Northern Queensland - part 3

WEDNESDAY 22nd Jan

Today we headed north, further in to the Daintree Rainforest. To get there we had to cross the Daintree river by ferry. Does Jo look a little worried as we cross?:

Like Mossman Gorge there were lots of aerial walkways and themed areas, including the boys' favourite, Jurassic Park:

Asher surely has a career on stage ahead of him.

THURSDAY 23rd Jan

Today we had to vacate our lovely Air B&B villa and head south again to Cairns. Our plan was to drop the bags off at our hotel reception, return the Jeeps and head out, but we were pleased to find that our rooms were ready ahead of schedule so we completed checkin and took our bags up to the 5th floor.

Once Chris and I had returned the Jeeps we all walked round to Cairns museum for an hour or two, then another short walk to the Aquarium, where we grabbed a quick bite and raced round the exhibits before last entry at 3:30 pm:

Back to the hotel where Kelly, Miller and Asher opted for a movie night with takeaways whilst Chris, Jo and I took a walk round to Hemingway's brewery. On the way I spotted a wall of Aborigine art:

At the brewpub, we found a nice table where we could look across the water to the hills:

 

FRIDAY 24th Jan

Today was a historic train ride up the hills to the village of Kuranda. Our first stop was just outside Cairns at Freshwater station which hasn't changed much over the years:

It's a 2 hour slow chug up the hills at a steady 10 mph, snaking gently round the gorges, including a couple of what are described as hairpin (for trains) bends. We came to Barron Falls and we were allowed to get off the train for photographs:

Once we boarded again and set off, I looked back at our rear carriages as we took the bend:

It had been a difficult 2 hour scenic ride for the boys' attention spans and when we got to Kuranda, Miller, in particular, was suffering from the heat and just wanted to get on the Skytrain cablecar back down again, so we stopped in the shade and snacked, which seemed to revive him a little so we were able to persuade him to at least take a short river walk back to the cablecar.

We had return bookings at 2 pm but Chris managed to get this changed and soon we were heading back down again - Chris, Kelly, Miller and Asher in one cablecar and Jo and I following in another. Jo's fears have not diminished much over the years despite similar trips in the past in Palm Springs, Costa del Sol and Cape Town, but she was much happier when we changed her seat and was looking backwards:

I wasn't bothered either way:

Back at our hotel the big question was what to do for dinner? Asian takeway at one of the many outlets nearby was the preferred choice and we ate it next to our hotel pool. Jo and I finished our bottle of wine on the lovely terrace overlooking the sea and the ferris wheel. I made several attempts at a selfie before a waitress rescued me and took the lovely photo of the two of us published on FB, but here's one of my earlier efforts:

So that was our week in the tropics over. An early start on Saturday morning meant we were back in Old Noarlunga by early afternoon. Kelly and Chris have been busy since then catching up on shopping etc but Jo and I have just used it as recovery time.

Northern Queensland - part 2

 Continuing my daily diary of our adventure in the tropics:

MONDAY 20th Jan

A day at nearby Mossman Gorge in the lower Daintree Rainforest in an area known as the Wet Tropics of Queensland - a World Heritage site. Roughly 180 million years old, predating the Amazon rainforest.

There are aerial walkways but it is also a popular bathing spot. However, the heavy rains of the previous evening had led the park authorities to declare it a non-swimming day due to the potentially dangerous currents. However, we came to a spot that was fairly flat and mostly shallow and noticed that there were many people in the water there so we decided to join them:

We took a walk round the trails after that:

TUESDAY 21st Jan

This was the day when our 6-seater van had to be returned to Cairns and we would pick up a couple of Jeeps for our drive tomorrow deeper in to the Daintree Forest, simulating a Jurassic Park experience for the boys. We had time on the way down to Cairns to stop off at Hartley's Crocodile Adventures where the first stop was a boat ride in the swamp:

Camouflaged croc heads popped up everywhere. Then it was off to the crocodile feeding show. Some of the staff were very brave, feeding them by hand. Others used a safer method:

The Cassowary has a reputation for being aggressive and one of the last of the dinosaurs but this one was pretty docile:

Other sights there were:

Termite hill

Once we'd finished there we headed down to Cairns, picked up the Jeeps and joined Kelly and the boys in the huge beachfront lagoon. Then it was time to head north again in time for our evening meal. A lot of places were either shut, unsuitable or too busy but we managed to get an outdoor table at Chilly's Pizza & Trattoria where there was the added "attraction" of it being Cane Toad Race Night:

Northern Queensland - part 1

We got back from our week in Northern Queensland on Saturday morning (25th) but, for the day before we flew north, Jo and I did one of our favourite walks - Hallett Cove. On the way up there we were stopped in Lonsdale by the huge peleton, police out-riders, support crews and TV helicopters on the first day of the Tour Down Under - an event I usually manage to see some action from - but this interruption in our journey was a little unexpected.

I'd heard they had built 2 new bridges over a couple of the gorges on the coastal trail so we went there first to check them out:

We went off-piste briefly and ventured on to the rocky beach:

The original plan had been to try to walk back to the nice cafe and have lunch there but it was very hot and so we decided to drive back a couple of miles, have lunch and then do the usual walk round the Sugarloaf area.

Jo was still so hot when we got back to Old Noarlunga that she finally broke her duck and took to the pool:

SATURDAY 18th Jan

It was a lunchtime Jetstar flight to Cairns so there was no rush, but our Uber, when it arrived was a little undersized for the 6 of us plus luggage. It was a bit of a job to get it all in but we just managed in the end. It was a timely 3 hour flight and we arrived in tropical Cairns mid/late afternoon. The original thought had been to get an Uber up to our holiday rental in Port Douglas which was an hour north by car, but we made the wise decision to hire our own vehicle instead - and this time there was plenty room for all of us plus luggage.

The thing that hits you is the humidity - the absolute temperature was manageable - almost static day and night around the 30 C mark. We had been to Queensland before - Brisbane, which we thought was pretty northerly, but Cairns is over 1,700 kms further north and well in to the tropical zone.

After some food shopping at the local Coles store we walked out on to the beach from our lovely villa and then just chilled after dinner. For future reference we took note of the warning sign at the edge of the beach:

SUNDAY 19th Jan

There was a Sunday market in Port Douglas so we all took a hot and steamy walk along Four Mile Beach to the town with a welcome cafe stop when we finally got there. After a quick walk round the market, Jo and I went exploring and found a lovely cliffside trail which, unfortunately for Jo, involved a fair bit of climbing. Chris, Kelly and the boys went back to the beach for a quick dip in a safe from stingers etc area created by a large beam. They then walked back to our villa via the beach.

Meanwhile, Jo and I staggered on, resting occasionally and taking advantage of a couple of nice viewing platforms:

Jo and I finally got to the end of our cliff adventure and were now desperate for some fluid intake - "water or beer, Jo?" The latter was the swift reply so we crossed the town down to the marina and Hemingway's brewery:

Suitably refreshed we planned for an UBER back to the villa but, despite over a dozen attempts none were forthcoming so we just hoofed it back. At one of our rest stops as we went to lean on a tree we noticed what we thought were 4 large bugs on the trunk - here's one of them:

On closer inspection we noticed they were just shells - probably of cicadas who had shed their outer layer. It was a relief when we finally got back to the villa - over 15 kms and 20,000 + steps on our first day in the tropical heat and humidity.

That evening we experienced the first of what we thought might be a daily thunderstorm, although it turned out to be the only one we had all week.