Cuzzies at Cairns

Big 4 Cairns Coconut Holiday Park, Cairns, QLD

Wednesday 22nd June - Tuesday 28th June

The best part of our time in Cairns was definitely catching up with Kate, Matt, Logan and Jenna. The cousins had such a fabulous time together (as did us adults) and the kids certainly made the most of the fabulous facilities at the caravan park.

Highlights & Fun Times:

- The swimming pools & splash park - particularly the pool with the 2 waterslides. The kids (and sometimes us adults) spent hours racing down the slides, making trains and sliding backwards, forwards, sideways and any other unusual way they could manage. On Saturday the kids were in the swimming pool most of the day and were totally exhausted (and starving) by the time they finally got out at about 4.30pm.

- Karunda Markets - we met Kate, Matt and the kids at Karunda (they caught the Skyrail up but we decided just to drive). We wandered through the hippy style markets, Kate and I had a massage and the kids and dads enjoyed sourdough pizza from one of the many stalls plying their goods. The funniest part of the day though was definitely when I returned to the park (where Matt and Daniel were watching the kids play) and I couldn't see either of the dads. 'Where are they?' I asked Emilia. 'Oh, they've just gone to help a fairy get a unicorn out of her car,' she replied!  WHATTTTT!!!!!!! So I looked up, and there they were - carrying a unicorn (minus the horn) with a fairy following behind carrying the horn. Turns out is was International Fairy Day and they were having a community fairy party in the park. Apparently the fairies didn't have enough magical fairy dust to move the unicorn from the car to the park, so they enlisted some muscle! It was such a funny sight.

- Barron Falls -after leaving Kate and Matt at Karunda we went to the Barron Falls lookout and did the boardwalk through the rainforest to view these majestic falls.

- Movie Nights - the kids enjoyed an outdoor movie using Matt's new projector. We played it onto the awning of the car, that was just left hanging down. On our last night at Cairns (Kate and Matt had already left), we enjoyed a family movie night, courtesy of the caravan park that provided movies on a huge outdoor screen.

- Crystal Cascades - on Sunday we explored the gorgeous Crystal Cascades- a series of small waterfalls and swimming holes surrounded by boulders and rainforest. Super pretty and very popular.

- The kids activities at the caravan park - As well as making the most of the pool, Emilia and Jackson also enjoyed the mini golf, splash park, jumping pillows and they even got to try archery. As we were there on school holidays there were events and activities every day. We were also camped right next to the dog excercise park and all the kids enjoyed using the hurdles and ramps whenever there weren't any dogs in there!!

Lowlights and Bad Times:

We had to get some jobs done whilst at Cairns so both Daniel and I spent quite a lot of time back and forth at the shops getting things sorted. Though this was not the worst of it......

- Being robbed- this was definitely the worst experience we have had on the trip. Daniel awoke about 1.30am on Saturday night/Sunday morning and went out of the van (for the toilet) when he noticed both his and Emilia's bikes were missing. Adrenaline pumping, he chucked some clothes on and got on Jackson's bike to ride around the park and see if he could find the bikes. He arrived back about 40 minutes later, with the good news that Emilia's bike had been found. A camper from a site about five sites up from us had interrupted a young boy (about 11 or 12) throwing Emilia's bike over the back fence. It was hooked up on the spikes of the fence and the boy was scampering over. Thankfully the boy ran off after he was confronted and the caravan park security guard was able to retrieve Emilia's bike. Unfortunately Daniel wasn't so lucky- he went for a run through the local streets in the morning looking, and then put in a police report for his bike, but as yet this has been to no avail. We usually lock everything up but had become a bit complacent as we felt safe in this park. We certainly won't do that again. It really knocked us both - the loss of the bike for one, but more so knowing someone was wandering through our camp and now we are just feeling a bit unsafe and untrustworthy of people.

-Sugar cane trains - we were camped right at the back fence of the park (the last spot left!) which happened to back onto one of the sugar cane train rail lines. This was a novelty when they came through in the day - not so much of a novelty at night! It felt like the train was about to come right into our van and they blew their horn every single time. Most nights they came through at least 3 times, but Sunday night was an added bonus- 4 times in one night!

Karunda Rainforest Markets

'I carried a unicorn!'

Helping the fairies get the unicorn in the correct position - a very random Random Act of Kindness for the day!

Jenna was upset she wasn't dressed up as a fairy, so we convinced her she was a cowboy fairy with her pink hat and she was happy once she got a photo on the unicorn.

Barron Falls

A lookout near Kurunda, through the mountains to Cairns

Water slides trains - so much fun!

Sometimes the trains fell apart though!!

The kids also made the most of the slashpark.

Saying goodbye after an early morning splash park session.

A red balloon floated through and photobombed the kids....

...then photobombed us!

We all had a great time together.

Crystal Cascades

Daniel couldn't resist and he ended up getting in and swimming up to the waterfall.

The sugar cane train that ran a few metres behind our campsite- day and night!!!
It was very long and VERY LOUD.

Archery Tag - one of the many free school holiday activities at the caravan park.

Jackson managed to shoot his so far it hit the drawbar of the caravan stored at the back!

On the last afternoon Jackson and Daniel went fishing off the jetty at Cairns whilst Emilia and I caught up on our blogs. They had a few bites but nothing substantial (though they still enjoyed it).

From Porcupine Gorge to Platypus Rock (with pizza at Pinnarendi in between)

Porcupine Gorge (and awesome roadside camp spot at Poison Creek), QLD

Friday 17th June

After leaving Hughenden we spent the afternoon at the impressive Porcupine Gorge- a great choice for what I think is the hottest day we have had so far (28deg). Over millions of years the river running down the middle has eroded the layers of rock, leaving a deep gorge (which is very narrow in some parts - though these are not accessible and can only be viewed from the lookout). The different types of rock on the gorge wall were most visible on Pyramid Rock, which is a large pyramid shaped sandstone rock left in the middle of the gorge. At the base of Pyramid Rock is a deep swimming hole where we spent the warm afternoon enjoying the cool, silky water and basking in the sunshine. We stayed until about 4pm as it was a 1.2km walk back up the gorge and we were aiming not to get hot and sweaty again!

We were hoping to find a roadside spot to camp for the night, ideally not too far up the road. We were in luck, and we spent an enjoyable evening camped on the edge of Poison Creek. It has nearly dried up, so the kids entertained themselves by exploring the river bed and running up and down the dry banks.

The view from the Gorge lookout, this was the narrower part of the gorge.

You can see the river continuing to erode a narrow section, some of the sandstone was so close at the top, with the river flowing underneath. We desperately wanted to get down there to explore, but unfortunately there was no way to access the area down there.

Pyramid Rock

The sandstone we walked along to get to the swimming hole was covered in interesting patterns and textures caused by the flow of water over the years.

The water was crystal clear - perfect for spotting fish!

Jackson and Daniel swam over and climbed up the other side - at the base of Pyramid Rock

He couldn't resist!

And the kids followed suit.

Walking back through the gorge after a wonderful afternoon.

Pinnarendi Station, QLD https://www.thebrickoven.com.au/

Saturday 18th June

Thanks to WikiCamps we discovered a gem of place on our way north. Pinnarendi Station is a working cattle station that has added a caravan park to their property. Best of all they run a cafe 'The Brick Oven' and their speciality is sourdough and woodfire pizza (with the bases made from their famous sourdough). We were lucky enough to stop in on Saturday night when they do their 'Pizza Nights'. We ate like kings (they even did a GF pizza for me), with pizzas of a huge variety of flavours just continually cooked until all the guests had their fill. The property was also lovely, and we enjoyed the walks, the cows and the termite mounds. They have done an incredible job with place and I highly recommend staying here if you are ever up this way.

I forgot to take photos of the pizza (I was too busy eating!), but here are a couple of the property that Emilia took in the morning.

We had a great view of these old farm tractors from our van.

One of the many termite mounds dotted around the property.

Platypus Rock Camping Area, Danbulla National Park, Atherton Tablelands, QLD

Sunday 19th June - Wednesday 22nd June

Situated on the banks of Lake Tinaroo and surrounded by pine and eucalypt forests, Platypus Rock Camping Area, in Danbulla National Park, is an idyllic place. Although the weather wasn't as nice as it should be this time of year in the Atherton Tablelands, we still had a lovely 3 nights here.

Highlights of our days here included:

• Swimming in the lake (which was around 22deg and just delightful).
• Kayaking (Jackson did lots of kayaking back and forth to check his nets - he didn't catch any redclaw but got a few small fish).
• Walking/riding up to Platypus Rock (Jackson mastered the track downhill on his bike, which included a jump at the end)
• Trying to catch fish using the red handnet and breadcrumbs - the kid spent hours doing this
• Making the most of the slackline and the pogo stick (which hadn't been used much until now)- Emilia was pretty pleased when she nearly made it the whole way along the slack line.
• The start of the Jungaljungal walk through the Wet Tropics World Heritage Rainforest, just a short drive from camp. The start was great as we marvelled at the huge old trees, massive ferns and the vines that snaked through the forest. All was well until we stopped and noticed.........leeches!!!!! OMG. I am terrified of leeches and they were everywhere - slithering up our shoes in search of blood. Daniel did his best to kill as many as possible but the more we stood still- the more they attacked. We decided we'd seen enough of the rainforest and that is was imperative that we get out of there before I lost it. We all promptly marched back to the car, where we had to take our shoes and socks off and kill more before we (I) felt safe.
• Walking the Lake Tinaroo dam wall and getting up close to the gallons of water rushing out the spillway.
• Learning a new bird species - the bush stone curlew - and being freaked out by the way they shriek at night (hence they are colloquially known as murder birds).

The sunset over Lake Tinaroo was lovely on our first night (unfortunately it was cloudy and drizzling both other nights).

We made the most of a few hours of sunshine and enjoyed swimming in the warm waters of the lake

Emilia is actually under the water where all the ripples are - their new game involved Jackson throwing small stones on the water and Emilia bobbing under and enjoying the feeling of them landing on her back.

During the day the curlew's skulked around our camp and gave us the evil eye - by night they shrieked and gave us the creeps!

It was such a cold and misty morning one of the days, that even the birds were huddling near the fire!

The start of the rainforest walk - before we entered Leech Lane!

Marvelling at the huge vines that curl their way around all the trees

One of the many impressive trees in the rainforest (just before we noticed the leeches).

The spillway at Lake Tinaroo Dam- the water was gushing out so fast and it was incredibly loud (but very impressive- it's the closest any of us have ever been to an open spillway).

Dinosaur Trail- Part 2 - we are officially fossiled out!

Australian Dinosaur Trail - Part 2

Richmond - Wednesday 15th - Thursday 16th June

Hughenden - Thursday 16th- Friday 17th June

To complete the Australian Dinosaur Trail we spent a day at 2 other small towns that have also had important dinosaur fossils discovered in their vicinity. Unlike Winton, Richmond and Hughenden showcase marine fossils as Richmond used to be underwater (a part of the Eromanga Sea) and Hughenden was on the edge of the sea. Once again these important historical and scientific discoveries were made by local station owners.

Both museums housed a vast collection and both towns were very accommodating and welcoming of travellers. We enjoyed the lovely lake at Richmond (we camped just next to it) and we even got to see the strawberry moon rise over the lake. In Hughenden they've also added a lake in the town, and again we camped just near it, in a great free RV park (thanks Hughenden). 

In Hughenden they also have a free fossil hunting park so interested people can dig for fossils. The kids spent a hour and have found some fossilised shells and what we think is a fossilised tooth!

Both museums were great and well worth coming to the towns for - but I can well and truly say we have had our fill of fossils for a while (though Jackson could keep digging for them indefinitely - we had to coerce him from the fossil digging site when it was time to leave, and his pockets were full of rocks!).

A lake in the middle of the Outback??? It was certainly a welcome addition to our stay at Richmond. It was so calm we got the stand up paddle board out for the first time.

Whilst we were paddleboarding, Jackson made the most of his new net.

Kronosauraus Korner- the museum in Richmond showcased fossils from the marine dinosaurs that inhabited this area 90-100 million years ago- when it was a vast inland sea (Eromanga Sea). The Kronosaurus was a large sea predator (about 10m long and weighing 11tonne, I certainly would not have wanted to encounter it in the ocean).

To appreciate the size of the Kronosaurus here is the jaw bone of the Kronosaurus as compared to that of a saltwater crocodile.

Part of the fossilised bones of the spine of a kronosaurus

The highlight of the museum in Richmond, a nearly complete skeleton of a plesiosaur, discovered on a local station (the guy who discovered it kicked the nose to see if it was rock and actually broke the fossil!).

The fossilised vertebrate of another ancient marine dinosaur

Hughenden's claim to fame is 'Hughie', a life sized replica of the original bones of a 110 million year old Muttaburrasaurus found near Hughenden. I loved reading an old newspaper article of the find. After some of the bones had been recovered, a local boy realised the rock he had given his mum (and that she was using as a door stop) was actually the lower jaw of the Muttabarrasaurus!

The museum at Hughenden also had a display about the history of sheep farming in the area.