Undara Lava Tubes

Coming off the high of Cairns we journeyed inland along a route known as the Savannah Way. This 3000km route links Cairns in the east with Broome in the west via a range of sealed highways, dirt roads and rough tracks. As the name suggests, the route transverses a broad corridor of Savannah vegetation running along the top of Australia. In doing so it links a number of localities and attractions that you would otherwise miss if travelling on the main highway.  We traveled only some of the Savannah Way but picked up some of its best attractions such as the Undara Lava Tubes, Karumba and Lawnhill National Park. This entry takes us from Cairns, up the Atherton Tablelands and down the Kennedy highway as far as Mt Surprise.

  

The reality of going from resort style living to the rawness of camping could not of been more abrupt with our first night back on the road spent at a “free” camp along the side of the Kennedy Highway not far from Ravenshoe. Archer Creek free camp was a pleasant enough spot but due to our late check in, limited sites were available and as a result we had to back the camper up along side the highway for the evening. It would have been all good had there been no traffic but that is unrealistic. The road was so close to our campsite that the pressure wave of air created by passing trucks easily penetrated the canvas of the camper making the bed awnings flap and sway. The associated sound of the passing semi-trailer trucks was also very unsettling as you could hear their growl a good kilometer away. Slowly but surely the sound of the wheels and the engine would build up and thunder by only metres away from our heads. While the kids slept well, the trucks rolled through the night at 1 or 2 an hour giving you just enough time to drift off before half waking for the next passing truck.

Not everybody was smiles about this campsite, Archer Creek, Queensland 

The Undara Lava Tubes is a cleverly marketed bush resort set on an old cattle station neighboring the Undara Lava Tube Conservation Area. We set up camp here for 3 nights to take in a range of activities. Lava tubes sounds dramatic, but in essence they are caves, which have formed through a totally different process to their limestone cousins. While the guided tour of the lava tubes was fascinating especially with our authentic Australian bush guide Steve it was all the other experiences that made for a great stay at Undara. Every night a bonfire was cranked up and a range of activities such as slide presentations; sing-alongs or story telling provided. One of the presentations was on Crocodiles. If we weren’t already paranoid about these “snapping handbags” this did not help the cause. The resort also had a great pool, which was handy as the weather was starting to turn hot, something we would have to get used to as we headed further west.

Undara Lava Tubes, Queensland

Good swimming to be had at Undara Lava Tubes, Queensland

Another highlight for me was to ride one of the walking tracks with a fellow cyclist that I had met earlier that was keen for a pedal. I stress that this was a walking track, not a cycling track but we really enjoyed ourselves navigating and maneuver the bikes through the rocky and undulating 12km circuit. In doing so we made access to some great lookouts and travel through some relatively remote territory on the property. In what’s becoming my trademark “cycling near misses”, our little exploration became dicey when the sun got lower and we (I) miss-judged the distance. We had no lights and no maps, just a faint trail and blue markers in trees to indicate the way in the slowly diminishing light. As we were under pressure to get home before sun down we often found ourselves losing the markers and in turn the trail. The trail completely disappeared a number of times and a sense of nervousness started to creep in. It wouldn’t have been fatal if we got lost, but it would have been highly embarrassing. But we kept at it, backtracking if we needed and making it home just as the sunset. It was a technical and exhilarating ride but a little nerve racking at the same time.

Up to my old tricks exploring Undara, Queensland

I write this blog as my own record and also to keep family up with our movements. It’s important then to mention how everybody else is travelling and not just my own experiences. Over the next couple of entries I will give my take on how everybody in the family is fairing, with Tamara covered in this one.

Good bushwalking to be had at Undara Lava Tubes, Queensland 

Tamara is no stranger to touring and roughing it with an impressive list of adventure travels and all that it brings including hiking in South America and touring through Africa. That said she would happily admit she enjoys the comforts, convenience and privacy of home life. As do I. While we have both talked about an extended camping trip around Australia for quite some time I am the one responsible for pushing the idea. In this regard Tamara has been gracious enough to support the endeavor, fully knowing that we will be on the road a long time, living within the relative close confines of each other and away from many of the comforts of home.  That said she also sees the value in this trip in terms of the kid’s development and the opportunity for all of us to see places and have experiences that we have only dreamed of.

Long term camping and touring is rewarding and exciting but it can be repetitious and absolutely exhausting. While we are enjoying the trip immensely, the journey has tested both our patience, but in true Tamara fashion when things turn tough she just grits her teeth and gets on with the job. One night we found ourselves in a slight spot of bother when at 3am it started to rain. Not expecting the rain we had left almost everything out in the open. You can imagine the almighty rush then in the wet and the dark to get it all under cover as well as pop out the bed flys so that we remain dry and mud free.  There was no moaning, no swearing and no panic, just the super efficient re-stowing of clothes and boxes, the folding of chairs and the zipping up of windows all lead by her. We returned to bed and were back asleep nearly as quickly as we had risen, with the job complete and no fuss and no complaining.

Having found her feet and getting to know the ins and outs of the camper Tamara is “all over it” and very much making me look amateurish. She has been an outstanding cook, with a knack for making something interesting and delicious from very little ingredients; there have been very few humble sausage sandwiches on this trip! She has also been great with keeping the schoolwork up to kids, which has been great to watch and very important as they are out of school for the whole term. Above all though she has not held back in throwing herself into the trip and with all of its different experiences including the uncomfortable, difficult and dirty ones. We both share a common drive to get amongst it and squeeze the very best out of our time on the road, even when the going gets a little tough. This in turn has made the travelling together all the more easier and enjoyable and for that I’m grateful.

Next stop Gulf Country, Mt Isa and Lawnhill NP

Time for a holiday.....

After being on the road for more than a month and covering some 5000 km our run north up the east coast of Australia comes to an end in Cairns. We have been fortunate enough to see and experience some gorgeous beaches and seaside locations that are truly worthy of the title Paradise. Queensland has some real gems on its coast many of which are tucked away out of the mainstream tourist traps. I think its safe to say that we have been really enjoying ourselves (really, how could you not) and become very settled with life on the road with the good experiences far outweighing the little niggles and frustrations.

Its time to kick things up a notch though, and explore some of what Australia is all about, the wide-open spaces of the outback, the iconic national parks and an indigenous culture the depth of which is rarely see in Canberra all of which are in the interior of the big island. That’s the positive description but in reality this means long dusty corrugated roads, heat, flies, showerless campsites, long drop toilets, ordinary coffee, road trains, expensive fuel, mosquitoes, abusive locals and limited services (I write this with a smile). So before we embarked on this stage of the trip and in true roughing it style we took a break from the camper and rented a “cheap & cheerful” bungalow in Palm Cove, an exclusive suburb in Cairns north. This would long be remembered as the “holiday” part of our little adventure.

Cairns offered a whole raft of places to see, and experiences to have, and so it made good sense to have a location from which to base ourselves from. Palm Cove was simply perfect. Having limited knowledge of Cairns I booked a beach bungalow on the web knowing only that Palm Cove was on the northern part of town making it very central for our activities. By pure chance and much to our delight the bungalow was 250m from one of the most exclusive and intimate beachfronts in Australia. All the luxury resorts were there, Pullman, Peppers, Sebel, Grand Mecure and Mantra. We were in none of these and although the agent referred to our bungalow as cheap and cheerful it was 5 star to us coming out of our 2m x 6m camper.  

Palm Beach sunrise, Queensland

I wont go through everything that we did in Cairns, but in brief these were the standout items:

·      Kuranda Scenic Railway – I took the kids on this short historical railway trip from the city up through the tropical hinterland backing Cairns, past waterfalls and wet tropics rain forest.

·      Kuranda Markets – After our train ride we wandered through the various stalls of the touristy markets taking in a range of sights, the cheap and nasty, the interesting, the weird, the alternative and the downright cool. We finished off with a bushwalk through the rain forest and picnic lunch by the Barron River on yet another superbly sunny day.

·      Cairns Esplanade and lagoon pool – Yet another outstanding Queensland beachfront esplanade, complete with gardens, play grounds, exercise trails, cafés and views over the water. Cairns throws in a massive lagoon pool (free entry) to top their esplanade off. We spent a number of hot afternoons along the esplanade and hanging by the lagoon. The afternoon finished off with a Gelato and a stroll through the harbor checking out the multi-million dollar yachts.

·      Atherton Table lands – By now you have probably caught on that I don’t mind a decent coffee. Up in the Atherton Tablelands above Cairns they grow many things including Coffee Beans. Mareeba Coffee Works is an absolute must for the coffee nut. We indulged heavily one afternoon on their best beans and a massive chocolate sampler plate.

·      The Daintree and Cape Tribulation – Due north of Cairns is the World Heritage Listed Daintree Rainforest, renowned for its amazing biodiversity and ancient rainforests (older and more diverse than the Amazon apparently). We spent a day driving up to Cape Tribulation, where the rainforest meets the ocean and wandered along the beach. We also went to the Daintree Discovery Centre, which provided an informative look at the rainforest and a chance to climb into the very top of the canopy. The kids seemed to really enjoy this one.

Daintree Discovery Centre, Queensland

·      Sunrise on Palm Cove Beach – We don’t often get the chance to see the sun come up over the water in Canberra, so most mornings we (including the kids) would take the short walk down to the gorgeous Palm Cove Beach for an early but beautiful start to the day.

Palm Beach sunrise, Queensland

·      Sunday roast with guests – Keen for some company and the opportunity to show our Dutch friends (Leontine, Sandor, Job & Shauna) some Australian culture we invited them over for a lamb roast. It was such a pleasant evening with the kids playing together delightfully and it was also refreshing for Tamara and I to have some “adult time” sharing conversation with like-minded adults over a few wines.

Lamb roast at the bungalow with friends 

·      Quick Silver and the outer reef - The highlight for Cairns has to have been the trip out to the outer Great Barrier Reef on the Quicksilver. It was an all day trip including 3 hrs round journey on the very large and very fast Quicksilver which took us to a very large pontoon on the very outer edge of the Great Barrier Reef where the water was warm, super clear and abundant with life. Over the 3 hrs that we were on the pontoon we took to the reef through underwater observation decks, glass bottom boats and a snorkeling session. I was very proud of Tom and Lara for taking to snorkeling so well, seemingly un-phased by the deep water and the large schools of fish. We finished off the day back at Palm Cove Beach, settled in with a bottle of red and some takeaway Pizza for the setting of the sun. Gold, as they say!  

Snorkelling the outer Great Barrier Reef, Queensland

The only negative thing about Palm Cove and our little bungalow was facing the anticlimax as we repacked our little camper and drove off down the road knowing that we probably leaving the high point of the trip and that rougher, dustier and hotter times were ahead.

Palm Beach sunrise, Queensland

Next stop the Savannah Way.

On a Mission to find a particular beach.

We continued northward out of Airlie Beach and up the Bruce Highway bound for the very hip and cruisie community of Mission Beach on the Cassowary Coast. It was a long run to Mission Beach, so we broke up the trip with an overnighter in a little place called Lucinda, after a brief but pleasant stop for lunch along “The Strand” in Townsville. Lucinda is in the very heart of sugar country. For many hundreds of km North and South of the quaint coastal township we saw not only field after field of sugar cane but also purpose built rail infrastructure, and numerous sugar refineries that make up a whole industry.

Lucky for us it is harvest time, providing for many distractions along the road as the cane is cut, loaded and transported in half sized trains to smoky refineries. The cane is no longer burnt (for environmental reasons I assume) but it would have been a site to see. Lucinda doubles up as a major shipping terminal for the sugar industry, complete with warehouses holding massive piles of refined sugar, and a lengthy 5 km pier providing access to nearby shipping lanes.

Overwhelmingly the trip has provided good experiences, but it wouldn’t be an adventure if issues (large & small) didn’t pop up from time to time.  I am also conscious that I largely offer up good experiences in my writing, but I can assure you that it’s not all beer and skittles! Lucinda, provided more of an annoyance than a disaster but it’s worth a mention if you picture us in some clean and orderly caravan park, lazily spread out on a beautiful patch of grass beside our little camper with an ice cold beer in hand after a long day on the road.

Cane fields near Lucinda, Queensland

Like caravan parks before, the park in Lucinda was chock-a-block with grey nomads who had parked themselves there for the winter months. Accordingly all the choice spots were well gone leaving only the dustiest, noisiest little nooks left. After checking in and with map in hand, we found our tiny little patch squeezed between two massive caravans. Instead of grass on the site, which was everywhere else, we had a bed of crushed granite. Directly in front of the site were the ablutions, which is handy if you need to go to the toilet in the middle of the night (common with kids) but not so handy when every other resident does the same. To the rear of the site and directly under the children’s bed was a storm water sump complete with stagnate water and a strong odour. Another 5 metres beyond this was the fish-cleaning shed. Not only did we get the stench of fish guts but we also got the chatter of fisherman returning in the night with their catch. And how much would you pay for the privilege of parking your camper in such a delightful spot? A very rich $50 per night would you believe! Luckily we were only passing through for the night but it was disgraceful that this little piece of gravel was even up for let. After a rough night thankfully we were off to greener pastures. The moral of this story is always check what you are being offered before handing over the cash.

South Mission Beach made all the bad experiences of the night before quickly disappear. It was quite simply everything that we had been looking for on our tour of beaches along the Queensland Coast. For us it had the lot. The beach itself was perfect and something that you would easily find on the cover of a holiday brochure. The coconut tree lined beaches open onto calm waters and spectacular views of Dunk Island directly off the coast and the rugged Hinchinbrook Island to the south. Being a small town the beaches were never too busy and perfect for early morning walks or just spending the afternoon playing on the sand with the kids. Best of all the weather was absolutely perfect being sunny and warm with the gentlest of breezes coming off the ocean. We settled into for three days of beach perfection in a little caravan park directly opposite the water.

Picture perfect South Mission Beach, Queensland

The town itself is small and spread out with a small shopping hub, complete with lovely bars and cafes. The community was very friendly and appeared to be quite “herbal” with a number of alternative healing places dotted around the place. The thing that I liked the most about Mission Beach was that it seems unchanged and untouched by heavy development, which is what we found with other places. We managed to catch the popular Sunday markets where arts & crafts and fresh fruit and veggies from around the region are sold. I had a crack at some fresh local coconut that was nice but the boys were not quite as keen. We finished off the day and our time in Mission Beach with a very lazy Sunday session listening to live music at one of the pubs over a couple of beers (and lemonades).

Workings from the aptly named Bubble Crab, Mission Beach, Queensland

We have found that the humble camp kitchen that most van parks or paid campsites offer have been invaluable, South Mission Beach being a great example. The camp kitchen not only provides an opportunity to cook outside the confines of our camper, but more importantly because they serve as a social hub for travelers to congregate on and share stories. Communal cooking and dinning seems to be a good way to get a conversation going (even if at the cost of a burnt snag or two) and share information.

There really is only a couple of ways to travel around Australia and that means that travelers are either heading in the same direction as you or have just come from where you want to go. At this stage of the trip we were still yet to purchase a guidebook purely because the “word on the road” has been so good and we have been finding tips that from travelers that has never been published. Obviously we have had to weigh up what information we take on board but if our source is from another family it has always been pretty reliable.

We have been lucky enough to meet some really nice travelling families along the way and because we have been heading in the same direction often a friendship has developed as we bump into each other at various destinations along the road. One such family has been a Dutch couple (Sandor & Leontine) and their two children (Job & Shauna). They have been travelling from Brisbane to Cairns in a compact Toyota Hiace Camper, which makes our camper absolutely spacious. Its been a real delight to chat to them along the way and hear of there experiences in Australia. It’s also been really good for the kids to meet and play with other kids from another country. We originally met them in Airlie Beach and spent a couple of days in Mission Beach and we have also arranged to meet up again in our next stop, Cairns.

A little piece of Paradise

After our first bush camp, we continued along the isolated stretch of the Shoalwater coastline to Mackay. During this stage and many more remote areas to come, connectivity by mobile phone or Internet has become nonexistent and our only means of catching up with the real world has been through radio, mostly ABC North Queensland. The talk back is quite enjoyable, and interesting on a long drive, and a good way to find out what’s happening locally, such as weather and events. The familiar introductory fanfare of the hourly ABC National News is also a welcome sound and brings a forced silence to the cabin of the car so that we can find out what’s been happening around Australia and the world.

We pushed through to Airlie Beach on the Whitsunday coast, not before stopping to look at the massive coal terminal at Dalrymple Bay and then lunch in the vibrant Mackay. Since we arrived in Queensland we have seen much of the mining boom. Pipelines, railroads, open cut mines, road trains hauling ore and lots of white utes with the orange flags flying high from the front bull bar.  The Dalrymple Bay Coal Terminal is the foremost site for the stockpiling and loading of coal before being shipped off overseas, mostly China. It was impressive to see the massive stockpiles of coal and the 3.5 km long loading piers heading off into the Pacific Ocean.  

Airlie Beach had much promise for us as a really fun destination. Mostly because of the very beautiful neighboring Whitsunday Islands, the Great Barrier Reef, and surrounding tropical rainforest setting. Because of these things Airlie Beach is a real adventure hub offering everything from skydiving, jet skiing, scuba diving, white water rafting, as well as sailing and fishing.  For this reason also Airlie Beach is a major backpacker magnet, and while the setting is gorgeous the main street is a bit gaudy and noisy and takes away from the real beauty of the place (says the 40 something family man).  So for 3 days we settled into the 4.5 Star, Big 4 Caravan Park at Cannonvale, a couple of km’s out of town.

Airlie Beach, Queensland

A funny story for the Canberran readers. In our constant search for good espresso coffee we stumbled onto a top little spot along a ritzy part of the harbor. It was the simply best brew that we had had on the road and it was strangely familiar. When we complemented the barista on how good the coffee she said “Oh yes we have our beans specially roasted and sent up from Canberra”. I was very quick to ask if it was Lonsdale Street Roasters, for which she replied, “Yes”. Great to see the Berra being known for something other than its public servants and politicians.

Our big treat in the Whitsundays was to go “Ocean Rafting” amongst the islands. This involved jumping in an oversized and over powered rubber dinghy with about a 20 other adventurous souls and speeding across the open ocean to the islands to snorkel on the reefs, undertake a beach landing on Whitehaven Beach and go for a short bush walk as well as view any whales that happen to be in the area. The weather was perfect and a little chop on the water made for a fun trip as we skipped and bounced our way across the tops of waves for the day on the way to the various islands. While initially tentative, the kids took well to the wind in your hair high speed boating and in particular as the captain shook things up with wave jumping and 360’s.

Gorgeous Whitehaven Beach, Whitsunday Island

The snorkeling was good with plenty of fish and reasonable visibility, but the cold deep water and the tears from an initial attempt to get the kids in the water, kept them firmly within the boat. No snorkeling for them today, so Tamara and I made the most of it. The highlight was riding on the dingy as it made its was off the ocean and up a shallow creek to land on Whitehaven Beach, where we had lunch. The brilliant white sand of the beach is said to be nearly pure silica. The azure blue water flowing from a winding creek as it bisects the beach makes for one of those truly paradise moments. After a short bushwalk we headed back to Airlie Beach, not before seeing a female humpback whale and its calf.  We had a great day out, on a fun and really well organized tour and it was agreed that this was the best experience of the trip so far. Two thumbs up for Airlie Beach.

Lunch on Whitehaven Beach

Whitsunday Islands National Park, Queensland

Next stop Lucinda, Mission Beach and Tully

Recommend:

       Big 4 Adventure Whitsunday Resort

-     Whitsunday Ocean Rafting

-    Denman Cellars Beer Cafe

Capricornia

 After Carnarvon Gorge we headed east for the beaches of the Capricorn Coast, specifically Yeppoon about 50 km north west of Rockhampton. In doing so we crossed over the Tropic of Capricorn and formally entered the tropics. Along the way we stopped for lunch in Rockhampton, one of the larger towns found along the Queensland coastline and known as a major hub for the Australian cattle industry. We also started to see fields of sugar cane for the first time.

Like many towns along the Queensland coast, Rocky has a large river bisecting it, the Fitzroy. Unlike rivers in southern Queensland towns, the Fitzroy has a little surprise up its sleeve if you like the water. Crocodiles! With the tropics comes the presence of these sneaky, snappy little buggers, and we will have to keep them in mind until well after Alice Springs towards the end of our journey. As you can imagine this has become quite the conversation piece in the car with everybody of water that we pass.

So it was the Big 4 Caravan Park in Yeppoon for us for the week, where tides run big exposing large tracts of beach, a stunning rugged coastline, tropical islands and the southern fringes of the Great Barrier Reef. It has plenty of places to run and ride so we attempted to get into an exercise routine while we were there. There were also some great walks to be had and a National Parks to the north called Byfold National Park with some genuine tropical rain forest and great picnic spots. We also visited a little place called Nob Creek where there was superb pottery and arts centre just for something different.

Yeppoon Sunrise

One of the surreal things for us being on the road is the dramatic change that can occur from one place to the next in terms of the environment and character of places we find ourselves in, leaving you in a real spin. In the space of hours we can be in the serenity and wide-open spaces of Carnarvon Gorge, where there are few conveniences and the clientele wear khaki shorts and boots and stay for a short time before heading off for their next adventure. By days end we are shoe-horning our little caravan into a little piece of grass, in a jam packed, seaside caravan park in Yeppoon that is more like a “fun park” with cycles for rent, water slides, and jumping pillows. Despite these youthful attractions the clientele are vast numbers of “Grey Nomads” (senior retired folk travelling Australia by caravan), wearing striped polo shirts, long white socks and sneakers. Or if you catch them in the morning it’s terry toweling dressing gowns and slippers with a strong scent of Brut 33 coming from the men’s shower block. These grand grey nomads are going nowhere in a hurry and are settled in for months at a time. It’s all-good, it’s just a different accommodation experience and interesting to see what type of caravanning holiday appeals from one travelling group to the next. We are giving them all a sample.

 

Beach scribing, Yeppoon

By now we are starting to rack up some kilometers on the car. So much so that the Hyundai needs a service so I booked it in to the local dealer in Rocky and we spent the day in town. The sun was out and the day was warm it was going to be a great day to explore the town. Rocky has a sense of history about it with some great old buildings and architecture, but a little rough around the edges with a number of the pubs and other buildings boarded up. Men in cowboy hats are abundant in the main street. First stop was the town’s brand new library, to reconnect and catch up on a few things. It was the most well appointed library that I have been to and it wasn't hard to lose a couple of hours here. For lunch we decided to make our way out to the much-publicized Botanic Gardens.

Bangalee Beach, Yeppoon

Without a vehicle to get to the gardens we gave the local bus service a run. Taking public transport in another town or country is always an adventure, and it took a number of attempts (even after asking the locals) to find where and which bus to catch, but we got there in the end. The Botanic Gardens were absolutely superb. They are very old and well established and very well maintained and it comes with a free zoo. It was a lovely shady spot to spend the remainder of the day. With the car service complete we headed back to Yeppoon and began backing up the caravan preparing for another day on the road heading North towards Airlie Beach.

The next leg of the trip, between Rockhampton and Mackay is renowned for its emptiness. It is 330 km of unpopulated coastline, with very few services largely due to the extensive Shoalwater military reserve occupying the length of the coast. With a day to kill before we could check into Airlie Beach we decided to free camp in one of the very few spots you can access this remote part of the coastline at a place called Camila Beach. Services were limited with pit toilets, no showers and no water (you get what you pay for) but the setting was superbly wild and like nothing I had seen before down south. It was worth every bit of discomfort. This was beachfront camping at its best. You literally set up your caravan on a small raised dunette at the beaches edge where you could have the sea breeze run through your van and watch the sun come up over the water from your bed. It was a beach fishing paradise (not that I fish) but a handful of fishermen were set up in the beach, 10 to 15 metres away from their caravan. If this was roughing it then I can see more free camping nights ahead.

Free camping, Camila Beach

Next stop Airlie Beach.

Recommend at Rockhampton and Yeppoon

-       Rockhampton Botanic Gardens

-       Coffee at Stellarossa (Rocky)

-       Emu Park Pizza

-       A drive along Bangalee Beach

A little detour West.

Ok, so I am getting a little behind (2 -3 weeks), forgive me. What can I say, I am otherwise occupied and the beach is far more attractive than my little laptop. Anyway…

Having gotten a little tired of the wet weather we thought that we would try our options inland a little, hopefully until the weather settles down on the coast a bit. When you think of Queensland you might picture white sandy beaches and rainforest, but Queensland also has a lot to offer in the way of natural wonders in its interior. You need only drag out a map of the state to see a patchwork of National Parks and Reserves all with something unique to offer. Our little jaunt westward would take us to Carnarvon Gorge, roughly in the centre of state. It’s a place I had heard much about over the years and so its been on the to do list for sometime. Time is on our side, the bushwalking is excellent and there is a very good display of aboriginal art work so the 1000km return journey should be worth the effort.

I thought you might be interested in what a day on the road entails for us. Not riveting stuff I know but worth a mention if you are contemplating a similar journey or just want to know about the logistics of our trip. We base our travels around two types of days. Those where we are on the road getting from A to B and those where we stay put to explore and enjoy the destination that we have come to see (we aim to have mostly theses kind of days). For us, the travelling days are the working days (tough life I hear you say). There is a sense that there is a job to be done and its important to get away earlyish otherwise we arrive in the dark which is not ideal for team morale.  Our travelling days go something like this:

·      Travelling days are generally early starts. Packing box’s, pulling out anchors and ropes, bringing down awnings, mounting bikes and getting into the familiar, highly sequenced routine of folding up the Caravan. Initially we thought that we would become super fast at this, but the faster we went, the more mistakes we made. What we have learnt is the more casual about time we are, the quicker (and happier) we finish. Everybody has his or her job and it’s becoming a really well meshed effort bringing the family together nicely. Generally we are on the road by 9am.

·      Coffee is a must and over our stay we have generally sourced a good cup (that’s another story) and we grab one for the road. 

·      We aim for a total distance of between 300 km – 400 km, tops. This equates to about 5 or 6 hrs from start to finish. 

·      We break our day with lunch somewhere where there is a good park with a playground and picnic tables and half decent food. We avoid the golden arches or the like as much as possible.

·      After a quick reconnaissance of town, we generally find a good food option and a close by park. One of us is dropped off to order or buy the necessary items to make lunch while the other heads back to the park with the kids. A short time later lunch is on its way back and we chill for an hour or so. As simple as it sounds its something that we quite look forward to when we are on the road.

·      Back on the road for the afternoon we aim to get to our destination by 3 or 4 pm. Setting up the caravan takes about 30 minutes to an hour, just in time for dinner and the day is done. Once the kids are off to sleep, Tamara and I settle down for a bit of TV on the laptop or a quiet read.

On the road to Carnarvon Gorge we stopped at Biloela, (pronounced bill-o-eel-a) which was a perfect example of one of our travelling day stops. Anyone with kids will appreciate how good, a good park can be (those who don’t you will just have to take my word for it, they are gold for all involved). This park was brand new, complete with flying fox, ropes course, and an obstacle course for kids bikes, as well as brand new gas barbeques, it had the works! To top this off it was a beautiful warm sunny day. The kids ran around for a good hour or more and Tamara and I just watched, chatted and enjoyed the sunshine.

Back on the road we continued westward, with the distances between towns getting further and further and the countryside becoming more arid. We rolled into the refreshingly spacious Takaraka Bush Resort campsite at the foot of Carnarvon Gorge just on dusk. As the reception was closed a sign directed me to check in via a 2 way radio to a homestead some distance away. We were clearly in the bush and loving it.

What makes Carnarvon Gorge special for me is that it is an oasis set amongst the semi-arid country of central Queensland. The gorge itself stands out in an otherwise featureless terrain and although it is not massive in size, the white sandstone walls give it a special character. The other draw card is the extensive aboriginal rock art and hidden canyons begging to be explored.

Carnarvon Gorge

 Usually its me driving the bush walking agenda, but much to my delight Tamara was keen to see the “Art Gallery” which would be a 12 km return walk. Up until this point our longest walk with the kids had been 9 km. 12 km was always going to be a push particularly for Jacob (4 yrs) but with a relatively flat route, a whole day to complete the walk and a bag full of provisions including jelly snakes for bribery we thought we would give it a crack.

Hidden Canyons of Carnarvon Gorge

The walk up through the gorge was stunning. It was cool, moist and lush, with the gorge filled with Giant Ferns, Cycads and Palms. It almost feels prehistoric and you are half expecting a pterodactyl to swoop down at any moment. The “Art Gallery” was a welcome half waypoint and the paintings were well worth the effort and certainly the most impressive that I have seen. The kids did surprisingly well, obviously Jacob had to be carried some of the way but the main challenge for the children is the monotony of long walks and not the physical side of it. Both Tom and Lara virtually ran the last 2 km driven by sheer happiness of reaching the car and the reward of ice creams. Total distance of this walk was 14.5 km and it was a great effort by the kids. The most impressively part was both Tom and Lara backed up the next day for a 7.5km walk up one of the bluffs.

The Art Gallery

Camping at Takaraka

We had two great days at Carnarvon Gorge and could of done with a couple more. Our first bush camp was successful and surprisingly good and we look forward to returning to the bush after our stint up the coast.

Next stop Yeppoon and the Capricorn Coast

Recommend

-       Carnarvon Gorge

-       Lyons Park, Biloela