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PORT DOUGLAS TO MOSSMAN GORGE
20,21,22-9-07 no 18
We drove along the Captain Cook highway towards Port Douglas a beautiful drive right along the waters edge we stopped and ate breaky at a great spot on the beach we had to be a fare way back from the water just in case there is a croc. We didn't see a croc but we did see heaps of huge turtles pop up and dolphins it was magic. When we got ready to go we were bogged so we collected heaps of coconut leaves to put under the wheel's and it worked a treat. We then drove into Port we parked right near the beach and went for a swim it was so warm we swam in the middle of everyone still very aware about crocs but they have a life guard to watch out. We then went for a bike ride up the beach the sand is like concrete and easy to ride on then at the end we cut through the bush and rode back on the bike path. We then drove up to Mossman for the night and the next day we left the caravan and drove up to Mossman Gorge the roads were very narrow and we had to pull over and give way a lot. It is a breathtaking spot we had our lunch and then went down to the swimming hole Andrew and Imagen(the two braves) had a dip and went up to the rapids and slid down. We then went on the rainforest walk it took about an hour and we had to go over a swinging bridge it was very cool. Then it was time to head to the Daintree.
CAIRNS
We went to the lagoon again and just relax and swam we rode to the post office and Kylie had sent the girls a parcel each She had put a huge spider in them to scare the girls and yep she got Imagen a good one and also little puzzles to play with Imagen had a great time scaring people at the pool with the spider she got a few people really good. Mum sent us up all our rego forms to sign We then sent off all our rego papers and money to Laynie as it was a interstate rego not a easy thing to do but she fix it up for us. Mum and Dad sent up another parcel for the girls with all the news at home. We all love getting mail on the road.
ATHERTON AND THE WATERFALL BRAVES
11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18-9-07
We drove up to the tablelands along the windy road ???? and stopped at the Cathedral fig it was so huge. We then drove into Atherton and found out all the water falls we could visit. We had to get out all our winter clothes as it was very cold in the mornings then we started our waterfall search we went to The Crater and Dinner falls first, the Crater was made by a Volcano shoot off,all the gases came up through and made a huge hole it is 80 mts deep. We then drove to Millaa Millaa falls what a spectacular place its just like they have made it for a movie. We stayed the night there letting the the roar of the falls put us to sleep. We ate our breaky down in front of the falls it was magic and Imagen did a painting of it. Then Andrew and Imagen went for a swim under the falls Ebony and I have decided to give them a Indian name "The Waterfall Braves". We then went searching for other falls and on the way Andrew stopped to ask a house if we could pick a bunch of Bananas they said pick as many as we like Andrew got chatting with them and they invited us in for a cuppa they had twin girls about 3years old and our girls had a great time playing with the kids .They then invited us down to there river and go looking for gems so we did we didn't find any but we had fun. We did catch a turtle and the kids had a great time playing with it. We then went onto Zillie and Ellinjaa falls Andrew and Imagen swam again at Ellinjaa falls but it wasn't as nice a bit muddy. On the way out Andrew wanted to stop at the tip to get a few things and when we pulled up our bikes were dragging on the ground the tip manager Peter said go and find anything we need to fix it up and wouldn't charge us then he offered us his welder he said wait around till he knocks off and follow him back to his place. Then he invited us to stay the night have showers as it was to dark to do the welding so we will do it the morning. Andrew had a great time chatting to him his whole place is self sufficient he lives in a huge shed, power ran by huge batteries gas for shower and cooking. Andrew got on so well with him they think a lot alike and love tinkering with electrical things so they talked most of the night. At 5.45 in the morning he took us to his friends dairy farm to show the girls all about milking cows it was amazing and only the two of them do it. When the milking was done the girls helped feed the calf's there milk it was very funny watching them drinking from there makeshift bottles. We then went and had cuppers with the fresh milk it was very creamy We had a very enjoyable morning there milk is Dairy Farmers brand. We then went back to Peters place the boys welded the bike rack back on we then said our thanks and took off towards Ravenshoe we stayed at Archer creek the night. The next morning while Imagen and Andrew went for a swim ebony and i made Pancakes with jam or sugar and lemon Ebony set the table with a table cloth and we had a posh morning tea it was yummy Andrew and Imagen were very happy . We had a man stop and turn back on the highway to ask if we would like to sell he said he has been looking for a old caravan like ours for ages we said no but it was nice to know our baby's a wanted girl.
We then drove to Innot hot springs it was amazing in some places it was to hot you could only hop in and quickly hop out where others were too hot to sit in and other spots were like a hot bath we found 3 pools that had been dug out and sat in them for about an hour when it got to hot you just move to a cold spot to cool off our bodies felt really nice from all the minerals. We then headed back to Atherton we meet a lovely family at the platypus park it is the first place that i have seen platypus in the wild. On Sunday we went to church and then drove to Malanda Falls for a swim and lunch that night Imagen vomited all night and i mean all night the poor girl couldn't even walk by her self .The next day she was so exhausted then in the morning low and behold Ebony started vomiting oh my 2 kids vomiting in a small caravan HELP all day they just laid in bed and when it got to hot laid out side. We went into town to get them some icey poles to suck on and Andrew did the spew washing. The next morning we had the truck booked in for rego check we only had to fix a few things but it was fine we then left Atherton and drove back down to Cairns.
ROSSI RIVER
8,9,10-9-07
We left Cairns and found a fantastic river to camp at Rossi River it was so much like our favorite river at home. So we camped for a few days we made a camp fire cooked spuds in the fire and for the first time since leaving home we felt like we were camping no noise, pitch black (no town lights) and heaps of stars. We had a great time. On Sunday heaps of family's came to the river and the girls swam all day with the kids. That night the girls made there own fire to sit around i wasn't to keen but then i remembered what it was like when i was there age and finally allowed to have my own fire i felt very grown up. They built a really good fire but ended up at ours as they got a bit scared. We sang some camp fire songs and fell into bed exhausted. It was very hard to leave the place but the rest of Australia is calling.
CAIRNS
4,5,6,7-9-07
We drove into Cairns town central its a very busy place so we found a place to park and hopped on our bikes and rode to the free lagoon to swim. We had a great 4 days hanging around Cairns swimming in the Lagoon all day,having nice hot showers at the pool, cooking dinner at the BBQ while watching the girls swim,walking around the Botanical gardens was amazing and beautiful, full of plants from all over the world, We even went for night swims as it is so hot just a quick dip is great. There is so many Japanese people at Cairns we meet heaps and had some funny chats they are very shy. The council had celebrations going on and one night they put a outside movie on for the kids so we went and had dinner then sat and watched the Lion King on a huge screen under the stars. All up the 4 days was a load of fun and didn't cost us a cent all we paid for was food and petrol not bad. The QLD councils really know how to look after the tourists it was the same in Townsville.
WALLAMAN FALLS
1,2,3-9-07
We left the van at the info center and traveled up to Wallaman falls the tallest waterfall in Australia the drive through the rainforest was amazing. It was a very steep walk down. Andrew and Imagen went for a swim it was very cold and a long way but they did it! swam under there first waterfall. It was so loud with all the water falling and you get quite wet from the spray. Poor Ebony was trying to keep dry but fell in when a Water Dragon frightened her and she lost her balance. On the way up we met 2 men training to walk the kokoda trail in PNG they had 20 kilos in there backpacks and it was there 2nd time up and down that day normally they would do it 3 times. We then drove to Cardwell to pick up our GPS from the post office what a fantastic little gadget that is I named it the marriage Saviour (I'm not that good at reading maps but im getting better).The girls had a letter from Fynn and Sarah and Nanny and Grandpa they were so excited. We stopped for the night at Kennedy servo, you just buy something from the shop and you can camp out back, they had hot showers and a toilet so we had a nice soak. There is train tracks next to the shop and girls and Andrew put a coin each on the track before they went to bed but as soon as they were just about asleep "toot toot" the train came they were so excited they ran with the torch to find there coins. The girls found theres but Andrew couldn't they were so squished and stretched. We carried on and stopped at Innisfail for lunch and had look around. The town was still in bad need of repair from last years cyclone about half the shops were still barricaded up and the tops of all the huge trees are missing it looks very strange.
TOWNSVILLE
27,28,20,30-8-07
We pulled up at the Townsville BP rest spot and didn't have a very good sleep the trucks keep there engines going all the time so it was very noisy. We meet up with a lovely couple Graeme,Heidi and three boys Ryhs, Matthew and Jordan. They are also doing the lap they are from Perth. The kids just had the best time we only saw them when they were hungry. The kids did there school work together so it was good for the girls to see they are not the only ones doing it. Andrew went to the chiropractor to fix his back and the kids made stuff from Heidi's craft box they had a ball when Andrew got back he brought water pistols and the kids played wars until they couldn't get any wetter then we meet the boys down at the free pool and had lunch together there was hot showers and the kids played in them until they were all pruned up. When we got back another older couple Sheryl and Stuart (and there 6 little dogs)made heaps of crackers,dip,dried fruit,chocolate and heaps off lollies for the kids to share with us all so that was dinner they were like Grandparents to the kids they loved it. The next day we had another day at the pool and that night we had a pot luck dinner we made a spag boll,Heidi made Butter Chicken and Sheryl made chicken and veg we had the best munch out then a big commotion broke out!!!! we were sitting down having sweets and the kids were in our caravan having a movie night then all of a sudden police cars were every where with bullet proof vets and big guns. A man in a bus pulled out a gun on another caravaner who was threatening his kids then the service station was in shut down thinking it was a hold up and pressed the hold up button. It turned out the man had 5 guns in the bus and one was loaded so he was taken away. Talk about excitement. We didn't tell the kids they just thought the police were filling there cars up with petrol. Andrew brought a new water tank for the van then we went and had a last swim and dinner with the boys when we are over at Perth we will catch up. We drove to Ingham that night.
BOWEN
23,24,25,26,-8-07
We found a beautiful spot at Bowen called Horseshoe Bay the sunsets are just amazing its just an amazing spot. Huge big boulders line the bay, we swam and snorkeled most if the time. We went up to the look out and they have beautiful 360 degrees views. We Collected heaps of shells and made Grandpa a cool coconut shell mobil for fathers day. Andrew hurt his neck this morning putting Imagen on his shoulder for a photo and pulled a muscle and is in a lot of pain. As we were leaving our caravan wheel was popped from a steel peg on the side if the road it was getting dark and a man also traveling drove his car down from the caravan park to give us some light his name is Bruce it was very nice of him we had a chat then got going it was Saturday so we had to wait around to see the council on Monday .They were very good about it and a few weeks later they sent a cheque for the new tyre. we then took off for Townsville.
AIRLIE BEACH TO DINGO BEACH
20,21,22 8,07
We have no idea what all the hype is about Airlie Beach we didn't find it at all appealing. The first beach we came across we renamed it sludge beach as it was covered in this Grey cement like sludge it was horrible stuff, but we did have a nice ride around the area and a swim in the free lagoon then we went for a great bush walk up Mt Rooper looking over the Whitsundays it was beautiful. Just near the carpark we saw a wild Dingo a very nice looking dog but took off as soon as our car came around the bend. We decided to go on to Dingo Beach and stayed for 2 nights we meet a family visiting from France and invited us to stay in front of there holiday house they just love Australia and wish they could live here. The man is a engineer for Volvo he travels a lot and he kept telling us how lucky we are to live in this beautiful country he said he wouldn't even tell us about his life and living in France its too sad and hard he said he holidayed here 5 years ago and when he got back to Australia he just cried because he was happy to be here. It really brings home to me how lucky we all are. We did some snorkeling where the reef comes into Dingo Beach we were having a great time until a big fish followed us and kept charging at my legs it looked horrible with 4 big teeth. I took out my snorkel to try and shoo it away but it kept coming for me so i was out of there,( i think i may have walked on water). It was a real shame as i was very scared to go in again same with the girls its amazing how fear can cripple you it really robbed me of a nice time.
MACKAY
15,16,17,18,19-8-07
We had such a late night so we had a bit of a sleep in but it was getting very hot so we got a move on. We drove onto Sarina and had lunch Andrew and the girls went for a quick bike ride and saw there first croc slide they came back very excited. Then we drove to Mackay and found where Cassi and Ben are it is so good to see friends from home. We had a BBQ at the caravan park they are staying at while Ben is working at the mines the kids had a ripper of a night playing with the kids and were happy not to be in the truck for a few days. The next day Cassi dressed me up in a dress (now thats a big thing for me im not a real dressy kinda girl) but we had fun. We went into town to this very posh place and had a farewell Devonshire tea for Cass With and her sister inlaws. Then we went and had a BBQ at Dolphin Heads it started to rain so we ate wet but it was fun then we went to Elmeo pub and had a cuppa to warm up Ebony found $1.20 in the phone inside the pub so the kids kept going to check it and kept running back to us to show us how much they found, it would be different amounts each time, they were having a ball. It turned out the Barman was putting the coins in for them he was getting a great kick out of it. The kids put all there money together and brought ice creams with it and then the Lady from behind the bar gave them all a lolly pop for sharing the money the kids went up and thanked the barman apparently all the men having a beer had a great time watching the kids excitement over finding money. We then went and walked along a beach and went into a resort and brought a few drinks and everyone but Cassi and me went for a swim. The Bar Lady said there was a shark washed up on the beach so we all went and had a look it was huge its head and a fin had been cut off to me it looked like a tiger shark but we weren't sure we all had a great time doing some shark riding it is the only time that we will get that close to a shark(i hope) it was amazing and sad. We had a great few days with Cass and the kids but they had to be on there way to the Bay so we said our goodbyes, Ben is staying to work a bit more in the mines. We ended up staying out front of Ben's sisters for a few nights it was great getting to know them. Ben took us up to Finch Hatton Gorge what a spectacular place it is all rainforest and the water is spring water we had to walk the 1000 steps to get to the water fall gee it was worth it just beautiful it rained all the way back down. We then drove to the local pub and had hot chips to warm us up the girls found a pinball machine that had heaps of credits so we all had a few goes. On the way down to Mackay we found a really run down house with some fruit trees and stopped to get some we couldn't believe how much was there Avocados, Manderines, Passionfruits, Starfruits. we said it was like the garden of Eden. We ended up getting a hole box full then this man came out (we think he was a squatter) and started yelling hey what are you doing!! after a while he was fine with us taking some but i wish we saw him first to ask. We said bye to Ben and took off towards Airlie Beach.
