Jim & Ev have been to visit us here at home and stayed for a week. They left on Thursday heading for Brisbane and beyond - it was a great week of catch up with them and a pleasure to have them stay with us.
Our next adventure will be over Christmas, so keep checking our blog there will be more!
Sunday, 30 October 2011
Cape York - Monday 26/9/11 to Thursday 29/9/11
We're moving on today - destination is the free camping at Calliope River. Bacon & Egg rolls for breakfast again and then we started packing up slowly. No point in rushing the tide is in, so we can't get along the beach until about 10.30 - 11am. Craig was kept amused for 1/2 - 3/4 hours watch with curiosity as a car tried to come along beach while the tide was still high. He seemed to get hung up on a tree lying across the beach, he was snatched off by the 2nd car eventually.
Time to close up the camper and get organised to go. Something doesn't seem right with the camper, it doesn't seem to be closing fully. Craig thought we might be on a big enough angle for it not to close up properly, so he moved forward to a flat area and we tried again - hmmm same result. Got it close to closed up and locked down. 11am said our farewells and we'll off after all that drama. There have been plenty of roadworks along the Bruce Highway today, obviously still fixing it up after Cyclone Yasi. Stopped in at Rocky on the way through for some staples. Never called into Marlborough, so we stopped in for lunch - it's a very small town and luckily the general store did hamburgers. Frustrating drive today, with lots of slow drivers and caravans to deal with. Eventually we arrived at Calliope River about 5.30pm, we only had about 420klms to travel today, but it took forever and Craig is quite tired.
Found a nice grassy spot amongst the trees and away for everyone else. You can camp on both sides of the river, while the other side looks better we decided due to the timing we'd stay on the side with facilities. Now, this is where the day got worse - Craig started opening up the camper, it got to about a 45degree angle and just stopped. First off he thought it was low voltage in the batteries (we need to replace the batteries in the camper after the trip), so turned to truck on - camper wasn't opening or closing. This all adds up to one grumpy Stork at this stage. He kept saying "I don't know what to do", I don't know whats wrong". Craig gave me the remote and lifted the floor up to take the pressure off the linear ram, while I pressed the close button - that worked, we were at least able to close up (however the ram was make a terrible racket while it was working). Craig suspected the nut had stripped itself again = broken ram, again! Still have nowhere to sleep at the moment, so Craig put some positive pressure on the ram and we got it fully opened - thankfully. Got dinner underway, while boy had a beer and settled down. I could see he was tired and disappointed that we have a 2nd ram that has failed - at least it didn't try and kill this time. After dinner we had a shower and went to bed. We'll deal with the ram tomorrow after a good nights sleep.
(Due to the dramas that occurred at Calliope River, I don't have any photos of the area sorry, but it's a very pleasant free camp area).
Tuesday 27/9/11 - First was coffee this morning, Craig had a little sleep in - then he'll call the supplier of the linear ram, to see what we can do. However, my ever resourceful boy does have plan, he disconnected the ram so at least we should be able to close the camper up manually by lifting the floor up ourselves. 8.30am on the phone explaining to the supplier what had happened, where we were - they all recalled the failure on the first ram we had. Craig was given permission to pull apart the ram to see what had happened and if he could fix it. Upon investigation, same problem as last time but with more bits broken = ram is terminal :( Another phone call to supplier to tell them of the findings - outcome: Craig to call Qld Rep upon our return and hopefully it will be returned under warranty for repairs or replacement.
That sorted, we packed up - we had decided we'd still go to Monduran Dam to see Rob. Craig called Rob to see if he had any cabins available and explain our issues, he was kind enough to allow us to use the houseboat for one night as it was free. So we got some clothes, bedding and bits n pieces out of the camper and put them in the storage cavity, which we can access from outside. Time to see if we can close this sucker up by hand. We lifted the floor up to shoulder height, then walked it up to vertical, while I held it Craig raced around and climbed up the side of the car to help lower it down onto the base and then I tucked the tent in - all done and it was surprising easy and light (that might have something to do with the fact Craig built the unit) :)
On the road by 11.15am, heading south to Monduran Dam. More roadworks & slow drivers today. Of course we had to stop a MiriamVale so Craig could have a crab sandwich. On our way to Monduran we decided we would be able to open & close the camper by hand, so wouldn't stay on the houseboat (it'll be easier being in our own little house anyway, where everything is there). Arrived at 1.30pm, got an ice cream and rang Rob who was having lunch at home. Drove up to Rob & Kel's house to sort out what we were doing and have a chat of course. That sorted, Rob told us to go and find a campsite (someone was in our "usual" spot, which Rob thought might upset us he told us later with a chuckle). We found a flat spot, unfortunately we didn't have a fireplace though. Rob was going to give us a hand to open up the camper, but we managed to open it easily before he got down to us. While Craig & Rob went off to try and catch some Barra, I remade the bed and packed our clothes away, then I settled in to work on our blog - very slow going uploading photos & videos.
Got our dinner going on the stove about 6pm and the boys eventually got back somewhere between 6.30pm & 7pm - empty handed of course!
The boys got Boris & I to jump into Rob's car with them, because we were going over to feed the captive fish in the tanks that they have there (biggest Barramundi in the tank is about 106cm). It was interesting watching all the fish feed, it became obvious that Barramundi are lazy fish and it's not a wander Craig can't catch one - you'd have to hit it on the head with your bait or lure!).
Rob came back to our camp with us for a beer and a rum. We showed him some photos & video of our trip, they discussed various ideas to make money & have quality of life until Kel rang to chase Rob home because it was 10.45pm and he had a charter the next day! We hadn't even had dinner either, but at least it just needed re-heating and rice to be cooked. While that was happening, I noticed the boys had consumed 1/2 of a 40lb bottle of rum, that explained why they were both rotten drunk! I think Rob is in trouble when he gets home.... We had dinner quickly, just rinsed the dishes and I'll deal with them tomorrow - too late to do them now. Bed time now.
Wednesday 28/9/11 - Told Craig he could deal with Boris this morning when he wanted to go outside at 6.40am - not my fault boy feels a bit average this morning! Eventually when we got up we had a yummy bacon & scrambled egg breakfast - should help someone with their hangover.... Plan today, relaxing at camp, watching campers come and go, went for a walk around with Boris and found our campsite for next time we stay. Did some more work on the blog.
Cooked our spaghetti bol up at the camp kitchen tonight. I spyed Rob driving down to our campsite and went over to let him know we were at the camp kitchen. After a bit of back and worth we were back at the campsite, we had dinner while chatting and Rob stayed for one rum.
Thursday 29/9/11 - Packed up this morning and were ready to leave about 10am. Popped into the office to say goodbye to Kel and then we looking for Rob up the hill. They were moving an old water tank out of one of the holiday houses, so Craig gave them a hand to load it onto the trailer then we said goodbye to Rob and we are off. Talked about our holiday on the way home, contemplated where & when our next trip will be. We actually stopped at Apple Tree Creek at "Sticky Beaks", it was open - had pizza for an early lunch about 11.30am and it was yummy. We were chatting with the owner/chef and he gave us their menu and opening times before we left, he said we can plan our future trips around when they are open - funny man. I asked Craig if he was happy to be going home now - answer "yes, it'll be nice to get back to our home", then about an hour away from home he says to me "how much meat & food do we have in the camper? I've got 1/2 a carton of beer, how much wine do you have?" Haha, I looked at him and said we have enough food for about a week and can get beer & wine anywhere...... We were sensible and drove home - how silly are we! We arrived home about 4pm, unpacked the fridge and galley and decided to leave the rest until tomorrow. Sad now, this adventure is over :(
Time to close up the camper and get organised to go. Something doesn't seem right with the camper, it doesn't seem to be closing fully. Craig thought we might be on a big enough angle for it not to close up properly, so he moved forward to a flat area and we tried again - hmmm same result. Got it close to closed up and locked down. 11am said our farewells and we'll off after all that drama. There have been plenty of roadworks along the Bruce Highway today, obviously still fixing it up after Cyclone Yasi. Stopped in at Rocky on the way through for some staples. Never called into Marlborough, so we stopped in for lunch - it's a very small town and luckily the general store did hamburgers. Frustrating drive today, with lots of slow drivers and caravans to deal with. Eventually we arrived at Calliope River about 5.30pm, we only had about 420klms to travel today, but it took forever and Craig is quite tired.
Found a nice grassy spot amongst the trees and away for everyone else. You can camp on both sides of the river, while the other side looks better we decided due to the timing we'd stay on the side with facilities. Now, this is where the day got worse - Craig started opening up the camper, it got to about a 45degree angle and just stopped. First off he thought it was low voltage in the batteries (we need to replace the batteries in the camper after the trip), so turned to truck on - camper wasn't opening or closing. This all adds up to one grumpy Stork at this stage. He kept saying "I don't know what to do", I don't know whats wrong". Craig gave me the remote and lifted the floor up to take the pressure off the linear ram, while I pressed the close button - that worked, we were at least able to close up (however the ram was make a terrible racket while it was working). Craig suspected the nut had stripped itself again = broken ram, again! Still have nowhere to sleep at the moment, so Craig put some positive pressure on the ram and we got it fully opened - thankfully. Got dinner underway, while boy had a beer and settled down. I could see he was tired and disappointed that we have a 2nd ram that has failed - at least it didn't try and kill this time. After dinner we had a shower and went to bed. We'll deal with the ram tomorrow after a good nights sleep.
(Due to the dramas that occurred at Calliope River, I don't have any photos of the area sorry, but it's a very pleasant free camp area).
Tuesday 27/9/11 - First was coffee this morning, Craig had a little sleep in - then he'll call the supplier of the linear ram, to see what we can do. However, my ever resourceful boy does have plan, he disconnected the ram so at least we should be able to close the camper up manually by lifting the floor up ourselves. 8.30am on the phone explaining to the supplier what had happened, where we were - they all recalled the failure on the first ram we had. Craig was given permission to pull apart the ram to see what had happened and if he could fix it. Upon investigation, same problem as last time but with more bits broken = ram is terminal :( Another phone call to supplier to tell them of the findings - outcome: Craig to call Qld Rep upon our return and hopefully it will be returned under warranty for repairs or replacement.
That sorted, we packed up - we had decided we'd still go to Monduran Dam to see Rob. Craig called Rob to see if he had any cabins available and explain our issues, he was kind enough to allow us to use the houseboat for one night as it was free. So we got some clothes, bedding and bits n pieces out of the camper and put them in the storage cavity, which we can access from outside. Time to see if we can close this sucker up by hand. We lifted the floor up to shoulder height, then walked it up to vertical, while I held it Craig raced around and climbed up the side of the car to help lower it down onto the base and then I tucked the tent in - all done and it was surprising easy and light (that might have something to do with the fact Craig built the unit) :)
On the road by 11.15am, heading south to Monduran Dam. More roadworks & slow drivers today. Of course we had to stop a MiriamVale so Craig could have a crab sandwich. On our way to Monduran we decided we would be able to open & close the camper by hand, so wouldn't stay on the houseboat (it'll be easier being in our own little house anyway, where everything is there). Arrived at 1.30pm, got an ice cream and rang Rob who was having lunch at home. Drove up to Rob & Kel's house to sort out what we were doing and have a chat of course. That sorted, Rob told us to go and find a campsite (someone was in our "usual" spot, which Rob thought might upset us he told us later with a chuckle). We found a flat spot, unfortunately we didn't have a fireplace though. Rob was going to give us a hand to open up the camper, but we managed to open it easily before he got down to us. While Craig & Rob went off to try and catch some Barra, I remade the bed and packed our clothes away, then I settled in to work on our blog - very slow going uploading photos & videos.
Got our dinner going on the stove about 6pm and the boys eventually got back somewhere between 6.30pm & 7pm - empty handed of course!
The boys got Boris & I to jump into Rob's car with them, because we were going over to feed the captive fish in the tanks that they have there (biggest Barramundi in the tank is about 106cm). It was interesting watching all the fish feed, it became obvious that Barramundi are lazy fish and it's not a wander Craig can't catch one - you'd have to hit it on the head with your bait or lure!).
Rob came back to our camp with us for a beer and a rum. We showed him some photos & video of our trip, they discussed various ideas to make money & have quality of life until Kel rang to chase Rob home because it was 10.45pm and he had a charter the next day! We hadn't even had dinner either, but at least it just needed re-heating and rice to be cooked. While that was happening, I noticed the boys had consumed 1/2 of a 40lb bottle of rum, that explained why they were both rotten drunk! I think Rob is in trouble when he gets home.... We had dinner quickly, just rinsed the dishes and I'll deal with them tomorrow - too late to do them now. Bed time now.
Wednesday 28/9/11 - Told Craig he could deal with Boris this morning when he wanted to go outside at 6.40am - not my fault boy feels a bit average this morning! Eventually when we got up we had a yummy bacon & scrambled egg breakfast - should help someone with their hangover.... Plan today, relaxing at camp, watching campers come and go, went for a walk around with Boris and found our campsite for next time we stay. Did some more work on the blog.
Cooked our spaghetti bol up at the camp kitchen tonight. I spyed Rob driving down to our campsite and went over to let him know we were at the camp kitchen. After a bit of back and worth we were back at the campsite, we had dinner while chatting and Rob stayed for one rum.
Thursday 29/9/11 - Packed up this morning and were ready to leave about 10am. Popped into the office to say goodbye to Kel and then we looking for Rob up the hill. They were moving an old water tank out of one of the holiday houses, so Craig gave them a hand to load it onto the trailer then we said goodbye to Rob and we are off. Talked about our holiday on the way home, contemplated where & when our next trip will be. We actually stopped at Apple Tree Creek at "Sticky Beaks", it was open - had pizza for an early lunch about 11.30am and it was yummy. We were chatting with the owner/chef and he gave us their menu and opening times before we left, he said we can plan our future trips around when they are open - funny man. I asked Craig if he was happy to be going home now - answer "yes, it'll be nice to get back to our home", then about an hour away from home he says to me "how much meat & food do we have in the camper? I've got 1/2 a carton of beer, how much wine do you have?" Haha, I looked at him and said we have enough food for about a week and can get beer & wine anywhere...... We were sensible and drove home - how silly are we! We arrived home about 4pm, unpacked the fridge and galley and decided to leave the rest until tomorrow. Sad now, this adventure is over :(
Cape York - Friday 23/9/11 to Sunday 25/9/11
Started packing up everything nice and early and transferred it back to the camper about 8.30am. Farewelled Simo, then organised everything to fit into the camper/truck again. On the road about 9.15am, firstly we went for a tiggy tour around Airlie Beach as I have never been there before. Picked up some fuel & fresh water before leaving town.
10.15am and we are heading out of Airlie toward Cape Palmerston our next destination, to meet up with Craig's brother Donny and his partner Frances and some friends of theirs Marvin & Helen. We'll be doing a spot of beach camping with them for a couple of nights. We arrived about 1.30pm after a slight detour to look at the township of Greenhill. Donny met us on the track in, we turned off before the NP boundary and headed along the beach. It's a pretty beach, lots of rounded stones on the hightide mark and definately the type of beach you only drive at low tide.
Eventually found a spot and setup the camper (not alot of flat ground for us). It's similar beach camping to Fraser Island really, beach is not as wide but similar. It's a bit windy today, but it's supposed to drop off. The "men" went off for a beach fish this afternoon, not a lot of success was had though. Was a bit hard keeping the burners on the stove going tonight for dinner with the wind blowing straight in - we got there eventually. Sat around the campfire after dinner with everyone chatting.
Saturady 24/9/11 - We were awoken this morning at 5.30am by some inconsiderate bike riders roaring up and down the beach - not happy! Got up about 6.15am it was pointless trying to get back to sleep - Craig made coffee and got the bacon & egg rolls underway, one would think he was hungry or something.....
The "men" put Donny's tinnie in the water and went off for a fish on the reef. Decided to use this quiet time since we have internet coverage to update the blog. Needed to charge the computer up during this exercise and eventually I notice our batteries have gone under 12volts, so time to close it all down around 11.30am. Time get away from you easily sometimes, I've been updating our journal for a while now and our fishermen have just come back - yes, they caught a few reef fish.
Late this afternoon Craig was chatting to our friend Simo on the phone and had to hang up quickly, when he saw smoke billowing from the fridge compartment in the camper. Upon investigation, it appeared the fridge power lead had rubbed through and shorted out, which started the plastic coating to melt and hence the smoke. The lead and plug were toasted, so Craig spent the next hour working out how to bypass it and evenutally hard wired the fridge into the power for the remainder of our trip. Luckily the fuse didn't blow on the fridge, otherwise we would have just had the worlds best esky. That fixed we had dinner, which had been cooking on the campfire, then chatted around the campfire for a bit before heading to bed.
Sunday 25/9/11 - It's very peaceful early in the morning here, especially at hightide and very pretty. Spaghetti on toast for breakfast today and just sat around chatting, watching the cars going home after a weekend away camping, laughing at Boris playing on the beach & creating our own game of knocking down the tower of rocks we had built - small things, small minds - haha.
Donny caught a flathead off the beach and gave it to us for lunch. Craig filletted it and we had it crumbed with salad - very yummy. Again though, cooking it was very frustrating with the wind blowing straight onto the burners.
Bar-B-Que on the campfire tonight for dinner - Yum. Early to bed tonight, as we are on the move again tomorrow morning.
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| Cape Palmerston Campsite |
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| Boris |
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| Relaxing at Cape Palmerston |
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| The view from camp |
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| Afternoon fishing session |
Saturady 24/9/11 - We were awoken this morning at 5.30am by some inconsiderate bike riders roaring up and down the beach - not happy! Got up about 6.15am it was pointless trying to get back to sleep - Craig made coffee and got the bacon & egg rolls underway, one would think he was hungry or something.....
The "men" put Donny's tinnie in the water and went off for a fish on the reef. Decided to use this quiet time since we have internet coverage to update the blog. Needed to charge the computer up during this exercise and eventually I notice our batteries have gone under 12volts, so time to close it all down around 11.30am. Time get away from you easily sometimes, I've been updating our journal for a while now and our fishermen have just come back - yes, they caught a few reef fish.
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| Sea Eagle at Cape Palmerston |
Late this afternoon Craig was chatting to our friend Simo on the phone and had to hang up quickly, when he saw smoke billowing from the fridge compartment in the camper. Upon investigation, it appeared the fridge power lead had rubbed through and shorted out, which started the plastic coating to melt and hence the smoke. The lead and plug were toasted, so Craig spent the next hour working out how to bypass it and evenutally hard wired the fridge into the power for the remainder of our trip. Luckily the fuse didn't blow on the fridge, otherwise we would have just had the worlds best esky. That fixed we had dinner, which had been cooking on the campfire, then chatted around the campfire for a bit before heading to bed.
Sunday 25/9/11 - It's very peaceful early in the morning here, especially at hightide and very pretty. Spaghetti on toast for breakfast today and just sat around chatting, watching the cars going home after a weekend away camping, laughing at Boris playing on the beach & creating our own game of knocking down the tower of rocks we had built - small things, small minds - haha.
Donny caught a flathead off the beach and gave it to us for lunch. Craig filletted it and we had it crumbed with salad - very yummy. Again though, cooking it was very frustrating with the wind blowing straight onto the burners.
Bar-B-Que on the campfire tonight for dinner - Yum. Early to bed tonight, as we are on the move again tomorrow morning.
Cape York - Friday 16/9/11 - Thursday 22/9/11
We have a big drive again today - 580klm to Airlie Beach to meet Simo for our Whitsunday portion of the holiday. We stopped in Tully, because boy had to see the Big Gumboot and grabbed lunch while we were there.
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| The Golden Gumboot - Tully |
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| The Golden Gumboot - Tully |
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| Tully |
On the road again, next stop was at Home Hill for a comfort stop for all of us, then continued on to Airlie. We arrived at Abel Point Marina about 5pm, Simo & Mitch (the dog) were waiting for us in the car park. Boris spotted them and went nuts in the car, trying to jump out the window to get to them - Mitch & Boris are what you would call doggy best friends, they have known each other since Boris was 8 weeks old.This is where we leave the truck for 6 nights in the car park, to go cruising on our friend Simo's 50ft motor cruiser around the Whitsundays. Unloaded our clothes and some drinks and headed for Simo's boat for the night on the marina. We eventually had a slap together dinner because Simo forgot he said he would make dinner! I went to bed after dinner, while the other 2 stayed up talking.
Saturday 17/9/11 - Woke up again at 6.30am, Simo so nicely gave us his double berth and we awoke to find Craig & myself in the bed, along with Boris & Mitch - it was very crowded to say the least. We had coffee and got ready to go do grocery shopping for our charter with Simo. At the shops in Cannonvale at 8.10am and finished by 9am. Got back to the marina, unloaded the shopping & got some other stuff out of the camper and transferred it all to the boat. They left me on board to pack everything away, while they went off to the bottle shop to buy beer and wine for the week. They were back by 11am (took longer then the groceries!), we loaded the 8 cartons of beer on board, parked the car for the week in the marinas car park ($8/day)
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| Heading out of Airlie Beach |
12pm and we were heading out of Airlie Beach east toward Hook Island to anchor for the night in Stonehaven Bay. Craig served lunch while we were en route, fresh bbq chicken and mayo sandwiches (I think he was concerned about me getting seasick, because we were rolling a bit). We arrived at Stonehaven at 1.30pm, it's a beautiful bay, surrounded by high cliffs that are very interesting to look at. Simo & Craig took the dogs across to the little beach about 3.30pm for a run, play in the sand and swim. When they got back, Craig told me to grab the bathascope and jump in the tender with him. He took me over to the reef, so I could look at the coral through the scope - it was great. 4.45pm now and we have a couple of sea eagles circling the boat.
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| Stonehaven Bay |
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| Mitch & Boris |
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| Snorkeling at Stonehaven |
Simo & Craig tried fishing for the arvo, Craig caught an array of fish & coral but nothing worth keeping.
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| Craig's catch @ Stonehaven |
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| Another catch at Stonehaven |
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| Stonehaven Bay |
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| Stonehaven Bay |
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| Boys coming back from the beach |
Sunday 18/9/11 - We were woken up at 6.30am by Boris, he needed to go toilet urgently - his eyes were as big as saucepans (Boris wouldn't go toilet on the deck of the boat, he would hold on until taken to the beach). I was going to go with Craig & the dogs to the beach, but it needed to happen to quickly, so I made coffee instead. Apparently Boris couldn't even wait for the tender to be parked on the beach, he jumped out and was peeing before he got out of the water Mitch waited for the tender to be parked, then jumped out did his pee and Craig said Boris was still peeing in the water! There appeared to be some shenanigans when Craig was loading the dogs back into the tender and Boris seemed to be the trouble maker - apparently one would get in, then the other would jump out, repeat this a few times and Craig lost his patience with Boris.
Today we went around to Blue Pearl Bay to look at the coral - very pretty, then went onto Butterfly Bay to anchor for the night.
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| Cruising the Whitsundays |
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| Catching Fish at Whitsunday Island |
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| Maccona Bay |
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| Maccona Bay |
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| Mitch & Boris |
Tuesday 20/9/11 - Went to Hamilton Island today, so Simo could pickup his daughter Zara from the airport, then headed back to Cid Harbour to anchor for the night. Simo's friend Bill & his wife Jane arrived on their boat and came over for afternoon drinks/nibbles, they ended up staying for dinner. Craig caught more fish this afternoon!!
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| Dinner |
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| Boat on the rocks near Whithaven |
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| Whithaven Beach |
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| Dinner Again! |
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| Whithaven Beach - Simo's boat & Mitch |
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| Sunset near Whithaven Beach |
Thursday 22/9/11 - Returned to Abel Point Marina today. Craig took Simo to Cannonvale to do his grocery shopping to re-stock his boat. We stayed onboard tonight in the marina.
We saw a few whales & lots of turtles during our time in the Whitsundays. Oh, and one night when the boys shined the spot light on the water, a very large funny looking fish came to the surface but I don't know what it was :(
Friday, 28 October 2011
Cape York - Thursday 15/9/11
It rained last night, quite alot. I was up about 7am this morning and got the kettle on. Boris got up about 7.40am and needed his morning walk, so off we went. Craig joined us about 7.45am and on his way back from the loos, a fellow cornered him in front of the car for a chat - poor Craig hasn't even had his coffee yet and probably hasn't actually woken up properly either. Eventually we had cereal for breakfast, then packed up and were on the road by 9.40am. We're only travelling 50 or so klms today to Paronella Park, just south of Innisfail. We booked into Paronella Park yesterday while travelling out of Cairns and I'm very excited about seeing it finally.
We arrived about 12pm, after having a tour around Innisfail, Flying Fish Point and Ella Bay on our way here. Next time we're up this way we might stay at Flying Fish Point or Ella Bay - just gorgeous spots. We checked into Paronella Park and got our information pack and instructions. Drove up to the camping area which is attached to the park and had trouble finding our numbered site. Eventually asked a couple of campers with caravans what their site numbers were and realised we had to squeeze in between them both - to their surprise also, because neither of them realised there was another campsite between them. Never mind, Craig reversed in and we setup. Both neighbours are lovely and Craig introduced us to them. It was time to do some washing, after feeding the boy lunch. Craig past the time sitting on the grass chatting to our neighbours, until I informed him about 2.30pm he needed to have a nanna nap because he was getting grumpy - so that's what Boris & Craig did. Finally some peace & quite to tag & sort some of our photos on the computer.
Washing done, we dropped Boris off to the dog sitter (Paronella Park offer a dog sitting service for free, while you see the park) and we did the 3.30pm tour. Very informative guide we had for our tour with a great sense of humour, after the tour we wandered around the park - the man who built Paronella Park (Jose) built his dream and he has an amazing story but sadly no dairies were kept so his story isn't in writing, except for the info the park has on him. This park is amazing, it has been hydro powered since the 1930s, gardens are more natural regrowth now as apposed to the manicured European gardens that Jose created. It would have been wonderful to see the park in it's former glory. You should remember also, that the park has been hammered by 2 cyclones in recent years (Larry & Yasi), so they are still cleaning up from those. To find out more their website is www.paronellapark.com.au
Got back to camp about 5.45pm and started dinner early, because we are booked in for the 8.30pm night tour. Some of the buildings and waterfalls are lite up at night for the tour and look beautiful. The buildings take on a whole new appearance in the dark under lights. It was a really good tour and we had the same guide from our day tour. Got back to camp about 10pm and headed to bed.
We arrived about 12pm, after having a tour around Innisfail, Flying Fish Point and Ella Bay on our way here. Next time we're up this way we might stay at Flying Fish Point or Ella Bay - just gorgeous spots. We checked into Paronella Park and got our information pack and instructions. Drove up to the camping area which is attached to the park and had trouble finding our numbered site. Eventually asked a couple of campers with caravans what their site numbers were and realised we had to squeeze in between them both - to their surprise also, because neither of them realised there was another campsite between them. Never mind, Craig reversed in and we setup. Both neighbours are lovely and Craig introduced us to them. It was time to do some washing, after feeding the boy lunch. Craig past the time sitting on the grass chatting to our neighbours, until I informed him about 2.30pm he needed to have a nanna nap because he was getting grumpy - so that's what Boris & Craig did. Finally some peace & quite to tag & sort some of our photos on the computer.
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| Paronella Park - The Castle |
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| Paronella Park - Lower Refreshment Rooms |
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| Paronella Park - Mena Creek Falls |
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| Paronella Park - Kauri Avenue |
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| Paronella Park |
Got back to camp about 5.45pm and started dinner early, because we are booked in for the 8.30pm night tour. Some of the buildings and waterfalls are lite up at night for the tour and look beautiful. The buildings take on a whole new appearance in the dark under lights. It was a really good tour and we had the same guide from our day tour. Got back to camp about 10pm and headed to bed.
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| Paronella Park - Mena Creek Falls at Night |
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| Paronella Park - Lower Refreshment Rooms |
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| Lower Refreshment Rooms Fountain |
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| Paronella Park - Jose Bar-B-Que |
Cape York - Wednesday 14/9/11
During the night we had a rather large bull walk through camp, Craig heard it right beside the drivers side of our camper, Boris was growling & barking at it. It finally moved off past Jim & Ev's camper and Ev says this morning "Did you hear the bull poo last night?", there was roar of laughter at this question and Ev explained it was a very loud poo the bull did on the other side of their camper. It's always good to start the day with a good hearty laugh, don't you think.
So it was about 6.30am we were up and discussing the bulls poo and we have awoken to an overcast sky. There was a few drops of rain while making the coffee this morning and Craig wanted to get on the road early this morning, because we were heading for Cairns for today - 577klms. We just made coffee this morning, packed up and it was time to say goodbye to Jim & Ev (they aren't continuing on with us now). On the road about 7.50am heading to Musgrave Station for breakfast. We've had cows on the road this morning, nearly collected one of the stupid things while travelling on a bitumen section. Not too much traffic on the road this morning, but it is early. Arrived at Musgrave about 9.30am, ordered breakfast - Hamburger for Craig, BLT for me. Very nice, although I'm told the burger was good, it's not as good as the Archer River Burger. Back on the road south to Laura by 9.45am. We've seen 2 broken camper trailers this morning on the side of the road being fixed - they were heading north, so not a good start and they've got a long way to go and the roads don't get better.....
The road south from Musgrave is really good at the moment. It's 12.15pm and we've passed through Laura, but we did have an unplanned stop earlier when Boris decided to throw up in the car - luckily in the mat in the passenger footwell (It's all cleaned up now). We're heading toward Lakeland now, after stopping outside Laura to put air in the tyres as we are back on bitumen now, except for the roadworks. Spotted a Bustard Bird walking across the road in front of us - odd looking birds really.
We had to stop because Boris was going to throw up again, at least he took himself straight down into the footwell, but Craig had already started to pullover so we got him out of the car in time - we figure he must have eaten something this morning while we were on the Coen River. He's not well, poor little fellow - we'll keep an eye on him and if need be will find a vet.
1.30pm Stopped at Mt Carbine for lunch (not that hungry, but will give Craig a break - he's very determined to reach Cairns today). Kept heading for Mossman, then we'll head south along Capt Cook Highway to Cairns. We also needed to find a Dan Murphy's in Cairns when we get there, to get some decent wine & full strength beer. Cairns and all the little northern beaches seemed to have joined together now and there is heaps of traffic - good timing, it's peak hour (Agghhhh not ready for people and traffic!). Finally found Dan Murphy's at 4pm, so stocked up and kept heading south to the free camping rest area at Babinda. Craig didn't want to stay in a caravan park and Babinda was the nearest free camp to Cairns. Felt like it took forever to actually get out of Cairns, it's grown into a very large city since we were here last.
Finally arrived at Babinda rest area around 5.30pm and we were rather surprised to find it very packed - there were more caravans, RV's, care etc., packed into this little area then if we had of stayed in a caravan park. It's a lovely little area, but obviously a very popular stopover. We found a little bit of land big enough to open the camper up, between a caravan and the road into the rest area - not the best spot, but beggers can't be choisers. We forgot to take meat out of the freezer today, so we'll be having BLT's for dinner. Have mobile coverage again, so caught up on some phone calls with Craig's dad, our friend Dave & Simo. Had dinner and went to bed, boy was very tired after the drive today - 645klms all up, with about 250klms of that dirt roads that required Craig's full attention. One rum & coke and boy was alseep - Goodnight :)
So it was about 6.30am we were up and discussing the bulls poo and we have awoken to an overcast sky. There was a few drops of rain while making the coffee this morning and Craig wanted to get on the road early this morning, because we were heading for Cairns for today - 577klms. We just made coffee this morning, packed up and it was time to say goodbye to Jim & Ev (they aren't continuing on with us now). On the road about 7.50am heading to Musgrave Station for breakfast. We've had cows on the road this morning, nearly collected one of the stupid things while travelling on a bitumen section. Not too much traffic on the road this morning, but it is early. Arrived at Musgrave about 9.30am, ordered breakfast - Hamburger for Craig, BLT for me. Very nice, although I'm told the burger was good, it's not as good as the Archer River Burger. Back on the road south to Laura by 9.45am. We've seen 2 broken camper trailers this morning on the side of the road being fixed - they were heading north, so not a good start and they've got a long way to go and the roads don't get better.....
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| PDR |
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| PDR |
The road south from Musgrave is really good at the moment. It's 12.15pm and we've passed through Laura, but we did have an unplanned stop earlier when Boris decided to throw up in the car - luckily in the mat in the passenger footwell (It's all cleaned up now). We're heading toward Lakeland now, after stopping outside Laura to put air in the tyres as we are back on bitumen now, except for the roadworks. Spotted a Bustard Bird walking across the road in front of us - odd looking birds really.
We had to stop because Boris was going to throw up again, at least he took himself straight down into the footwell, but Craig had already started to pullover so we got him out of the car in time - we figure he must have eaten something this morning while we were on the Coen River. He's not well, poor little fellow - we'll keep an eye on him and if need be will find a vet.
1.30pm Stopped at Mt Carbine for lunch (not that hungry, but will give Craig a break - he's very determined to reach Cairns today). Kept heading for Mossman, then we'll head south along Capt Cook Highway to Cairns. We also needed to find a Dan Murphy's in Cairns when we get there, to get some decent wine & full strength beer. Cairns and all the little northern beaches seemed to have joined together now and there is heaps of traffic - good timing, it's peak hour (Agghhhh not ready for people and traffic!). Finally found Dan Murphy's at 4pm, so stocked up and kept heading south to the free camping rest area at Babinda. Craig didn't want to stay in a caravan park and Babinda was the nearest free camp to Cairns. Felt like it took forever to actually get out of Cairns, it's grown into a very large city since we were here last.
Finally arrived at Babinda rest area around 5.30pm and we were rather surprised to find it very packed - there were more caravans, RV's, care etc., packed into this little area then if we had of stayed in a caravan park. It's a lovely little area, but obviously a very popular stopover. We found a little bit of land big enough to open the camper up, between a caravan and the road into the rest area - not the best spot, but beggers can't be choisers. We forgot to take meat out of the freezer today, so we'll be having BLT's for dinner. Have mobile coverage again, so caught up on some phone calls with Craig's dad, our friend Dave & Simo. Had dinner and went to bed, boy was very tired after the drive today - 645klms all up, with about 250klms of that dirt roads that required Craig's full attention. One rum & coke and boy was alseep - Goodnight :)
Cape York - Tuesday 13/9/11
Got licked on my ear, then burped into it at 6.30am this morning - by Boris - nice one puppy! Slept in this morning after our late night - 7.15am. Kettle was straight on the stove and coffees needed..... Craig made us an omelette with bacon & onion for breakfast, very yummy. Boy gave the truck a once over this morning after the incredibly rough roads we went along yesterday - all okay :) Time to pack up camp, fill up the water tank with the spring water at Bramwell and make our way down to Coen. On the road about 10am and the road isn't too bad so far.
We stopped for lunch at Archer River Roadhouse about 12.30pm - boy had an Archer River Burger again, but I settled on a toasted sandwich. Back on the road again at 1pm, after Craig & Jim eventually finished looking over and under the Oka that was parked next to us.
We reached Coen about 2.30pm and the boys went straight in for a beer on tap at the Sexchange Hotel. Grabbed some staples from the general store, wine and a splash of diesel then headed to the Coen River to have a look at the campsites there for the night - hoping it's not too windy there. Very pleasant camp spots along the river, boys decided to go across the river and we'd make camp on the river bank there under the shady trees (the Coen River is more like a creek at the moment, which is good for us). Boris had a lovely swim and play this afternoon, then Jim got the fire going for dinner.
We had a nice curry cooked over the fire for dinner, then cleaned up, shared some chocolate and I was in bed by about 8pm - well writing my journal anyway. Craig, Jim & Ev sat around chatting for a while. Boris was in bed about 6pm after eating his bone earlier on, he got up for his dinner and then went straight back to bed - lazy dog.
We stopped for lunch at Archer River Roadhouse about 12.30pm - boy had an Archer River Burger again, but I settled on a toasted sandwich. Back on the road again at 1pm, after Craig & Jim eventually finished looking over and under the Oka that was parked next to us.
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| Coen River Camp |
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| Coen River Camp |
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| Coen River Campfire |
We had a nice curry cooked over the fire for dinner, then cleaned up, shared some chocolate and I was in bed by about 8pm - well writing my journal anyway. Craig, Jim & Ev sat around chatting for a while. Boris was in bed about 6pm after eating his bone earlier on, he got up for his dinner and then went straight back to bed - lazy dog.
Cape York - Monday 12/9/11
Up early again, Craig looked a bit tired this morning (probably from their challenging day yesterday), so I took Boris out. Put the kettle on and once the coffee was ready boy got up. Jim & Craig decided to created jaffles this morning for breakfast with the leftover Swiss Bol Con Carne from last night - they were very excited about their creations, the things that amuse you when on holidays. Jim finished cleaning & drying out the rest of their stuff that got drowned yesterday and just as we were packing up a fellow walked through Nolan's Creek and asked if we'd already been through. The answer obviously was yes from us. The family were also travelling north, so Jim offered to attach a snatch strap to his car on this side of the creek (same as we did yesterday) as insurance. Offer accepted, we finished packing up and aired up the tyres again, then Jim reversed down to the creek (was going to be a bit different to when we came across, this family were towing a camper trailer) and it was then we realised they had a 5 month old baby on board, which mum walked across the creek with to wait with us. Snatch strap hooked up to their winch cable, Craig in the creek again directing and off they went - no problems. For those interested it was a DMax. This family also got bogged in the swamp earlier this morning and were able to winch themselves out luckily.
Off we go heading north to meet the track west back to the PDR at 11.30am (late start). Turned south onto the PDR until we came to the track east back into the lower section of the OTL (same track we took yesterday). Everyone wanted to do the last couple of creeks, before getting to Twin Falls (where Jim & Ev were thinking of staying the night). First up was Sam Creek - my, my, how things change over the years. Entry & Exit not the greatest and nothing like when we were here last time. Still a very pretty creek though with a beautiful waterfall to the side. The boys did their normal thing and walked the creek after we watched a party of 4 travelling north come through. They ended up using what looked like the harder exit with a step up in the track and shallow water to cross, whereas the other option had a deep step up out of the creek and deeper water to cross. Spectacular wheel lifts by both cars on the exit!
Onwards to Canal Creek, which I would have loved to camp on but too early in the day and the falls weren't far away. Where we entered last time was full of washouts and mudpits - not enticing at all. We took the easy track to the south to get down and then a little splash across the creek.
Some campers we had run into at Vrilya were there and came running over before Craig went across the creek - had to laugh, when they got to the car they told Craig they just wanted to say hello to Boris!! He has got quite a fan club up here... A younger couple from Toowoomba that had crossed Sam Creek with us were also stopped here for lunch, which is what we were going to do also - about 1.30pm. It was quiet a social event at Canal Creek, talking to an English couple from Perth and the younger couple from Toowoomba and a few other people, probably stayed longer then we intended. Time to push on to Twin Falls. The young couple tacked onto our little travelling circus for the trip to the falls (Melissa & James). Coming up the track from Canal Creek we came to an abrupt stop - Craig had managed to hang the car up on a tree stump, underbody bashplates just paid for themselves! It wasn't a drama, just reversed a bit, changed the angle of the front wheels and away we went - he was the only one to find the tree stump though....
Arrived at Twin Falls around 2.30pm, I stayed with Boris at the car while everyone else went down to have a look at Twin Falls and Elliot Falls.
Melissa & James left us to setup camp at the Twin Falls campground, Jim & Ev were going to stay here also but have decided to continue on with us to Bramwell Station for the night. We pushed onto Bramwell at 3pm - the track and the PDR were atrocious with rocks and corrugations as big as anthills - doing 60k/hr didn't work, 10 to 20k/hr didn't work, it was just relentless. Poor Gaylux's & campers - the truck's suspension worked overtime. Craig's intending to check how hot the shocks are when we get to Bramwell - but I'll tell you now, he forgot.
We finally arrived at 6pm - Yay! You're greeted by the guard Brolga at the gate to the camp ground.
First thing was a cold beer & wine at the bar and a chat to the couple who run the camping ground. We decided to have dinner at the bar/kiosk tonight, so organised that while having another drink - Rump, chips, salad & pepper steak for boy and for me Chicken Parmigana, chips & salad. Dinner was at 7pm, so we went and setup camp - Craig raced a young couple to the shelter that we wanted to camp next to, was quite funny to watch.
Before we even got the campers opened up, we had an audience of interested people watching who were on a tour and wanted to see the campers open up and see what they had in them. While all this was going on there was time for the boys to fit in another beer before dinner. Time for dinner at the kiosk/bar and it was excellent, partly because we didn't have to cook it. Very yummy. After dinner we took Boris back to the campsite to feed him, then returned to the kiosk for socialising (Boris was allowed to sit outside of the eating area, so he was happy enough because he could see us). The tour bus group had decended on the kiosk by this time and having fun trying to hook the stirrup onto a nail, it's not as easy as you think. We ended up staying there chatting, playing the stirrup game and having a few drinks, until we realised it was 10.30pm. Boris was ready for bed, so Ev & I went leaving Craig & Jim still talking to the fellow behind the bar. Eventually they came to bed.....
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| A very relaxed traveller is our Boris |
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| Sam Creek |
Onwards to Canal Creek, which I would have loved to camp on but too early in the day and the falls weren't far away. Where we entered last time was full of washouts and mudpits - not enticing at all. We took the easy track to the south to get down and then a little splash across the creek.
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| Canal Creek Entry |
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| Crossing Canal Creek |
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| Lunch at Canal Creek |
Some campers we had run into at Vrilya were there and came running over before Craig went across the creek - had to laugh, when they got to the car they told Craig they just wanted to say hello to Boris!! He has got quite a fan club up here... A younger couple from Toowoomba that had crossed Sam Creek with us were also stopped here for lunch, which is what we were going to do also - about 1.30pm. It was quiet a social event at Canal Creek, talking to an English couple from Perth and the younger couple from Toowoomba and a few other people, probably stayed longer then we intended. Time to push on to Twin Falls. The young couple tacked onto our little travelling circus for the trip to the falls (Melissa & James). Coming up the track from Canal Creek we came to an abrupt stop - Craig had managed to hang the car up on a tree stump, underbody bashplates just paid for themselves! It wasn't a drama, just reversed a bit, changed the angle of the front wheels and away we went - he was the only one to find the tree stump though....
Arrived at Twin Falls around 2.30pm, I stayed with Boris at the car while everyone else went down to have a look at Twin Falls and Elliot Falls.
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| Twin Falls |
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| Elliot Falls |
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| Elliot Falls |
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| Elliot Falls |
Melissa & James left us to setup camp at the Twin Falls campground, Jim & Ev were going to stay here also but have decided to continue on with us to Bramwell Station for the night. We pushed onto Bramwell at 3pm - the track and the PDR were atrocious with rocks and corrugations as big as anthills - doing 60k/hr didn't work, 10 to 20k/hr didn't work, it was just relentless. Poor Gaylux's & campers - the truck's suspension worked overtime. Craig's intending to check how hot the shocks are when we get to Bramwell - but I'll tell you now, he forgot.
We finally arrived at 6pm - Yay! You're greeted by the guard Brolga at the gate to the camp ground.
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| Guard Brolga at Bramwell |
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| Our camp at Bramwell Station |
Before we even got the campers opened up, we had an audience of interested people watching who were on a tour and wanted to see the campers open up and see what they had in them. While all this was going on there was time for the boys to fit in another beer before dinner. Time for dinner at the kiosk/bar and it was excellent, partly because we didn't have to cook it. Very yummy. After dinner we took Boris back to the campsite to feed him, then returned to the kiosk for socialising (Boris was allowed to sit outside of the eating area, so he was happy enough because he could see us). The tour bus group had decended on the kiosk by this time and having fun trying to hook the stirrup onto a nail, it's not as easy as you think. We ended up staying there chatting, playing the stirrup game and having a few drinks, until we realised it was 10.30pm. Boris was ready for bed, so Ev & I went leaving Craig & Jim still talking to the fellow behind the bar. Eventually they came to bed.....
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