Cairns - 24.09.2012 to 05.10.2012

After having gone through and experienced so many places, coming to Cairns was not a new adventure as both of us have been here before, but still nice to pull up in a caravan park for a week. It was here that we met up with Padma and Stephanie (Franz, Padma's husband was in Melbourne for a week) who we met in the caravan park in Melbourne just before we took off for our travels, it was great to catch up with them again and hear stories about their travels and adventures. It looks like Cairns has grown on them and they have decided to stay until April next year (good idea to experience a wet season before they decide to buy a house.)

Cairns has grown quite considerably and sported many a shopping complex and new housing estates but still remains quite an easy city to get around with a relaxed lifestyle quite evident. The beaches are plentiful around Cairns and we indulged in a swim or two whilst here especially as the stingers have not yet turned up. The water is a great temperature and you easily immerse yourself and enjoy the water.

Halloways beach

Whilst wondering the streets of Cairns we came across a music shop, yes bad mistake Crowey for going in cause he came out a little pit poorer, but with a gorgeous little Maton Uke that he just had to have. That night we went to a bar/restaurant called The Harvana Club where a very talented lad called Ryo Montgomery played a couple of songs with Crowey's new uke and made it sing like a bird. Ryo's dad had the perfect car to take a photo as well.

The new purchase

After a taste of music we heard about a folk festival in a place called Wallaby Creek, which is approx. 40 minutes south of Cooktown. So we packed the tent to experience a music festival in FNQ (thats the acronym for Far North Queensland). What an interesting spot, a beautiful little creek running through a 100 acres property with rainforest all around us. Setting up our camp on the Thursday we got a little hungry and as the festival had not as yet commenced decided to indulge in the local pub, The Lions Den. Quite a rustic little pub in the town of Rossville, but boy do they do a mean chicken parma!!

roar

cheers Crowey

The actual festival got started around Friday arvo and true to the Queensland nature was quite a relaxed and sometimes disorganised event, but we saw some really interesting acts just the same. All in all we had a really enjoyable weekend, going to the bush poets breakky in the mornings and meeting a bush poet by the name of Wilga Bill, who's poem about his dog of 13 years bought a tear to your eye. Quite a character Bill was and we soon found ourselves enjoying some tales over damper and a cuppa. Bill also invited us to stay on his property in the Atherton Tablelands just out of Mareeba and promptly drew us a mud map to help us get there. One of our favorite acts of the festival was a girl by the name of Lani, who learnt to play guitar on the internet (hope for me yet) and sings really well, releasing her first album at the festival which we bought. Bill Chambers was also a guest of the festival and we found him playing with lots of different bands throughout the festival so Crowey got his latest album and had Bill sign it. After the initial observation that this festival was by no means anything like the Port Fairy festival in Vic, we did sit back and take it as it was intended, in a relaxed easy going fashion. 

Wallaby Creek Festival here we come

the crowd builds up

Crowey with Wilga Bill the bush poet and his book

no not performers

Bill Chambers enjoying a song and a chat

The Montgomery Bros. Ryo plays the guitar like Tommy Emmanuel, look out for him

Back in Cairns again, where we left our caravan, we decided to do the Scenic Railway from Cairns to Kuranda. Construction of the railway began in 1882. The railway was completed as far as Kuranda in 1891 and passenger services began operations on 25 June 1891.
Many lives were lost as numerous tunnels and bridges were built. 15 hand-made tunnels and 37 bridges were built to climb from sea level to 328 metres up the McAlister Range and three million cubic metres of earth had to be excavated during construction.The first operation of a tourist train from Cairns to Kuranda was in 1936. The ride is very scenic, going through the Baron Gorge up to the lovely little village of Kuranda where we enjoyed lunch, a leisurely stroll and the bird sanctuary where all colours of the rainbow were covered with exotic australian and overseas birds.

Off on the scenic railway

the train on one of the many bridges

Straight up to Crowey to take off the top of his cap

Cheeky

gorgeous little parrot

mutant parrot, a mix of two different parrots

All aboard Crowey

Our love of birds has grown during our travels and one of the most unusual birds we have come across is the Bush Stone Curlew. Coming out at night you can hear them call to each other and the sound is like nothing you have heard before, it is an eerie high pitched wail and is their contact call at nigh, they are mainly nocturnal and ground bound, but can actually fly quite well if required. Their knees go backwards and when you sight them or disturb them they will remain motionless and blend in with the trees, their eyes are quite weird and hypnotic and they are such a funny little bird  to watch, they have become our favorite bird so far.

So Cairns is a great spot to visit with lots to do and amuse yourself, the weather was perfect whilst we were there but time to move on to Port Douglas.

Curlew sitting on the nest

 

a couple, check out the legs on the left

feathers for camoflauge

Karumba - 22.09.2012 to 23.09.2012

Karumba is on the Gulf of Carpentaria as far as you can go and is predominantly a fishing and prawning town. There is also great wetlands in this area and a great opportunity to see many of the brolgas in the area.

We only spent one night in Karumba, because seriously that is all we thought it needed. Why people come to this place for about 3 months is beyond me. Yes the fishing may be good (barramundi) but seriously how much fish can a person eat? It did have a lovely bistro up the road, a favorite amongst locals and travellers to watch the sun go down as you feast on your meal (with a serious menu of over 20 main meals). So all we can say is that we have been here, I don't think we will bother going all that way again.

the beach, where there is no way I would go swimming



cheers from Gail, Ron and Crowey

Heading out of Karumba we stopped along the way to watch the brolgas in the area who come there to mate. Apparently they keep the same mate for life.

Normanton - 21.09.2012 to 22.09.2012

Normanton is a small cattle town in the Gulf Country region of northwest Qld on the Norman River. It only has a population of 1100, with 60 per cent of whom are indigenous Australians. As small as the town is it does offer some rather unique tourist attractions. There is the Gulflander motor train which was built during the gold rush days in the 1890's and drove the Normanton to Croydon route. The train is in prestine condition and offers a ride once a week on this historic route.

what a face

they dont make them like that anymore



old train wheels

Normanton is also home to the largest crocodile ever taken (shot dead) in 1957 and is 8.64metres long. The statue that stands is apparently a true replica of the guiness book of records entry describing the huge croc, as photos were destroyed in a fire. It is hard to imagine a croc of this size in existance. Perhaps the last of the dinosaurs??

One bite is all it would take

There was also some great birdlife in this area, which Crowey and I both love to watch and it was here that I got my best sunset photo eva!!

Another interesting feature in Normanton was the Purple Pub. That night they had a band playing so we decided to go and along and Gail and Ron (yes who we met at Gregory Downs) came also to see the band. Well what a treat we were in for that night. The Purple Pub appeared to be the local indigenous hangout and the local Normanton band were playing. They pumped out some great dance tunes that night and amongst the locals we danced the night away. I guess you could say we soon became a novelty amoungst the locals as we were just about the only 'whities" in the pub, except for another family from Melbourne (Chelsea). They wanted to know where we were from, were we having a good time etc? I got asked to dance by a local by the name of Kevin and we had a few boogies on the dance floor. After a few dances Crowey came and sat back next to me (after having a chat to the guy from Melbourne) and it was then that Kevin realised that I was not alone. He came up to Crowey and apologised as he was not aware that I was Crowey's "Mrs" and had been dancing with me. He introduced himself, shook Crowey's hand and then promptly asked if he could dance again with me. LOL. Soon Crowey was up on the dance floor and had a great night dancing until the last song ending at midnight.

The Purple Pub

We didn't get up too early the next day, but eventually headed for Karumba.

Gregory Downs and Lawn Hill - 19.09.2012 to 21.09.2012

After a few days in Mount Isa we decided to have the hatch replaced in Cairns instead (little more exciting perhaps) but on the way to Cairns we ventured out to a place by the name of Gregory Downs, which quite a few travellers have recommended to us on the way. It was quite a long and boring drive, but quite worth it once we pulled up by the river Gregory and had a refreshing swim in the river after our long hot drive.

Crowey does some maintanence to our caravan

a sweet little red finch of some sort

I was talking to a lovely couple by the name of Gail and Ron who had a motorhome and asked if they had been out to Lawn Hill, of which they said they were going to do this next time they were in the area. It wasn't until the next morning when we got up early to specifically go out to Lawn Hill Gorge that I told Crowey about the conversation I had with Gail and Ron the night before and it then occured to me all of a sudden that the reason they weren't going to Lawn Hill Gorge was due to the road being gravel. Crowey quickly jumped up and went over to them and asked if they wanted to come with us, even though we had no back seat, but if they put their motorhome cushions down they would travel within reasonable comfort. Gail and Ron jumped at the opportunity to come with us so off we set off for Lawn Hill Gorge.

We decided to canoe this gorge as we missed out on canoeing the Katherine Gorge. It was a beautiful scenic paddle along two sections of the gorge, the day was hot but a swim after the second gorge was most appreciated and enjoyed.

off we go

me leading the way

a nice swim at the end

Getting back to camp about 2.00pm we saw a group of travellers sitting together at the river bank and went and joined them for an afternoon of chatting, sitting, drinking and a few dips in the river. We had a wonderful stay here and met some lovely people once again.

Crowey relaxes with a beer in the river

sooty the dog was quite a character



people from all walks of life enjoying the end of the day

 

Mount Isa - 16.09.2012 to 18.09.2012

Mount Isa is a large outback town in Queensland notably known for its lead, copper, zinc and silver mining. The population is about 22,000 and offers all conveniences a local or traveller may want. We decided to stay here a couple of days, as the hatch on our caravan had fallen off somewhere between the NT and Queensland border, so new ones were being sent from Melbourne.

Crowey decided to go on an underground mining tour and really enjoyed the experience. The mine comprises of 1.2 kms of tunnels, each tunnel approx 4 metres high and 4 metres wide, big enough to take a 50 tonne mucking unit through. The mine tour shows the machinery they use underground and the tour is taken by someone who has actually worked the mines.

The lookout over Mount Isa gives a 360 degree view and has a global signpost showing directions and distances to several major cities, including international.

We decided to move on after a couple of days, instead opting for the hatches to be sent to Cairns.

The rest of NT 14.09.2012 to 15.09.2012

After Kakadu we headed back to Katherine but stopped along the way to go to Gunlom Falls (still within Kakadu) and though it was a steep climb up, the swim and scenery made it worth it.

 

even the goanna was enjoying this spot

,After stocking up at Katherine we stopped in a free camp just north of Mataranka. There was an interesting site at this camp, a bowerbirds nest. I have never seen one in the wild and it was absolutely amazing what this little male bowerbird had arranged in his bower (nest), preparing to attract a mate. He had built an avenue type of bower made of two walls of vertically placed sticks. In and around the bower he had placed many objects including stones, bits of foil and it appears that green was his colour of choice with green glass from bottles scattered around, towards and in the nest. Crowey thought he would try and help the little fellow get a "root". So he found a sprite can (green in colour) and cut the can into little bits and spread them from his bower and also some next to the caravan where we were sitting. It wasn't that long before he appeared in a tree next to us, casting his eyes downward towards the bits of cut up can. Next thing we know he jumps down and chooses a piece of the can and flys off to add it to his nest. I took a photo at the time when he picked up the piece of can and I had to have a laugh when I actually saw the piece he had selected, it was the barcode from the can.

The bower

The bowerbird and his barcode

Moving on the next day we thought we would check out the Mataranka hot springs (bitter springs) which were lovely and warm. We continued on our way though and towards The Three Ways turnoff but dropped into the infamous Daly Waters Pub
This pub was originally a store to service travellers, settlers and drovers. It was give a jug licence in 1938. In the World War 2 it played a significant part in the protection of the Northern Australian coastline where Australian and American air forces were based. Today though the pub is just a welcome destination for travellers, offering cold beer and food, though the it is well known for its memorabilia adorning the walls from Irish football jerseys to bras, jocks, hats, wherever you look there is something interesting to read or ponder its origin (or not).

From here we went into Tennant Creek, mainly to get fuel which was about 9 cents a litre cheaper than Three Ways turnoff. We had a bite to eat just to check out Tennant Creek and it appears the local AFL club team where in the finals as nearly every car was painted red and blue, their local team colours. Not much to see here so off we headed for another free camp spot for the night, just before the NT/QLD border.