Lake Tinaroo, Innot Hot Springs and Georgetown QLD (June – 5 days)

We began our westward journey with a stop off at the Australian Coffee Centre just out of Mareeba. We had a much longed for good coffee and the kids enjoyed their various treats while we looked over the gorgeous valleys from the centre set high on a hill. We spent two nights just out of Atherton at Lake Tinaroo. Apparently Barramundi heaven but following our success so far we caught nothing but reeds! We did a day drive around the lake which was just beautiful!

On route to the springs we drove the ‘waterfall circuit’ around Millaa Millaa, Queensland’s dairyland in the tropics. The views at every turn of this trip were just breathtaking with vivid green pastures, on perfect hillsides and plump, happy cattle. The waterfalls were gorgeous, one of which has apparently been used in films. We visited the massive Hypipamee crater with sheer 80m walls, which was filled with water covered in fluorescent green duck weed (mind blowing!!). The children had great fun tossing stones over the safety rail and watching their descent and disturbance of the thick weed. The crater is apparently twice as deep underground as it is above!! We also marvelled at amazingly old figs (Curtain and Cathedral). We stopped and listened to the whirr of enormous turbines at Windy Hill (power plant).

We finally arrived at the Innot Hot Springs after a lot of sight seeing. The caravan park didn’t look much but we were so glad that we stopped. We enjoyed many dips over our two days there in 6 mineral thermal pools ranging from cold to bitingly hot (where Tim and Kate competed with who could stand the heat the longest). Children were not allowed in the very hottest pools but certainly enjoyed the warm ones and more so at night when the steam rose from them into the chilly night air. The best part of the springs was probably the creek that ran adjacent to the park in which flowed varying temperatures of water, some hotter than the pools at the park! We had to leap into the centre of the creek as the edges were often so hot that you would flinch automatically. You could even dig new little pools in the creek bank or widen sections with a shovel, creating new spots to lay and soak up the warmth. The sandy creek banks were warm just to walk and sit on.

To give our water soaked pruny skin a break, we thought we would try our luck at fossicking. The children took to this with great enthusiasm and didn’t want to leave our dig site. We drove along our most hairy 4WD track (to date) to find the ‘Glittering Star’ dig site. Here we all sieved copious amounts of dirt while Tim dug an impressively big hole and Kate kept one eye out for snakes! The kids delighted in their finds of small topaz crystals and quartz and have since set up ‘gem shops’ in the ensuite tent selling and trading their finds. We had such fun altogether here at Innot….it was just such a unique and unforgettable experience!

On our way west we stopped off at the Undara Volcanic National Park and took a tour of the lava tubes. This was again another amazing experience walking through some of these tubes which go for great distances underground, of which you can see very little evidence of on the surface. We were dwarfed by the magnitude of these tubes and were impressed by their colourful and varying formations. The ground above is mostly pink grantite which is covered by vast savannah grasslands. By stark contrast there are some pockets of rainforest where the tube ceilings have collapsed.

We drove through a couple of small towns before we could press on no further and have stopped tonight at Georgetown. Which brings you, our dear family and friends, up to date after a long ‘blog free’ period due to very minimal phone and internet reception in these parts.

We are all on a steep learning curve now as we are heading through some more remote territory. We now know what red dirt is, what road trains are, what single lane highway passing is like, what ‘small town’ means, and what its like to be told “sorry we have no bread”. We are becoming wiser and now know that in some places we need to pre-order our loaf or milk.

Cairns QLD (June - 9 days)

We spent 9 days in Cairns to catch our breath before heading west. We stayed about 15 minutes out of the city at the foot of the rainforest and misty mountains that sit behind Cairns. The outlook was beautiful and the walks we did at nearby Crystal Cascades were just spectacular. We enjoyed swimming in one of several waterholes at the cascades and Georgie was delighted with her nudie dip! We had a great day going to and from Kuranda (very touristy) on the Skyrail. Viewing the forest canopy, river, falls etc. from the heights of our suspended cable car was the highlight of the day. We enjoyed some beautiful boardwalks, looking at the Barron Falls etc. We were very excited to revisit Trinity Beach some 11 years on (almost to the day), where we spent most of our honeymoon! It certainly brought back some special memories for the two of us.

Port Douglas,The Daintree and Cape Tribulation QLD (June - 7 days)

From Mission Beach we ended up driving straight through to Port Douglas with the plan to head south to Cairns before we head west. We enjoyed a few quiet days in Port Douglas going to markets, for drives and walks etc. From here we visited beautiful Mossman Gorge where we all swam between the boulders in crystal clear (freezing) water, navigating the faster flowing sections! The kids loved the suspension bridge over the gorge and took great delight in swinging it as Kate squealed and decided it was “far too dangerous!”

We took a day trip to Cape Tribulation and The Daintree and loved it so much on this visit that we took the van up for a further two days. This was just such a unique environment where the ‘rainforest meets the reef’. We had such a great time going on (sometimes lengthy) walks, discovering very secluded swimming holes, fishing and shell collecting on gorgeous beaches fringed with coconut palms. We also went on a cruise on the Daintree River and spotted five crocs which was quite thrilling. One of these was only very little – one of the newest additions to the river’s population apparently. After seeing croc warning signs at most inland waterways that we pass up here it was great to finally lay eyes on some crocs in their natural habitat. We all marvelled at the lush rainforest which was truly spectacular in places. The climbing vines, strangling figs and fan (umbrella) palms were amongst our favourites. Just driving along this section of the coast is divine, catching glimpses of the blue, blue ocean through breaks in the forest.

From Cape Tribulation we drove straight through to Cairns where we are now staying for 10 days. We are actually staying approx 15 minutes west of the city itself in a great van park nestled at the base of the tablelands in a rainforest setting. We are very close to the picturesque Crystal Cascades (series of waterfalls and swimming holes). The backdrop is truly spectacular and no sandflies or mozzies which is a treat! The only adjustment has been the heat (only 27-28 degrees, but the humidity factor has made it feel much, much hotter! (nappy-only weather for little Georgia).




One disappointment this week was that the shutter seized up on our camera and will need to go in for repair. In the first 7 weeks Kate managed to click away 1400 times, which will total something like 7,000 pics for the whole trip if this trend continues! Kate is obviously having withdrawals and Annabelle has been very gracious in sharing her new camera with her Mum!

It seems to be that we encounter some new creature or living thing to ‘beware of’ on each new leg of the journey…..stingers, sandflies, crocs, cassowaries (which can apparently pose some danger to humans) and the stinging tree, so far. There will undoubtedly be more to come. We feel very blessed to live in Port Macquarie with beautiful beaches and koalas (which pretty much keep to themselves!)

Georgie continues to delight us all and brings much laughter to the family! She never misses out on a little ice cream treat and now unzips herself out of her camp cot with ease. Tonight doing so and proceeding to make herself comfy on the couch for a DVD with the ‘big kids’.