Cairns, canopies and crocs

WEDNESDAY, 22nd June 2011
On the next leg we stopped in at Bowen for a shot with the Big Mango

Then headed up to 360degree restaurant for lunch. It had seriously magnificent views.




We stayed a few nights in Townsville where we saw the local sights.






We took a day trip to Magnetic Island for some fish'n'chips on the beach.



And Jace and Ella entertained themselves with the camera on the ferry back.


SATURDAY, 25th June 2011
As we travelled further north the damage caused by cyclone Yasi was very visible along the coast. We stopped just out of Innisfail at Ella Bay, but the rainy weather made our stay rather uneventful.

Of course Ella was happy enough to stay at "her own" bay.


On our way out of Innisfail we did manage to visit Paronella Park which is quite a bizzare sight, its the remainder of a castle set next to a waterfall. The castle was pretty much built by the one guy about 80 years ago.



Ella played the part of the princess.


It was a random detour that turned out to be worth the visit.




MONDAY, 27th June 2011
We arrived in Cairns, and the tropical rain is sticking around.

But the kids are happy enough with raincoats and gumboots, so we wandered through the botanical gardens while it drizzled.



We will be stuck around the Cairns area for a week or two while we get the car repaired and fit for the Cape York adventure. The caravan park we are staying at feels like the starting point for a lot of Cape York adventurers, so the excitement is settling in.

THURSDAY, 30th June 2011
A day trip today up to Kuranda Village.

We took the Skyrail over the rainforest canopy.




And got some great views of Barron Falls.




The kids provided their own entertainment.



(don't mind the drenched shirt...Ash is in dribble mode with more teeth coming through).

FRIDAY, 1st July 2011
Taking advantage of a small break in the rain today we explored a few more beaches.




SUNDAY, 3rd July 2011
We took in some croc action up at Hartley Crocodile Farm today. We saw a LOT of crocs. With relatively well behaved kids after Jace threatened them as croc dinner.


A short boat trip took us around the croc infested lagoon where we got to see 'Big Ted'apparently the 2nd bigget croc in captivity.


Jace got up close and personal with one big fella, and I'm pretty sure this is the only time he wants to see one this close.

We also got to see a Cassowary - or the emu with the pretty head as Jace described it.


The kids got to pat the koalas.

And Ash was offering his fingers to the ducks.

We saw some x-rated lizards.

And some more cute and cuddly crocs

Don't blame it on the sunshine!

THURSDAY, 16th June 2011

Airlie Beach and finally some sunshine! We spent the first couple of days lazing by the man-made lagoon and wandering the streets with the rest of the backpackers.





We went over to Long Island for a couple of days and enjoyed having the island mostly to ourselves since there were only about 10 other rooms filled.

The kids joined us when we went out for a kayak.



And Jace and I took advantage of the poolside bar.


We enjoyed the views from the top of the island despite the whingy kids on the way up.

And Ash and I joined in the yoga class.


Plenty of lazing to be had.



SATURDAY, 18th June 2011

We took a day trip up to Dingo Beach and Ella spotted some paw-prints (though the jury is out if they were actually a dingo's).


And then we stumbled across some more secluded beaches up near Hideaway Bay.




Jace took Ella fishing, but they still have only managed to catch crabs.



TUESDAY, 21st June 2011

Jace managed to escape for a day and headed out to the reef for a scuba dive, it had been at least 3 years since he had been diving, but he managed to make it back alive.




After a week in thiss beautiful part of the world it's time to keep moving.

Always take the weather with you

TUESDAY, 7th June 2010

Arrived in Yeppoon today and took ourselves up to Byfield State Forest to set up camp. The mozzies here are prolific, we doused the kids in insect repellant but they both have small patches on their foreheads covered with about 20 bites....poor buggers.

And cold, holy!, this weather is following us. I thought by the time we got to the Tropic of Capricorn it would be starting to warm up. Ah well wrong again so we dragged out the heavy jumpers.

On a more exciting note, we did get a visit fom the local emus who were quite an inquisitive bunch.



WEDNESDAY, 8th June 2010

Spent todaying touring around Yeppoon and beyond. Went up to the singing ship, but it didn't want to sing.



So we then went down to the causeway to give the fishing lines another go, this time with hooks, bait and all ;-)

Ash looks completely professional.



Ella and Jace managed to nab a crab, and every time Jace tells the story the crab is getting bigger.

This dog was trying to get the kids attention to throw the stick, but the branch was bigger than the both of them.



THURSDAY, 9th June 2010

Today we ventured further into Byfield National Park to check out Five Rock and Nine Mile Beach. The beach was absolutely covered in rubbish but we found a clear stretch for the kids to get out and play.

They have been getting along so well together.



Ash is becoming more adventurous with his climbing, and I can't decide if that's a good or bad thing.


We've taken advantage of being able to have fires at this campground and have filled our bellies with dampers, marshmallows and a fire cooked pumpkin soup.

The kids were thrilled when another family of campers showed up to stay the night, finally having some young friends to play with. They also are travelling around Australia, so we bump into them again sometime soon.

FRIDAY, 10th June 2010

Another shift North today to Mackay, we pulled in late - well in our terms anyway 4.30pm is too close to dinner time and has now been coined "Ratbag Hour" for the kids - and it was bucketing down, so we took the easy option and stayed in a motel.

SATURDAY, 11th June 2010

We headed out in the morning to set up the tent, and arrived just as the last rain of the morning was finishing. We had prime front row position at Seaforth, just metres from the beach. But were once again shocked at how cold it was. Jace had me for a liar after I'd said that Mackay had warm weather all year round, but the care-taker backed up my story saying that it was the coldest he's seen it in 11 years.

We spent the afternoon checking out Cape Hillsborough from the warmth and dryness of the car, which was blissfully quiet with both Ella and Ash asleep.

SUNDAY, 12th June 2010

Today was a stroll through memory lane for me as we checked out old schools and houses and haunts. There were some surprises, like the horse riding school that has now become a firing range, but for the most part it was still the same.

We went down to the Harbour Park which still had a bunch of the old statues that I know are in pictures from my childhood.




Later on Jace was happy to finally get to use his winch to pull out some locals who got themselves well and truly bogged in the sand.


MONDAY, 13th June 2010

I woke up to a beautiful sunrise this morning, and actually managed to drag myself out of bed without waking the kids.



Because it finally ended up being sunny we took the kids back into town to Bluewater Lagoon which is a free council run pool and water park. It was still quite cool though, so they were both shivering within about 10 minutes.

Later on we collected some coconuts off the beach, and gave the kids some fresh coconut. I think it was more fun watching Jace get them open though!


TUESDAY, 14th June 2010

We've had quite a relaxing day, I managed to catch up with a few school friends and Jace treated himself to a massage. I think he needs to invest in some stronger insect repellant though, cause he is getting a shocking reaction to the mozzies here.


We also managed to stock up on a few important things, like DVD's for the kids. We were going slightly insane listening to the same DVD's on repeat right behind our eardrums.

The kids as usual had all the oldies wrapped around their fingers. Ash has now caught on to Ella's sayings which go "Hello, What's your name, Where's your caravan", so now he shouts out "Hello, Name?" So as a result they know everyone in the camprgound. This time the neighbours of choice were Bill & Jenny who gave the kids some hand-sanded walking sticks, and fed the lorikeets and ducks with them.

The kids have also decided they don't need beds anymore and are downsizing to a suitcase....that trick might come in handy when we fly back to Gold Coast in September :-)


Till next time, take care.
xx Carlie.

From Bay to Bubbles and Black Snakes

SATURDAY, 28th May 2011

Today we took some more time exploring Hervey Bay, we attempted to walk out along Urangan Pier, but the kids weren't up for the 1.5km walk, so we only made it about half way before havnig to turn back. Jace was impressed by the millions of crabs that were on the shores at low tide.



Speaking of crabs, we were very jealous of the haul of mudcrabs our neighbours managed to snag in their crab pots, there must have been about 20, and very dissappointed there were no leftovers for us! But they were a lovely couple who basically adopted Ella and Ash as surrogate grandchildren whilst we stayed there, and the kids loved having the extra attention.

TUESDAY, 31st May 2011
After Hervey Bay we moved an hour and a half up the coast to Bundaberg and set up camp at Bargara Beach Caravan Park. The kids were stoked to find some young playmates. We met a family doing their own trip around Oz with a 3yo in tow. It was nice to finally find someone doing the same thing we were.

We checked out the Bundaberg Barrell , and were impressed by the fun tour they offerred. We managed to stock up on plenty of cheap drinks, and we'll have bubbles coming out our ears for weeks.




We did a day trip south to Woodgate Beach, which is 4wd access only, and enjoyed having the beach pretty much to ourselves.


THURSDAY, 2nd June 2011

On our way out of Bundaberg we took a stop off at the "Mystery Craters".... (cue sci-fi music) ....not much to say about that except they are what they look like....big holes in the rocks.


And then it was a little further noth to the town of 1770. We took a stroll up to the headland where Captain Cook landed, and took in the spectacular view,


some from a more relaxed perspective than others.



Not so relaxing later on was another snake encounter....well two actually. We'd been warning the kids about snake/spider holes as we followed a track down to the beach, when a red-belly crossed Jace's path. And then on our way back to the car a few hours later it managed to cross in front of Ella's path. No harm done, but it sure gave the appropriate fright.

SATURDAY, 4th June 2011

We took a day trip to Baffle Creek via Deepwater National Park and Ella managed to put her fishing line into the water while we watched some of the locals attempt to launch their tinny (unsuccessfully). Ella was quite dissappointed when "the crocodile took her hook, line, and sinker" before she could catch a fish. Not that she really had a chance with no hook, no reel, and no bait since Ash had eaten it all.

We did another day trip through Eurimbula National Park on our way to check out Gladstone and Tannum Sands. Jace enjoyed the 3 hour trek through all the mud, but when we found a closed gate at the end of the track, we were quite relieved that it was unlocked and that we didn't have to do the 3hour return track to get back. We got the paddleboard out at Gladstone's only beach, and Ash managed to get up onto his feet for the first time with Ella helping him along.


Agnes Waters and 1770 are touted as being the most Northerly surf beaches on the East Coast. But by the time Jace got his surfboard fixed, the surf had eased off, and he had to content himself with attempting to catch the small waves in on the paddle board.

TUESDAY, 7th June 2011
Today we are moving on up to Yeppoon for a few days. See ya round 1770.



xx Carlie.