Port MacQuarie

Arrived at our last port (excuse the pun) of call. We will be here for two nights, giving us one full day to scout the area tomorrow.

It was an easy drive, less than 300 kilometres, in the sun. The weather was very kind, little or no wind, sunny and blue skies.

Although the GPS wanted to take us on a mystery tour, we stuck to the Pacific Highway, only leaving it as the Kempsey turn off.

Very little traffic, although it took us a fair while to find a pull-in where we could take our usual coffee break.

No photographs today as our only excursion was to take Buddy a walk around the surrounding streets.

2014/09/01

For our last day we did the 'walk on every beach' thing where dogs were allowed off the leash. Consequently there was a lot of sniffing going on! However, I must admit they were all well behaved.

Steps to the Ocean

As this location was another area known for its beaches, then more photographs of the Ocean.

Tracking Point lighthouse

Mind you we did manage to take in a visit to the Tracking Point Lighthouse (The photographs give a change to water!)







The weather was very kind. Once again the sun shone, the skies were blue and the wind was negligible.

Buddy and me at Port MacQuarie

Hope all that shared our adventure enjoyed the ride :)

Yamba

It was a funny old day!

First, we contacted the caravan park we were supposed to drive to in Ballina to advise them that we would not being staying there. Ballina had 300mm of rain the previous day and, according to the news, was flooded.

We decided to add about 100 kilometers to the journey and phoned a caravan park in Yamba (that is where we are staying).

Just out of Tweed Heads we decided to visit Margaret Olley art gallery however we arrived at 8:15am and the facility didn't open until 10am so we decided to push on.

Further on we decided to visit Byron Bay and wanted to park near the beach (the same as the other million visitors wanted!). We drove into a beach-side car park only to be confronted with a 'dead-end' which defied turning the caravan around in the space provided. To cut a long story short, we ended up unhitching the caravan with the aid of about six surfers who helped (Thanks guys).

We then kept to the coastal road and ended up driving through North Ballina. It was very evident from the swollen rivers that there had been flooding and that more might come.

Yamba beach

We ended up at Yamba and I had my worst day trying to park the caravan in the allocated spot. However, it is now in place (roughly!) and we did a short drive to the beach (about 3 kilometres away and did our now customary walk along the sand while 'Buddy' sniffed and marked spots about every 3 metres.

Yamba beach wind surfing

I lost my camera lens cover and both Liz and I went back to look for it. We passed a young lady who had found it and gave it back (Thank you).










30/08/2014

We took up our friend's advice (thank you Gary) and drove a short distance into neighbouring Maclean to have a look at this heavily influenced Scottish area.

"Tartan" Telegraph poles in Maclean

Interestingly, all the telegraph poles had tartan around their bases which can be seen in the photographs.

There is no mistaking the Scottish influence

Having spent some time around the shopping area and especially in the "Scottish Shop" we then headed up to the Maclean lookout.

The view from Maclean lookout

The lookout allowed us to take in the fantastic vista.









Tomorrow we head off to Port MacQuarie for our last 2 nights of this trip .................

Tweed Heads

26/08/2014

Today's journey was a nice and easy drive with little traffic on the road. The weather was kind as the skies were blue and the sun was out.

Approaching Tweed Heads we decided to leave the Bruce Highway and take the coastal rout through the Sunshine Coast and Surfers Paradise. I must admit I felt the myriad of High rise buildings seemed to detract from the look of the area but I guess that's the decision the local council has taken. Anyway. the view was an improvement over the scenery offered at the side of the highway. although pulling a 20' caravan through the high street was a little nerve racking!

Once again we went through our ritual of "unhitching" and soon had all services connected. At this caravan park we elected to get an ensuite site. We are here for 3 nights so tomorrow morning we will decide where we want to go and what we want to see.

We quickly became aware that the caravan park was in the flight path of the local airport - easpecially when the 747's passed overhead!

27/08/2014

As the weather was good, we drove to Coolangatta and spent most of the day there.

Coolangatta high rise

The place appeared nice and clean, quite good beaches, a few highrises and the customary road side cafe's dotted along the high street.

Coolangatta surf

There were quite a few surfers braving what looked like a choppy sea; not so many people on the beach.








We stopped at a little cafe very near the beach and quite a few patrons had their dogs with them (as we did).

Waiting for breakfast

We watched in amusement as a seagull stole bacon from a plate belonging to one guy (who was not that amused). Not sure if the seagull in the photographs is the culprit or not.

Tweed Heads at night

We dined in Tweed Heads for dinner at the Twin Towns (somewhat underwhelmed with their offering)









28/08/2014

We had torrential rain all night up to 7am this morning. After that the winds came up and, of course, the ground was wet so we postponed our intended trip to Tamborine mountain.

We used the day to catch up on our reading and to review our trip plans for tomorrow even though the sun came out (the wind was still very blustery).

We were due to drive to South Ballina using a ferry to cross the local estuary, however, because of the high winds and the recent rainfall we decided it may turn out to be too problematic so we changed our destination to Yalumba.

Originally we only had to drive 88 kilometres (to Ballina) however we have added 90 kilometers to the journey (to Yalumba). This will still be an easy drive and on the upside, we will be 90 kilometers nearer our following destination (Port MacQuarie), so all is good.

Hervey Bay

22/08/2014

Today was a slightly shorter journey of about 400 kilometres. We rose at 6am without the aid of an alarm as we would not be pressed for time.

The journey commenced in the dry, but around midday the rain returned, quite heavy at times. By the time we reached Hervey Bay the rain was still with us, so it was a matter of setting up the caravan (unhitching) in the rain and getting soaked!.

The caravan site looks quite good (another 4 star) although we have yet to take a look around.

We are told the Beach is about a 10 minute walk so no doubt that will be on the agenda at some point tomorrow.

One of the feet of the caravan stabilisers has broken off (only plastic) so we will visit a caravan retail outlet tomorrow and hopefully get a set of steel replacements.

Tea has been consumed and we are now settled in for the evening watching TV.

23/08/2014

Managed to pop out and get a replacement battery for the car as it had been playing up for a few days.

Then the rain came down and I do mean it RAINED! so we decided to confine ourselves to the caravan and do crosswords. Taking Buddy for a walk is getting a problem as he doesn't care to get his feet wet!

As yet, not one photograph although we have noticed that Fraser Island features prominently in things to do along with Whale watching - If only the weather picks up.

24/08/2014

Hervey Bay Pier and boats

The day started off sunny so we took advantage and drove to the Beach with Buddy in tow. We spent most of the morning on the beach, sharing it with a few other dog walkers.








Lunch time arrived and so did the clouds. Although threatening, very little rain actually dropped. We opted for a pizza for lunch (I got out of drying the dishes!) In the afternoon we took the scenic drive although to be honest, there was little to be seen. In my opinion it looks like Maryborough has much more going for it than Hervey Bay.

That said, we still enjoyed to place. We had contemplated getting the ferry to Fraser Island, however the weather is just too unsettled, same for making a decision to go Whale watching.

One full day remains in Hervey Bay.

Monday:

At last shops are open for business as they all seem to close over the weekend. Bought a few bits for the caravan including matting for just outside the caravan door, Chemicals for the loo (someone has to do it!) and a set of replacement stabiliser feet as one was missing and another broken.

Hervey Bay Beach - Tide is out

Took our last walk along the beach (the tide really goes out); filled the petrol tanks for tomorrow's journey to Tweed Heads (around 400 kilometres) and started to put a few things away in preperation for a quick start tomorrow.

The weather was warm and sunny, however the winds precluded us from taking the ferry to Fraser Island.

Kinka Beach

Monday:

Once again it was a 6am start to the day. The drive to Kinka Island was a fairly long one, around 480 kilometres. Liz drove for about 300 kilometres, which gave me a rest.

The weather continued to be more than kind, with a lovely sunny day and only a little traffic on the road.

The caravan park looks to be well set out so the 4 star rating was well deserved.

Once settled in we took a quick walk along the beach (Just across the road from the caravan park) and enjoyed it as much as Buddy did.

Keppel Island from Kinka Beach

Our main view in the Ocean was Keppel Island and a few other Islands. Tomorrow we will set out and take in the surrounds.









Tuesday

We started the day with a sleep-in, probably due to the driving yesterday. Anyway it was a late breakfast before we did our usual beach walk allowing Buddy to run around smelling the roses (and everything else).

Later on we visited a little place called Emu Park, about 8 kilometres from here. Our initial mission was to just look around and also to pick up steak for the Bar-B-Q tonight.

The "Singing ship"

Major attraction at Emu Park was a monument called the "Singing Ship". The reason being that the monument was built with wind pipes, which played a melody (of sorts) when the wind blew.

Plaque to Captain Cook

It was a monument to the memory of captain Cook.'

Coral Sea and Islands from Emu Park

The weather remained great. Once again the Coral Sea was the centrepiece for the Islands in the background.









 Later in the afternoon we had a chance to finish our books before lighting the "Cobb" to cook the Bar-B-Q. The meat was excellent.

Wednesday 20th August 2014

Looking across the Coral Sea to the Islands

Drove to Yeppoon about 12 kilometres North of us.

Not  lot of activities but the coast line view was still great. Cannot believe this is Winter! The sun shines, the skies are blue and the warmth embraces you. There are many beaches along this stretch of road, all vying for your attention.




Tomorrow we will head towards Rockhampton for the better part of a day out to take a look at the Capricorn Caves as the main event. (Rockhampton is a further 15 kilometres South).

Swapped my book for another at the caravan park. This time I am reading 'Captain Courageous' by Rudyard Kipling. Inside the cover there is a dedication "To Dear Brian from Dad. 1943". How books survive the times.

Thursday:

Ah, the rain is back. Time to read and veg out. We also reviewed our journey for tomorrow.

Airlie Beach

We arrived at Airlie Beach around 4:30pm after a drive of approximately 560 kilometres. My efforts to place the caravan in the correct position turned out to be one of my better efforts. After only a couple of "shuffles" we were in place. The only downside for the journey was that I ended up with a cracked windscreen! The local windscreen guy suggested that I wait until I get to a major city where it can be replaced on the spot.

On the upside, we were cordially invited to the night's roast spit ($13.00 per head) followed by a young lady providing all the attendees with a fire show (twirling fire balls around her body). The spit also served for a chance to swap stories with the others who attended. All we had to do was take our fold-up chairs and any drinks we wished to consume. It was a good night and saved the washing up!

Thursday.

Flametree caravan park - Airlie Beach

We spent part of the morning just walking around the caravan park getting our bearings and giving Buddy a walk while he smelt and watered just about every bush we passed.

Whitsunday airport

The edge of the caravan park separates us from the Whitsunday airport, so that now and again we hear the sound of light aircraft and choppers as they ferry their customers to the various Whitsunday Islands.






Later on we took a look at the brochures to see what day we would visit the Island by boat. Currently the wind is too high to make such a journey an enjoyable one. One good thing is that if we book at the caravan site, they will "Buddy sit" for us for the day, so that means both Liz and I can go out to the Islands together.

Airlie Beach Marina

Part of the afternoon was taken up by a drive into Airlie Beach (about 6 kilometres away) to get a feel of the place.

Airlie Beach High street

Predominantly high streets with cafes and clothes shops, all of which offered to make bookings for the holiday makers (must be an incentive somewhere!).








We did notice that back-packers appeared to be well serviced for accommodation as they were every where.

The weather has been king to us, generally sunny and warm although the wind has been around 30 knots so we have to look at the forecasts for our outings.

Almost finished my book however the reception has an exchange service so I expect to be visiting them tomorrow. More site-seeing then as well as the weather, wind wise, doesn't break for another few days (we do have 5 nights here, so all should be well)

Friday

We had a severe downpour last night and most of this morning. Whilst it isn't what most tourists want the poor old farmers definitely need it, so alls fair!

Shute Harbour

Once the rain had died-down to a mere drizzle we decided to drive to Shute Harbour for a look around. The harbour is only about 5 kilometres from the caravan site.

Shute Harbour and the Islands

Shute harbour is generally considered the starting point for the cruise ships/boats (I never know the difference) to the Whitsunday Islands.









As the rain has settled in it looks like a reading afternoon. I managed to change my book for another which, so far, looks interesting.

Saturday

The rain remained with us throughout the night and this morning, so it was more reading time.

Signage for our boardwalk

This afternoon the sun broke through so we drove into Airlie Lagoon and walked along the boardwalk.








Given the improvement in the weather, and with fingers crossed, we booked a full day cruise to Daydream Island and Hamilton Island. The managers of the caravan park will "Buddy sit" for us so for once we can tour together - Really looking forward to the cruise :)

Sunday:

It was a 6am start, getting ready for the bus that would pick us up for our 2 Island cruise during the day.

Day Dream Island

We boarded around 8:15am after taking a coffee on the pier.

Our boat took just 30 minutes to cruise to Daydream Island where we were to spend the morning looking around the Island and all it offered.

Yours truly and the three mermaids

Initially we joined a tour-guide who explained the history of the Island and most of its contents.

Liz and the three Mermaids

Feeding the Stingrays

Later we were informed about the marine life held in Daydream Island by a Marine Biologist and in particular the Stingrays, "Bruce" the 2.5 metre shark and "Nemo" (well about 10 of them).

  

Around 12:30pm we joined our boat and headed off to Hamilton Island for the afternoon.

Hamilton Island

Here we were left to our own devices. First on the agenda was lunch at "Sails".

"Wild Oats" moored at Hamilton Island

We had a $24 voucher each to spend as we wished (Part of the cruise deal), so Liz had Fish and Chips and I had a chicken version of Fichatas.











During the course of the day our caravan park team looked after Buddy however he was glad to see us back in the evening

Mission Beach

Today we took an alternative route rather than using the Bruce Highway with the sole purpose of spending some time at a place called Paronella Park.

Paronella Park castle

To cut a long story short, the venue was built by an Italian in order to bring his wife over from Italy. Far from me telling the whole story, simply Google Paronella Park and the whole story will be revealed.

A collection of eels, fish and turtles at feed time

We saw Bats, eels, fish and turtles in the lake

The park waterfall

Finally we took a guided tour of the premises using many of the walks










On arriving at the park we did all the things necessary to set up the caravan before taking a walk along the beach (just across the road). First sight that came into our vision was Dunk Island.

Sunday

Well the weather has changed! We had a fairly heavy downpour during the night and there has been a slight drizzle for most of today.

Dunk Island

We did get a short walk along the beach and sighted Dunk Island and the Families Islands. Dunk Island is about 4 kilometres from our caravan park.

Mission beach main street

Later we walked along the main street in Mission Beach looking at the various shops and eateries and popped into the information hut for a few brochures.







We decided to catch up on our washing and hoped the clothes would dry during the day.

Monday

We had a short sharp downpour during the night and it was overcast during the beginning of the day. By 11am the skies were blue, the sun was out and it was back to the mid 20's.

We decided to drive to a local beach (Kurrimine) as it was advertised that we could, at extra low tide,walk out and see the coral. Unfortunately we never found the location so we just enjoyed the drive around the area, surrounded by sugar cane fields.

Next we drove to El Arish in an attempt to find a butcher that was advertising prime Angus beef (for our Bar-B-Q tonight. Once again we failed to find our intended target!

As a last resort, we found Woolworths and bought the meat there.

Our thoughts about Mission Beach is it is a nice place to drop into and veg out walking the beach, other than than, not a lot going on.

Tuesday

Our last day at Mission Beach. We spent the days reading in the sunshine. Then a walk along the beach for the last time, taking in our last view of the Coral Sea and the off-shore Islands including Dunk Island.

During the later part of the afternoon we got the maps out to plan for the journey to Airlie Beach. It looks like a fairly early start as the journey will be a little over 500 kilometres however we are scheduled to stay there for 4 nights. This will hopefully give us the opportunity to set foot on at least one of the Whitsunday Islands.

Cairns/Lake Placid

Today was an easy drive of around 200 kilometres from Port Douglas to Cairns. It could have been much shorter however we decided to drive across the Dividing Range through the Atherton table lands. Most surprising was our brief encounter of the Mitchell Lake as we had expected it to just remain mountains. The road up and the road down the mountains was very slow due to the continuous bends in the road, most of which need to drop the speed to around 30 kph. No photographs from today. Tomorrow, Liz is booked on the "Kuranda Scenic railway" (established in 1891) which includes both railway and skyrail (gondola at tree top level over the rain forest) transportation. I get the same journey on Friday, so hopefully we will have a few photographs of the trip.

Thursday

Liz is having a day out on the train and skyrail trip. The weather has been changeable however for the most part, it has been fine.

Our caravan park and surrounds

For me, I have spent a little time on the computer, taken Buddy for a walk along the Lake Placid river, then took a drive (without Buddy) into the Barron Gorge National park.

Surprise waterfall 243 metres

The park was home to waterfalls and ,,,,,,,,

Barron Gorge Hydro power station

 the hydroelectric power station (however it was closed!)

Skyrail cabins

From the Barron Gorge I could see the skyrail cabins passing over the rain forest (with the aid of a telephoto lens!)








Friday

I took the day tour on the Kuranda Scenic railway which included a 7.5 kilometre skyrail journey in an overhead gondola.

One of the many gorges

We took in a changing scenic view including Oceans, fields, waterfalls, gorges and many more sites.

Our transport - The Kuranda Scenic railway

The journey was split into to sections. The train ride to Kuranda, then the skyrail, over the rain forest back to Cairns.

The skyrail

The following photographs tell their own story on what turned out to be a sunny day.

The Gorge waterfall

No trip would be complete without a waterfall!










Tomorrow we leave for Mission Beach ............

Port Douglas

We have arrived at our last outbound location, Port Douglas.

Ellis Beach looking East to the Islands

Our final coffee break during the drive from Townsville to Port Douglas was at a delightful spot called Ellis Beach which was about 30 kilometers South of Port Douglas.

Warning to swimmers!

If ever I had reason not to set foot in the Ocean then take a look at this notice - I rest my case!!

Coffee break location - Ellis Beach

The drive in this area was like the Ocean road in Victoria as the road hugged the Side of the Ocean weaving from side to side and up and down. It was a road that required concentration.







The scenery beside the Bruce Highway changed such that the fields seemed to be allocated evenly to Sugar cane fields and Banana plantations. We stopped at one plantation and bought a few bananas which were great.

Weather wise we left Townsville with 27 degrees and that was the same temperature when we arrived in Port Douglas.

After settling in and doing all the things we always do to get the caravan sorted out, we took a short walk along the beach and picked up a pile of catalogs of things to do. Tomorrow we will look through them and plan a few outings - They look exciting!

Saturday:

Port Douglas shopping area

We started the morning with a walk along the Port Douglas main street looking for a fresh fish shop but found out later on that it no longer existed so we will be dining out tonight.






Afterwards we spent an hour or so going through the tourist information pamphlets before deciding on what we wanted to do.

I chose a day tour which would cover the Mossman Gorge, Daintree river cruise, Alexandra lookout, Cape Tribulation, Lunch, Cross country 4wd trip and Cassowary Falls. That will be on Monday and I am hopeful of getting a look at crocodiles in the wild. As for Cassowaries, they are an extremely rare bird so little hope of seeing one, but fingers crossed. I am really looking forward to this tour as, apart from any other reason, it was why we decided on Port Douglas rather than terminating our outbound journey at Cairns.



Liz chose the half day Mossman Gorge and Daintree outing covering an informative drive, Daintree river cruise Afternoon tea and Mossman Gorge. To cut a long story short, the only booking left was for this afternoon - and that is where Liz is at the moment (hope to post her photographs later). So I get the Buddy duty for this afternoon.

For her day out Liz has booked a cruise to Low Island where she will be able to snorkel amongst the coral reef (Hopefully photographs from that outing later)

Scar-face the male dominant crocodile

Liz got a few pictures of 'Scare-face' the local dominant crocodile! and his lady friend "Elithabeth", both of which you would not want to share the water with!








We will still have a couple of days up our sleeves, one of which will no doubt be allocated to the beach.

Whilst looking through the brochures we noticed some excellent tours etc from Cairns (our next location) including the Gondolas which travel across the rainforest tree tops - looks like a must!

The weather is quite hot and just a tad humid - Anyone could call this summer!

Sunday -

We set off on a leisurely walk to the Marina for Liz to board "Wavedancer" which would head off to the Low Isles at 9:30 am.

"Wavedancer" moored off the Low Isles

During the cruise Liz got to see the local coral and marine life, much of which was explained by a marine biologist on board.

Low Isle beach

A trip from the main boat in a glass bottom boat added the edge as the marine life swam by.











Monday

Today Liz was on 'Buddy  duty' as I took a day tour through the Daintrees.

The tour operator arrived on time outside the caravan park in a Mercedes Van having already picked up the other 7 travellers (2 from Brisbane and a family of 5 from Switzerland) all very nice people.

The Daintree rain forest

First stop was Mossman to pick up rations for the day, then off to Mossman Gorge. It was here that I found to my dismay that my camera battery was flat! although as luck would have it, I also took my video camera and was able to take snap shots from the next location onwards, so no pictures of the gorge.

Scarface - 49 year old 3.5 metre crocodile

We then picked up a flat bottom, solar powered punt for a cruise along the daintree river looking for and finding the odd crocodile semi submerged at the sides of the river banks. We also got to see quite a bit of wild life, mostly the bird variety. We never got to see a Cassowary although some of the other travellers we spoke to had seen them.

Lollies and fruit were handed out throughout the trip!







Next was Alexandra lookout which gave a fantastic panoramic view of the Daintree area.

Onwards we drove! (we had a schedule to keep) until arriving at Cape Tribulation. We walked along the beach while our guide provided us with a version of the history of the area - very informative.

Our 'Hideaway' lunch venue

We now headed to a place called the 'Hideaway' where we had a salad lunch and a variety of hot and cold drinks followed by a look around the area (The area was private property however our tour operator was allowed to use it).

After a short journey we arrived at the Daintree Ice Cream Company for a four flavours in one bowl of ice cream - Yummy!

Cassowary Waterfall

When then drove to a spot where we changed vehicles for a 4 wheel drive. The trip was breath taking as we shot over the terrain, through several water holes, finally arriving at the Cassowary waterfall for a dip for those that had forgot that crocodiles had been seen in rivers. (This place was quite safe).

The Daintree group

Finally a group photograph. This was our last port of call before heading back to our various venues.








Tomorrow we leave Port Douglas and head off in a round about route via the Atherton tableland to Cairns.

More on Cairns later