On our own.

It was very sad saying farewell to our traveling companions - in the 5 weeks we’ve had together, we've had so much fun, seen so many things, probably eaten and drunk a bit too much and learnt new things. So it’s very strange to be here in this little town of Almaden  (population last census 41) all by ourselves with only a couple of horses and lots of birds for company. Needless to say, it was a quiet night sitting by our campfire. 

Today we travelled the 30 odd kms to Chillegoe and spent the day there exploring. The Guinea fowls still wander the streets and we checked out the old smelters which are idle and in disrepair now. In the early 20th century, copper, lead, silver and gold were smelted here in what was very up to date technology and engineering. Sad thing is, they never made any  profit from the money invested, but they did open up the area and construct rail routes - some of which are used in tourism today. 

We enjoyed a picnic lunch by the balancing rock which is really amazing - as are the rock formations around.

The caves are a huge attraction at Chillegoe, and we set off with our  torches with every intention of going in at least one - but unfortunately, we didn’t read the map properly and missed the one which may have suited us (it was 15km out of town) . Then when we saw the remaining 2 which were self guided, we both rejected the idea as the entrances were pretty hard to access as you have to scramble over huge boulders and it looked dark and scary! So no cave exploring for us, but we did enjoy the walks. 

Tomorrow we head east towards Atherton where we’ve booked into what looks like a very pretty spot,  with lots to do in the area. Maybe it won’t be quite as quiet there for us! So from Almaden we sign off till the next chapter. ❌❌❌❌❌

This cactus tree at the entrance to the park is very unusual - those are spikes all up the tree - I thought they were fairy lights! 

Cairns

It was a little sad leaving beautiful Etty Bay - we saw no more cassowaries but did see some dolphins frolicking in the bay. Our morning tea spot was at the amazing Babinda Boulders.

As we strolled along the pathway, we were continually reminded that there has been 21 deaths since 1965 and it’s not suitable for swimming, except in one spot. It was a beautiful walk and the it’s hard to imagine how these huge boulders ended up here.

Once we left there, it was only a short drive to Cairns and our bargain caravan park. We are very comfortable here as the sites are secluded with hedges and we are in a lovely treed environment. Once we set up, Mark and Kerri took us on a quick tour of the city and surrounds and we ended up at the Botanical Gardens which were so pretty with many plants in flower.

It was terribly hot and humid though so we were happy to come back to camp and cool off either with a shower or swim before our guests, Chloe and Bryce arrived. We had a happy evening with them and enjoyed a Thai takeaway meal. 

We have been hearing about Palm Cove from Mark & Kerri as it’s where they’ve stayed several times, so it was great to see it for ourselves. It’s certainly a beautiful spot - quite busy, very trendy and tropical. We walked along the esplanade and enjoyed the cool breeze. 

It’s amazing to see how the buildings are built around the trees - just as well they aren’t red gums! There are many lovely resorts so it’s certainly a popular holiday destination. 

Another attraction, not far from where we are, are the crystal cascades and after another beautiful. walk, we braved the cool waters for a quick dip! We never tire of seeing waterfalls and rainforests. 

The Cairns we are seeing now is very impressive with beautiful parks and gardens and a beautiful foreshore boulevard. 

When we were driving around the first couple of days, there was a huge cruise ship in harbour but it had gone when we walked along the boulevard to where we enjoyed a beautiful lunch at Hemingways Brewery.

We have really enjoyed our time in Cairns and it was made extra special by being here when Chloe arrived sporting a beautiful engagement ring. Bryce surprised her when they were at a concert in Brisbane - but now he’s over home in USA for a bit. You can imagine how excited Kerri & Mark are and how we are blessed to be a part of the excitement. 

So now we are at the end of our trip together and tomorrow Dennis and Tops head off to Ravenshoe, we’ll go towards Chilligoe and Mark and Kerri are staying here. We’ve had a wonderful 5weeks together and it will be very quiet travelling by our selves. Even here at our caravan park we’ve enjoyed many happy evenings even if we sit around a citronella candle rather than a camp fire.  It unfortunately it doesn’t keep us very warm! 

We send all readers our best wishes - ❌❌❌❌❌❌

Paradise @ Etty Bay

It’s here at Etty Bay where we found a little bit of paradise - where the rain forest meets the sea and cassowary’s stroll through the camp sites!  Actually, we were so excited when we spied the first cassowary on the roadside but here at the park they were being a bit pesky, searching through sites for food. Then today, we haven’t seen one, so we were very fortunate.

It’s a beautiful little bay and locals say it’s safe to swim in - there were certainly lots enjoying the water with life guards on duty. Paddling is as brave as we got though!

It’s not far from Innisfail where we had a look around the town and Dennis’s day was made when he secured a Bob Katter poster for his collection. 

Our morning tea stop was at the riverside Imperial Hotel where we read of croc hunting days, then we strolled along the Johnstone River. 

Mark navigated our way out to Flying Fish point and along to Ella Bay along a beautiful rainforest drive 

We saw the avenue of palm trees in Innisfail, which were planted in honour of Sir Donald Bradman’s visit in the 1930’s when was treated like a celebratory. 

Our tour was completed with a visit to Mourilyan Harbour where sugar is exported - the plant was in mainenance mode, getting ready for the harvesting season to begin. How lucky we were to find this great spot to celebrate Jess’s birthday! 

It will be a bit sad to leave this place but at the same time we are looking forward to exploring the hidden gems in Cairns. 

If you’re ever up this way, make Etty Bay a destination. ❌❌❌❌❌❌

Tully Gorge

Tully surprised us - well some of us, as we’d only driven down the Bruce Highway previously. We never knew the town was across the railway line and is quite a substantial town with the big gum boot a feature. This represents the highest rainfall recorded in  Tully in 1950 - 8 metres or 320 inches!  Tully does supposedly have  the highest annual rainfall in Australia. 

This town has a sugar refinery and production is just starting this season.

We did a few jobs in Tully and shouted ourselves morning tea at the bakery then headed inland  along  the most beautiful road winding through banana plantations and into the rainforest. 

We booked our sites through the very complicated online National Park process and seeing there were 65 available positions, we were confident we’d have lots of spaces. However, it turned out to be a very busy place as it’s a white water rafting base and a huge group were celebrating a birthday so we were quite fortunate we arrived early enough to claim our area. 

The campground was very pretty, set alongside the raging Tully River - unfortunately not a swimming river due to crocodile sightings but we enjoyed watching the white water rafters. 

Without our tour guides, I doubt we would have found many of the sights so once again, we are very grateful for Mark & Kerri’s knowledge. We found a couple of beautiful waterfalls reached by walking through narrow tracks - luckily we only had 1 leech problem! 

We also explored the abandoned town of Cardstone which was built when the nearby power station was built in the 1950’s and dismantled in the 1980’s when the station was  automated. 

We were very fortunate to enjoy sunny days so we didn’t have any power issues (except maybe Kerri running over the corner of Dennis’s panel, and Dennis falling over Darryl’s! ) 

We have left that glorious part of Queensland and.are now in Paradise! You’ll have to stay tuned to the next blog to see where we are! Hope everyone is well. Love from Brays, Brays and Greenwoods ❌❌❌❌❌