Tully - Babinda

Josephine Falls

Etty Bay

Rick made pancakes for breakfast and we did the short rainforest walk with interpretive signs describing some of the many specieces of butterflies. Rick took the kids for a play down at the river before doing some manitenance work on the car. It was nearly 12 before we headed off back through the banana plantations towards Tully. We stopped at the gumboot to fill the water tanks and find Cooper some bananas at the local IGA (he got the taste for one having driven past all the plantations!) We drove the short distance north to Etty Bay just south of Innisfail and found a gorgeous little beach and caravan park. We parked the van and the kids were excited to see a cassowary cruising along the beach. I made some lunch and the kids had a swim. We continued on to Wooroonooran N.P. and did the walk to Josephine Falls which lies at the foot of Mt Bartle Frere, Queenslands highest peak (1622m) . The kids were keen for a swim in the lower rock pool but it was already 5pm and we needed to work out where we were going to stay. We had heard about a couple of good free camps near Babinda. We tried the 'Boulders' but there was no space there so we went to the Babinda site and were shocked to see about 50 vans set up in this grassy paddock. There was even a toilet block with cold showers. We set up and cooked a stir fry for dinner.

Tully Gorge

Tully

Tully Gorge

Cairns Birdwing

The kids played in the park while we packed up. We headed back out to the town of Tully and dropped in at the visitor centre. Tully is the wettest town in Australia with average annual rainfalls of 4000mm. We climbed the Big Gumboot which signifies the highest annual rainfall ever recorded in Austria which was in Tully in 1950 - 7.9 meters! Tullys economy relies on sugar cane and banana growing and the town is dominated by the huge sugar mill and its billowing smoke stacks. We drove to Tully Gorge which was about 40 km. Along the roadside there were huge banana plantations - some obviously cyclone damaged and some new plantations but quite a lot looked like they were fully laden with fruit - yeah. We set up up at the beautifully situated National Park campsite on the banks of the Tully River. There were heaps of large and colorful butterflies around and Caitlin took lots of photos. We drove up the road to catch a glimpse of the rafters pass by and continued on to the hydro-electricity station and walked down to the edge. We spent the rest of the afternoon around the campground and had steak and salad for dinner.

Mission Beach

Mission Beach

Cassowary, Licuala State Forest

We decided to stay another night which meant we didn't have to pack up and could also get some washing done. It was about 27 degrees so the kids had a swim in the pool without their wetsuits on. After hanging the washing we went for a drive into Mission Beach. All along the road were signs warning drivers to be 'cassowary aware'. We went for a walk along the main street which seemed to be quite busy. Most of the businesses seemed fully operational although there were still some building and renovating being completed. After a bite to eat at a cafe we walked to the beach to watch the skydivers landing and the land yachts racing up and down the sand. We walked to the visitor centre and the Cassowary Conservation Centre which was quite interesting as we knew very little about this large, strange looking bird and were keen to actually see one. The Australian cassowary (other spieces are found in New Guinea) is only found in the dense, tropical rainforest of northern Queensland and is listed as endangered. The cassowary is critical to the survival of many rainforest plants, spreading the seeds of about 150 species. Cassowaries swallow fruit whole and excrete the fruit's seed intact in large piles of dung, which acts as fertilizer encouraging growth of the seed. Since the cyclone, and the destruction of much of their habitat, a large number of feeding sites had been set up. This also prevents them from having to leave the protection of the rainforest to go looking for food which makes them more vulnerable. We did some grocery shopping then headed to Licuala State Forest to do a short walk. When we turned off the main road we were surprised to see a cassowary walking along the dirt road. We took some photos before it darted back into the rainforest. We did a short walk along and headed back to the jetty where we were told you could see turtles. We didn't see any turtles but were pretty excited about our cassowary sighting. Back at the van we cooked a BBQ for dinner.

Mission Beach

Little Crystal Creek

Hinchinbrook Island

It was warming up to be another gorgeous day. We took our time packing up and left Townsville around 10am and headed north with no real firm plans about where we were going to end up. About 60km north of Townsville we turned off the Bruce Highway and took the Mt Spec road towards Paluma. All the literature said the road was unsuitable for caravans but Rick reasoned that there was no sign saying you can't so we drove up the steep, windy and narrow road to Little Crystal Creek picnic area which was 7km. We explored the creek and admired the stone bridge which along with the Paluma road was built in the 1930s as part of an employment scheme during the depression. I convinced Rick that we needed to unhitch the van for the next section so we left it in the car park and continued along the rest of the way up to Paluma where we thought we might be able to buy some lunch. We stopped at McClellands lookout but there wasn't much too see as the area was shrouded in smoke from the fires in Townsville yesterday. Paluma was a sleepy little village and there didn't seem to be another soul around - looks like we will be going back to the van for vegemite sandwiches. We did the short rainforest walk. There appeared to be a bit of damage in this area from cyclone Yasi (3rd Feb 2011) and recent flooding. We drove back down the mountain to the van and had a picnic lunch before continuing on to Cardwell. We stopped at the info centre and walked along the jetty for views over Hiinchinbrook Island. This was looking like croc-infested waters now. There was a lot of
evidence of the cyclone here with piles of rubble still visible and trees stripped and damaged. We continued on to Mission Beach and booked in at the Big 4 in Mission Beach South. The rainforest surrounding the caravan park was extensively damaged - Yasi made landfall in Mission Beach. The caravan park was closed for two months following the cyclone. After setting up it was time to get dinner organised - where did the day go? Caitlin's legs are covered in mosquito bites already and this is only the start of the tropics!

Magnetic Island

After breakfast Caitlin and Cooper did some post card writing and e-mailing - this seemed to take a considerable amount of time. We packed all our gear in the car and went for a bike ride to Picnic Bay. It was getting warm so we decided to hit the beach. We stopped at Arcadia Village and the kids had an ice-cream. Alma Bay had a playground and picnic area so we decided to stay here. The kids had a play in the park while we read the paper and then Rick cooked some snags for lunch. We had a swim and relaxed on the beach. I will put a photo on of the bay because it is just so picturesque. The kids had another go at snorkeling and at 3pm we had to go back to Nelly Bay to catch the ferry back across to Townsville. We got back to our home which we had left set up at the caravan park and the kids went for a swim in the pool. We had toasted sndwiches for dinner because I was feeling lazy.

Magnetic Island

Happy Birthday Kez!
I didn't sleep too great - lumpy bed and sore back from my fall on the rock and those crazy birds, curlews which make a high pitch screeching noise. On the positive side it is going to be 27 degrees today - I think that's double Melbourne's top! Rick cooked bacon and eggs for breakfast while the kids did some journal writing (Cooper lost the plot after a short stint). We went for a bike ride and stopped for a drink at the Marina. We were keen (well I am not sure you would call the kids 'keen') to do a walk before it got too hot so we went back to the unit, got organized and drove out to the Forts walk which was on the way to Horseshoe Bay. The 2.8km track winds its way along the ridge and leads to a defence base that was built to protect Townsville during World War 2. The historical site is comprised of two gun emplacements, an observation tower, a command post and the remnants of several other buildings. There were great views towards Townsville Harbour and the various bays of the island. We also saw a koala - sleeping of course. When we got back to the car we drove down to Florence Bay which is a beautiful, well protected pristine beach surrounded with scenic boulders and hoop pine. The area had been hit hard during the cyclone. We took the kids for a snorkel over the coral reef and chilled out on the beach. We went back to the unit at about 4.30pm and got ready to go out for dinner. We went to the Marlin Bar on the waterfront at Horseshoe Bay and got some great shots of the sun setting.

Magnetic Island

Castle Rock, Townsville

Cooper cracked it because he wanted to hold Barney!

We decided it would be easier to pay the bit extra and leave the van at the caravan park while we spent a couple of nights over on Magnetic Island. We booked a self contained unit so we didn't need to take too much just some clothes, food and snorkeling gear. We caught the 10.45am car ferry across. It was a gorgeous day and very calm seas. The trip took about 35mins across to Nelly Bay. We only had to drive a little way down the road to find the Island Leisure Resort. We checked in and unloaded our bikes and gear. The room was very basic but it was quite novel after living in the van for 6 weeks especially having an ensuite and not having to walk 500m to go to the toilet in the middle of the night. After some lunch the kids went for a swim in the pool and then we went for a drive across to Horseshoe Bay and went to the Koala Sanctury to do the 2.30pm guided wildlife experience. We weren't quite sure what to expect but it was really worthwhile - our guide Tony took us through the sanctuary and introduced us to a number of its residents and along with an Australian history lesson provided an informative and interactive presentation. We saw the freshwater turtles and got up close and personal with the various native animals including Eddie the echidna, the red tailed black cockatoo, blue tongue lizard, bearded dragon, stumpy tail lizard, carpet snake and crocodiles. The highlight was a cuddle with Barney the koala. After the show we went and had an ice cream on the beach and then went back to the unit to cook some dinner. We were excited to be able to watch the 7.00 news.