Queensland-Road-Trip-eungella

							Queensland Road Trip: A day with the Platypus

July 7 – spend the day at Allison and David, had lunch, barbecue and swam on the creek, saw some
wallabies and met Les, David’s father and first met William and Lily

July 8 – Charles birthday, David’s family went to Mackay, then went to Simon Wok Inn for 11-course
dinner courtesy of David and John, saw some kookaburras

July 9 – went to Mackay town, Charles needs to get money from the bank, went to asian grocery and
meet some Filipinos, the owner actually pinoy, learn about the mining opportunity in mackay, then went
to mackay tourism information and got a hordes of brochure for free, , had a nice dinner, mash sweet
potato, fish fillet and steamed carrots and snow peas

July 10 – went fishing with John and Charlie at pioneer river, Charlie got his hair shaved, had fish again
for dinner – the one we caught, went to the grocery

July 11 – camper van tutorial

Milder weather drives hordes of tourists, campers, backpackers and locals to the cooler months of
tropical queensland, the perfect time to get out into the great outdoors.5



Day 1 – july 12

After a few days of preparation for our road trip from Mackay to Cairns in North Queensland, we had
finally set off on our month-long journey. Everything was finalized the moment Charle’s parents agreed
to lend us their camper van which is like a “mobile home”



From Mackay, we drove for about an hour to Eugella National Park . We had lunch in one of the lookout
then went to the Platypus lookout. There are other camper vans. Learned about platypus. Saw one from
the bridge. Very elusive, requires patience. It pays off, we saw one, quite far but still good. When to
eungella camping grounds. 20 dollars for a patch of grass, nice view, had chilli beans dinner and wine.
Saw some possums, nocturnal, first camping night,

These playful and sometime elusive creatures are known as the worlds’ strangest animal

Eungella is the longest stretch of sub-tropical rainforest in Australia and home to 225 different species of
spectacular rainforest birds, some of these rare birds are endemic to the national park only.

The cool and misty mountain is a retreat from Queensland tropical heat. It is refuted as the world’s best
place to see a platypus in the wild. It’s 90 kilometers from Mackay. You get to enjoy the crisp mountain
air that is often cool and misty. Platypus here seem not to mind people,

2nd day – july 13
Woke up very foggy, cold that night, left at 10am, and had lunch in another look out, did a rainforest
walk, about an hour of walk, nice trees, saw some strangler figs, whip bird, palm trees, fallen trees from
the cyclone, learned trivia about the valley, former rainforest and was cleared up for agriculture of
sugarcane, didn’t take any except three leeches crept in my shoes without socks, bought bread then
headed to platypus look out again, waited then saw two this time, did the shorted walk about 15
minutes, drove to finch hatton gorge to camp for a night, nice lookout for platypus very clear water then
had pasta and slept, good nite met some british travelers, been traveling for 8 months just a car and
setting up tent,

3rd - july 14

We arrive at Platypus bush camp around 4 in the afternoon, set camp then check the creek where there
is also a platypus sighting, didn’t see any, water is very clear though too bad it’s not allowed to swim,
woke up early the next morning, checked out and went to the jump off point of finch hatton gorge, had
less than an hour of walk on fairly easy trail before reaching the first waterfalls araluen cascade from the
look out. Fascinating, beautiful, took some pics then headedto another hour of walk to wheel of fire,
terrain is well marked with occasional awesome cascades and fresh water flowing in streams, the gorge
is spectacular itself carved for many years by relentless waters, trail to the wheel of fire fire has railings,
even concrete and boardwalk at some part, reach the pool, was big and very inviting, the waterfalls
itself cant be seen from the lookout unless you scramble on rocks to the other side. Had lunch there, too
cold for me, Charlie swam for 3 minutes, others tried too but no one stayed more than 5 minutes, then
drove back to mackay and stock up some groceries for the road trip, slept at Charles parents and
mackay.

Day 4 – july 15

(Located 47 km north of Mackay, campsites are located at Cape Hillsborough Nature Resort, campfires
are permitted at allocated time, ideal location to get back at nature, the fascinating mica infused sand
sparkles in the morning sunshine, several bushwalking tracks through national parks provide access to
vantage points that overlook turquoise waters of casuarinas bay where intrepid trekkers are often
rewarded with the sight of turtles, sting rays and whales, Cape Hillsborough Nature Resort on 49590152

Is located 40 minutes north of mackay, kangaroos laze on the beach while kookaburra takes a dive for a
juicy cricket in complete harmony with the environment. The tourist resort is comprised of camping and
caravan sites, beachfront units, cabins and and fishing huts, allow visitors to escape for a little longer,
there is an onsite shop and water-park style swimming pool that provides a cool-dip alternative during
stinger season, the resorts fronts casuarinas bay with national park in three sides creating a totally
secluded environment, a visit to cape Hillsborough will reward you with access to several surrounding
bay that provide great fishing spots and plenty of secluded nooks to hide away with a good book

Arrive at Cape Hillsborough, choose a nice quite spot, had the free morning tea and scones with butter
and marmalade which happens only on thurs, set camp, van in full camping mode, after a quick lunch
from Charles packed sandwich, had a stroll at the beach around 12, did a bush walk, Charles saw a small
snake, made me scramble 15 meters away, plant trail walk with some info about the trees,
saw a mom and baby wallaby, had an afternoon walk by the beach all the way to the other beach coz it’s
accessible at low tide and then went back to the camp through a trail in the forest, trail is easy with
some steep parts only, some parts of the trail are paved, with a view of the mangrove forest, had star
gazing on the beach, had some drinks (rum), very cold,

Day 5 july 16

Woke up around 5:30 for the sunrise and hoping to see some kangaroos in the wild who descend daw at
dawn, went back for breakfast and got ready for the bush walk, on the way to the trail, saw some people
snapping photos on the beach and my hunch was righr, it was indeed a pair of kangaroos, went back to
the beach and touch one, thought it’s wild actually but when the kids was able to tame it, I also gave it a
go, at least these kangaroos here are used to people but they are still wild and not fed, did the bush
walk to the three lookout but the twin beach was the best so far with the most spectacular view of the
cape. Around 11:46, did the mangrove walk, then on the way to airlie beach town, drop by at Les house
who lives near haliday bay, nice village with a beach good for swimming than cape,

 around 2:30 arrive at the town (airlie beach), on the way saw 2 dead kangaroos, echidna, and magpie,
walk around to the lagoon and the beach, lots of backpackers, then checked out the two camper van
resorts, one more expensive near the town called Island Gateway so we stayed first at flametree and
had the powered site to charge up things

July 17

If you want to capture the essence of Airlie Beach in all its cosmopolitan glory, the one shopping event
not to miss is the local art and craft market on the foreshore behind the main street every Saturday
morning. Showcasing the produce of the whitsundays’ very talented craftspeople, the airlie beach
market is a perfect place to take in fresh tropical fruit and blended before your eyes or to barter the
price of one of many hundreds of locally made crafts items on offer. Take in camel rides on the beach or
indulge in some homemade Italian pastries as the foreshore parkland turns in a bustling market with
stalls selling local arts and crafts and all manner of goods under the shade of coconut palms.

Check out the Saturday market at airlie beach town, saw some unique stuff , bric a brac and fresh
produce, bought some veggies, two skirts and tried some carrot cake and roast beef, went to book our
cruise to Whitsunday with ocean rafting, had a lazy day at the town, went back to Island gateway resort
to set up camp, then had dinner at Beach, one of the backpackers place, I forgot my id so we didn’t try
to go to the bars anymore, good thing it was still early so we got in without getting checked out,

July 18

Woke up early got fetch around 8:45 then went to coral sea hotel for the jump-off, had free tea, rented
some wet suit,then boarder the super fast boat quarter to 10, drop by at daydream island to pick two
more guests, saw 2 humpback whales, then went straight to Whitehaven beach (hill inlet), speechless
with its beauty, trek to the lookout, amazing, voted 2nd best beach in the world by the national
geographic, 4th most photograph place in aus, then headed back near the boat had an ok lunch, saw
some kite boarders, then went snorkeling at mantaray bay on hook island, was really cold, I tried, saw 3
gigantic fish called maori wrass and giant travelly near our boat where they are getting fed, the coral is
protected so still pristine, went to another snorkeling area, some guests opted to just sunbathe on its
small beach, the sand like many other beaches here is full of corals, then the boat zoom at 140 knots in
the way back to the delight of all the passengers. Saw some a humpback whale for the first time without
even joining a whale watching tour, saw some dolphins on the way back too

July 19, checked out early from island gateway resort and went to check out shute harbor, jump off
point for big cruises to the Whitsunday, find a spot to look at the view without paying for the parking,
saw another one going the same too, saw salt dog kayaking tours, went to Conway national park on the
way back, fairly steep climb about 3 kilometers one way to the top of mt rooper, nice lookout, I climbed
a tree, run downhill for the first time, I walked ahead saw a big green snake (carpet python) that scared
the hell out of me, it crossed my path slowly didn’t realized it was there until I want a few inches away,
cried then done, went back to the town, went to marina bay to do the walk look for a free parking and
got lunch, a police officer came and about to fine us 60 dollars for parking there, gave the innocent look
there was no sign, told him can we just move please and we got away with it, the other car parked
beside us got a ticket though. Went back to the parkng at airlie then and use mac donalds free internet
which is kinda slow, so many using it, spent 2 hours there while Charlie went walking around, did some
groceries,/start driving to bowen around 4pm picked up a hitchhiker from france, (his story) then
camped at ________ he left because he still need to pay anyway even sleeping in his tent near our
camper van

July 20

We checked out of Bowen Caravan Park the first thing in the morning. Charles didn’t want to linger
much in it as it wasn’t really a pleasant place to hang out. It was near the road still outside of the town
proper. Around 7:30 in the morning, right after packing up the camper van we headed straight to
Flagstaff Hill for a 360 degree view of Bowenwood, a monicker it’s capitalizing on after parts of the
movie Australia were shot here in lieu of Darwin. The place is a typical small countryside town but it still
boast a nice bay walk near its Marina, a lagoon and nice beaches.

From the lookout, you could see a Light House Tower in the middle of an Island, a long stretch of beach
and the town on the other side near the bay with its own yachts. We parked the camper van in front of
the Light House Tower, made coffee and tea, had some cereals and voila, a cozy breakfast with a
beautiful view minus the price of fancy hotels. We spotted a few birds too talking to each other in a
melodious whistle (butcher birds). On the way to Horseshoe Bay, we stopped by the marina and walked
along its wharf. The place isn’t really as touristy or the top choice of the backpackers but it was on our
way to Townsville so it was worth checking out the attractions it has to offer. Although a visit to its
tourism office the previous day yielded an honest answer from the lady that there aren’t much to see
there aside from what’s already in our list to visit.

A short walk by the bay and we were off to main attraction of the town- Horseshoe Bay. I was surprised
that they didn’t charge any parking nor an entrance fee to use the beach area. It was a worthwhile side
trip and really worth visiting. The beach at the touristy town of Airlie Beach isn’t even as nice as this one
but is more packed with people. The beach at the moment was packed with gray nomads when we got
there. It has been windy for a couple of days and it was the first time the weather had been nice and
sunny but the water is still as cold as the ones in Whitsunday islands.

I walked towards the end of the beach with an umbrella in one hand and a camera in the other and met
some friendly gray nomads who were curious perhaps why this crazy Asian was carrying one on the effin
beach when they were freakin toasting themselves under the sun. I just told them “Oh I’m done with my
tanning for now and I think it will last for a long time with a grin” and it brought a smile to everyone
saying, “lucky you, ours last for a few days”. The beach was great was contrast from Airlie Beach town in
terms of the crowd.

Charles got his snorkel and braved the cold water. It was sunny and all but the water was still cold. I was
expecting it to be warmer already since we’re getting close to the northern part of Queesnsland which is
more like Philippines in terms of temperature. True enough, a few minutes of swimming and Charles
was lying on the sand defrosting himself. Not a very encouraging sight for me to brave the waters.
Whiling my time under the tree, I met a Kiwi couple who were having breakfast by the beach. They were
also on a few months road trip around Australia and just stopping for a sidetrip in Bowen too. Of all the
people though who would make an impression to them, Imelda was the first one who came to their
mind when they learned I was a Pinay. Brilliant, and yes they heard about the damn shoes too.

After a while, we climbed up the Rotary Lookout through a well-established trail passing some
interesting rock formations. A few minutes of walk and the amazing view of Horseshoe Bay unfolded in
front of us. It looks spectacular from the lookout. The stretch of the sand was now filled with more sun
worshippers while a few more had braved the clear blue waters. After a quick lunch of sandwich in the
car park, we were off to Rose Bay. The beach is as nice beautiful as the one in Horseshoe Bay but less
crowded. There were only 2 couples on the beach when we got there. Instead of swimming, Charles
headed straight to the rocks and tested some for bouldering while I looked for a private spot to tan
myself (leaving no tan marks )

We’re supposed to leave Bowen around 3 to reached Townsville before it gets dark. But starting early
gave us a lot time to see more sights in the town. A short stop at the lagoon added new species of birds
to tick in my list. There were many lorikeets, the ever present sea gulls pewees and cuckatoos but I also
saw some pelicans in the middle of the lagoon and 2 new birds species I still need to check in our bird
book. The lagoon is home to ________________________________

 The lagoon just like the ones in most towns here has a pleasant footpath for an afternoon stroll or
morning jog. It’s covere with trees and provides some tables and benches. Got close to the pelican, stroll
then headed to the town center to check out the murals. Apparently they market themselves as the
mural town. You learn about history of the town through the murals painted on different
establishments, street walls. After all the walk in a day, a slice of carrot cake and lemon lime and bitters
bunderberg on one of the café, we headed to Townsville -our longest drive so far.
We would have made it in 2 hours have we not made the wrong turn to another road to another beach.
We had a short stop at the town of Homehill to attend to call of nature. Driving through the park, row of
camper vans were parked on both sides. I found out later that the town offers free use of their facilities
for 48 hours. It was tempting to camp here for a night and head to Townsville the next day. Beside you
seldom find free caravan parks around and it was already getting late. It was already past 4 when we left
HomeHill and sped our way back to the road to reach Townsville before dark.

Unfortunately, an expected detour further delayed us to our destination. We got a bit confused when
we drove through the town center of Ayr and made a wrong turn to a back road. We were halfway
already from the town of Ayr when we realized it was the wrong road so we decided to just drive further
when a road sign showed a nice beach at its end. The beach is not a spectacular as the previous ones we
had seen from this trip but is quite popular among fishing enthusiast. It is set before a well-maintained
park. Finally, after another hour of drive we reached Townsville around 7pm. We headed straight to
Rowes Bay Caravan park and hurriedly set camp.

July 21

It had been a jam packed day before we reached Townsville. We have been living, eating, in the camper
van so we decided to splurge for a few days and stay in a hotel while in Townsville. The biggest town in
Queensland offers all sorts of accommodation from backpackers and budget accommodation in the
town center to midrange and top end ones at the Strand. We checked in at the Aquarius the highest
building in the area upon the recommendation of Charles parents who had stayed in the hotel before. It
offers spectacular view of the Cleveland Bay and the parks and walkways and edifices along The Strand.

It was a lazy day spent in the hotel catching up with some news and what’s happening around the globe.
We walked through the park, pool and we went to reef hq. it was already past 3 when we got to the
complex so they gave another free pass for the next day to catch up what we’ve missed. After that we
walked along flinder’s street to check its popular strips of refurbished buildings and restaurants. There
were quite an eclectic collection from Thai, Indian, Chinese to the gold old chains like Dominoes and
Subway. We ended up having dinner along the Strand near our hotel. We actually wanted to try the
steak at _______. But it was bloody expensive and we haven’t fully internalized yet the price differences
especially when it comes to food in Philippines and here. We ended eating at an Indian Resturant and
had some Beef Vindaloo and Vegetarian curry. It was so good we had take away of the same thing the
next night and ate it in our hotel.

July 22

Went to the hq reef first thing in the morning to catch the diving presentation, then the museum, too
big for its own good, a lot of display are devoted to The Pandora, then straight to billabong sanctuary,
then to the lookout of castle hill, lots of health buff here, joggers, some with dogs,

July 23
Checked out early from the aquarius hotel and went to the wharf, we book out fantasia, it was a about
half an hour and we reached magnetic island, it wasn’t really an island full of resorts or a total national
park like Whitsunday, people live and work here, we noticed though a lot of properties for sale, stay of
3 days and 2 nights, we headed first picnic bay the one at the southern part of the island, on the way to
that, we saw a lookout with a few backpackers,, met a Filipino couple who had been living in
melbourned and having a one week vacation and to also escape the cold temp. the beach turned out to
be a nude beach (unofficial) we descended from the lookout wearing legging jacket, all wrapped up, on
the way back a bus load of japanese tourists stopped too and had the usual photoshoot with peace sign,
headed to picnic bay, it’s quite and looks like run down, used to be the center of activity except after the
port was transferred to nelly bay, the beach is still nice, its nice walking along it’s nicely paved jetty with
huge strangler figs, we went to the look out, an hour in return, had another angle of the nude beach and
a great view of picnic bay, went back to the café, and ordered something I don’t know,

After that we headed north of the coast and stopped at alma bay, my first beach with big waves at least
in my standard, saw some kids playing with waves learned abou this flag sign, patrolled one, hten to
horsehoe bay, its massive and has a very long beach, lots of water sports, more shops, more people, ot
some chips and walked to the other end, saw some loud mouthed guys, taunt us to take pic, I oblige,
drove to our first walking trail on the map, it’s sandy surrounded by mangrove, but has this pungent
smell coming from the colorful water, saw rock wallay in the wild, followed its pooh, , drove further and
saw another lookout, of Arthur bay, better view, then to Florence, nice pine trees lining its shores, water
is rougher at that time, secluded and private, then went to bungalow bay camping grounds to camp, saw
backpakecker cooking different dishes, ended the night with wine at ladie’s night bar, one guy
dressedlike a lady to get discount

July 24

Saw a trail near our resort and walked there, saw hundreds of butterfly fluttering around, it’s like you’re
in a movie of fairyland. Got out at horseshoe bay and followed the trail to balding.

Packed our lunch, and got the malong and went to balding bay nude beach, first time, 4 older women,
one overweight man, and a watch me with all my glory guy when we arrive. Find our own spot behind
the rock and started our own tanning, it was too windy though so we moved near the water over a flat
rocks and continued sunning there, more people arrive, it’s not really compulsory to be nude some are
in their twp-piece, Charles swam, and a few old women, then headed to radical bay, was beautiful too
windy, you can drive there, like a tropical beach with coconuts, big waves, headed back to the van for a
nap, first nap after while, dramathon, then watch lonesome trio at on the rocks bar, had music every
Saturday night, sang some original and cover songs, quite good, they are only 2 though although called
trio. Did a bit of dancing, in between sets, I got hungry went to the van to cook some instant Korean
noodles kimchi flavor then finish until the last set.

July 25

On our 3rd day in magnetic island, we checked out early from bungalow bay went back to horseshoe bay
to check out the Sunday market. It didn’t really look that interesting compared to the Airlie Beach
Saturday market. We thought it was still early so we headed to do the Forts Walk before catching the
Fantasea Ferry back to Townsville around 11:30. We started our walk with an inviting warning sign
about the danger of an Death Adder snake. The Forts walk is apparently the most famous walk in
magnetic island. There are actually many walking tracks that lead to different bays and lookout but I
guess it’s the lure of seeing some koalas in the wild that make this the most sought after. Good thing I’ve
seen my first Koala at the Billabong Sanctuary the previous day so I wont be that disappointed if we
don’t see one. It requires patience and the fact that the warning sign about snakes made sure I stay on
the walking track. There are some interesting facts though about the world 11war and you can still see
its relics all over the place from the gun station, observation post, and early warning post. Sadly, we
didn’t see any koalas here. Charles wasn’t really looking that hard. And I was more looking down the
litters of leaves and rocks for adder snake rather than up the eucalyptus trees where the koalas live. It
has a very good position though in spotting enemy ships from the lookout. In less than 2 hours we were
back to car and went back to see if the market has started to get busy. There are more people now and
more of souvenirs and bric a brac. There aren’t much produce though and food stalls. Tried some dutch
treat and bought sausage sandwich from an asian food stall, not many people really. Then waited for the
ferry, went to the shop to stock supplies, got lens, and my dream aviator sun glasses. And camp at our
first free caravan park with a beach at Balbal Beach. No shower here though, walk along the beach, saw
some fishing, crashed and didn’t check the pub, meet another travelers, gay couple who started driving
from Sydney.

July 26

From balgal beach we had a short drive to paluma national park, it was nice driving in its asphalt paved
winding road that change from tropical vegetation at the bottom, to eucalypts to pine trees then
rainforest, it got colder as we drove up the mountain, went to little crystal creek with a historic bridge,
has tea there, move upstream and saw small cascades, did a walk to mcleland lookout just 5minutes
from the parking, nothing spectacular, it didn’t help that it was a gloomy day and kinda cloudy, walk for
another 1.5 kilometer for another lookout, it was misty inside it’s like a set in a movie, saw some a huge
quandong with huge buttresses, Whitman, same view but the other view with the rockies and the
nearby rainforest was great. Then went to paluma village, did a 500 meter rainforest walk, saw a red
tree, been running on the two previous walk because of leeches, had lunch at the picnic ground of the
village,Charles spotted two pinays from afar and was correct when I asked them, then drove to star
lookout, didn’t even bother to get down off the car. Then went back to the highway then drove to big
crystal creek, has a nice campground too, love the swimming hole, some parts of the road are unpaved,
pass some sections of dirt road,very clear, guy playing digeridoo, Charles swam, would have camped
here but he wanted to get closer to ingham so we camped jouram falls camping ground in paluma range
national park. We had a stop over at frosty mango for some fresh produce shake and ice cream, saw
some tropical familiar tropical fruits that are locally grown, like papaya, jackfruit, dulungan, small
coconuts, 2nd day of no shower and unpowered site, this one has toilet and shower but no hot one,
camping here makes it feel like real camping, with just the basic amenities, even the toilet doenst have
light, no wonder there were only a few campers and very few of those fancy caravans with gigantic and
satellite tv, got ready for dinner early and had some serious vegetable stir fry again, the man found it
very interesting to see all my chopped veggies and spices and another pot for rice, he’s gonna have
pasta and ready made sauce, met another set of camper vanners who started travelling from Melbourne
and will be going around aus for a year, from Denmark. Amused how Charles chased the scrub turkey
away from out food, 10 dollars also, but we didn’t pay not that we didn’t intend to, there were no more
registration envelopes.

July 27

had no shower from camping on the free camping ground in balgal beach so I woke up early boiled hot
water and went back to the old traditional bucket shower. The place is very basic, no electricity and all
but at least they provided cooking area which we took advantage of even if we have our own. After
packing the van, we had a short drive to jumpoff point of jourama falls and started the walk, it started
with an easy walk to a an asphalt paved trail, saw a danger sign along the path so we checked out the
creek from down there, reminds of makiling, have some big boulders, the water just like the others we
had seen are very clear, went back to the trail and scramble over the rocks from dried river bed, must
have been filled with raging waters on wet season, saw a fork for the rock pools and the lookout to
jourama falls headed first to the rock pools and had fun climbing over this huge flat rocks, with mini
cascades flowing through the rocks, we walked further upstream and discovered bigger cascades and
even saw jourama falls from the there. Spent time , would have been nice if we brought food and tea
and just while the time away, after some time, we walked back to the fork and followed the moderate
trail to the lookout, saw an old lady on the way who must have given up climbing further to the lookout,
I’m still impressed though she made it that far, must be very fit, walk through these trees with barks
peeling off and exposed a very smooth and white bark, the falls isn’t that spectacular though from the
lookout but the rock formations from which they were flowing are amazing, it must have been carved
from millions of years, the gorge was so deep and you can see some golden speckles glistening, on the
way back we saw some of the guests from our campsite, met again the 3 dutch backpackers on the
lookout, they came had look then left, met this couple again and still remembered about my stir fry, had
snacks of apples and blow job in the van, then drove to the next town of Ingham for less than an hour,
and stopped at the tourism center to get more detailed brochures of the area, I had a nap in the van
while Charles checked out the center, we prepared our lunch in the carpark and had it here, saw other
camper vanners too doing it here, good thing the wetlands is near the tourism office, it was just a ten
minute walk along the suburbs before we reached the trail around the wetlands, saw a warning sign for
the crocodiles, didn’t see many birds though, must have been the time of the day, we spotted some
colorful little birds a small kingfisher, waiting at the owl lookout and decided we’re not gonna leave until
we see one, Charles saw one from afar though, it’s a pleasant walk though around the wetlands, the trail
is careted with Bermuda grass and you see some lilies on the ponds and lots of tree, didn’t expect to see
a kangaroo or was it a wallaby who scooted hurriedly back to the bush, met a bird watcher on the way
back, interviewed him and had a picture with him, showed us some of his pictures of the fauna in the
tytu, saw a big black python, I’m glad I didn’t see one today, had a lengthy talk about lenses and camera
the bid goodbye, I checked his website to see other species in the tytu wetlands which he has
documented, obsession he said is the key to bird watching and wildlife photography, I’m glad I’m not
obsessed yet, it’s a damn expensive obsession with all those lenses he mentioned. Got back to the van,
booked our camping grounds for the next 3 days then drove to girringun national park to camp for the
night, it was quite a long drive but so far this was the wetting rainforest we had driven so far in this trip,
the peak of the mountain are covered with mist and clouds and can be seen even from the town, we
passed through pine forest from its base, planted, first time I’ve seen some Brahmans cows, the one
with hump in its back, then drove through eucalypts forest and suddenly it became denser with
rainforest and we’re driving along mist covered roads, it was beautiful, before heading to the camp
grounds we drove to a dirt road to the lookout and to see if we can had a quick look at the falls, it was
drizzling a bit and as expected it was all clouds, we went to the camp ground, another government
owned camping ground, only 10 dollars, basic, no electricity, just toilet and cooking area, hurriedly
prepared dinner before it gets dark.

July 28

The weather was still gloomy the next day. The whole camping grounds was covered with mist. It had
been raining throughout the night but at least it stopped in the morning. We waited in the camper van
for a bit hoping it will clear up a bit. Then we headed to the lookout of wallaman falls, still drizzling a bit.
There was nothing to see. You can hear the raging cascade and get the sense of how enormous the
gorge is just by listening to it but it was vwery disappointing not to see anything. This is like one of the
highlights of this trip. You’ve seen the picture in the brochure and the fact that it is the highest single
drop waterfalls in aus. There was another lookout at the bottom of the falls but I wasn’t optimistic at all.
It was really foggy and the chance of seeing it there was also bleak. I was about to give up and just move
on to our next destination but then Charles said it would still be fun to do the rainforest walk to the
lookout at its base. The trail was a bit challenging though and perhaps the most difficult walk we did so
far. It was steep. The first section of the trail was paved and the rest are rocky and wet. It was an
impressive rainforest. It was dense and really wet. Learned here the reason behind controlled burninh. I
had been wondering before why there are patches of burned forested areas to the national parks that
we visited. There are some bits and info a long the way, more on flora and fauna of aus, very interesting,
we had done a lot of bush walks and rainforest walks before this so this part of the walk at least amused
me a bit although I still see no reason to do the walk anymore when there is nothing to see. On the way,
we met another visitor and told us you can actually see the falls from the falls and it was spectacular, it
gave me renewed energy and picked up my pace a bit. The fall is indeed spectacular and sheer size of
the gorge is just amazing. The top section of the falls are still covered with mist so it cant be really seen
from the lookout. I was all worth it. We were the only people when we got there and was able to really
just enjoy it. After a while another couple arrived, we had our last glance and braved ourselves for the
tough ascent., went to Woolworth for a quick replenishment of our food supplies, wanted to eat at car
park but Charlie drove to the park at ingham, was better,we haven’t really had a shower yet, no hot
shower at the camp ground, a reader suggested to drop by at 5 mile creek, was very tempting, have
seen a lot of this kind of creek but never really have the courage to get into it especially in mackay area
where it was still colder, I did it, it was very refreshing, u don’t even have to walk far,, finally we drove to
cardwell and stopped near the wharf to hoard some more detailed brochures in the cardwell area. We
camped at the cardwell caravan park, I think we were the only ones under 50 in that place, the place is
more packed than the others we had been to but at least the wifi here is the cheapest so far 1 dollar for
50 megabyte download. Had the usually stir fry veggies, did the laundry, filled water, was a lot of work
after camping at the national parks for a while.

July 29

Packed everything checked out of cardwell then went to the marina for the Hinchinbrook cruises, it
wasn’t surprising we were the only young couples and there were a few of us in this cruise, it was
bloody expensive 99 dollars, the mangrove cruisewas beautiful and the beach is just an awesone long
stretch of pristine undisturbed white sand, it’s a haven for nature lovers and photographers, a halfday
tour isn’t enough though, glad we brought fuel to Hinchinbrook resort, we got to check another beach
where I had a nap catching up for staying up late from using the internet., saw an iguana, the resorts
was close, transferred to a smaller boat to cruise along the mangrove, dropped at the ramsay bay beach,
didn’t join the oldies, given only an hour, had a 10 minute walk to the track, had a private space, had a
quick swim , quick lunch of wrap and fresh fruits, and that’s it, if only it wasn’t a world heritage national
park, we wouldn’t really visit this place, but that’s why we scrimp on accommodation and eating out so
can have more budget for places like this and adventures. It was still early when we finished so we
checked out some sights along the way and near the road on the way to mission beach where we will
camp for the night, did the cardwell forest drive, first stop at cardwell lookout of the Hinchinbrook
island, nothing spectacular, other trails are present , didn’t do anymore, drove to spa pool, was weird ,
the water is blue, nice on wet season, must be swirling around , drove along pine forest, dropped by at
tully tourism office, learned about the giant gum boot, so drop by the town and explored it a bit, saw
some kids on foot , lot of aborigines here and muddy people, wondered if there is a mining site here,
Charles said must be working on farm our final guess was that some kind of a show happened where
everyone gets muddy, climb the gum boot, saw some asian playing native instrument, drove to mission
beach the rest of the day, saw a lot of signs of not speeding because of cassowaries, didn’t see one at all,
every few meters there is a sign, it’s a cassowary conservation area, just find our spot at the beach
comber caravan park, good thing we booked ahead, was the most expensive so far among all the
caravan parks where we stayed at, 40 dollars, powered site, it was packed, good thing we booked
ahead, mostly gray nomad saw some young couples, can afford to be expensive because they are near
the beach., just park it and had some afternoon drinkie by the beach, with bickies and cheese, lovely
place, after had a walk late at night before crashing to bed, some stinger enclosure,

July 30

It had been an adventure packed days, we decided on a lazy day at mission beach, didn’t really do
anything in the morning except catch up on some delayed blogs, published two then got ready for the
tully show, left around 4, my first aus fair, saw many Asians, chatted with kababayans, living in tully and
from the nearby town of cardwell, met a family of pinoy who works at dole, had a lot of fun with the
contest of farm produce, love the chicken and roosters displays, huge roosters and chickens, the birds
were beautiful, and the bananas were huge, a contest of the biggest, the heaviest the most beautiful,
has some full on rides, the kamikaze is like the anchors away, only it goes all the way to 360 degrees
turn, had some sweet and greasy food, a paradise for kids, lots of stuff on display from artwork of the
local school children to produce, food and goodies, the show started with a theatrical acts of two sisters
with some serious whip bashing and dancing moves, the highlight was equestrienne contest, and ended
with fireworks display at 8:30, many were in gum boots, a fashion statement indeed, lots if natives too,
entrance fee was 10 dollars each,

July 31

Checked out at beach comber, and drove to kennedy bay, recommended walk by Charles parents,Got
some apples, trail nuts water and off we drove to kennedy bay, lugger beach was great, the walk was
great too, different terrain, very long stretch of beach, saw an iguna on our way, kennedy bay was very
long small portion is covered in black soil and natural compost from the mangrove forest, saw some nice
flora on our forest walk, had pictaking session on the rockies. Past one when we got back to the jump off
point, drove a bit to find a picnic table on the beach, Charles had a nice view, short lunch, headed
straight to do the licuala walk hoping to see some cassowaries in the wild, fruitless but saw a fan palm
forest, nice walk, easy, then checked in early at mission beach council camping grounds

August 1

, had a quick breakki and ran in the nearby caravan park to wait for our bus,We booked our rafting the
night before and called directly at the office of the raging thunder, 99 dollars each, the bus picked us up
around 8am in front of hideaway caravan park, we were camping at the government own camping
grounds in front of it, 16 dollars, unpowered, picked up some more tourists from the 2 backpakers
hostels in mission beach then headed to the office of raging thunder near tully town and waited for the
a busload of more tourists from cairns, there were more tourists from cairns than in tully, rented wet
suit for 6 bucks, shoes are bucks but we wore our hiking shoes, flip flops are not allowed, it needs good
deal of washing, save a few bucks. Fortunately the day was beautiful, been gloomy in rainy in tully for
the last few weeks, the guide shared some facts about tully, as the wettest part of aus with 6meters of
rain annually, saw more farms of banana, and sugarcane, it was half an hour more of bus ride to the
jump off point of tully river, on the way we were subdivided into groups with likeminded people
together, team korea was there, another family wa group together, and we were grouped with young
Chinese couple and backpackers from England, our guide was a funny loquacious guy named ash, he let
us paddle hard on rapids while the rest are sitting inside the raft, it was a 14 kilometers of fun and full
on rapids, 2 months ago we just did rafting in davao, the rapids and fall were higher but our boat didn’t
really fold out although more full on, must be the boat, it was grade 4, they also offer extreme rafting on
the same river and same rapids just with additional off the boat adventure, like swimming along the
rapids and jumping off some rocks, had a short 20 minute lunch of do it yourself burger and off we go
without even burping yet, had more full on rapids along the way, had this formation at the edge of the
boat where were purposely thrown out of the raft, there was jumping on rocks, and a free flowing for
those who wanted to at the calmer part of the river, there was the short briefing too of paddling,
execution of commands and swimming on the water for rescue, got back to bus, supposed to watch a
video of bloopers but didn’t work, just sold tickets on support Cambodian kids 3 for 5 dollar and the
price was free cd of all the pictures, bought 3, check out the pics at the office, 3 images is 36 dollars
while the whole cd is 100, we were contemplating of just getting one cd and chip in for one but the
name of the Chinese couple were called out as the winner of the raffle cd, luckily for us, they would just
email the whole pictures, lovely, it was still early when we got back to mission beach, had some drinkie
by the beach till late at night, prepared the usual stir fry , prepared the van then checked out the
shrubby restaurant on Sunday which the guides of raging thunder recommended, , it was funny it was so
quiet at the town where the strips of resto were that night but when we got to the place, the whole
action was there, lots of people having dinner, backpackers and old couples are there, live music, people
dancing and drinking, we didn’t know it was even close to our camping ground, it was located along the
main street, had a glass of beer then called our last night at mission beach.

August 2

Checked out late around 10 from mission beach council camping grounds, went straight to woolworht to
do some groceries, drove to clump point to have lunch, then checked out Bingil beach further north
where we’re supposed to camp, nice beach, cheaper, quite, but away from the town which isn’t so bad
when you have all u need, had a stop over in front of the clump mountain, so many nice beaches. From
there we drove to paronella park undecided yet where to stay, Charles got a discount just by standing in
front of the office a bit hesitant to get in, paid 50 bucks, free accommodation for the night, spend the
rest of the day here, 34 entrance fee, joined the guided tour, learned a lot about jose paronella, from his
humble beginning, his rags to riches story, and how his dream to build a castle materialized, has a
museum pictures and memorabilia of the old pictures during the cyclone that devastated the park,
learned about the different owners and how it reached the current owner mark and judy, saw some
micro bats, a big falls a small one named after jose’s daughter, walked around the rainforest park, saw
big fish, bamboo plantation, walk over lover’s lane, along the tall trees framing the falls, jose is a
romantic, went back to can to have some snacks, rebooked the night tour because it was still a bit bright
around 6:15, looking forward to the lighting at night, rebook to 8:30 so have time to prepare dinner and
eat, had a nap, and woke up late and missed the tour, went down to the falls still at least for the night
time shot, didn’t even bother to have a walk, was too scared, too spooky for me, cant wait to leave the
place,

Aug 3,

After checking out, drove to Josephine falls, had a short walk, swan in the pool at the bottom, nice falls,
3 cascading falls, upper falls are off limit though for swimming, all for us, after a while a bus load of
backpackers on tour arrived and started sliding along the rockies, it was time for us to leave, went first
tot eh lookout at the top, was nicer from the creek, had a quick lunch at the picnic area and went to
babinda boulders, long and wide swimming pool, had a short rainforest walk, great view of the
mountain and clear creeks with huge boulders and dense forest, not allowed to swim in the other pools,
went back to the swimming hole near the parking area, Charles had a quick swim left, stopped by at the
town of gondonvale to check out the sugarmill, smell like corn and burn sugar all over the town, then
drove straight to cairns, booked an unpowered sight for two night, 32 dollars, we expected it to be
expensive since it’s a major city and hub of many tours, cheaper ones will be futher from the town, for a
few bucks the convenience is better is being able to just walk to the town to check out the night life and
the sights, the only place with free wifi, 3 hours 50 meg per day, free meal vouchers and entrance to
some clubs, not a bad deal after all, enjoy again the scene at the mess hall, different instant recipes
while on the road, smells, language, it was bustling, we are normally in quite national parks camping or ,
with the nomads, it was only the second time we did this in a popular place with a lot of backpackers,
the place is quite expensive but I guess not many choices.

Aug 4,

Didn’t really plan anything for today except to chill out at cairns, originally we wanted to just stay here
for a night because many of the activities it offer are outside of the town, we booked for two nights in
the end and decided to make cairns caravan park a hub, had breakfast at the mess hall, met a young
german couple at the start of their holiday, had been working for 5 months at the hospitality industry
and finaly the good part of traveling around aus has arrived, the town center is 45 minute walking
distance, ask the reception for map and some info in where to catch the bus, walk a bit from our
camping ground and caught the bus to the town, dropped by at the tourism office booked our reef tour ,
the next day was booked out so we booked for the fri, that left thurs free so we bought out ticket as well
for the kuranda village outside of cairns, the attraction itself is the journey towards this village on a
scenic railway and the skyrail that traverses one of the oldest rainforest on queensland, it was
overhwhelming to choose which tour to go, there is the price consideration, the reef location they offer
and the sidetrip, the kind of boat etc, in the end we went for a smaller boat with lesser tourist and with
more reef further from the coast, been tempted to choose the Michael cay tour but we’ve seen a lot of
it and will be seeing more of it while the reef is really the main attraction of this, unless u just flew to
cairns for the reef, a side trip then would be nice, the office was just a stone throw away from the
esplanade, so we went for a walk there, reminded me of Townsville and most big towns we went to,
rows of accommodation, on the other side of the road then the walking tract and park near the beach,
there wasn’t any beach here though but they madea huge lagoon again free of use for the public, so
many sun worshippers lazing right there on the park, many backpackers and family on picnics, had our
packed sandwich here before heading for a walk to the mall to watch a movie, my first movie here
actually for some mindless entertainment, too bad we missed the opportunity to watch in an old theater
in bowen, along the way saw some backpackers didgeridoo playing in front of mcdonalds, stopped by
and listened, while Charles was browsing for some sunnies, saw a store and had a lecture on how to
choose one and how to play it at a nearby store, had my first movie at `cairns central , bought a uv filter
for 50 dollars, watch killers for 16 bucks, had smoothies for 5 bucks, and wasted our time, went back to
the town center to check out the night market, was already open around 5, all matters of bric a brac and
Asians offering massage,reptile show where u get to wrap a python around ur next for a fee, drop by at
a takeaway asian food, got an fill all u can plate for 10 dollars and shared it with Charlie, finally had an
afternoon walk at the lagoon, it was high tide now, birds are back to the trees, some are filled with noisy
lorikeets, sea gulls, and birds on the water, lots of joggers and healthy buff, a short stroll, a few pics, and
off we went back to our camping grounds for our second night in cairns.

August 5

We woke up early and packed the camper van and drove to freshwater where the scenic railway station
was located, we only deposited at the tourism info in cairns and paid the rest at ticketing station, it was
around half an hour drive and we had a lot of time still, checked out the museum, learned about all the
hardwork that was put to make this project a reality, it was quite popular, saw a bus load of Japanese,
families etc, it’s very touristy with matching souvenir shops café with a replica of the train for your
picture taking pleasure, rows of passenger started clicking their shutters as the train started to
approach, it’s an elegantly designed train with quite furnishing inside, the trip was around 30 minutes
only, it slows down on some curves to satisfy the tourist in their photograph taking, slow down a bit as
we passed by a waterfalls, passengers stopped at the lookout of the baron gorge, was spectacular, the
water isn’t as strong as the ones I’ve seen in an picture gallery, a lot of magnificent view of the cane
fields, rainforest and the creek in the deep ravine, walk around the village, very touristy but I love it,it
has lots of cafes and restaurant, bazaars and market, watch the handcrafted candy making and had a
free taste, watch how they make nougat and had a free taste, didn’t go to the butterfly sanctuary and
birdwalk because of the entrance fee, seen so many birds already in the wild and butterflies as well,
enjoyed the heritage market, saw some funny kangaroo products, bought a boomerang for gen for only
7 dlolarrs, a growing water toy for my pamangkins, 3 for 13 bucks, went to another market, met gerar
toye a globlas gypsy form new Zealand, got his book hopefully he raise that money to finish his film, met
a Japanese guy who owns a small didgeridoo shop, doenst speak really good English but a nice buy, a lot
of hippie and bohemian clothes and accessories, did two walks, skipped the river cruise, isn’t as fun as
loboc really with food and music and entertainment on the way,you can experience nature by walking
along the river tracks which gives u great view of the river the rainforest and eucalypt trees covering the
tracts, had lunch with our packed sandwich on the park, saw some American kids playing baseball,
Charles gave me a tutorial lesson on ai servo and ai focus by experimenting, then ran back to the skyrail
station to board, u can really board anytime u want, great views, stopped and did a short walk to the
lookout, first one is the baron gorge again from the other side , saw the train from the other side of the
gorge, learned a lot again about rainforest, saw some cassowary eggs, look like an ostrich egg, listened a
bit on a guy doing a guided tour on the next lookout boardwalk, learned that the tree I was
photographing was 400 years old, from the skyrail, got to the bus and brought us back to the station,
paid 100 bucks each for both rides including transfer then drove back to cairns holiday park, a cheaper
way is to drive your car al the way to kuranda and do the walk down to the gorge, but if you had been
on the road for quite a while, im sure u had seen the birds, reptiles, butterflies and lot of cool markets,
the attraction itself is the ride. Went on powered site our battery was very low for camping unpowered
for the last 5 nights,

Aug 6

Checked out of the park around 7, went to find a free parking lot in the cairns, then walk to the marina,
saw a someone brushing his teeth and gargling the water of the lagoon, paid the balance of the ticket
and boarded the silver swift, had morning tea with muffin and pastry bread, got sea sick, went down
and joined the group sucking on ice, had first briefing on the first snorkeling site, saw a shark at few
meters at the bottom, there was un underwater photographer, bought our own 25 bucks disposable
camera, paid 180 in total for the tour, saw pick nemo, and a gian eel, beautiful coral reef, not looking
forward to the reef tour because I thought it will be as cold as snorkeling in Whitsunday, it was very
pleasant, we haven’t even snorkel yet, one girl was back stung by jellyfish, got the jelly fish suit for free
them, paid for the wet suit for6 bucks, it wasn’t that cold but I was planning to spend all my time on the
water, had a buffet lunch, happy there is rice for a change, must be because of lots of Japanese and
Korean tourist, very popular, they even have their own guide, two sets of tourists divers and snorkelers,
had our lunch first on the second snorkeling site, while divers head to avoid long line on the buffet, saw
red nemo this time, a lot of parrot fish, saw a school of black and brown parrot fish, didn’t see the
tuttles though, but the divers did, it was colder already on the third site, current was stronger it was
hard to swim sometimes, had our last swim with my noodle, the different shades corals underneath
from the boat was breathtaking, lucky are those who flew directly to cairns and could see some parts of
the reed from afar without availing of the helicopter tour, it is just simply beautiful gazing from the top
and just amazing getting up close and personal with the marine life, saw a lot of big wrasse, the guide
was right they follow the photographer wherever coz they get fe, some got their pictures taken with
nemo and the wrasse, had the afternoon tea of fruits, the girl that got stung was a bit ok now, now
shivering anymore and not so red, I wonder if they will get a refund, el nido has the same species, didn’t
get back to the town until 5, delimma where to stay, the next 2 camping ground we called on the way to
port douglas were booked, didn’t mind staying in the parking lot actually fronting the esplanade, Charles
doesn’t want to camp in the city, drove to palm comb beach and see if there is a place to camp for free,
very fancy place, lots of fancy restaurant, saw a sign of 500 bucks fine if caught camping, drove to trinity
beach , planned to stay in bar eat there then just slept in the van where we parked it, left the resto
around 9, slept on the beach around 11 then went to the van and slept without setting it up, saw
someone sleeping on the beach actually, it got paranoid and didn’t really sleep well until 1, just scared
getting pulled over for 20-30 bucks, its not worth it, made it throught the morning, got up early finally
check out the beach, its beautiful, trinity is more midrange, the beach is also nice, drove to a picnic table
had breakfast and used the public toilet, haven’t had shower for 2 nights, still salt water on my body, it
was fun, another free camping night but we’ll never do it again unless in a really deserted beach.

August 7

We didn’t have a good sleep that night camping illegally in front of trinity beach. We didn’t really have
any option, the 2 camper van parks were fully booked and we didn’t reserve another night in our
previous park in cairns where we camped for 3 nights. We woke up at the crack of dawn, check out the
beach before driving to a picnic table further along the beach, had a quick breakfast of cereal while
people watching on the early birds health buff jogging and walking. An old man dropped by in the picnic
table and was disgusted by the trash. Well it wasn’t us nor the other backpackers, some locals having
their picnic there the previous night and when we were cruising along while finding a place to stay. A
short stop at the public toilet, we drove to our next destination up north called port douglas. We
stopped at beautiful deserted beaches along the way. I would say the drive to port douglas is rewarded
with beautiful coast and some fantastic lookout it was actually a fun experience getting there than the
destination itself, the beach at port douglas wasn’t that nice, it was wavy the time when we got there,
too windy to even have picnic outside but that didn’t stop the people from going out, the weather had
been gloomy for many days now but at least it wasn’t raining. We didn’t do much in port douglas, it was
another touristy place that offers same same tours that we already did in cairns, we just went to the
lookout then down to the beach for lunch, got a picnic table and ended back in the van because it was
too windy, I got waxed there, roamed around some souvenir shops, and off we went to wonga beach to
camp for the night, 27 bucks, got internet for 5 bucks, unlimited for one week, the camp ground was
vast, with pool and a lot of recreational facilities like pool table, table tennis pool tv etc. the beach is
lengthy wide beach, long waves stretch along the coast, a bit wild with some lily like vegetation in front,
we got to the camping grounds earlier so we were able to prepare dinner earlier , chicken adobo and the
usual stir fry veggies and rice, after checking out the beach, the beach here also offers horseback riding
was too lame for Charles, we were able to catch them early in the morning when we were about to
check out and had one last glimpse of wonga beach.

August 8

Off we went to daintree, we dropped by bruce belcher and booked an 11 tour, we still had an hour of
time so we checked out the daintree village just 10 minute drive from the office, we check out the
gallery, saw some well crafted wooden products, I learned about burls, nothing new but the burl, went
to the jetty through Charles natural gps, saw other boats doing the river cruise, hurried back to belchers,
boarded their own private boardwalk, and jetty, had an hour cruising along the river, met Elizabeth a 20
year old croc, learned about many things about croc, didn’t really see big ones that day, most of the big
ones were shot before, there became protected only in the 70s, saw many more small ones, a bird
tawny frog mouth bird almost camouflage in the tree, some familiar trees of the tropics, and cruise
along the vast daintree river bordered by rainforest, saw other boats some are electric boat free of
noise, others big boat that can accommodation buses, checked out some plants in the boardwalk, went
to the ferry to cross the diantree river, paid 21 bucks return, fantastic drive, lowland rainforest, winding
road, check out the beach with crocs, went to the lookout and had lunch there, popular, along the road,
then went to do the jabinda walk, 700 meters only, booked a ticket at discovery center, 30 bucks each,
worth it, award winning, great interactive center, rainforest tower up close and personal, didn’t finish
yet very vast, then drove to noah’s beach to camp, 10 bucks, very basic, no shower, drinking water, it’s
like camping again, each one has his own nook surrounded by trees, advance book is required though,
they come and check in the morning and a fine of 100 dollar, checked out the beach before preparing
dinner of stir fry again and crashing into bed

August 9

Checked out of noah early, after breakkie, went to the beach for the last time, went to the mangrove
area,saw two sleeping mat and portable pillow with no people in sight,Charles joked they must be eaten
by crocs, there was no trail from that side and they aren’t swimming in the water either, checked out
the other beaches, cow bay, had lunch at thornton beach, saw a woman there making hand made toys
out of palm leaves, went to the ice cream factory, had chocolate rum and raisin ice cream while Charles
had passion fruit with ginger and banana, the owner was there making dragonfruit ice cream, they were
selling the property, must be time to retire and roam time to be gray nomads. Checked out her small
gallery, mainly paintings of Australian flora and fauna and some framed photographs of still life fruits,
check out more beaches, went for a walk and saw Fabio , saw lots of mangroved and ferns again, a cool
strangler figs, then headed all the way to cape tribulation until the last sealed road the car can go
through, and then we turned around, we had finally reached the tip most part of our trip, just like that,
after a month of slow travel, only 4 wheel drive can drive further in that road now, to cooktown,
dropped by at the exotic fruit farm but the fruit tasting was booked out as early as 2pm, went to forest
surfing but it was worth it to do a zipline over the rainforest for 80 bucks when we spent most of our
time walking in the rainforest, ziplining in many places, we had just recently rode a cable car over the
rainforest in kuranda so we thought to spend the money on other adventure, we drove to this
restaurant that shows movie at night, before heading back to camp, used the internet at the reception
office and overheard a woman complaining about the 36 bucks charged on her neighbouring camper
van and got a refund, I got our refund too, coz we were charged 30 bucks too, gorge myself charging all
our gadgets, the car and cooked using our electric stove coz we are moving on an unpowered site the
next day, it was near the beach so its worth paying extra,, didn’t do anything coz of the rain, good thing
the car got a free wash at least.

August 10

Woke up late, was still raining, Charles got hooked to The tourist, the book he traded at the reception
area, did notes on the events that had been, it looks like the weather will be bad the whole day, after
packing up the car and breakkie, walked through the beach track behind our camping area, saw another
long stretch of beach, the sky was dull and gray though, saw the mountain on the other end bordering
cape tribulation from cape tribulation camping area, nothing planned in the day, then out of nowhere
we saw the elusive cassowary, a baby and a mom at that, it made our day, cars started to pull over one
after another, it was an amazi9ng experience , we have been driving for a month, went ot the cassowary
conservation area and trek the bush and never saw one, drove around the daintree national park and
trek its rainforest and never saw one, our last stop was cape tribulation before heading back to mackay
again, and there it was, just when you’re about to give up, right in front of you, putting a show for
everyone, thanks to the chick, the mommy seemed to be shy and darted to the other side of the road
after sometime but the baby lingered in the middle pecking on something, the mommy went back and
went to the other side of the road towards the forest but the chick was still there, finally they set off,
what makes a cassowary special? After that we spend the rest of day Charles reading his book and me
catching up with friends, I haven’t had internet connection for and phone signal for 3 days, was tempted
to have lunch there but went back to the van and made our usual sandwich and fruits, went to the
lounge area of pk bar and spent the rest of the afternoon lazily before doing some walk the dubuji walk
and cape tribulation walk then headed to pk camping ground to set up for the night, 25 bucks for
unpowered, then we decided to celebrate and splurge for one night, it was our last night in cape, the
northernmost place of our trip, just had a shower and walk to whet restaurant, had a an 30 buck meal of
salmon, was tempted to get the steak but got the signature whet salad and the chicken satay with pickle
cucumber and sticky rice under the entrée for the same price, had a conversation about the people
eating there whether they were tourists or locals, Charles concluded, tourists, locals won’t eat on an
expensive restaurant on a wet tues night, it was awesome dining in the reainforest, just behind me is a
tall tree with vines wrapped around it, and you could hear the drizzle, falling from the canopy, funny
because it wasn’t raining when we got to the road on our way home, we got a discount of 5 dollars each
for the cinema because we ate there, movie is 15 bucks normally while children and senior citizens have
discounts too, the cinema was very cozy with bean bags sofa, designed like a huge living room, there
were only four of us there watching letters to Juliet, we walked home dropped by PK backpacker’s bar
and see what’s going on, nothing much at that night so we just crashed to bed and slept.

August 11,

It was a beautiful day just when it’s our last day at cape tribulation, woke with a hullaballo with our
neighboring car, a branch of tree fell on their roof, which missed us slightly, went back for a walk to the
lookout of cape tribulation, first time it was sunny, saw some kayakers on their way back to the shore,
drove back to the daintree crossing ferry, stopped by thornton beach, it was hot and fine weather to
swim, went back to the discovery center, used our 7 days pass,, the guy offered this time the audio and
ask if we want it again, Charles said yes, we didn’t really use it before and it’s another 5 bucks extra,
spent most of our time at the interactive center, watch some clips about leeches and ticks, cassowary
and snakes, a video on climate change and rainforest, had another boardwalk then went to the lookout
to call some friends and use the internet, it was already pass 4 when we got back to Mossman, did our
grocery to prepare for the inland route, mostly driving and only small stores , I have this urge of
hoarding lots of food coz my idea of outback is very remote and only a few families live in each town
which our miles away from each other, made it just on time for the bus transfer to Mossman gorge, 4:15
we left, normally u drive ur car to the park but it was undergoing some road constructions at that time,
the Mossman gorge is beautiful and raging with strong currents, the boardwalk are nice, with a hanging
bridge and a lookout for the nearby peak which was covered with mist unfortunateluy when we got
there, one thing for sure though, if you want to go to Mossman, get there early, it was packed with
tourists, same as Josephine falls, must be its proximity to the major city of cairns and its accessibility, we
were like dashing from one lookout to another together with out visitors who went there in the last
minute and wanted to catch the last bus transfer, the pool was very calm and clear we wish we had
enough time to swim and enjoy the place, but the beauty of the place didn’t defeat charle’s anti crowd
when it comes to dealing with mother nature, we had seen similar place before and just as spectacular
so we thought we’re not missing much, after a while, we drove to our second free camping area at rifle
creek rest area near the town of mt molloy, it was actually pleasant for a free camping area, with
restroom and cold shower, spacious and surrounded with trees, it was already late when we were to set
camp and finish dinner but this free camping area at least offset my silliness of getting a pack of
pistachio without looking for the price, 17 bucks and we made fun of it.

Aug 12,

woke up early had breakkie, made lunch in advance , cooked adobo for dinner, the day is going to be a
busy one, we are running out of time and we need to head back to mackay so we are trying to pick up
our pace now, saw some beautiful birds while we were packing up the van, Charles skipped coffee,
drove to coffee works, was close from the campsite, about 20 minutes,it was 15 bucks for unlimited
coffee, tea and chocolate tasting with another time to return within one month, the lady gave us a quick
tour of the coffee and the museum, we headed back to the shop and started gorging myself with
chocolate, tried all the interesting flavors like peppermint, lime, chili, sampled the organic coffee and
diluted with milk, not really a coffee drinker, then tried the flavored ones, wasn’t that adventurous this
time, just got vanilla, the more chocolate, went to visit the chocolate library, saw the chocolate
connoisseur currently concocting melted chocolate into some beautiful shapes, look around and found
this flower chocolate centerpiece and all sorts of white,dark, chili and nut flavored chocolate, went back
to tasting area and sampled the tea, then went to the museum, got an audio, it was so cool, showing the
evolution of coffee from the early European explorers to the 60,s 70, 80, the evolution of a simple coffee
maker, strainer, and notes on the events and history, with matching music in the background, it has
extensive display of paraphernalia for coffee and tea making, history, has some weird rooms, like the
Arabian themed room with tv monitors and a belly dancing woman, as well as the room with the 70’, got
some interesting quotes about coffee, learned that it was banned by the Christians in the early days
until one tasted it and actually like it, it was like a Disneyland for coffee indeed, got back to the tasting
area, a old man approached me and asked what am I taking pictures of, coz I have my tripod then, I said
just anything that interests me, and then he shared about the pictures he took because he has a friend
collecting antique coffee makers back home had a chat with his wife and we got some more tips about
places to visit in the inland route, they started their route from geelong and took the inland route via
outback, it had been all brown, were amazed by the green scenery on their way to mareeba, we were
lokking forward to a change in scenery too, it had been, all waterfalls, rainforests and beaches as we
cruise along the coast and now we were excited for the outback, finally after a few more chocolate
gorging, got some small packs to bring home, the coffee liqueur was interesting, had wine flavoured and
coffee flavored, we were about to go but forgot about the coffee, we went to the roasting area, you can
actually order coffee here and get it delivered from any part of the world, to your house to your love
ones. It was worth it, you can a museum tour, unlimited stuff and if only we are nearby we would
definitely come back,

It was past one when we left, stopped at the mareeba tourist information center and checked out the
museum for free, well stocked, informative, interesting display of what happened before, had a quick
lunch at the Atherton park, good thing sandwich was made already, a gulp of orange and some bite, I
grabbed my sandwich and went back to the car, drove again on the way to the most famous tree,
dropped by at the nut shop, and got the anzac cookies instead, I must try it according to Charles because
it is one of the traditional biscuit of aus, made by soldiers long time ago, got to the fig tree, awesome,
very popular, impressive, a curtain of fig, after that, drove to tinago dam, a man-made lake where
people wake board also and swim, nice place for picnic, then went to barrine lake and checked out the
oldest trees of the wet tropics, just amazing that it’s a thousand years old, it was a very short walk from
the starting point, it was getting late so we didn’t do the 5 kilometer walk around the lake, just went
back to car and went to our last stop echam lake for a refreshing swim, Charles that is, a couple of
French backpackers approached Charles and asked where they could camp for free, most of the camping
areas though that are free aren’t nearby, we left and went to the campin ground near lake echam,
unpowered site 19 bucks, the best deal so far for a privately owned camp site, it was the first time it got
cold again on this trip, Charles said I gotta to get used to it, it’s going to be hot at day time and very cold
at night time when we finally hit the outback, no wonder it’s the first camping area with a fireplace, very
pleasant place with duck ponds, lots of trees, hot and cold shower and we were able to charge all our
gadgets at the mess hall, met a couple from Holland and had a char with a couple from Sydney who has
a daughter that has a pinay bestfriend, hang out near the fireplace after dinner before calling it a night,
I was running back to van….
August 13

After checking out from lake echam tourist park, we got back to check out the porky pig, ossie ostrich
and the big turkey and a big goat, just in the camping ground, too bad they were alone, was wondering
what the hell does an ostrich do there, stopped one last time at lake echam, dropped by at herberton,
there was an entrance fee for the mining village so we didn’t bother to go anymore, you could see the
different structures from outside, a replica of the mining town hundred years ago, there is a pub, bank,
hotels etc and some machines, there are more to see actually , but we headed to the tourist information
of herbeton, they also have a museum of mining history for only 5 bucks, we skipped it and did one of
the walking tracks in the area, it was along a tin mining eucalypt forest, you could still see some
historical junk from before some in dilapidated state, it was less than a kilometer of walk so we gave it a
go, the weather was pleasant, saw some holes underground, the lady in the tourist info has samples of
mined rocks and finish products of decorative and souvenirs for sale, It was actually the camera and spy
museum that we were after at herbeton, just 5 minute walk form the tourist office, we drove there only
to find it was close on Friday, consolation you could still see some really old cameras in its display
windows, we’re in the main drag anyway so we had a quick stop at some shops, Charles finally got a
water hose after a month of us manually filling the van’s 60 liters of storage with a bucket, while I got 2
second hand books for 3 dollars at the nearby shop, we had lunch hypipamee national park, with some
lewin’s honey eater spying on our food, there were some gray nomads when we got there, had 350
meters of walk to the crater, very deep, green and strangely still, not the usual crater lake I see, then
descended on another path towards dinner falls, then drove to the lookout of the tablelands, saw again
for the third time the couple we met in the lake echam camping ground, after that, we drove just
outside the town of milaa milaa and did the waterfalls circuit, amazing spectacular beautiful easily
assessable waterfalls, the drive is even beautiful green pastoral lands, the cows on their way back to the
ranch caused a bit of a welcome traffic,

August 14

Checked out from milaa milaa camping grounds around 9, it was sunny and fine day, not too cold in the
morning, drove along an alternative road not accessible for camper van, less than 30 minutes, we were
at mila mila falls, aus widest single drop water falls, short walk about 400 meters on a well paved road,
the creek is beautiful, but no way to get to the fall, more for the appreciation of the scenery, passed by
the largest wind farm in aus, the drive was beautiful, lush lush cattlefield, a scenic pastoral land, very
vast, few houses in between, after the falls dropped by at innot spring, was near a camper van park, just
had a quick feel of the water, on the way I was approached by an old friendly lady warning me about the
very not part, the strange thing about it was that the burning temp of water is just a few meters from
the cold part, saw some native kids playing on the water, the camping ground apparently offers hot and
cold pool too for those who want a more pampering relaxation on the hot spring, then off we drove to
undara, we need to make it at 1pm for our guided tour, saw some road train, another dead wallaby on
the road, roads are red even the mounds of termite are red mainly eucalpt forests now, it’s finally the
outback. We didn’t have much time to rest when we got the undara camping grounds, after setting
camp, joined the rest of the tourists at the reception area, met our tour guide chris, went down on our
our jump off and showed us some rocks, basalt and minerals, shared info about lava tubes in the area, I
learned about the bottle tree, and had a boring topic about geology, then walk to 2 lava tubes, had an
afternoon tea with scones butter and jam, at the bush, saw some ravens, and used the open door toilet,
had a chat with the rest of the group about the elusive cassowaries my encounter with snake, someone
showed a pic and when we asked she said from the zoo and everyone laughed saying it’s not the same,
then went to the last lava tube, it was easy walk on a boardwalk, very impressive, colorful and long, ,
saw another group who must have done the wholeday tour where u get to explore more the tubes, they
have complete gear, helmet, torch, and clothing, after that we got back to camp, Charles adhd went to
the rockies for the sunset, I just went back to the van had a rest and prepared dinner, then huge flies
started to flock the van, I was finally in the outback indeed, after dinner, we joined chris in the campfire
for some wildlife talk, he shared the different wildlife found in the area, and some pics contributed by
other tourist, then we called it a night

August 15,

A day of nothing in undara, we just spend the whole day reading books in the car and then transferring
to the pool area and continue reading before having a quick dip, it was a mandatory rest, we never had
a freeday for quite a while now, around 4pm though, we did the swamp walk and followed the trail
provided by the reception office, was a very nice walk, the birds area going back to the trees, a lot of
lorikeets feasting on the nectar of the flowers, ravens, carawongs and pewees occasionally swoop down
from braches to branches, was a very short walk to the swamp and we reached the open area where
herds of kangaroo were grazing under the setting afternoon sun, it was awesome to see the different
species mentioned by our guide before, from black, white, gray and the usual brown, I cant identify
clearly however which one is a wallaru, wallaby and a kangaroo, we sat there for quite a while just
observing the herd, especially these two kangaroo who had been chasing the female, i thought must be
their playing mode, continued our walk along the trail and saw more birds and walk back through the
swamp, was funny how all the kangaroo would suddenly stopped grazing, stand on their hind legs
straight and look at us as we approach the field, perhaps seizing us if we are a threat and then continue
with their business when we just stood in front of them, some were too shy thought and hopped
hurriedly away from us, then finally came the two again, this time it became clear, they were mating and
the guy kangaroo finally got the girl, the girl must be some kinda of a hottie though because after she
mated with this kangaroo there were two other kangaroos trying to get on with her, was just curions coz
there were about a hundred kangaroos there and she’s getting all the attention, and the male one was
showing his presence and scaring the others away, so he thinks they are a thing now, I was so amused
by this whole scenario I only get to watch on discovery channel, and usually about primates, a few more
time spend there Charles wanted to go back to camp to catch the sunset, we just scrambled over some
rocks and cut through the trail, was a bit steep but it didn’t take that long to reach the top and saw the
vastness of the outback, it was just eucalpt dry forest as far as the eye can see, dryland and no
people,,we ended the night watching the stars

August 16

We drove out of undara around 8am, and didn’t reach karumba until 5:30, it was an epic drive, along
hundreds of termite mounds that change from gray to red depending on the soil in the area, over 40
dead carcasses feasted by vultures and crows, we stopped at the historical chimney in the middle of
nowhere, has a pond with birds and herd of cattle, it was quite nice here but really hot, had a picture
finally with a termite mound, then drove again until a stop over at a dry river, we passed a lot of creek
and most of them are dry, Charles killed a bird, I had just dozed off when I was suddenly awaken by a
thug in front of us, Charles felt bad , I just something behind thrown beside the road, he said he was
trying to pass around the bird feasting on the dead kangaroo and the birds flew away but for no reason
turned around on the other side and got hit, well at least we haven’t killed a kangaroo yet, was just
worried it was an eagle coz it was big, I reckon it was just one of those vultures then, we stopped at
cloydon tourist info center, and checked our their museum, learned about the colorful history of this
mining town that boomed when gold was found in the area, the only reason why this town sprouted
here, had lunch in the park, with crows making a lot of noise, went back to the tourist info to watch a
video of the history of the town and then off we drove all the way to karumba, met this frech couple
walking with a two wheeled cart, who had been travelling for 8 months just walking around aus that
started in Melbourne, amazing, just camp in the bush, and walk, now that’s the way to travel cheap,
reach karumba, went to check the camping grounds, went near the gulf, and it was fully booked with
gray nomads, it is like they are having convention here, then Charles said, what the hell are we doing
here babe, and I replied I don’t know ur on the driver seat im just a passenger, we didn’t really check
much what to do here except that it is know all over as a fishing mecca, most of the trailers we passed
by along the way have tinnies in tow and on top load, it was so off the beaten I think we were the only
young camper vanners here, we went to the camping ground futher from the gulf and good thing there
was vacancy, we left our chairs and table on our area to secure our place and off we drove back to bay
for sunset dinner, it was a long and tiring day and glad no cooking tonight our 6th dinner out, I got lamb
with coconut curry and rice and Charles headed my suggestion to get the kangaroo steak and finally
taste it for the first time, it is just like bee really with some after taste, but I cant really enjoy much after
seeing so many carcasses of kangaroo on the way here, a few more drinks we crashed in the van and
make our iti tomorrow a problem.

August 17,

Started late, moved to the powered sites, took some photos of the black cuckatoos when I woke up,
there were 6 of them on the trees, went to the museum, learned stuff about the barramundi, did a walk
to the mangrove boardwalk, there were crocs there, wondered why nobody swims on the gulf, it’s the
mouth of the river so sometimes crocs may swim there, ucan never be careful, explore the town driving,
there is nothing much to see really, it’s a paradise for the fishermen and if you wont go on a fishing
expedition there aren’t many things to see and do, there is a croc and crab tour but we did the croc tour
already at the daintree and not very keen on a carb tour, after the museum, went to the tavern again to
see the sunset, had barramundi finally, just pan fried serve with chips and salad, we shared it, and
cooked dinner curry for the night, saw about 6 trees full of white cuckatoos, it was amazing how they
allfly together when the eagles hover on top of them and come again, they did tis over and over again,

August 18
We left karumba tourist park early to make it to the 8:30 departure of the historic tran in normanton,
we decided to forego this trip, it was around 50 bucks each for a 3 hour trip which would take you
around the outback in a train, we had the same experience already in kuranda but it passed through the
rainforest, it was an experience in itself though to be able to ride a historic train and true enough there
were 2 busload of oldies who pulled over at the train station and who were in for a ride, there was
museum some collections of the old normanton and the stories and paraphernalia of the beginning of
the train, there were still some old train junk displayed at the station so we were glad dropped by at
least even though we didn’t avail of the tour, it would be a long drive to our next destination in lawn hill
karumba is a smaller town than normanton so we waited at least to least normanton to do our grocery,
things are more expensive the more remote the town is, glad there was foodworks at normanton, we
went there was surprise to meet kabayans who were in charge of the store, I asked them how they end
up here in the outback in told me they came from Sydney and their boss from there brought them here
to man his business and they thought it was a ciudad (city), we had walk around the town before
grocery, apparently most of the preserved buildings around the town are historic and still functioning,
there were sign board to read the significance of each site, the most interesting for me was the replica
of the biggest saltwater crocodile ever caught, according to the sign _____, before the grocery we
headed back to the swamp where I saw some huge birds as were driving on our way to town, they were
too shy and elusive to get closer and even Charles was scared to thread through the reeds because of
snakes, we headed to the fisherman station near the bridge where a shed rod holder were provided
with the fisherman, had a chat with the locals got some more info about the crocs he had seen there
and downplayed it that it was alright, after the grocery we headed the the town butcher to get some
fresher meat, the foodworks t normanton aren’t well stock and most of the meat are frozen, it’s just too
far from the nearest big city or town,

Around 10am we were back on the road and driving along vast nothingness, some sections were under
repair as we leave normanton and we thought the road is going to be like that through out, we aimed
to reach the next roadhouse about 200 kilometers around lunch time, unfortunately, just when were a
hundred kilometers away from the normanton and and 100 kilometers from the next roadhouse which
may or may not have offer some repair, our car broke down in the middle of nowhere, judging from the
sound of it we thought it was worse than a flat tire, when we finally checked the thread of the back tire
fell off, perfect, it was too hot it melted some parts of the rubber. It took us an hour to finally fix it with
Charles changing tire in the middle of the road after attempting twice to change it off the raod and the
jack cannot handle the uneven surface, I acted as a traffic controller and was happy to know most who
passed us by are a bit concerned except for onecar , must have been the ploce officer or some sort who
was upset that we’re doing it in the middle of nowhere, we’were just lucky there was no road train
within that period or we wouldhave been in big trouble, after an hour we reached the first road house,
was surprised to see a well stocked one with souvenirs, cold drinks and full resto, just as expected the
petrol here was bloody expensive around 150 cent than the usual 130, unluckily,there was no repair
man there, it is advised to bring two spare tires when going to lawn hill and now we don’t even have a
single one, we took the risk and went to push for another 4 hours, passing through Gregory town which
has a restaurant, hotel and camping grounds , we thought it was just another roadhouse, the road from
the turn off here is already unsealed, we were actually praying silently we wont have another flat tire, it
was a risk going to this place, and true enough all cars are 4wheel drive, glad we made it safely although
it was turbulence inside the van, we camped at adel, 10 kilometers from lawn hill national park, it needs
advance booking it was booked out already in the next few weeks, it was 5 bucks per headwhile adel is
30 bucks, was surprise there were so many people there all gray nomads, met an old couple and chat
with them while cahrles is checking us in, tipped me about a creek just over there, just something I badly
needed after a very long , tiring, hot and dusty trip, she told me there were crocodiles but don’t mind
tehm, they are just saltwater croc, so told me about the old couple 92 girl and 89 boy who flew their
plane, saw their plane as we entered the camping grounds, then found a spot near the creek, I was
about to jump to the river, saw a snake on my path way then forgot the whole thing and went to the
shower, yes I more scared of snake venomous or not than crocodile, (whole day on the road,after 3
dead cows, over 20 dead kangaroos, 2 dead huge birds, 3 road trains a flat tire, and a snake, it was time
to relax

August 19

Left adel’s grove early arrive at lawn hill national park around 8:00, the gray nomads tipped us to come
early to avoid the crowd and the light in the morning is just amazing, the gorge reflects the light well and
they are gorgeously glistening in red, we were the first early visitors to rent the canoe, 20 bucks per
hour, short briefing and we were off paddling on a calm gorgeous emerald water, it was very still the
foliage are reflected magnificently on the water like a vast mirror, as we moved along the gorge started
to unfold and glistening in the gentle light of the morning, the vista is like one of those you see in the
postcard, you can just go wrong even with a disposable camera, the gorge is impressive some are
vertical steep while other walls are overhanging in a beautiful disarray, there were some interesting
vegetation from palms and leafless gum trees, but just paddling along the gorgeous cliff was an
awesome experience especially since we skipped visiting the cobbold gorge, as we near the first
boardwalk there were three small cascades, it was the end of the first trip and we carried our canoe
pass the boardwalk and through a short trail to launch on another paddling trip, the falls and elevated
area at the end of our journey isn’t accessible, on the way to the second river, we had a chat with a
hobbyist photographer who has all these gear for some serious photography, got some tips and off we
started paddling again, saw huge bird with its wings wide open basking under the sun, on the way pass
to a small rapids, we saw a fairly big saltwater crocodile lazily sunning itself near the banks, im glad it
was in its lazy/ don’t bother me mode, it was actually bigger than the ones we saw from our crocodile
tour in the wild in daintree river, it was awesome paddling along a crocodile infested river you don’t
even have to join a tour to one in the wild and just paddling at your own pace, Charles had a quick swim
at the end of the trip but didn’t linger much since we were on a 20 buck per hour tour, we saw again a
dangler on our way back and made it exactly in 2 hours, was one the most worthy activities we did,
headed back to the van famished after all the paddling and skipping breakfast, the usual sandwich for
lunch woudnt do me this time so we I reheated the leftover curry from last night and fried some beef
sausages and gorge them with rice, after our early lunch, we went back to the river banks to look for a
spot to swim, the fresh water crocodile isn’t a big deal so we had a quick dip then went were joined one
more old couple, Charles slept on a mat while I caught up with my diary, the lady beside us tipped me of
the purple fairy tale wren perched on the bush beside her so I grabbed, my cam and slowly approached
it, it was too elusive though compare to other birds, after two hours of siesta, we had one last dip and
got back to the van to change into our hiking shoes, there were actually 3 walks avaible one leading to a
cascade and another swimming hole, one with some aboriginal art and the indarrii falls, just where we
canoe before but this time on the top of the gorge, it was almost 4 when we started our treck but it was
still rally hot especially in the exposed part of the terrain, the sky is just amazing that day, very clear
blue, the outback has never been that beautiful since undarra, the bush, the trees, the gorge the red dirt
track are just all new to me, we got to the lookout of indarri falls, it was like a paradise, we were the
only ones actually walking, must be really hot, went to different lookout and each one revealed an
amazing and beautiful part of the gorge, we spent the rest of the afternoon on top of the lookout,
before heading back to adel’s grove,

August 20

It’s going to be a long drive from lawn hill to mount isa, more than 500 kilometers so we checked out
early from lawn hill, I went straight to the reception to ask if the old cople are still here, felt bad they left
that morning, I really wanted to get to know them, hopefully I could track them back in Sydney, it was
almost a week without internet so I used the net quickly, limited to 30 minutes for 5 bucks, got Charles a
latte and off we traced back our way to the corrugated and unsealed roads toward Gregory towns with
no spare tire, we made it safely and drove past the vast nothingness again along the Will’s
developmental road named after one of the explorer who traversed the outback in the 1800’s, had a
stop over again at the burke and wills road house, fill a bit of petrol just to get us to mt. isa since it is too
expensive there, had lunch there, made some sandwich and treat myself for some French fries, met a
couple from Switzerland who had been travelling around aus for 3 weeks now, all their stuff and
camping gears are lodge behind, then off we went to mt isa, another long day of driving, it was
sweltering hot, the ac isn’t much of a help, we stopped at burk and wills memorial, a structure where
they camped before, went straight to the town, was surprised to see it was a big progressive mining
town, went driving around the town to look for car repair to change our tire, found one but it was closed
already, check our guide for place to camp for the night and found sunset caravan park, was nice
enough, near a creek although not really suitable for swimming, went to the reception office and was
glad to learn they have books to trade us, we finished two, it’s really nice to bring at least one book or
more if you have a car and make go a long way, no powered site was available and we wanted an
unpowered site on first night and unpowered on the second nite, instead we were able to camp for
night powered for the price of unpowered site25 bucks per day,

Aug 21

Our first agenda of the day is to go the car shop to get a spare tire, another unforeseen expenses on this
trip, it cost us 300 bucks to change the thread of the tire, the reception office was open already so
Charles change the two books I bought for 3 bucks in ______ and got 2 new books yay, after getting the
car, went to mount isa center, where a fossil museum, etc and mining tour can be found,deliberate
whether to just go on a mining tour or add extra 10 bucks to see the other stuff, decided in the end to
just pay 45 bucks since some towns have free exhibits of mining history etc, the next tour was at 1pm so
we did our own walking tour around the town while waiting for our time, it was one of the fanciest
mining town I had seen on this trip, lots of shops, write facts about the town, went to macca for lunch
since we haven’t done our grocery yet, the line was too long, went to subway instead, check the other
places, head back to mt isa center, no camera allowed, then u have to pay 10 bucks for picture, we
donned our helmets, belt and gum boots then had a briefing about the machinery on top, then got our
head light had our picture taken then went underground through an elevator, it’s almost like an
authentic replica of the mining, since they wanted to get off tourist already from the real mining place,
we road a train to the miners quarters, went through the maze underground, was surprise to see it’s
well ventilated inside was high enough to fit though gigantic machinery and it wasn’t a terrible condition
like I used to imagine that is why most people I met along the way said they enjoy it and it’s good
money, the only problem I see is the noise which they solve by plugging in ipod to their ears, our guide
maneuvered a huge car raker so well into the curves of the tunnel, show us some blasting materials to
further dig the tunnel and there were too tools for making holes, he tried to turn own one and we got to
hear the noise, surprisingly didn’t create much dust, the blasting was just replicated by he said that’s
how it sounded when he turned this switch, it didn’t even sound like a deafening explosion, was ok, it
was 2 hours only but the heavy overalls helmet and headlight charger was a bit exhausting no wonder
the pregnant woman got dizzy under and didn’t finish the tour, 4 gray nomads couple, a father and son,
and one pregnant woman who went alone, she was accompanied by our tour guide and one volunteer
old lady back to the surface, while we all waited at the miners crib, after the tour we didn’t even bother
to look at the pics and went back to the town to do our groceries, met so many Filipinos, two care crew
of mac donalds, and being curious that I am I ask how the hell did they get here, they were previous
workers from mc do phil and one of them had her husband also here, also met a young family, the guy
had been working in the mines for two years and got his wife and kid after, the lady said many of the
crews in mc mt isa are also pinoys, went back to the camp and prepared early dinner to make it to the
lookout for the sunset, it has beautiful sunset setting behind the massive mining factory, but the vista is
even more beautiful at night when the lights started to twinkle … from sunset to night time we stayed
here, the sun seems to set later here, it was already almost seven and it’ is still a bit bright, after that we
planned to check out the night life of mt isa, lots of pubs and not wholesome one although not in the
guidebook seem to flood an area when there is a thriving mining community, maybe to entertain these
blokes, an hour of nap and I was too exhausted from lack for sleep the previous night not from doing
anything sternous but from devouring the chocolate we bought from coffe works late at nite which kept
me awake until 3am, talking about low tolerance from caffeine,

August 22

 We’re about to embark in another long drive, but before leaving mt isa, we headed to lake ______ it
was beautiful, have I known it’s this nice we could have spent our morning here for a swim before doing
the mining tour, it’s impressive for a man-made lake, there are some walking trails around the area and
a trail for 4wheel drive, the reddish gorge around the area with the green foliage makes the area even
more picturesque, it was tempting to swim but we don’t really have much time, we traced back the road
from mt isa to cloncurry, stopped at one of the historical site along the way, was just a monument of
some sort that tells about _____, then it was a long drive again, until we reached _____________ we
had lunch in one of the parks, there was an outside museum, where they got to display some old
vehicles like train, carriage etc, it was already break time for the lady, she wasn’t really interested
according to Charles in entertaining her visitors, must be her breaktime already so we just left, anyway
there are free museum that tell the same stuff about the early days, then we drove up this lookout that
overlooks the town and the dam in the area, I thought we shouldn’t do it, must be a 4 wheel drive path
but then knowing chales, he’ll try it first before giving up, nothing spectacular really, and off we drove
again to vast nothingness, I wonder how this cattle survive here, it was so vast and I see no creek, we
arrived at Julia creek, a small town but some shops and services like pub, post office, it was so quite, it
must be siesta time or there aren’t that many people here, Charles went around to find a place to buy
beer and ended up at the other pub, then we went to the tourist information center,looks pretty new,
was already closed but there were some audio for the tourist located near the fountain where you could
listen about info on the town, after a while, just outside the town center, we went to the free camping
spot of Julia creek and prepared for the night,

Aug 23

IN TROUGH THE DINOSAUR TRAIL

We woke up from a howling wind smashing on our pop-up roof, was a bit cooler now a contrast to the
humid night that was, must have been because I cooked in side the van with the door close after
mossies started to attacked me inside, we dropped by the tourist information again because it was
already close the precious day we got there, it was really impressive and well-set up center for a small
town in the outback, they three small airconditioned wooden cabins with displays of pictures and
information each with flat-screen tv that features the sights, the lifestyle, the people and history and its
well-loved mammal found only in the area, called the Julia creek mammal, the video about towns with a
populatin of 20 and 11 made me smile,I learned here about the great artesian basin, that is why the
people can still survive in this arid and harsh environment, it had come a long way from just drilling
holes and letting water flow freely to piping water out, learned also that the water could get really hot,
something cool, where other people use heater to shower etc, here they cool water instead, learned
about the dust and dirt festival, really cool triathlon including snorkeling on muddy water filled with ice
to cool the water down, we left Julia creek around 11 and headed straight to the next town, about an
hourand a half, we were at one the towns of the fames dinonasaur trail, went through the park to look
for a park to have lunch, found one beside the library, went for a quick use of the internet then had our
lunch there, I thought we’re gonna push through another town and camp there but then Charles
decided we in the dinosaur trail already so might as well do what other people do when they are here
which is to check out the kronosaurus center, it was 12 bucks each but then it was the main attraction of
the town and wanna see it before any judgment, after a short briefing, the lady at the reception gave us
an audio system that lets u go through all the display at your own pace, it was an impressive display of
marine reptiles that thrive 100 millions of years ago, they boast as the most complete fossils of pliosaur
ever found in Australia, they are a lot of other marine species too found area, apparently, fossicking is
now one of its tourist draw, where you get to experience finding fossils of long lost species during the
time of dinosaur, the center also feautures displays of fossils found by visitors, lend by local residents
and remains of turtles, ancient fish, shell fish and the bones of the most complete pliosaur ever found,
then we had a short video presentation, I learned from here about the inland seas in some part of
central aus, that’ explains the presence of so many marine fossils especially in the area around
Richmond, it’s now a vast arid land of brown grassland,

THE CASE OF THE MISSING SUNNIES

it was pass 4 when we left the cool museum and after a quick snack of chips and ice cold coffee at its
moon café, we were back on the road for the next town, we passed by lake treinitton and I thought we
could just dropped by to have a look and take some pictures, in the end we ended up cooling down
under the public fountain and lingered for quite a while, the water was really cold but very refreshing
from the still intense heat, I met again the couple with three little girls in the lake too, they were also
there in the museum, after drying up we were off to another free camping ground a few kilometers
outside of Richmond, when I realized I don’t have my sunnies with me, my first thought was the library, I
remembered it was the first place I went into when I got off the car to use the internet. We went
straight there, it was quarter to five hoping it’ is still open but got disappointed, it was the only place in
my mind where I thought I left it when I used the public internet, it Charles gift to me, so I was a bit
upset and hesitant to just leave the town and move on the next without finding it first, so our first step
was to find a way to contact the librarian and give him a call so we don’t have to stay in Richmond for
the night just to wait for the library to open the next day which is still at 12, I thought of asking a local, i
thought it’s a small town where everybody knows each other, we started with foodworks just two
buildings from the library and asked the lady there, he doesn’t know where he lives but at least gave us
his name, we thougth of asking around at the pub but I was too shy of the blokes having their afternoon
drinkie there, but we went anyway and ask the girl bartender, luckily the old man sitting on a bar stool
overheard us and even called the librarian for us, he didn’t answer though so he gave us the number and
tipped us he could be out in the race track breaking some horses, so we went for a drive to the race
track looking for a light blue utility car, I feel like we’re some detective tracking a man for something
important, we actually told the people in the pub it was an eyeglasses that’s missing because they might
find it funny we’re doing all this just for sunnies, after more driving around the area, we found a nice
spot near a creek just outside of the town center and planned to camp there for free, it didn’t say no
camping, we went to find the nearest payphone and saw the lakeside caravan park and dropped to ask
where the nearest pay phone is, in the end we decided to just stay at the caravan park, it was too late
already to drive to another town, before setting our van we tried calling again the number and there
was no answer, was really down at that time but was pleasantly surprised by the beautiful camper
ground overlooking lake trinitton, we camped on an unpowered site, it was 18 bucks cheap because it’s
own by the council, the view was so serene, it was nice to walk barefoot this time, then Charles told me
that there is a pinay in one of the picnic, went to their table and said hi and she was indeed pinay with
her Vietnam war veteran husband, have a chat, this is where I first learned about the hostage taking in
manila, there were from Atherton tables and on a fishing expedition, and then another pinay from
Cagayan de oro was also in the cmaper ground who lived 100 kilometers from Richmond, it was nice to
see some kabayans but then after awhile, the couple with 3 young kids drove pass us and the guy went
down the car and ask if we’re lost a sun glass, and and exclaimed in glee, and were so grateful to them,
they found it under the picnic table at lake triniton, we didn’t really look there and just left and thought
it was in the library, I knew those 3 girls are angels, and in the end it wasn’t so bad that we stayed here
for the night, it was a beautiful camping ground, it was cheap, I got to meet some kababayans, we ended
the night with a short walk around the lake while waiting for the insects and bug that got through the
van to die after I sprayed it.

August 24

It was unusually cold and windy that cloudy morning when we woke up at the sunset caravan park in
Richmond, we planned to camp in a free campsite so I had an early shower, I met an old lady from nsw
whom I had a chat, was referring to black hair adoring it and when she asked where are u from, I knew
already what she’s gonna say, of have you heard about the hostage taking in manila, yeah just
yesterday, I heard your government there is so corrupt, I was just umm and yeah, I normally don’t let
any negative comments about phil without any fight but when they talk about the government and its
corruption, I am just as frustrated and disappointed, we push for another 120 kilometer to hueghenden,
the another small town in the outback famous for its rich dinosaur history, there was another museum
dedicated to the local dinosaur resident, muttabasaurus, I thought we could skipped already since we
had seen so much already in Richmond, but it was only 3 bucks and it was the biggest attraction of the
town so went anyway, it was as modern and as good as the ones in Richmond but it was worth the 3
bucks we paid, there was a reconstructed life-sized replica of the muttavasaurus ______ (info), there
were also collections of _________ and some interesting information in the sheep industry in the area
(history), apparently the town is also one of those historical town with a lot of historical buildings, so we
did our own walking tour, it was easy to see everything in a few minutes, the town isn’t big and they are
closed to each other, metal workings adorned some buildings too like the dinosaur on the library façade
and some windmills and other art form made of metal, just the other towns we passed, although there
are a couple of structures here, there are very few people, I’ve seen more tourists in the area while
walking under the menacing heat at least for me, it was past lunch so we headed to the nearest park to
have sandwich, we had one last town to drive to before finally hitting the coast and drive back along the
coast to our final destination, the video presentation of the porcupine gorge was really interesting and
was thinking it could look like another lawn hill, Charles was a bit hesitant because he read something
about the unsealed road towards the gorge which made it sound like it was a worse drive, the usual
corrugated road and boggy road, we had already a flat tire and we aren’t driving a 4wheel drive, after
lunch he went back again to the information and asked about the road, good thing we did because she
assured us that it was about 10km that are unpaved and it’s doable by our van, after packing our things,
we went to the petrol station o refill, bought some distilled water for the radiator which almost
overheated when were in lawn hill, there were taps around the park and after confirming it from the
tourist center that it was drinkable we filled our car for another night at the national park, it was only 10
bucks to camp there with only toilets as facilities, off we went to the beautiful sunset drive tot eh gorge,
we’re glad we went with the plan it was ok and the scenery is very picturesque especially the unsealed
section where the long red dirt road against the vast flat grassland is just amazing, another big surprise
came when we spotted an emu on the road, that was the highlight of this trip for me, it’s always an
amazing experience for me when I see animals in the wild, we past some points o interest along the way
_____________ then detoured to the porcupine gorge lookout and had a short walk, it’s beautiful, from
the top not as spectacular as lawn hill though, the water is almost drying up, after that we started
camping early, Charles went to register to self register, I ask what would happen if we just leave this
camp without paying 10 bucks, he said nothing the ranger doesn’t check everyday, you could lucky or
unlucky, it’s honesty most of the time, I cooked an adobo which became a prertend menudo when I
change my mind and had dinner under the full moon I didn’t tell him what it’s called so he wouldn’t
have a clue how it taste ;),

August 25,

I set my alarm the next day to see the sunrise but when it went off and it was chilly that morning , we
ended up lingering watching it from the camper van, it was just behind us and saved us the trouble of
getting ready, we waited for the sun to come out and get back to our traded “unputdownablebooks” as
well them, we’re supposed to checkout at 10 am so we decided to packed the van and park it outside
where day visitors park so we don’t have to pay for another day, we wont’ back till noon kasi, we
followed the trail to the gorge and a quarter down to the trail, my battery was blinking so went back to
get my spare battery, there were two old couples ahead of us and I gotta to admit this one is a bit steep
and requires moderate level of fitness, halfway through, a friendly old man told us we better be fit to
complete this 45 minute walk, I just smiled, the tiring part was really the hike up, (we brought lots of
water on this one, it was a short hike, but we learned our lesson well in our Mt guiting guiting trip, we
don’t underestimate now any walk, it was hot and an open space and we are water guzzler so we always
bring extra water, the trail down is pretty much exposed so the heat made it more tiring than it should
be, the lady at the tourism was right, some sections of the stream have some growth of algae and other
parts had dried up, because of the video presentation though about the gorge I was able to appreciate
more the vista around me, over a 100 million years of nature’s work, from its earliest form, after
reaching the base and taking some photos, we decided to explore further upstream, the water near the
pyramid is a bit deeper and clearer than the rest but still not as clear and inviting as the other creeks we
had been too, at the end we separated ways and went to our favorite spots, Charles scrambling over the
rocks and exploring further behind the pyramid being a rock climbing enthusiasts, and me to this plant
all covered with red flowers buzzing with all sorts of insects bees and butterfly and honey eater birds,
there are really no shower at the national park so I was looking forward to swim on the creek, but
decided against it, Charles wasn’t even dipping his head under but he said it was still refreshing and ok,
on the way back another old couple made their way down the gorge, I was impressed by their fitness ,
the old man even used a cane to support himself, the climb up was a bit tough, I wondered how long it
would take that old man to climb back to the gorge, on the up, we met this lone german tourist who was
on a 3 week holiday, I met him first while I was obsessing with the bees and butterfly and tipped about
some birds he found in the area, Charles was a bit surprised about his itinerary because there are more
the off the beaten places and untouristy places and we learned later that it wasnt his first time in aus
and he had seen mostly the touristy stuff, having this unhealthy fear of snake though,I was surprise of
his desire to visit diamondtina national park and do all the hot long drive in the outback just to see the
taipan snake, well it’s the most poisonous snake in the world, he was more interested now in the
wildlife of aus, later on we googled about the taipan and learned that 11 of the most dangerous snakes
are found in aus, it was only past eleven when we got back to the parking lot and we decided to push
thorugh and have lunch at hughenden, it must have been our lucky day, on our way back we saw again
some wild emu, this time 2 on both sides of the woodlands, a farewell treat that made my day, back in
the town, we dropped by at foodworks to get al loaf of bread and went back to the park for lunch, it
was funny we saw again the same family with three young kids in the area who had gave me back the
sunglass I left behind in the other town, I was loving the raucous birds in the park who aren’t so shy of
people, in fact they would even dive on your food and take it if you turn on your back, until this bloody
butcher perched atop the tree crapped on my neck, good thing I finished my sandwich, there were raven
crows, lorikeets, corrella, butcher bird, and pewee in that park, very common in queensland, after lunch
it was another 250 kilometer drive to charter’s tower, the last town inland that we would visit before
finally hitting the coast, at the last few kilometers, the gradual change in terrain of the scenery were
starting to unfold, the outback gradually became greener, mountains startedto border the horizons, I
had a sudden recollection of all the adventures we had in the last few weeks, I started to miss the
outback already, it wasn’t anything that I expected at all, it was more and I enjoyed it, but upon seeing
some building from afar and vista of a town, I borrowed Charles phone and check fb, after many days of
no connection from optus, I was back again to civilization, we had a quick drive around the town before
parking in one corner to check a place to camp for the night, it was 3 nights of camping with no power,
so we booked the one recommended by Charles mom, it was noted in our list of camper grounds and it
was the closest to the town, 29 bucks for a powered site, the price was ok and the free 30 minute
internet per day was a bonus, we ended the day with an afternoon drinkie, I had lemon bitter and lime
which is actually a soft drink and Charles had 3 of his 6pack beer and had our usual vegetable overload
of stirfry, and I stayed till one in the morning to finish “the tourist” book that I traded before and was
looking forward to trade it again with a new one, im so loving this,”

August 26

Woke up on a chilly morning and was excited what charters tower has to offer, we had a quick drive
around the town when we arrived late in the afternoon the previous day, we packed the van and drove
to the town center and park in front of the big Chinese restaurant that had an eat all you can meal for
about 10 bucks, then we went to the cinema to check what’s on, the ticket her was cheap around 10
bucks only unlike in mackay 15 bucks and 16 bucks in mackay but inception was showing around 7pm
only and we wanted to explore the town at daytime, we went straight to the tourist information center
to get more brochures and get more info, the town has ___, from here we got heritage walk guide and
booked our venus battery tour and the movie by night a ghost gold hill, we pretty much covered the
historic building before we got hold of the guide but it having some bits and info about each building
made it more interesting and meaningful, it’s a small town and it was easy to cover, most of the historic
buildings are huddled within the towns center, was impressed with this structure the tourists were
taking pictures of after I learned if it was one of the first stick exchange buildings in Australia, there was
also a small mining museum at its far end free of charge, moving in through the theater there was a
current exhibit of artworks, photogeraphy paintings, etc. it was past lunch time so we decided to look
for a place to eat, we were in town so I suggested to eat at the Chinese restaurant since I was in the
mood for rice, it’s eat all you can cheap, Charles was tint eh mood for Chinese food though so we went
around the town and check out the menus of the four other restaurants, others were too expensive.just
ok and then we ended going back to the Chinese place, it was massive with a buffet style food area
where you can gorge yourself with as much food as you want, during lunchtime though there were only
two old chaps eating in it, while the rest of the other restaurants were packed at lunch time, then the
verdict came when we tasted the food, it wasn’t really that good, and I would guess most of its food
were recycled unless there gonna throw everything that night, anyway it was cheap and filling enough
and I normally gorge myself in eat all you can restaurant to get ur moneys worth but I didn’t bother, I
went back to the car and got the lind dark chocolate left over, finished it and washed down with the
complimentary tea serve by the restaurant, we lingered here until it closed att 2pm, at least there were
two flat screen tv one televising the local news and the other an American talk show,

After lunch we drove to the venus battery, a gold mill, we arrived in a desserted receiving area and an
old factory behind it well not until a hoarse-voiced friendly chap emerged after 10 minutes, he told us to
wait for 1o more minutes before starting another tour, I really have no idea what a venus battery is, and
wasn’t really interested in the stuff I was reading on display until he started sharing his stories about the
town and the battery like a local who had seen the good golden days, it was impressive how jeff
conducted his tour, there was a couple with one daughter and Charles and I, we starte with how the
town _______,the battery is still well preserved, and you could see from here the step by step process
of milling the rocks and extracting the gold from it, he was very animated and was a bit of a character
engaging his listeners, I should be paying more attention to the things he was referring to, the best part
of the tour was the 3d hologram presentation of its history, and the talking ghost projected on water
streaming down, I didn’t know milling gold was ________________________, it was around 10 bucks, it
was worth it,charter’s towers is after all a mining town that had grown into a city because of the gold so
we might as well see how it was like, there were old horse drawn carriage inside, and all the machinery
for the step by step processes were still there.

After the tour we had a chat again with jeff and found out that he was also the one operating the movie
at the ghost hill, he said he is just gonna push the button, the movie will show at 6:30 but we decided to
go there already and while the time away up the hill, apprarently it has a good sunset and great view of
the city, there were points of interest on the way up and even walking tracks, we decided just read
books and have a drinkie while waiting for the movie, there were rock wallabies there, a good place that
wont disappoint if you haven’t one, I hurriedly heat water to cook some pasta before the movie starts
and had some ready made sauce, we made it just on time, jeff said hi when he saw us having dinner
there, in a few minutes the movie started, it was a short clip about the town’s culture and history again
made more intesting as they were narrated by the ghost of the past, there were 3 couples and a family
with kids in their pajamas, the movie was around 6 bucks but if you happen to be in charter’s and have
nothing to do this is something for a change, or you could do the drive in cinema every sat,



August 27

Finally our last drive to the coast, around 10 am we left our caravan park in charter’s towers, 133
kilometers on flinders highway to the bruce highway and 350 kilometer on bruce highway along the
coast towards mackay, stopped at ayr and had mu first macca here, had a take out and ate the park
beside the gigantic snake, the day was dreary throughout our drive, at least it wasn’t hot, we passed the
plantations of mangoes and finally the horizon is cut but green hills and mountains, it was around 4pm
when arrive at calen to camp at Charles sister block of land, we stayed there for 2 nights, cleaning up the
van and catching up with his relatives, had a swim in the creek, it was cold, saw some rock wallabies
now and then but seems like one of those animals now that you see, the next day, we drove to the city
of mackay to look for a car wash and it is still a do it yourself carwash operated by coins and you do all
the manual work, after 6 weeks of travel, it needs some good old washing and we got upt to 15 bucks
just because Charles is a bit oc



,