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.