Cairns to Brisbane

Checked out Cairns and booked our Reef trip and collected our campervan which would be our home for the next 2 months.

Our home for the next 2 months

Bob wanted a boomerang

The trip to the reef was to a floating platform on the outer reef. It was a fantastic day and both the kids got out onto the reef for some snorkelling, seeing lots amazing fish and coral just as advertised.

View from the submarine on the reef

Ready to snorkel on the Great Barrier Reef

With campervan packed and stocked with food and beers we headed north spending our first night at Ellis Beach. As we had expected the weather would be wet and hot and it certainly was,

in between heavy rain the sun did come out but swimming in the sea is a no no because of theStinergs ( jelly fish)  and the crocs. Very frustrating when you have the most beautiful white sandy beaches, it is baking hot and you can’t swim in the sea.

Deserted beach in Cape Tribulation

Essential kit

Next day we headed north still across the cable ferry at Daintree river and stayed in a campsite near Cape Tribulation, right in the Daintree forest. We were the only camp visitors along with a vast array of insect life, birds and animals. The campsite did boast a collection of crocs, Kangaroos, Wallabies, snakes and birds in cages.

Amber enjoys a cup of tea on the Daintree River Cruise

From here we headed inland via a croc spotting boat trip on the Daintree river, into the Atherton tablelands. Much cooler here as it is higher altitude, stayed for a 3 days and visited many gorges, waterfalls and swimming holes and lakes including a crater lake called Lake Eacham , we passed by a 500 year old Curtain Fig which looked like a Lord of the Rings prop. With it’s aerial roots coming down into a curtain.

The Curtain Fig

Sarah and Amber at a misty Milaa Milaa Falls

Granite Gorge walk

Granite Gorge river crossing

First fresh water swim at Mossman Gorge

Thirsty walk at Mossman Gorge

Enjoying one of  the many swim holes and rivers (no Crocs)

Leaving the tablelands we were recommended a place called Etty Bay where Cassowary were sure to be seen on the beach and the best Fish and chips in Queensland. Well it must have been 40 degrees at night time and 90% humidity, it was a very hot sweaty night in the camper especially for the kids sleeping in the top. The insects were also at their most ferocious, the fish and chips weren’t bad though, if you don’t mind the odd fly, but we still didn’t see a Cassowary.

Next stop Mission Beach were we stop of for a quick dentist visit for Bob, who has a bit of a cavity, and yes we finally see a Cassowary!

Cassowary

Then on and inland again to Girringan National Park and Wallaman falls. These falls are the biggest single drop falls in Australia and yes, very spectacular.  This was a National Park campsite with very basic amenities, ie. Cold showers and Eco loos (very Smelly) and although BBQ facilities are provided the insect life make eating al fresco a challenging experience. Kids not happy.

Wallaman Falls

Back to the coast again.  We had been recommended to go to Bowen, a sleepy old seaside town where they filmed’ Australia’ with Nicole Kidman but when we got there it was really drab,the highlight being a ‘big Mango’ so we headed to Airlie Beach instead.

We found a lovely campsite with a pool and kids park close to Airlee Beach where we stayed for a couple of nights.  It did pretty much poor with rain for time there but we still enjoyed swimming in the fabulous lagoon at Airlee. 

Airlie Beach Lagoon

Airlee was an ok place, loads of bars, more suited to a younger backpacker crowd than us lot.  We fitted in a roast dinner in a pub one night which was great – but didn’t compete with Val’s roastie we had when we left the UK. 

We drove down through Rockhampton (famous for cattle ranching), passing through the Tropic of Capricorn to Agnes Water and the town of 1770, where we stayed for a night.  What a fantastic place, 1770 having a small bay perfect for paddling or fishing and Agnes Water having rolling waves. 

Off to surf

Nice hat!

We enjoyed a day there before heading off quite late to the close by town of Bundaberg where they make rum from locally grown sugar cane.  We skipped the Bundaberg rum-making tour coz we didn’t reckon the kids would be that interested and instead booked for that night’s visit to Mon Repos beach, (so named as some French dude built a house there once and called it Mon Repos), where the local turtle experts take tourists down to hopefully see some turtle action on the beach.  We booked just as their offices where closing and then when we turned up for the tour, your beach watch time corresponded to your tour booking time so we were last out to the beach at around 9.30pm. We were so lucky to witness baby turtle hatchlings emerging from their nest and running down towards the moonlight into the sea AND witnessing a turtle laying eggs into her nest and then lumbering down to the sea again AND helping to relocate those eggs into another nest dug by the turtle experts as the nest Mrs Turtle had dug was a bit close to the sea for their liking (no harm done to the eggs apparently).  What an evening! Totally fantastic  – like something from a David Attenborough documentary.  FACT: Turtles look like they are crying when they are laying eggs but they are just lubricating their eyes with a saline solution.

Baby turtles just hatched

Bob moving turtle eggs 

Loggerhead turtle after laying eggs

Moving the eggs to a safer spot

Off again south along the coast road to Rainbow Beach which was just south of Fraser Island.  This was a lovely area, the beach was endless and the sand made of many colours hence the name Rainbow beach. 

We set off next morning for a day at the Noosa Heads, famous for it’s beautiful and many beaches, surfing and swanky accommodation by the sea.  It was gorgeous there and we had loads of fun in the waves albeit getting stung by little jellyfish which was a bit of a nuisance but they weren’t bad ones. 

Sarah at one of Noosa's beaches

Sarah and a big shell at Noosa

We thought we’d head inland for a change and headed to Lake Cooroibah to a campsite in the woodlands on the river.  It was very basic there and Sarah was a bit nervous as the site seemed to be filled with gypo-types .  We were able to build a good fire for once as it’s not allowed very often in campsite and we needed the smoke to keep away the millions of insects.  We didn’t stick around there long in the morning to get bitten more and headed further down the Sunshine Coast stopping off at a beach in Caloundra.

Caloundra Beach

This is yet another place that isn’t really talked about but is so totally  wonderful, gorgeous houses, wonderful beaches, salt water lagoon on the beach with free bbqs (which are everywhere dotted along the ocean roads) and great play parks for Bob to enjoy.  The waves were ENORMOUS and gave us a right thrashing – great fun. 

We headed inland to the Glasshouse Mountains, so called as the early explorers thought the mountains resembled the glass furnaces back in Yorkshire, they are in fact old lava plugs from Volcanos jutting up into the sky.  We stayed overnight at a campsite run and owned by a chap called Steve Ralph who until recently held the record for transporting the largest amount of people in a horse drawn coach.  He is working on a new world record and is building a huge coach in his shed which he showed us.  What a great bloke – good luck with your record Steve for Jan 2013!

One of the Glasshouse Mountains

Steve Ralph and Bob with record breaking coach

We then hit the road again heading for Brisbane.  We skipped Steve Irwins Zoo which was en route as we had had our fill of elephants and crocs and headed instead for the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary which was a mini zoo/sanctuary filled with real Australian-type animals such as the Cassawary, Wombats, Tasmanian Devils, Kangaroos that we fed and more Koalas than you could ever hope to get up close to.  We enjoyed watching an awesome sheep dog demo. Along with some sheep shearing.  

Feeding the roos

lovely couple of Koalas

Sheep shearing display

We stayed overnight in Brisbane in the Ashgrove area and next day drove into the city, taking the CityCat boat down river stopping off at Street Beach – a manmade beach and lagoon surrounded by lovely restaurants and a market.  The CityCat was an easy way of seeing a bit of Brisbane and we had a delish lunch.  We had fun watching the huge birds that roam around with long, curved beaks, finishing off scraps from plates that diners had left.