And again from Bramston Beach(but sadly the last!)

Well we were due to leave on Sunday and Sunday came and went and we didn’t! The weather wasn’t great and we had heard it was windy down the coast so we decided better the devil ……. So we’re still here.
However the weather has improved markedly now and the sun is shining so we made the right decision and haven’t had trouble filling in our time at all.
We’ve been going for long walks along the beach at low tide when the sand is firm and easy to walk. We’ve been for dinner at Babinda to a lovely Thai restaurant, reading and listening to the radio where we heard of a basketball carnival in Cairns which began on Thursday night and runs over the weekend as part of the Cairns festival. So we rang and booked tickets and for the princely sum of $24 we watched two NBL matches from the front row directly behind the Cairns Taipans bench. What incredible luck! We had a great night, although getting back to the van at 11.30pm was a bit of a rude shock! Never mind we didn’t have any pressing engagements for the morning anyway.
We did however make the most of the lovely morning and go for a walk through Eubenangee Swamp National Park which we had driven past many times. The walk begins at a lovely rail line which is one of the many cane train lines and winds its way through a tropical forest for about 1km. The tropical forest then gives way to a clearing with a steep walk up a hill from where you overlook a magnificent natural swamp which is teeming with life including birds and as we looked along the bank we noticed what looked like a log but in fact was a crocodile which validates all the warnings we saw posted along the way. The water lilies and other plants covered much of the surface of the Swamp and looked truly beautiful.
On our last day (we have really decided to go this time!) we went for a walk through Palmerston National Park to the North Johnstone River Lookout which is 1.5km from the road. It certainly was a challenge and we returned to our mountain goat ways again with the added interest of high humidity this time. The path was a very natural one over tree roots through the forest with some rudimentary steps provided along the way. The view was worth all the ‘are we there yets’ and something else to remember from our stay here.
Now we’re really going after two weeks which started at four nights!

Bramston Beach 2

Sometimes holidays are for revisiting comfortable places, a bit like comfy shorts, tee shirts and croc shoes (sorry Paula, and yes we do wear them all day at the beach!).
Then there are days that take you right out of your comfort zone and just explode with something really special. Today started out fairly as we planned with a visit to a market we had been told would be good and it certainly was very colourful and varied. We really enjoyed our visit to Youngaburra and after the market travelled back towards Milla Milla which is the dairy we visited twice last year to quality test the produce. We decided it was imperative to repeat the exercise this year and Ian has now ascertained that the chocolate orange cheesecake is indeed ‘to die for’.
As we sat on the deck enjoying our lunch we noticed that for today only there were helicopter flights available directly across the road from the dairy. Now I have never had a helicopter experience and so before I could do my usual risk assessment we found ourselves on board.
What a magic experience. I can only describe it as reminiscent to our balloon flight in Pennsylvania with a lot more noise and faster and being enclosed in a plastic bubble. We sped over the North Johnstone River and marvelled at all we saw. We have driven beside this beautiful country many many times and never known of the beautiful waterfalls cascading down as the river winds its way towards a junction and on to Innisfail. Our pilot Wayne told us that when the wet season is in progress this area is a favourite of white water rafters and I have made a mental note to myself if Ian ever suggests we try that I will be busy or wave from overhead in the helicopter I have now asked Kate to give me for Christmas!
Our flight was only for 10 minutes but it was an unforgettable experience probably even more so because of the spontaneity of our decision. I’m not expecting anything like this for the rest of the trip but it was so worth it.
If you are ever up here and would like to try out an adventure like this we highly recommend NQ Heli-Worx. Thanks Kate and Wayne, have a look at the website at www.nqheliworx.com.au

Bramston Beach 1

We have returned to Bramston Beach which was a favourite last year and one we had decided to return to again. We are not disappointed as it is just as we remembered and will stay for a record number of nights, yet to be decided as we keep extending! The photos may be a clue as to why --- the outlook from our caravan is none too shabby and going to sleep each night with the waves only 30-40 metres from your door is not hard to take. All this for $16 a night.
We don’t have any power here but do have water so it has been an opportunity to test out our generator to boost our battery in the van and we have managed very well. We put up the awning and even the wall across the back and have been sitting outside with our mosquito coil to protect us from the mossies (thanks Jenny for the coils – they are great!).
The chairs mum gave Ian are fantastic footstools so we’re set! The biggest decision is which book to read and which sewing to complete.
Innisfail is our closest main centre and is only 15 minutes away so shopping has not been a problem either.
We haven’t been totally lazy however and have started playing petanque along the foreshore in front of the van, sharpening our skills before we visit some friends further down the coast in a little while.
We’ve also been for a couple of walks through the National Parks nearby and the waterfalls are spectacular. We are discovering more things to see here the longer we stay and I’m sure there are more to come.

Archer Creek

On the way to Archer Creek we stopped off at Innot Hot Springs which we had heard a lot about and only driven past last year. We enjoyed an hour trying out the various pools which ranged in heat up to 45 degrees. We didn’t try the 45 degree pool thinking logically that the lobster look was not a good one. Nonetheless the other pools were very refreshing.
Archer Creek is a roadside stop and really one not to miss. At $0 its fantastic value, in fact better than some of the parks we pay for. We set ourselves up with a cosy fire which was the first time we had used Ian’s home made brazier which worked very well.
Later we built the fire up and invited a young German couple to join us. Lars and Nicole are travelling for four months and are heading towards Darwin and then back down south before moving on to Switzerland to work for a couple of years before resuming travelling. Lars is a chef and Nicole also works in hospitality. Our conversation led to discussing their lives in East Germany before the wall came down and how their lives, and the lives of their families have changed. It was a fascinating evening and we have both learnt so much from them and are even more grateful for our good fortune. Sitting under huge eucalyptus trees on a beautiful clear night looking up at the stars with this lovely couple was pretty close to perfect and they gave us a bottle of wine to thank us for our hospitality! The pleasure was all ours and we hope to meet up with them again.

Georgetown to Undara

We had a lovely time at our caravan park at Georgetown and enjoyed the company of a number of other campers. We solved the problems of the world over our dinners, discussing issues as diverse as tourist development along the coast, the state of farming around Lake Bolac, cost of fuel and retirement!
We drove on to Undara and enjoyed the newly surfaced road, remembering the sometimes bone jarring experience we had last year.
We had stopped and collected wood outside the park so we could have a campfire as we had last year. Ian made a magnificent stew in the camp oven which was the envy of the other campers as the aromas drifted around during the afternoon. After dinner we joined many others at the campfire for a night hosted by one of the Savannah guides during which in addition to a fantastic fire we enjoyed some Aussie poetry.
In the morning a walk was on our list and we were very pleased that we decided to go early as it is very warm and early morning or late afternoon starts seem to be the most practical.
Early on Friday morning we went on a walk to Atkinsons Lookout and late in the afternoon another walk to Yarramulla and walked around the rim of the crater. We must have chosen ‘beer o’clock’ we think as we met wallabies getting together for drinks and nibbles as we walked back to the car after a fairly steep walk up and back from the crater.
On our last morning we went to the camp breakfast which we had enjoyed so much last year. It certainly took care of lunch! Then we moved on towards the coast to a camp near Ravenshoe called Archer Creek.

Georgetown

After we left Cloncurry we travelled on to Normanton for the night along the Burke Developmental Road. In Normanton we snapped a couple more ‘bigs’ which seemed amazing in this part of the world. After a quick look around town which seems to be a very popular fishing spot probably because it’s the closest fishing area to Karumba on the coast and is very popular, we headed out along the Gulf Developmental Road towards Croydon to a spot recommended in the Camps 4 book called Norman River. This camp is a seasonal one and is located at Leichardt Lagoon and was just beautiful. We had a site for $14 and met up with many other campers around a campfire and BBQ for tea. We were able to use the generator so we had everything we needed included very clean facilities and a twin tub machine which fortunately I didn’t need to use as its quite a while since I’ve used one of these! The campfire was a very interesting set up comprising a star picket post with a hollow log over the top and a small collection of twigs and paper at the bottom. When it was lit it fired up beautifully and as Ian (CFA hat on!) informed me very knowledgeably “it performed like a candle tree does in a bushfire’. Whatever it was, it was spectacular and certainly provided our entertainment for the evening still going strong when we went to bed.
In the morning we journeyed on listening to the Olympics for the first time as radio has been very poor – Warwick where is the ABC in the bush? We cheered as the men’s hockey team excelled against South Africa and as the swimming events progressed with the Aussies doing well talking back to the radio as the debate raged about ‘suits’ or ‘no suits’ and the advantage they have played in all the world records.
Our stop for tonight is a shady and grassy park in Georgetown which is only a morning’s journey to Undara where we will stay for two nights.

Cloncurry

We’ve stopped tonight in Cloncurry for a night to stay in a van park. I’ve done a load of washing, tidied up the van and cleaned up generally. When I told Pete I was cleaning up the van and doing the housework he said how could that take long, you’re living in a shoe box, just turn it upside down and shake it! Wish it was that easy – the dust gets in every nook and cranny and the benches are covered in dust each time we stop so I like to have a chance to give it all a really good clean.
The driving over the last four days has been quite lengthy and we have covered 2,100kms which is more than we would like to but we needed to move along to return closer to the coast where we will spend a few weeks. Over our holiday so far we have traversed across five states/territories, Victoria, New South Wales, South Australia, The Northern Territory and now Queensland so its been quite a journey and nearly all new places to visit.
We’re on our way to The Lava Tubes at Undara in the next few days which we did visit last year and enjoyed so much we are going back to stay for a couple of days.
After that we’re not too sure of how we’ll make our way back to the coast, but we’ll wait and see.
Today’s photos are of sunset at our last stop which was spectacular and me hard at work on the blog!