The Daintree – a tropical wet rainforest

The Daintree – a tropical wet rainforest.

The campsite in Atherton at Lake Tinaroo turned out to be a popular spot for weekend warriors. By Saturday morning we were ready to move on. Next stop Kuranda. Tia had fond memories of Kuranda from 14years ago. Things have changed of course but it is still a very laid-back bohemian village with a tree-lined main street and lots of cafes, clothes shops and trinket stores (great!?). Some of the original markets remained although re-built after a cyclone. I behaved myself and left Tia to shop for about an hour while I caught up on e-mails and posted some more photos for the blog.

Close to Kuranda is the Baron Falls – quite spectacular in the lower river level we saw but would be a real site in full flood. Driving down off the tablelands to the Cairns coastal plain was challenging with the Jeep in low gear to prevent the brakes from overheating - great views however over Cairns and the coastline. The Cook Highway runs up the coast right on the edge of the ocean and we stopped to watch some para-sailors and hang-gliders make the most of the conditions. The site reminded us of the Wollongong coast.

The Daintree World Heritage rainforest can be accessed from Cooktown (long way around) or via ferry over the Daintree River. We chose the latter. The road is bitumen from Daintree River to Cape Tribulation and this helped us reach our campsite in reasonable time. You can see evidence of the different political motivations in this area. Here is a world class wet tropical rainforest with private properties and commercial operations dotted along the road. A quick look at the map reveals that the world heritage preservation area weaves around these pre-existing properties in an effort to preserve what is left. There is no doubt that some of the resorts would be a treat to stay at but this little wood-duck’s budget doesn’t extend that far!

The beach-side camp was nothing less than fantastic! We were less than 50mtrs from the beach but protected from it by a thick cover of rainforest. The Daintree is heralded as “where the rainforest meets the sea” and it does. We took a stroll along the shore having been assured by the park owner that there were no croc’s in the area. I don’t think Tia was convinced and when I suggested a swim the next day she was not enthusiastic. To her credit she followed me into the water but stayed some metres behind. I think this was a cynical plot to use me as bait!

I was keen to do as much of the Bloomfield Track as possible so we set out the next morning to explore. I am very glad we decided to leave the camper at Cape Trib (that’s short for Cape Tribulation which is just too hard to keep repeating). The road deteriorates to a 4WD track and is great fun. Numerous creek crossings and rough track made this a challenging run. It seems that we may have done the track at its worst. The graders have not been through since the wet season. I can’t imagine what it would be like in the wet. The track would become slippery and the creek crossings deeper and faster (what are you doing next Feb or March, Chris?? Two vehicles and a load of snatch straps could be the order of the day!). We were lucky enough to experience some of the beaches completely on our own. Couldn’t see a sole in any direction (except for the imaginary crocs). This was very special.

Did I say that the Daintree was a WET tropical rainforest? Let me assure you – it is! We got a real drenching the next night. Tia’s suggestion, which was a good one, to leave the tent set up for a couple of hours to dry out was scotched by another downpour. We decided to dash to Cairns to re-group before heading off to PNG. This was a day earlier than planned but worth it.

Spent yesterday in Cairns just goofing around. Booked a Tully River rafting experience for our return from PNG. The company we decided to book with offered three levels of experience. Level one has a few rapids and lots of nice views. The second has more rapids and is guaranteed to “clean out the cobwebs”. The third is labelled “Extreme Adventure” and offers swimming rapids, rapid surfing, and lots of holes. Which one do you think Tia wanted? Which one you think I wanted and which one do you think we booked? I will reveal the answer to these questions in the next blog if we haven’t drowned (just a little clue there).

I may have mentioned in a previous blog that the packing and unpacking process is taking a little longer than desirable. We have decided to lighten our load while here in Cairns and will send back to Sydney a lot of excess equipment etc. After three weeks on the road we are now looking at all the stuff we packed and are asking ourselves – why? Silly things like too many plates, mugs and glasses; too many cooking pots and too much clothes. Once we relieve ourselves of this overburden we should be able to pack up much faster.

Until next time.

Alan and Tia

Additional Photos

Hi, just sitting at Karanda and thought I would send the last few photos. The one just above is of the Dinosaur Tracks at Lark's Quarry. Tia is prouid of her en-suite in the next phots and the top photo is of Porcupine Gorge.

See ya!

Alan

Out of the Desert and into the Rainforest

Out of the Desert and into the Rainforest

We left you on the last post in Longreach and we got our good cup of coffee. Decided not to go to Carnarvon Gorge NP as by all reports it seems to be quite busy. Instead we headed for Winton to follow the Dinosaur trail. Camped at Bough Shed Hole in the Bladensburg NP. This is a great site if you happen to get lost one day and find yourself in Winton (See photos). We stayed here for three very pleasant nights. Whilst in Winton I bought a pair of Blundstone workboots. Tia had previously bought a pair in Dubbo and has raved about them ever since so I couldn’t miss out. Now we can get about in matching boots – very becoming (Tammy, eat your heart out!). Other than the great service in Searles Men’s Store (two brothers run the store and are both in their eighties at least – what a treat) there is not much to say about Winton. We tried to buy wine in the local pub BUT “we don’t stock wine here”. Okay, how about some dark beer or stout? “No, but we do have XXXX aye”
We travelled out to Lark’s Quarry, 220km round trip, to see the largest collection of Dinosaur tracks in the world. The guide was fantastic and added real value to the story of the dinosaur stampede. Next day we visited the Aust Dinosaur Exhibition and got to see how the fossil remains are prepared for display. What painstaking work. Using needle-like tools they chisel away the rock from the fossilised bone. One piece on display took a team of workers three years to complete.
Enough of Dinosaurs! Alan, can we move on now! Yes, but can we go and see the Muttaburrasaurus in Heughendon? By the time we got to Heughendon, even I had had enough so we just moved on. We picked Porcupine Gorge NP just because it was a convenient place to stay for the night. Sometimes the unexpected can be the best! The camping ground was small and well laid out and Porcupine Gorge was spectacular. We clambered down to the bottom of the gorge and discovered a clean flowing stream. A quick dip was called for and stripping off to undies seemed the right thing to do – only shocked the local wildlife, no people around.
“Welcome to the Undara Experience!” This does not look promising. Very organised, very commercial and very Queensland! The national park is restricted to guided tours only (for good reasons as we later found out) but the end result is a commercial operator setting up a caravan/lodge/camping complex complete with free campfire entertainment. We took a powered site but in retrospect wished we hadn’t. The unpowered sites are great and tucked away at the back of the camping grounds while the powered site we were on was a bit like being in a goldfish bowl.
The visit to the lava tubes was fascinating not only because of the tubes themselves but our guide must have been the sister to Dave O’Neil. She was as dry as a James Bond Martini and had the typical Queensland inflection – aye! She was however very entertaining, genuine and informative.
How quickly can you pack up a Cavalier Camper Trailer? Very quickly when you want to get out of “The Undara Experience”.
From Undara to Atherton is only a short drive but what a contrast to the days of desert and scrub. The scenery changed as if you had changed channels on the TV. Temperate rainforest closed in on the road and where the land has been cleared dairy cattle are grazing rather than beef cattle. It takes a while for the eyes to soak up the greenery and the abundance of water. Although the country we have travelled through from the start of this trip has been well watered from the rains and floods this year, it does not compare to a rainforest. Atherton is a great town and we will go back there in the next day to explore more. Well we are now up to date. I am sitting by a lake penning (can you pen something on a computer?) this blog. Tia is sitting beside me working on a painting she started in Tibooburra. She is having a field day with the camera (thank god for 8G memory sticks!)
We have decided to head for Cape Tribulation before coming back to Cairns and flying out to PNG next Friday (28th). I will try to get another blog off before we fly out.
This blog will be posted later today. We have already found a coffee shop with good coffee and an internet.
Technical Notes:
The road from Porcupine NP to The Lynd Junction was a surprise. I expected a gravel road in reasonable condition but instead got a mixed bag. Some parts were bitumen, some gravel and for no apparent reason in parts it deteriorated down to a track. We had two small stream crossings (see photo) which made it interesting. We are now mainly on bitumen – how boring, but it does allow you to get to a place in predictable time.

The Jeep continues to perform well. The roads have shaken a couple of wires and tubes loose but these have been easy to repair. No new squeaks or rattles. Hopefully this will continue.

Don’t buy fuel in Innaminka! $1.82 for diesel. The bad news for petrol driven vehicles is that there is no ‘cheap Tuesday’. Petrol is within 2 – 3 cents of diesel. Generally I have been paying around $1.40 for diesel.

On the way

Departure
Left Epping on a perfect Thursday ( I know, we were supposed to leave Wednesday but last minute jobs etc..) and had to stop in Katoomba for an early lunch. Time marched on but we were blissfully wiling away the hours until we realised it was 1.00pm and we still had 300km to get to Dubbo, find the caravan park, set up camp for the first time and cook dinner. This did not look promising!

Finally arrived about 4.30pm and by the time we set up we decided to “treat” ourselves to dinner at the Hogs Breath Cafe. The truth was that we did not defrost any meat and could not get our act together to cook.

The caravan park is insane! There are too many kids, too many young people, and just too many... caravan travellers. What with noisy neighbours, noisy trucks (on the Newell Hwy) and the occasional aeroplane it is a wonder we slept at all.

Spent Friday at the Dubbo Zoo. A worthwhile day with some great time on the bikes. Photos tell the story.

Tried to get out of Dubbo early but still can’t seem to get our act together. Supposed to check out by 10.00am but finally got away around 10.45am. Finally on our way to Bourke. Very standard drive – nothing to report.

Technical Note: (You don’t have to read these in the future if you don’t want to)
The car is running extra well and consuming about 14lts/100km. The trailer is always behind us which is a good thing.

Road Conditions: Nothing exceptional here but stand by for later reports!

Bourke:
We looked and looked for a particular campsite on the Darling River but to no avail. Had to settle for another caravan park! Fortunately this time we stuck some luck. The park was friendly and welcoming and QUIET.

Cooked our first meal (a quickie called two minute omelette – tasty but not worth sharing the recipe.)

Got away okay the next morning (Mother’s Day – happy Mother’s Day Mum). DISASTER!!! ( See the picture) the road to Tibooburra is closed! Not a problem – just ask the locals.
“You don’t want to believe that mate, if you followed all the signs you wouldn’t get anywhere”

So began the adventure...

All was fine and dandy (that’s country speak for okay) and we were travelling at about 100km/hr. A number of wash outs and detours gave us some indication as to what the road condition must have been like in the last few months with all the rain up here. Then we came across what appeared to be an impassable stream running across the road (see photo). Bear in mind that we have only passed two or three cars in the past 3hrs. As I was getting out of the car to test the water a local farmer pulled up and guided us across the stream. What luck! After this, the road actually improved. It seemed that this was the reason for the Road Closure sign at Bourke.


Tibbooburra
Just as you would imagine, or at least it was as I had imagined. A local pub and another local pub and, well, not much more. The map said there was a camp ground at Dead Horse Gully – a suspicious or perhaps auspicious name? The site was rocky, remote and fantastic! There was only one other camper over the other side of the campground so we felt completely alone even though we were only a short distance out of town. So short in fact that we decided to meet the locals at the pub for a sundowner. Met Tom Allan, a local who may have been auditioned and cast for the role but I can assure you he was the real thing. Long beard, cowboy hat, sheepskin vest and about three weeks of dirt all over. He used to repair the dog fence between NSW and Qld but now is a bit of a rouse-about. A reeealy interesting man who had a philosophy on life that was related to us with religious fervour. Nevertheless, we spent an interesting couple of hours with Tom Allan. (we’re not sure if his name is Tom or Alan. He introduced himself as Allan but all the locals called him Tom – go figure!)

Before heading into town we spent a peaceful afternoon in the camp with classical music playing and Tia painting and I started this blog.

Everything is washed out around here. We could not get to any of the local attractions so we decided to move onto Cameron Corner.

Wildlife is amazing. We have seen eagles (lots of), a dingo, roos ofcourse both greys and big reds, emus, snakes, lizards, many types of water birds such as (apologies to Miss Carolina – see Kit for an explanation) cranes, turns and egrets. Have also seen lots of wild horses and goats.

The trip to Cameron Corner had us crossing a large recently dried up swamp which was surreal (see photo).

Not much at Cameron Corner but we did enjoy a hamburger and beer – we seem to be drinking quite a lot – this must stop; but then, why? The Bore Track was closed so we had to pick our way through minor roads and tracks to get to Innaminka. I know I have said it before but this was a reeealy interesting drive. Lots of sandy sections, dust, gravel and just plain dirt track – am I in my element?

Innaminka
Don’t blink. Just a pub and general store this time and the local National Parks Office. Most of the campgrounds are washed out but we are directed to Ski Beach. Weird name in a place like Innaminka but I think there is some irony in it. The camp was next to the Cooper Creek and the bird life was prolific as was the insect life (get out the mozzie coils!). We took refuge in the tent to eat dinner.

Again, all the roads are washed out. We cannot get to the Dig Tree and the Cordillo Downs road has the Cooper Creek running over it and is impassable (see photo). In fact all the roads north and east are inaccessible due to a local bridge over the Cooper being destroyed. We are obliged therefore to take a 300km diversion back south, then east, then north to end up at Noccundra. This is literally just a pub with campgrounds beside the local river. One benefit however is the availability of showers! How good is a shower after spending 4 days in the dust of the outback.

Got away early the next day to put in a big push to Longreach. This was the longest day of driving and we do not want to do too many of these although I am sure there will be some. The caravan park is not great but we need a day or two to re-group. The Anderson plug on the trailer has disappeared as has one of the dust covers on the trailer hub. We also need some camping gear and food and a good coffee. What’s the chance in Longreach? – I’ll let you know in the next blog as I am sitting in the tent finishing this off before we head into town to post this blog.

Well we went into town to post this blog but guess what, Longreach is closed for the Show. So we decided to join them. Tia found a friend in a cow and I inspected some wool to buy for Kit and Jono – they know why (see photos). The show was a typical country fair. Lots of produce, animals, machinery and girls with stock whips (give you more details on this in a closed adult blog sometime later.)

We also spent an interesting 3 hours at the QANTAS museum.

We will now have to go into town tomorrow to post this blog. On a recognisance today it would appear that the prospect of a good coffee looks promising.

Late note: where did all the baby boomers come from? Did the rain bring them out or do they emerge from southern summer heat around this time every year? I expected to see locusts but not a plague of baby boomers in oversize caravans with oversize 4WD’s. Too much money and too much time on their hands. I think the nation needs to find something productive for them to do – am I sounding a little hypocritical??

Technical Note: Too much dust on the road and too many corrugations. Fuel consumption has dropped. The trailer is still behind us which is amazing. There were times when I thought it had disappeared (see photo). Weather is fantastic, cool nights and warm days with not a cloud in the sky.

Note to Nate: started Doxy today. Will be wearing extra sun protection from now on.

Walkabout - Pre departure

Hello everyone, welcome to this, the first post for Walkabout. Please bare with me as I get used to the idea of putting down the relevant and not so relevant details of our journey.

The idea for this trip has has had a long gestation. Tia and I have discussed the prospect and I have planned the trip over and over in my mind for some years. As most of you know I was retrenched in 2009 and at the time wanted to take a new direction in life and career. I was counselling as a volunteer for Lifeline Face to Face Counselling and this seemed to be the right direction. Fear of the unknown drove me to accept a management position with a contracting company however and this seemed to be the right thing to do at the time. As time went by it became clear that I was not where I needed to be.

The stars aligned themselves about two months ago and the decision to quit my job, take the trip we had dreamed of and start a new life crystalised. This brings you up to date to where we are in our head space.

THE TRIP
What we have planned is to head west through Dubbo (stopping at the Western Plains Zoo) to Bourke and then onto Tibboburra. Frome there we head north along the Bore Track to Innaminka and via the Cordillo Downs road to Birdsville. Our journey heads east to Longreach (the QANTAS museum) and Carnarvon Gorge. We will then wander north along the Queensland interior to finally come to the coast at Cairns. We then take a 10 day diversion to Port Moresby to see our son. While in PNG he is going to take us to Goroka and Madang. On our return to Cairns we will follow the Savannah Way to Darwin. A short sidetrip to Kakadu should prove interesting. The main focus of our trip is to spend some time in the Kimberley's in WA. To this end we will slowly travel down the Gibb River Road to Derby and then Broome. If time permites a side trip to Cape Leveque will be really interesting. This will mark the furthest point from home and as we start the journey back we will tackle the Tanami Road through the Tanami Desert (suprise suprise!) to Alice Springs making sure we spend some time at Wolf Creek Crater. Again if time permits we will come home via Lake Eyre, Flinders Ranges and Wilpena Pound.

I'm exhausted just listing this out, heavens knows how we will feel after driving the journey.

Anyway, the Jeep and trailer are ready for a not too early start on Thursday (see photos).

For those of you who were treated to Kit's blog, I will try to ensure the standard is maintained but I cannot guarantee this.

Stay tuned for futher updates with road conditions (reeeally exciting), best campsites (just in case you venture this way), Tia's latest chat topics (not enough room for this on the blog) and photos (Alan gone native?)

Love to all

Alan and Tia