although we didn’t end up buying anything (the prices were astounding), saw an amazing spider and the beautiful Ulysses Butterfly fluttering around the shop.

Lookout Point was our destination for lunch and after eating some beautiful fresh sandwiches and wraps in a beautiful setting, we took the short walk to a magnificent view of the surrounding bay and rainforest hills. On a clear warm and clear day the sight was magnificent.


Upon returning to our campsite we spent the last part of the day at the beach and lazing around the campervan. I took a stroll along the beach to find reception on the phone so I could book our next accommodation – Cooktown.