Family Bonding

Friday, June 29, 2012

The operative word being rain

Heading north from Cairns we stopped at Mossman Gorge enroute to the Wonga Beach Blues Festival for a chance to contemplate a career change.

Mossman Gorge

Debut performance, Wonga Beach

Before crossing the Daintree River into Cape Tribulation we met some locals. Cape Trib where 'rainforest meets reef'.

Daintree River Ferry

Thick rainforest (the operative word being rain), beautiful beaches and the Bloomfield Track into Cooktown.

Cassowary and speed bump themed grafitti

Bloomfield Falls

Bloomfield Track

Cook Monument, Cooktown

Black Mountain NP, outside Cooktown

Saturday, June 23, 2012

We are now in Cairns having covered the 2000km up the east coast in a little over a week. An outer reef trip yesterday. David and Luke uber seasick but recovered well enough to enjoy the snorkelling. Highlights included seeing turtles and a shark whilst in the water.

Unbelievable number of beaches and coves on the way north. Some stops for us were Cape Hillsborough NP and Etty Bay with its resident cassowarys wandering along the beach.

Cape Hillsborough NP

A great vist to Paronella Park where the remains of mad (or at least eccentric) Jose Paronella's castle lies in ruins amongst the rain forest. Jose ballroom, cinema, gardens and ice-creamery powered by his personal hydro station long before any commercial electricity was available. We were able to camp in the park and explore the ruins and gardens at night.

Kauri Boulevard, Paronella Park

Josephine Falls

Another favourite was the Mamu walk on suspension bridges amongst the rainforest canopy and Josephine Falls where time and the flow of water has made a perfect natural waterslide where you can get up a good head of steam before plunging into the icy water.

Saturday, July 30, 2011

Epi(b)logue

We have now finished our lap of Australia and are safely back home. Thank you all for the welcome and your interest in our travels. It is a bit daunting to now face the reality of everyday routines. However, we are now enjoying the space of living in a house and realizing just how comfortable a bed can be.

No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow. Lin Yutang

Distance: 22,000km
Punctures: 1
Breakdowns: 0
Highlights: many
Disappointments: few
Days: 112 days
Different camps: 62
Fastest setup: 15 minutes
Fastest pack up: 1 hour (wake up to on the road)
Average weekly fuel costs: $372
Average accommodation cost: $28 per night (a mixture of caravan parks, station stays, national parks and free camps)

Favourite places
Caroline: Karijini NP, Cape Range NP (both in WA), Tunnel Creek and Windjana Gorge and any hot springs

Liam: Karijini NP, Cape Range NP, The Kimberleys especially Windjana Gorge, Tunnel Creek and the Bungles, Cape Le Grande (near Esperence)

Madonna: Cape Range NP, Coral Bay, Karijini, Wyndham (horse riding at Digger's Rest Station), The Bungles, Darwin and Litchfield NP

John: Karijini NP, Litchfield NP, Darwin, Perth, Edith Falls (Katherine Gorge NP), Cape Range NP, Coral Bay, Quobba Point, Windjana Gorge and Tunnel Creek

David: Karijini NP, Litchfield NP, Darwin, Perth, Edith Falls (Katherine Gorge NP), Cape Range NP, Coral Bay, Quobba Point, Windjana Gorge and Tunnel Creek

Luke: Territory Wildlife Park, The Warrumbungles

The Patrol (God bless the war horse):Cape Leveque, Gibb River Road and the Bungles

Wind turbine, Albany WA

And that's the wonderful thing about family travel: it provides you with experiences that will remain locked forever in the scar tissue of your mind. Dave Barry