Cairns to Mareeba - July 2014

We left Cairns and headed over the mountain to Mareeba. Brad drove the bus over and I drove the car as we just weren’t sure how steep the mountain was and its much easier on the bus if the car isn’t behind it. Turns out it was a really good road and Bruce handled it nicely. We stopped at the top of the mountain at Kuranda and the kids had the best morning wondering around looking at all the stalls. I had told them they could look at all the shops and then decide on 1 thing to buy. It was a huge decision but in the end they both decided to get hair braids. 

Being silly at Kuranda

We did a rainforest walk to Barron Falls which was pretty impressive, but I would love to see it in the wet. The Kuranda scenic railway came while we where at the falls, Chloe was pretty happy about that! Lucy really wanted to go on the sky rail, but it was so much money and Chloe wasn’t too sure about it, I didn’t want to get halfway through and have her start screaming, so we gave it a miss, maybe next time!

Barron Falls

Funny little moment - We are in a carpark having lunch before heading off, Chloe is sitting in the gutter eating 2 minute noodles, watching the sky rail and out of the blue says ‘aaah this is the life’  

So glad she is enjoying herself!

Off we went to Mareeba before it got to late in the afternoon. We stopped at the information centre on the way past which has a fantastic and free museum, the kids surprised me by how interested they were in it. We stayed at the Mareeba Rodeo grounds, which they have set up for camping, $17 per night for power and water, and so many vans. This is such a great set up I can see why there were so many people there. So many base themselves here, because its so cheap and so close to so many places. Mareeba has a huge rodeo at the start of July and I would love to come back one year when its on.

Just some of the vans at Mareeba

We went for a short drive to Granite Gorge. You have to pay to go into Granite Gorge, which I was a bit unsure about, as we had been to lots of walks, gorge’s and waterfalls for free, it felt wrong having to pay for it. (yes I am pretty tight) But it was only $20 and the kids got a bag of feed for the rock wallabies so in we went. I’m so glad we did, it was beautiful. Chloe was so excited when a wallaby came straight up to her looking for food before we even got down the steps. 

We managed to pry the kids away from the rock wallabies to do one of the walks. 1 of the walks was closed so we really only had one option. The lady at the front desk told us that this one would not be suitable for the kids but we did it anyway, and they loved it, especially Lucy. I think I found it the most difficult because to make a long story short, Chloe forgot her socks, so I gave her mine and ended up doing the walk in my thongs which were way too slippery on the rocks, so most of the time I did it in bare feet. The photos really don't do this place justice.

Chloe woke up during the night with a high temp and stayed that way all the next day and night. So we had a very lazy day while Chloe slept nearly all day. Brad and Lucy did go for a drive to the Mareeba wetlands and Lucy did spend a lot of time making little get well soon cards for Chloe.

Green Island - July 2014 - A post by Lucy

in cairns we went to green island on a big boat it is called the big cat.i went in with mum i put my face in the water  but i didn't go snorkelling.i got a little koala toy and chloe got a bracelet . we had fun.we went in a glass bottom boat and a semi submarine it was fun.

Mission Beach to Cairns - July 2014

We left a wet Mission Beach and arrived at Cairns without any plans on where we were going to stay. So we unhooked the car and drove around a few of the caravan parks until we found somewhere to stay. Most of them where either full or too expensive. ($80 per night!) It was a bit muggy so we decided to have a swim in the biggest caravan park pool we have come across. It was huge and freezing! I jumped in and nearly drowned from the cold shock! 

Brad was very keen to take the kids out to one of the islands, so we decided to splurge and do a day trip to Green Island, which included a glass bottom tour and a semi-submarine tour. I was a bit worried about the kids as the weather forecast was not ideal for an hour long trip across the ocean. I think Chloe lasted about 15 minutes before she felt sick and maybe another 15 before she vomited. So Chloe and I headed out to the back deck with all the other vomiting people. This is a very small area and it was filled with people so the last 30 minutes felt like about 2 hours. Especially as I am prone to seasickness as well, but I somehow managed to keep it at bay. Luckily Brad and Lucy both have iron stomachs and were fine for the whole trip. As soon as the boat stopped Chloe recovered remarkably quickly and was back to her talkative self as we waited for Brad and Lucy to get off. 

Not looking to good as we head to Green Island

Green Island!

The main thing the kids wanted to see was a turtle and as we were walking along the jetty to get to the island Lucy spotted one! 

The weather on the island was slightly better than when we left Cairns but still a bit overcast and windy.  Brad went straight out for a snorkel. Lucy really wanted too but just couldn’t make herself, using the excuse that it was too cold, even with a wetsuit on. I wanted to use that excuse myself, but I made myself go out and I did slightly better than the day on King Reef. I did actually manage to snorkel and did see some cute and colourful fish, but somehow kept getting water in my mask so after awhile headed back to the beach and tried to get dry, which was a bit impossible with the weather, especially when it started to drizzle! By the time we had some lunch the sun was starting to come out and it turned into a beautiful afternoon. We then did our glass bottom boat tour which was fantastic, especially for the kids, they got to see so many fish, they both loved it. After that we went straight to the semi-sub, which is pretty cool. You sit down underneath the boat in an area that is all glass. So you see much the same things as the glass bottom boat but you’re under the water instead of on top. This tour was great and I think we spotted about 4 turtles and a couple of string rays. 

Glass Bottom Boat tour

Squeezed in the semi-sub

We still had nearly 2 hours before our day was up, so we walked around the island and the kids talked us into letting them buy something each.

The sun did make an appearance!

Then it was time to get back on the big cat - something I was not looking forward too. One of the crew told Brad that the way back is usually better than the way too the island, so I was hoping that he would be right. 

Lucy insisted on sitting up on the top deck out in the open on the way open, but after a few minutes Chloe wanted to go down. So she and I stood (well I stood, she got carried) on the rear deck for the whole trip, where she dozed in my arms the whole way. This was much better than her vomiting but she is VERY heavy!! Once we were nearly at Cairns Brad took Chloe and I went up the top with Lucy, where it was freezing, but not only does Lucy not get seasick apparently she doesn’t feel the cold either. She had a fantastic time! 

Loving the Big Cat - nearly back at Cairns

So despite all the bad things about the day, we really did have a good time on Green Island and I’m really glad we decided to do it.

One more rainy night in Cairns and we left early the next morning and headed inland to get away from the rain.

Mission Beach - Simply stunning!!! - July 2014

We pulled up out the front of the caravan park where our friends Mark, Vanessa, Will, Charlotte & George were staying. It looked pretty full and we didn't think we would fit and then a bus drove out, so Brad went and worked his magic again getting us a pretty good deal for the next week. These guys had the best site at the park for kids, right at the front with a big patch of grass to play on and right across from the beach.

Mark has a tinny and Brad was pretty keen to do some fishing so they spent the first afternoon fishing, while all the kids had a swim in the pool.

So happy to be back in a pool!

The next day we spent the morning at the beach, Lucy was very happy at this beach it was so beautiful with just soft sand, no shells, no crabs, no seaweed etc so she happily went in the water with her surf mat and astounded me with her confidence in going out and riding the perfect kid sized waves. It also happened to be Will's birthday and the kids were very excited to be invited to his birthday!  The kids had a great evening playing together but it cooled down really quickly so we headed across to light a fire on the beach to warm up. This certainly brought the crazy out of the kids, ours especially, they danced and sang in the dark for ages, before hunger set in and we went back to the CP for dinner and birthday cake. We had a great day helping you celebrate your birthday Will, we hope you had a great day too!!

The next couple of days were just spent relaxing and enjoying the great company. Mark and Brad went out fishing again this time bringing back some delicious spotty mackerel for dinner - sooo yummy!!! We met a guy doing a trip along the coast with his microlight and watched him take off on the beach. The kids spent a bit of time at the skatepark. Vanessa and I met a lady from Switzerland here for 6 weeks with her 2 kids. It was so interesting listening to her talk about her country. In Switzerland you have to get permission from parliament to take your kids out of school to travel, which is why they were only here for 6 weeks over their summer school holidays. Lucy was keen to get on her surf mat again, but every time we tried over the next couple of days, it was very flat with only very small waves.

One day we went to Kurramine Beach, Mark had offered to take us to the King Reef to do some snorkelling. Chloe stayed on the beach with Vanessa, while Brad, Lucy, Mark and I went out. Lucy didn't end up getting in the water but she loved the boat ride. I attempted to snorkel, which I have done years ago with no problems, but I had panicked a bit so gave up after awhile and stayed in the boat with Luce while the boys snorkelled. 

The Turtle Ness, Chloe & George made

We then went for a bit of a drive to Josephine Falls, a beautiful spot with a bitumen walkway all the way to the falls. The kids managed 5kms previously over reasonably rough terrain and didn't fall once, a couple of metres in on a smooth flat surface and Chloe falls over and skins her knee. We calmed her down and manage to get her to walk the rest of the way to the bottom part of the falls but because there is a small amount of blood on her knee she mopes and sooks, so we leave Brad and Lucy and go back to the car to get a bandaid. Miraculously just the thought of a bandaid seems to fix her, where she could barely manage to walk before now she runs all the way to the car, gets a bandaid and runs all the way back to Brad and Lucy and up to the top lookout. On the way back to the car (for the 2nd time) Chloe and I run ahead and spot a hollowed out tree that we decide to hide in to try and scare Brad. They were further behind us than I realised and a group of other people walked past first. The first couple of people spotted us so I said hello, unfortunately 1 of the girls hadn't seen us and when I said hello she screamed and jumped a mile. It was hilarious but I did feel really bad. We stayed in place waiting for our next victim, which was supposed to be Brad but unfortunately was Lucy. I'm still laughing about it writing this, but I'm not looking forward to the payback.

The next day Mark and Vanessa went out in the boat and we had a great morning with George, who is the most entertaining 3 year old I've ever met. Brad went out in the boat in the afternoon and we had a feast of shark, flathead and spotty mackerel for dinner.

The next morning was a rainy one so Brad took the opportunity to give Bruce a wash. By the afternoon cabin fever had hit and the rain had stopped so we went to a nearby jetty to do a bit of fishing. 5 kids on a jetty was not exactly a relaxing afternoon, but after awhile the girls and George found some squid lures in Marks tackle box and happily sat still and played with them, (they didn't have hooks) and we could relax without thinking we were going to loose a child over the edge. Unfortunately we didn't catch any fish.

The sun came back out on our last full day so we spent the morning doing a couple of short rainforest walks and the kids spent the afternoon in the pool.

Can you spot the spider?

The rain came back the next morning as we sadly said our good-bye's. Thanks guys for a fantastic week we, ate loads, drank heaps and had the best time. Mission Beach is so beautiful it has definitely made the list of places to holiday at in the future!

Rollingstone to Tully

We left Rollingstone a bit later than we thought because we had to empty our black waste tank at the dump point first. I usually just sit in the bus while Brad does it but this time I thought I should ask if he needed any help and of course he said yes. This is such a gross job, you don't see anything because of the hose so its a bit better than dumping a cassette, but the smell when you open the dump point lid is so disgusting. So I'm standing there trying to 'help' but at the same time covering my nose and trying even harder not to dry retch! At last it was all done and I could finally breath again - well until next time at least. The joys of living in a motorhome!!

We stopped for a quick break at a lovely seaside town called Cardwell. We took a walk along the jetty to stretch our legs and then spotted a couple of jellyfish, which of course freaked the kids outs, so that ended our little visit to Cardwell.

We pulled up at Tully show grounds for a couple of nights and we couldn't believe how hot it was! The kids wanted to go for a swim so we went for a drive to find the pool, but much to their disappointment it was closed for the winter. We spent a bit of time wondering around Tully, saw the big gumboot. I was really keen to do a tour of the sugar mill but kids had to be over 7, they were happy enough watching the trains going in and out though. 

The next morning was spent doing school work and a quick trip to the park before going for a drive to Tully Gorge. It was a nice drive with soo many banana trees along the way. Tully Gorge was quite impressive with lots of rapids that were a bit nerve racking with 2 little kids in tow!

We spent our last night at Tully and headed off early the next day to Mission Beach to catch up with some friends.

Townsville to Rollingstone

Our day didn't start off too well. We took a wrong turn trying to find a free camp so I get out my trusted google maps and tell Brad, its no worries just follow this road for a bit and we will be able to go around the block up ahead a bit further. But NO for the first time google has let me down and what was supposed to be a turn was a dead end! So we have to unhook the car (you can't reverse with an A-frame connected) reverse the bus back up the road turn at the t-section, reverse back to the car and hook it back up. When we get close to the main road we decide to unhook the car and have a drive around to check out the camps in the area, and make sure the bus can actually fit. We get about 2 minutes down the road and find our original destination which has a spot just right for us. We drive back to the bus and Brad drives it into Bushy Parker Park Rollingstone. A beautiful and peaceful spot.

Lucy doing her schoolwork at Rollingstone

We had everything we needed in the car for a day out so we headed towards Crystal Creek to do some exploring. Big Crystal Creek is first and its beautiful. We ran into a ranger there who said people had been swimming in there earlier that day. It was still slightly overcast and after standing in the water for a few minutes my toes started to go numb, so there was no way we would be swimming! The kids loved climbing all over the rocks.

Big Crystal Creek

Then we drove up the mountain to Little Crystal Creek, which has a lovely bridge and small waterfall and a couple of small walks. Brad showed us where he used to jump off the rocks into the water. 

Little Crystal Creek

The kids were very keen to do a bit more walking tracks so we headed a further 17kms up the mountain to Paluma. Paluma used to be called Cloudy Clearing, which was very appropriate for when we were there. The kids were pretty excited to be up in the clouds, it did make the temperature drop slightly though!

Heating up some lunch in the carpark at a cold and cloudy Paluma

There were a few walks to pick from up here. The first one we came across was 1.1km but we thought that might be too far for the kids. So we found a smaller one leading up to a look out. It was such a shame it was too cloudy too see because the lookout on a clear day would be spectacular  There was a walk near the lookout that in total was a bit over 5kms so we thought we would just do a bit and turn back, but we ended up doing the whole thing! The kids were fantastic and didn't complain once, well Chloe did complain once but after a quick piggy back up a steep hill she was fine and did the rest by herself at a run. Lucy did so well and was very proud of herself at the end, she was pretty scared at the start but bravely kept going and ended up having a great time. I had such a wonderful time on this walk, on the way to the lookout and waterfall Brad and Chloe went ahead and Lucy and I strolled behind at our own pace having a lovely chat. On the way back Chloe and I ran ahead (Chlo doesn't like to walk; running or skipping is more her style). I loved this walk, it was so good to spend a bit of time individually with each of the girls, they really do have such different but beautiful little personalities.

The next morning we spent a bit of time exploring the crystal clear creek that runs along the back of the free camp. The creek had some shallow spots that the kids enjoyed walking around in and it got a bit deeper further down where we spotted lot of different size fish swimming around.

We then spent a relaxing few hours at Balgal Beach, playing in the sand of course! Rollingstone has a 48 hour limit so we packed up that afternoon to try and head off early the next morning.