Port Douglas

We have hit the northern most point of journey – Port Douglas. Whenever I hear about Port Douglas I think of Christopher and Pixie Skase but we found there was more to it.

The Port Douglas foreshore

We left Cairns early to hit the markets that are held by the Port Douglas foreshore each Sunday. I’ve been to a lot of markets in my time, and this one was HUGE! This photo shows a tiny part of the market – you need to imagine this scene multiplied many times over. The main stalls were selling beading/jewellery products which we enjoyed looking at. Max and Harry are both into jewellery making at the moment, so were able to pick up some good ideas.


One of the first things Max and Harry did was use pedal power to squish sugar cane into cane juice. It tasted lovely, but as we expected was a bit too sweet.



Max and Harry started talking to a couple running a stall and they asked if they would like to hold this wild pig skull …



There was a coconut face stall which Harry and I thought was neat. Apparently these items were very cool in the 1960s and the man running the stall has brought them back. This one is a pirate face…

After wandering the markets we walked into town for lunch. We found a great hotel with reasonably priced lunches and a big grassed area – just right for the boys to play on. Max and Harry started playing a game which involved Max pushing Harry over and standing on him, and then they’d get up and do it all over again. They both thought this was terrific fun! There was a little girl there about two years old who went up to Max and told him off for hurting his brother, complete with a shaking, pointed finger. She grabbed Harry’s hand and started walking around with him leaving Max bemused.

It was very funny! When Max and I talked about it a bit later I said to him that even a 2 year old knows that play was too rough so a nine year old like him should know better. “But Mum, Harry wanted me to do it, he thought it was funny! He was laughing!” – it is a bit hard to argue around that!


On the main street this caught Max and Harry’s eye:





On the way out we came across an old bomb that was in the park next to the War Memorial:



On the way home, down a very windy road, we came across this lookout. There were heaps of people visiting it as it was very beautiful:





Overall Port Douglas is more than the Skases, but apart from shopping and eating there wasn’t much more we found to do. I still think that West Australian beaches are just as lovely as the ones in the Eastern States – sometimes much more so. I’m glad I visited though!

Cairns Esplanade

Robyn took us out to the Cairns Esplanade today. The foreshore of Cairns is primarily mudflats – not that appealing, so they have set up a huge boardwalk that heaps of people walk, run, cycle and skate along.

Behind the boardwalk is the appropriately named ‘Muddy’s Playground’ which is a kid’s paradise, full of interesting play equipment in a lush, green setting. This includes a water play area which the little ones were especially enjoying.

Further on from the playground is the Lagoon. You can walk into the Lagoon, a supersized swimming pool made of many different shapes so Wthat it’s suitable for children and adults.

We found the market stalls around here to be fabulous! The boys are big enough now that we could leave them playing in the playground while we adults could have an uninterrupted browse.

We all thought what a lovely way to while away a few hours!!

detour to Wallaman Falls

I was pretty well exhausted after our busy day at Magnetic Island, but we pushed on to Cairns. 


When we arrived at Ingham, just over 100km north of Townsville, Trevor said that he was sure there was something he wanted to see in Ingham. It didn’t take long to see a sign pointing to Wallaman Falls and we decided to drive there for lunch.


The Falls were a 49km detour west from Wallaman, which we had to take slowly due to windy roads. Max and I got a bit carsick – nothing too drastic though, but we were pleased to get to the top!


 We saw a wonderful sight! Wallaman Falls are a 268m drop from top to bottom, and the photos just don’t do them justice. The power created by moving water is simply amazing – and very LOUD!! Max took the bottom picture which captured the rainbow at the base of the waterfall.





We drove back to Ingham and were soon back on the highway. We arrived at the home of our dear friend Robyn in Edmonton, about 15km south of Cairns. Once we got set up and organised it was time for tea, and Robyn had cooked us a delicious pea and ham soup that we eagerly got stuck into.

Magnetic Island

What a brilliant day we’ve had at Magnetic Island!


We started really early for us, arriving at the Townsville terminal just after eight o’clock in the morning. I was surprised at how regularly the ferry service ran to and from Magnetic Island. When we got there, lots of high school kids who obviously lived on the island we sitting around waiting for school buses. We found out later that the island has a primary school and when students are at high school they have a 20 minute ferry journey each morning followed by a bus trip to their high school in Townsville.


The ferry trip was soon over and we went to hire a car for the day. When Trevor last visited here 23 years ago he and his family rode around the island in a Mini Moke. We were keen to try this, so chose one too. Trevor quickly was used to a manual car again, and I was impressed that he didn’t stall it once during the day. The Moke was great – it is so good to sightsee with it and we all thought the window-less door-less car was neat. Harry regularly asked “Dad! Can you put down the window!” and then burst into near hysterics!


A main reason for visiting the island was to see Uncle Colin. Colin Fulford arrived in Balingup in the 1950s and spent a lot of time with Trevor’s Dad David’s family while working as a trapper. Many high jinx took place as David is one of five brothers and a sister living and working on the family farm. We were very keen to see Colin as he is soon to turn 95, and has told us lots of stories about his forty three years living on Magnetic Island.

He has moved since Trevor last visited into a two bedroom home which I am struggling to find the right ‘house word’ to describe. It is sort of a Queenslander style townhouse but all of the home is on the top storey. You need to climb a steep driveway and a tight flight of stairs to reach the house itself. I was so impressed that Colin could patiently pad up and down the stairs each day. 

We quickly settled into stories over cups of tea. We met Tim and Sue, two parrots that visit Colin daily, and were lucky enough to see Jacky the friendly kookaburra.

Colin declared that he would give us a tour of the island which we were very happy to do. We spent time at Nelly Bay, Alma Bay, the popular Horseshoe Bay and finished off at Picnic Bay. Max and Harry just loved playing in the sand, as the water flowed through which meant they could make dams and channel the water where they wished.

After fish and chips at Horseshoe Bay

I was taken with the many murals around the town …

Even in the busiest bay, Horseshoe Bay, there was such a relaxed feel. A real holiday town with an easy pace to enjoy.


The ferries used to use Picnic Bay as their harbour, but some time ago it was decided to change this to the safer Nelly Bay. Colin wasn’t particularly impressed with this. We walked through the once busy shopping area with playground equipment and now tired landscaping. Colin said that the area was to be redeveloped some time ago, but the couple who started this found they both had terminal cancer and have since died. The redevelopment work looks as if workers simply packed up their tools one day and walked away when the money stopped.
The old jetty was to be demolished but community pressure meant that it has now been Heritage listed. Over $500 000 was poured into the restoration of the jetty and work was completed towards the end of 2010. Cyclone Yasi struck in February 2011 which caused a lot of damage, and the jetty is currently blocked to public access.

The jetty at Picnic Bay

Uncle Colin and Trevor having one of many chats.

It felt a bit strange and almost eerie walking through this area. The bus terminal is nearby so people are around. Maybe one day redevelopment will successfully occur.


We had to get the car back by 5pm, and it was so very hard to leave Colin after a wonderful day. We would love to spend longer there, but that’s not happening on this trip.


We caught a 6pm ferry home and by this time the wind had set in. We sat on the top of the three decks and the boys loved standing up and having the wind blow through their hair and everywhere else.

Max declared Magnetic Island to be the best place he’s ever been to and that it is the only place he’s found to be as good as Gelorup to live. That’s high praise from young Max!
Thank you Colin for making our day so special!

the Whitsundays, Airlie Beach and Bowen

We have hit the Whitsunday region and took a detour from our route to Townsville when we saw the turnoff to Airlie Beach. Airlie Beach has a terrific reputation for being a fantastic holiday destination.


We went for a quick drive around the town and then ate our picnic lunch on the foreshore. It was really pretty and I think would be an ideal holiday place when your kids are very young. There were lots of playgrounds and a shallow paddle pool on the foreshore. The tide goes out a long way during the day so it is quite muddy where we normally see sand. The water was a beautiful blue and had lots of boats moored. It was surrounded by mountains which was very special.

Harry and Max holding up the 'Big Mango' at Bowen.

After the 60km detour to Airlie Beach and back we got onto the highway.  We soon came across the town of Bowen where Kensington Pride mangoes were first planted. The photo below shows the ‘Big Mango’ which meant we stopped to have a look. There was a story on a plaque nearby telling about how the original Kensington Mango farmer would sterilise the seed of the mango by threading a needle through the seed before giving it away or selling it. His idea was that he would be the only farmer producing this variety of mango and so make a fortune.











We made it to Townsville a little later than we meant to, and decided to stay in a caravan park. There’s a long story, but the manager of the park we chose was very unpleasant. The facilities and the other people at the park were lovely, but this rude woman made us want to leave as soon as possible. Our next door neighbours were a lovely couple who were from South Australia but had spent a lot of time in Western Australia. They shared knitting ideas, coffees and things for the kids with us.


Tomorrow is going to be a busy day as we’re going to Magnetic Island!!

Kuttabul Hotel

After Clairview we tried to find another free site but instead ended up at the Kuttabul Hotel. This hotel is just out of town and has accommodation that seemed to be used mostly by cane workers. Set apart from this was a spot for people like us who only wanted to spend a night or two. On arriving I felt a bit like Linda Koswalski’s (sp?) character arriving at the outback pub in ‘Crocodile Dundee’ (yes, I was greeted with a “G’day love”!!). It is$15 for the first night and $10 for the second, with power and nearly toilets and showers that were shabby but clean. This spot is busy too and with prices that this I’m not surprised.


There is sugar cane everywhere when we drove around, and a lot of rail track for transporting the cane once it was harvested.


We are spending two nights here because today we went to the Eungalla National Park. We walked through gorgeous rainforests but the main reason for visiting was that we got to see platypus swimming in the wild. This was such a special experience especially knowing that they weren’t reliant on zoo keepers for their wellbeing. You have to be super quick taking a photo though - they're up and down within seconds!

View from the 'Sky Window'.

wandering brush turkey (taken by Harry)

Wild turtle (taken by Max)

wild platypus (taken by Max)

On the way to Eungalla we saw an accident on the side of the road where a car and caravan had rolled, both landing on their tops. It reminded us how careful we need to be, especially when correcting misjudgements. What a horrible thing for someone on their holiday!

Clairview

Today we drove off from Miriam Vale and our next major stop will be Cairns but there will be a few stops on the way.


We drove through Rockhampton, and weren’t overly impressed – though I need to remember that we only popped in for fuel and drove out again, so there may have been some fantastic stops we missed.


We’re spending tonight at a busy free camp in Clairview. It is beautiful here – right on the water with good facilities. Once again, Max and Harry had a fantastic time in the sand. When we got here the tide was far out and the sand was a bit muddy. This meant for some different sand constructions and a lot of sticky mess – it was great for the boys to play in!! Max spent a bit of time collecting shells – and separated them into piles with holes in for Harry to use jewellery making, and a pile of lovely looking ones for me. What a sweetheart!!


A shop opened this afternoon, run by the W.A.G. – or Womens’ Action Group of Clairview. This group of women run the shop to make money for the community from selling jars of jam, chutney, homemade cakes and slices, second hand clothes, teatowels and other kitchen bits that people travelling like to purchase. We were very happy to buy some homemade slice! As this is such a busy free camp I think they do pretty well out of it. Some of the money raised was used to commission a local artist to paint sea scenes on the outside of the toilet block. This makes it just so much nicer than boring old plain concrete! What a great group – it obviously works well.


The sugarcane is starting to appear on the side of the road – I think this will just be the start of a lot of cane to come as we head further north.

We made it to Miriam Vale!

We packed up at Tim’s place and he then took us on a quick daytime tour of Mooloolabah. Gorgeous waves rolling in!


After we all had a swing in Tim’s front yard it was time to hit the road. After a week with Tim and Suzanne, we had to get used to driving any distance again. We set the GPS to take us on back roads and it took us on fantastic routes such as along ‘Diddillabah Rd’. We took a quick detour to see Noosa and were pleasantly surprised by how lovely it seemed – I was expecting another ‘Gold Coast’ but Noosa had a good feel to it. Trevor and I have added it to our ‘Places To Go Back To’ list, which seems to get longer and longer!


We soon made the 400 odd kilometre journey to Miriam Vale where we were welcomed into the home of Pat and George, parents of our friend Salli. Salli moved to Bunbury from Queensland with husband Dean and Jessica and Joel only a few years ago and we all met through Trevor and Dean’s cricket.


We had met Pat and George a year or so ago when they had driven across to Salli and Dean’s home in Stratham. We were telling them then about our planned trip away so it was great to see them now we are actually doing this trip!


Pat and George have camped away a lot, and so knew exactly how to make us welcome. We got there late Thursday evening, so it was quickly to bed. Pat and George were at work the next day but had suggested a couple of spots to check out.


We listened to them and soon found the town of Agnes Water and then the town of 1770. Yes! This is the town’s name – though it is sometimes referred to as ‘Seventeen-seventy’. This was the year that Captain James Cook first walked onto Queensland when he sailed into, and then dropped anchor at, ‘Bustard Bay’ which is just offshore. ‘Bustard Bay’ was so named by Cook because one of the sailing party killed a bustard and enjoyed eating it more than anything they had had since leaving England. The town has lots of associated street names like “Endeavour St” (after Cook’s ship) and “Banks Drive” (after botanist Joseph Banks).  There were lots of people snorkelling, fishing and generally sight seeing. Max and Harry enjoyed the chance to build in the sand, while I just took in the beautiful water and views…

On Saturday we put the back seats down so the six of could travel in one vehicle. George and Pat navigated and Trevor drove us to some interesting places, including to Benaraby where we saw the house that Dean and Salli built before moving to WA, including the beautiful garden I had heard about from Salli. They had put so much work into it and the new owners are enjoying their hard work! We drove a little further to ‘Lake Awoonga’ where the aftermath of the January Queensland floods was still evident.

The water still flows over the dam wall.

Even after 7 months, the water level is still really high!

We drove around Gladstone, seeing the amazing Rotary waterfall near the marina. Gladstone has so many big boats- I had always thought that there were a lot in Bunbury!

The waterfall from the top...

and from the bottom!

A special treat was George and Pat taking us to ‘The Duck Pond’. There were lots of ducks, but when we sat very still we saw turtles swimming and coming to the surface of the water for air. Just as we were about to leave Max spotted a massive eel in the water too!

Trevor and Harry watching for turtles

We finished off our lovely day by driving to see the house in Boyne Island where Salli had grown up in, and then went on to the ‘Millenium Park’ and beach in Tannum where the boys played and played. 

I forgot to mention that Pat and George have two beautiful dogs Foxy and Molly. Max and Harry just loved having them to play with. In fact I overheard Max offering George all of his money to buy Foxy! (Naturally George said that he didn’t have enough ).

Thank you Pat and George for a wonderful stay – you are so kind and generous!