27. November – 1. December

Back in Cairns but this time for a longer period so we can inspect the beaches and go swimming in the ocean. We had a look at Palm Cove, Trinity Beach, Ellis Beach, Holloman’s Beach as well as Yorkey’s Knob. It’s really important to swim between the flags as this is the netted area. The netted area gives you safety against the crocodiles and jelly fish. The jelly fish are nearly more dangerous than the crocs. You can’t spot any jelly fish in the water and these ones can have tentacles up to 3m longs. We’ve been for around 4h at the beach and went several times into the water. The other days we spent less time at the beaches.

Of course you could go swimming in freshwater – there are several around Cairns. We went to Crystal Cascades. You can walk alongside the creek for around 1000m. There are little falls and rapids which form some pools in which you could swim. One other place is Lake Placid within the Barron Gorge. This lake is actually not a real lake. The Barron River formed an area similar to a lake. The Barron River is also used for green electricity. We drove to the power station and visited the information centre. They showed a video providing views of the Barron River in the wet season and after a wet cyclone. Unbelievable how much water suddenly came down the river and how quickly a street crossing was flooded. This area is also used for White Water Rafting every afternoon.

In the end we couldn’t resist and take the Kuranda Scenic Railway which goes from Cairns to Kuranda, around 35km and 350m elevation. The train needs around 90 minutes for the trip but you see so much during the trip – the time nearly flies by. You get beautiful views to the ocean, to the waterfalls close to the track and through 15 tunnels. Some waterfall will actually spit water onto the railway in wet season. Every day there are two trains which has two locomotives and at least one is coloured in. Unfortunately the Barron River Falls didn’t had much water so it was just a drip and not a fall. In Kuranda was not much to do for us – there are several shops, markets and some zoos. We walked along the river, through the forest and across a creek before we headed back to Cairns. We opted to take the train for the return instead of the Skyrail.

We used the possibility to see the reef from the air - just a little airplane (max. 4 peoples) and for around 90 minutes. This scenic flight went up the coast to Port Douglas and then we turned to the reef. We passed over Batt- Norman-, Michaelmas Reef, Vlasoff Cay and Green Island. During the flight we saw some turtles, reef sharks, rays as well as several snorkel cruises. It was amazing to see the reef from the air, you can describe the dimensions. While flying along the coast line we could see how the Barron River goes to the ocean – it makes some remarkable “pictures”. We were lucky that the pilot and third passenger were not tall – so they could slide their seats forward and we had space for our legs. We just had to be careful when entering the plane.

24. – 26. November

Next morning we drove back to Cape Tribulation and were surprised to reach it so quickly – the river crossings were so easy it makes a different if you cross them directly at low tide. We did the boardwalks we missed on our earlier visit. On one side you could do a long and short walk of course we aimed for the long one but couldn’t find the entry (the orange markers were hidden in the trees) so did the short walk before. We had icecream (goji with honey and black sarpet with liquor), looked at two beaches and took the ferry back to Mossman.

In Mossman we looked at the gorge but it was really crowded (several tour busses) and half was closed due to walkway upgrade so we decided to camp close by and go for a swim the next morning. Unfortunately it rained next morning so we looked for something else.

We decided to visit the Hartley’s crocodile adventures a park dedicated to crocodiles. When we arrived we cruised the lagoon first and saw several crocs in their (near) natural environment. It’s unbelievable how hard they’re to spot in the water. You can see them one minute and the next one they’re gone. They feed the crocs during the cruise but it only works if the big male (5m) is not around – otherwise the smaller ones (4m) won’t come out and only the small ones get fed. Of course they have several crocodile enclosures with fresh- and saltwater crocodiles. We probably spent 30 minutes looking at the enclosures and saw more and more crocs. They are so hard to spot especially when only the eyes are out of the water.

We also watched the show “croc’s attack”. It was interesting and again the croc was hard to see in the water. There were two zoo keeper but just one entered the pool and fed the crocodile. But the crocodile hat its own mind and didn’t want to do what the keeper wished for. They performed the dead roll just with some bait. The dead roll is how crocs really kill their prey. Today the croc didn’t want to release the bait and kept it in his mouth so it looked like a dog on a leash. I don’t know when it released the rope but definite not after 15 minutes when we walked past again. I guess the croc thought this was a special lunch treat.

Then we walked through the Cassowaries garden. Luckily one was in  picture mood – he was staying in pose for several minutes. He even talked to us – I guess Stephen Spielberg heard them before he did “Jurassic Park” as the sound was close to the ones from the dinosaurs.

 

At this park they also farm crocodiles – they had to find other ways  to fulfil the demand for crocodile leather. The crocodiles will grow until they’re 1.5m and then they get checked for their skin – if the skin is good (no bite or scratch marks) they get sold for the leather industries otherwise they’ll be used for the farm.

We made some more friends in the park although I doubt that it will  remember us… we fed/gave water to a lizard. It’s easy done especially if you’re two persons. You should start rolling a little leaf so you can pour water in and then go to your knees so you’re nearly on the same level as the lizards eyes. The other person should try to distract the lizard and get him used to some noises close around – a good way is to throw little stones 20cm away from the lizard. The person with the leaf should hold the leaf in front of the lizard and most likely it will come close and lick the water – really cute.

22. – 23. November

Finally it was time to head south again but low tide is early in the morning so we decided to camp before the big causeway crossing. Possible campsites are the Lion’s Den or Home Rule. Lion’s Den is an old still running pub so the garden was full of beer bottles and you could smell the beer everywhere. Then we had a look at the other campground but were a bit disappointed as there was nobody we could ask so we just had lunch and moved on.

We stopped in Ayton at Harley’s Cabin and Camping.  This campground was close to the ocean – we could hear the waves and of course went to the beach to have a look. The beach looked nice although not good for swimming, river-mouths on both sides so you can be sure to find crocs.

The next day we dedicated to waterfalls – the Bloomfield and Roaring Meg Waterfall. We could discuss if the waterfall gave the name to the track of if the track was named first and then the waterfall. The Bloomfield Waterfall is really close to the main street we just needed 20 minutes to get there. We walked the final meters to the base of the fall. But we could only take some pictures as crocodiles love this area.

It was  a different story with the Roaring Meg Waterfall. First of all we had to get a permission and it was a 90 minutes drive just on dirt road. The road is called Creb Track and connects Cape Tribulation with Wujal Wujal but the track was only open until China Camp. The first part of the track were really good, just one river to c ross and two gates to go through. After the third gate, the entry to the Timber Reserve the road condition has changed. The road became steep, narrow and stony. Several times i had to arrange the stones and guide Tom but we made it and walked to the falls.

This time we could only walk to the top of the falls and couldn’t see the base. For the local Aborigines this place is for females but we couldn’t find a sign which said “men don’t move on”. Then we explored the beach in the middle of a mountains. It even had sand to walk into the water. It was really refreshing but you still had to take care that the rapids won’t wash you away. After two hours we headed back to our tent.

Recently there must have been a bush fire. We saw several burned trees on the side of the road as well as a big tree trunk lying across the street. It was still smelling after fire, was really hot and inside the tree trunk it was actually still burning.

19. – 21. November

Now we have reached Cooktown – probably the furthest north we could come at this time as the wet season is approaching and you have to cross several rivers (which could be up to 2m deep) to go up Cape York Peninsula. We visited the Botanic Garden, walked to the Finch Beach, had a look at the wharf and Endeavour River. They've created a little historic walk to learn more about Captain Cook's influence and what happened to him when he was stranded.  And we're getting into music – the second city which has some kind of musical instrument for public use. Here it's a musical ship (I guess it should resemble the Endeavour). Of course we had a go – there was a drum, a xylophone, something similar to an organ. Unfortunately I couldn't remember any notes of any songs otherwise we could have played a song as the instruments were tuned.

Then we drove up the hill to the lighthouse and had a beautiful view along the coastline and across the Endeavour River – let see how this place look at sunrise or sunset.

We also booked a tour for some Aborigines Rock Painting. The tour was around 40km out of town and done by a local Aborigine. We did the Rainbow Serpent tour which meant walking for 4h. The guy showed us several bush tucker, explained how to get soap in the bush and natural band-aid. The rock painting were about the spritual and practical things in life – like giving birth, being a teacher, using a boomerang, getting to know the wild life.

Last but not least we relaxed in Cooktown – the Big4 caravan parks promoted camping and offered a free nights stay so we couldn’t say no.

15. – 18. November

As we haven't decided what to do in Cairns we are exploring the country a bit more – and are going to the Daintree National Park where we're going to stay close to Cape Tribulation. We just stopped briefly in Port Douglas, took the ferry to cross the Daintree River and booked some local tours.

We booked a campsite within the Daintree National Park; the National Park has one camp site: Noah’s Beach. This is the cheapest option to camp. As this camp site doesn’t offer showers we could finally use our solar shower. We just filled water into a black bag, placed it into the sun so the water can get warm and then we had our camp shower. The camp site was so close to the beach we could hear the waves rolling onto shore. We had our breakfast at the beach together with the crabs.

We ended up taking a snorkelling tour from Cape Tribulation – the Reef is closer than in Cairns so you should stay longer at it. The tour was ok – although I’m not sure if we spent more time at the reef than on a tour departing in Cairns – but we were probably less people on the boat. We had to get into a beach-buggy first which carried us to the main boat. Then we headed out to see – to the MacKays Reef probably 20km offshore. We did two snorkelling tours and Tom belonged to the lucky one getting close to a turtle. I just saw a lot of corals (different shapes and colours), several fishes (small, colourful, big, eating coral, fighting each other), sea-urchin, sea-stars. Some in our group even saw some rays. We didn't wear a stinger or wet-suit – just our swimmers but the water was nice, clear and warm. To get into the water we had to get off the back of the boat – down the little stairs and then jump into the water. The lunch was ok although not much choice and no seafood at all. On the way back we set sail but I guess this was just a show as the engines were running all the time. In the end I liked the tour (probably as I didn't get seasick) but the boat could have been in a much better shape.

The next local adventure was horse riding through the rainforest and along the beach. We went to the staples and got a horse assigned (Tom's was Big Chief and I got Topaz). Then we got into the saddle and off we went. Topaz was the only female horse and she was not really fond of the males so I had to keep distance – much easier said than actually done. We were all riding in a line, most time just at walking pace  but we also tried faster movements. My horse belonged to the older horses so she was happy to walk but didn't really want to go any faster. We were lucky to do the beach trip as it was close to high tide and sometimes they can't access the beach then. After the beach we went back into the rainforest to their waterhole somewhere on the farm. That was amazing. We had morning tea and then our dip into the water – cold and clear. We even fed the fishes – they like crackers and came so close you could have catch them with your hands. Then we came to the final stretch and it happened what has to happen – I fall off the horse. Don't laugh, it's not funny and did hurt. Luckily I just scratched my underarm and bruised my hip so I was a bit worried about the coming nights.

Then we did a Night Walk through the rainforest – most rainforest is on private land so you've to pay to see any part of it. We got picked up and driven to the property and started to walk. The walk was around 2h through the rainforest. Unfortunately we didn't see much wildlife – just a cane toad (they are really ugly), some spiders and two Boyh-Dragons – and of course we saw the trees. They guide explained a lot although we're not sure if he really knew what he was talking about (the wild pig is a pest but the cane toad not???). Just a few days ago one big tree came down and took several others with him so there is a hole in the forest and new trees can grow into the canopy. At this place we saw some luminescent fungi – just visible in darkness.

Then it was time for our last Cape Tribulation adventure – jungle surfing (www.junglesurfing.com.au). This is organised by the same guys as the night walk we did earlier. So back to that property and get fitted into the harness and the helmets. Every helmet had its own name – Tom was James Bond and I was Barbie, other names were Borat, Harry Potter, Tarzan, Nemo etc. Then we walked to the first platform, got attached to the lines and it started. The first line was actually going uphill so we couldn't surf but had to get winched by the guys – was quite hard work for them. The other lines were all downhill so we could slide down powered by gravity. On some line you actually had to go with a partner but not together in one harness just directly behind each other. In the end it was fun although not good as zip-lining on Kauai (Hawaii).

Now we left Cape Tribulation in direction Cooktown via the Bloomfield-Track. This meant around 80km gravel road through forests and mountains along the coastline. We even had to cross some rivers and one should be tidal.

At the first crossing we stopped and walked to the safe swimming hole but didn't go for a swim. The second crossing was refreshing as we had to check and see the depth and path. Apart from that and some steep ascents and descents (low gear is a good idea to go quite slowly) the track was not so difficult – let see what I'm saying when we're returning. Just before Cooktown we stopped at the Black Mountain lookout. If you look at the Black Mountains you think the whole mountain did burn – completely black. But actually the visible stones which are covered by a fungi are responsible for the black appearance.

 

 

12. – 14. November

It's still raining! We're going to Cairns but stopped at the Josephine Falls – just to have a look and decide if we should come back when no rain is about. The falls are good – 3 falls forming one fall. You can actually swim at the lowest section (but it can be dangerous – 2 swimmer had to be rescued just days before as the water was suddenly rising – flesh flooding). The upper section is not accessible at all – you can just watch from a platform – but the view is brilliant.

Back in Cairns we took a cabin in a caravan park (not possible to pitch a tent and the cabin didn't cost more than a camp site anyway). Unfortunately we learnt that the guys in Cairns can't help us lifting the car – they can't supply heavy duty coils so we have to look somewhere else. This time we did the first “tourist thing” in Cairns – we visited the zoo in the dome. It's a nice little zoo featuring a crocodile, some cockatoos, frogmouths,,, and the ticket is actually valid for 5 days... so you could return. Big Bird, one really tame black cockatoo, is a character. If you stretch your arm into his direction he will crawl up to have a close look at you. I couldn't get him off – he was too fascinated by my cap (especially the little dot on top of it). We walked around on our own and then joined the feed-walk. Really interesting and informative. The frogmouth and kookaburra have interesting eating habits - they ensure they prey is dead by knocking the head sideways onto a hard surface. We even saw this habit in the wild while having lunch at Lake Tinaroo. Unfortunately the crocodile wasn't fed when we were there – it's on a diet on Friday and Saturday.

4. - 11. November

We left Cairns quite late – we had to wait for a dry tent and got the minutes right... as it started to rain after we finished packing – and drove via Kuranda, Mareeba to Chillagoe. In Chillagoe we visited some limestone caves – one by a guided tour and two self guided which were all interesting and completely different. The guided tour was called “Donna Cave” and offered several cave formations; the Madonna, different stalactites and stalagmites, false floors, cave corals... we even saw some micro-bats and cave cockroaches but none pythons. The self-guided caves were more self-exploring caves as you had to crawl into them and watch your head. Unfortunately these caves didn't show any (nice/special/remarkable) cave formation just quite tricky pass-ways. We also had a look at some Aborigines paintings and the Balancing Rocks.

Our next stop was Mareeba, the 'coffee capital' of Australia. We stayed at the Granite Gorge Nature Park, had a swim in the creek, did the walk around the granite boulder stones, petted some rock wallabies (and had to watch that they're not steeling our dinner). In Mareeba we visited “the Coffee Works” a museum and a coffee roaster. They had around 2000 different coffee machines on display (some might be around 400 years old).

We stayed at the Rocky Creek Memorial Park, a free camp area where you could stay for a maximum of 72 hours which we did although it was not planned but the park was convenient located. We drove around the Lake Tinaroo which got created for irrigation purposes – the Baron river is damed. The drive around the lake was good – we stopped at all possible camp sites within the National Park. They all looked different, had all some water-views but not really accessible for swimming... Further on the Lakes Drive we stopped at the Mobo Creek Crater. This was a nice walk through the forest along a creek which flows into a lake which is surrounded by basalt rocks. The scientist are not sure if there was a volcano crater or if something else has caused this formation. In this area you find several fig trees as well and two are of special look; Cathedral Fig Tree and Curtain Fig Tree.

The Cathedral Tree is around 50m high and covers an area of 2000m2 and the branches are in perfect distance from each other. The Curtain Fig Tree got its name from the roots which are going down like a curtain. This formation happens if a Fig tree collapses onto another tree which gives him support so the roots of the Fig Tree can go vertical to the ground.

Then we looked at the two maars existing here – we even swam in one which is called Lake Eacham. You can swim in the Lake Barrine as well but it's more used for boat cruises. The water was not as cold as expected but still deep. We also watched the turtles which live in the lake – they are special as they could breath through their belly and can stay much longer under water.

Then we visited Herberton, the oldest town in the tablelands. They did some tin mining and could still try your luck and find some tin in the creeks.

After that we drove to Mt. Hypipamee NP to have a look at the crater and the dinner waterfall. Every time we stop at a crater we're surprised as they don't look like the ones on Hawaii or in the Eifel. This Crater is covered with water but it doesn't drop vertical – it drops in an angle but it's not fully explored yet. They know that the water level starts at 50m below the  crater-rim, goes down around 60m and then it curves around and drops further 50m but what happens after that nobody knows yet. There might be a connection to the creek but the water level hasn't changed so it's unlikely. The Dinner Falls look really good and we came up with several explanation why they're called Dinner Falls: there are 4 different falls starting with a cascade and then 3 real falls so dinner is served in 3 courses or the fall were discovered at around dinner time and the guys were hungry. We walked the falls upstream and tested the water as every fall formed a little pool. Unfortunately we didn't swim as it was a little bit to chilly and rainy.

Our final stop was the Malanda Falls and we hoped to have a swim there but the pool didn't look natural – it was more like a swimming pool just filled by a waterfall. But the highlight of the day was still around the corner. When we were ready to leave we saw something climbing up a tree – it was a tree kangaroo. We got quickly the camera and started to take pictures before the crowd was getting too big. It turned out to be a lucky day as tree kangaroos are rare and we saw two (the mother and the joey) close by. Several locals stopped and said it was the first time for them to see them as close as this – just 3m up in the tree. And we finally we've seen Platypus in the wild. Ok, it was actually on a fish farm but they were still in their natural habitat (slow flowing creek) and just appearing for 7 seconds. It was lucky we had the guide with us as otherwise we would have looked for something completely different. But now it has started to rain like it will never stop – this means our first night not in a tent. So we stopped at a motel but it was fully booked [it seemed a lot of people suddenly discovered the comfort of a solid roof]. So we left the Atherton Tablelands and stayed in Innisfall.