Jim and Kims Travels | Jim and Kim - Living the Dream

Page 6 of Jim and Kims Travels Travel Blog Posts

Oceania » Australia » Queensland » Agnes Water October 16th 2022

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After saying our farewells to Karina and family, we headed for Gladstone, on the way calling in to Artizan Gluten Free Bakery at Rockhampton. Everything in the bakery was gluten free, and mostly dairy free, and Kim took the opportunity to sample a number of the goodies. We diverted off the highway heading south to stay at Tannum Sands, in order to visit my cousins, Shirley and Robert and their spouses. We caught up for afternoon tea at an eatery on the Gladstone waterfront, whilst watching the bulk carriers plying their trade as they headed out to sea, full of coal, LNG, aluminium and other commodities. The Boyne Island Aluminium Smelter located near Gladstone is the largest in Australia. Gladstone hosts Queensland’s largest multi-commodity port, and the city has an industrial feel to it, which is ... read more

Emu Park Qld

Oceania » Australia » Queensland » Emu Park October 9th 2022

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Jim and Kims Travels

We had never heard of Emu Park as a destination for our next stay with Karina and family. Booking the AirBnB house on the beach near to Yeppoon (close to Rockhampton, the city where Karina and family were flying out of) that could accommodate seven people in the Yeppoon Region, was a challenge, however, we all loved Emu Park and our stay house. Emu Park has a modern town centre, with an IGA Supermarket, three bakeries and other retail shops and eateries. The foreshore has a great walk, with an ANZAC focus including commemorative plaques, plus a Singing Ship. What is a Singing Ship you ask? It is a metal structure in the shape of a sail located on the headland, with organ pipes suspended on cables, which catch the onshore wind and hum different notes. ... read more

Mackay Qld

Oceania » Australia » Queensland » Mackay October 4th 2022

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Jim and Kims Travels

Mackay is known as the sugar capital of Australia, with the region producing more than a third of the nation’s sugar output. Take a drive in any direction from the city, and you will come across an ageing sugar refinery belching smoke in the air, surrounded by endless fields of sugar cane. Mackay is also the gateway to the Bowen Basin coal mines, which has the largest output of any coal region in Australia. There are currently thirty four operational coal mines from the Bowen Basin feeding China and Japan’s appetite for coal. It is reasonable to categorise Mackay as an industrial city, with much of the foreshore geared for export and associated industries. Whilst not our first choice as a destination for its attractions, it was the location where our daughter and family flew into ... read more

Airlie Beach Qld

Oceania » Australia » Queensland » Airlie Beach September 27th 2022

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Jim and Kims Travels

Airlie Beach lies in the middle of the Great Barrier Reef, and consequently, it’s marketing slogan is “The Heart of the Reef”, which is also a reference to the nearby heart shaped coral cay that is Instagram famous. The Whitsunday Islands are located just offshore from Airlie Beach and it’s sister town, Shute Harbour, with the most recognizable being Hook Island, Hamilton Island and Whitsunday Island. Airlie Beach has something for everyone, from ritzy apartments and music filled bars overlooking the water, to more family friendly accommodation and activities. The town and the waterways were kept very clean, with our tour boat Captain even doing a u turn to pick up a single floating glass bottle out near the reef. There is a freshwater swimming lagoon near the main beach that is great for families to ... read more

Bowen Qld

Oceania » Australia » Queensland » Bowen September 20th 2022

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Jim and Kims Travels

Bowen turned out to be the sleepy coastal town that the tourists essentially bypassed (unjustifiably so). The town lies at the northern end of the Whitsunday Coast, and has several islands just offshore. Only 6% of the one million travellers who navigate the Bruce Highway in the north of Queensland detour into Bowen. The locals and other travellers asked that we not tell anyone about Bowen. We found Bowen to be a gem of a place to stay. Bowen was also one of the key locations where the film Australia was shot, the town being used to portray Darwin in the 1940’s. Bowen is home of course to the Big Mango, and is the source of the original Kensington Pride Mango (aka Bowen Mango), Australia’s most popular mango. The first mango tree was planted in Bowen ... read more

Crystal Creek Qld

Oceania » Australia » Queensland » Ingham September 11th 2022

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Jim and Kims Travels

Time to leave Townsville and the Coral Sea, and head just over one hour north to the tiny hamlet of Crystal Creek, the region containing some of Queensland’s best waterfalls. First stop was Big Crystal Creek, which features Big Crystal Rock Slides and Paradise Pool. The water is literally crystal clear (and croc free), and after enjoying a swim in the falls and sliding down the rock slides, we drove to Paradise Pool and enjoyed a swim in the deep clear water. There was a high jumping rock that I had to try out, including a dive. Little Crystal Creek was our next stop, where we again swam under the falls, and slid down the rock slides. We took a slight detour on our way back to our caravan park to the Frosty Mango, a tropical ... read more

Townsville Qld

Oceania » Australia » Queensland » Townsville September 7th 2022

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Jim and Kims Travels

Owing to the inclement weather in Mission Beach, which lies in the wet tropics, we opted to head for Townsville, which lies in the dry tropics, and thus, enjoyed fine weather for our planned seven day stay, which we stretched out to eleven days. We stayed at the Riverside Convention Centre Caravan Park, which is a church owned park, conveniently located along Townsville’s main river and relatively central in Townsville. Townsville Council has done a great job of creating parks along both sides of virtually the whole length of the river as it winds through Townsville city. On our first full day, we walked 6.7 kms in a loop along both sides of the river from our van park. That night we met up with friends that we were staying next to in Ravenshoe Caravan Park, ... read more

Innisfail Qld

Oceania » Australia » Queensland » Innisfail August 27th 2022

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Jim and Kims Travels

Innisfail is heavily dependent on the surrounding sugar cane and banana farms. The town was originally named Geraldton in 1882, to honour a local Irish Entrepreneur, Thomas Henry Fitzgerald. When a Russian ship sailed into the harbour in the early 1900’s, when it should have been sailing into Geraldton, Western Australia, the town realised it had to change its name to Innisfail. (The Captain should have checked Google Maps). Inis Fail is a romantic name for Ireland. Innisfail lies in the heart of the Cassowary Coast, and our first port of call was to drive to Etty Bay, which is known as a hotspot for cassowary sightings. Etty Bay has a beautiful beach, however, no cassowaries to be seen there. We did however see a large goanna striding along the foreshore, no doubt looking for turtle ... read more

Babinda Qld

Oceania » Australia » Queensland » Cairns August 22nd 2022

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Jim and Kims Travels

After being spoilt for facilities (and having enjoyed a powered caravan site with an ensuite at Cairns), it was time to stretch our wings and enjoy another farm stay, this time at a little town called Mirriwinni, near Babinda. The farm stay had a crystal clear creek running through it, a spacious camp kitchen, a tropical fruit orchard, and two swimming holes, one with an Aqua Bike (more about that later). There were also two ponies who were always up for a pat, named Caramel and Cisco, and three dogs. We also captured our first image of a wild Ulysses Butterfly. Our first call of duty was to try out the new Italian Café in Babinda, called Francesca’s, and the coffee and cake did not disappoint. A genuine taste of Italy thanks to Francesca. We were ... read more

Cairns Qld

Oceania » Australia » Queensland » Cairns August 18th 2022

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Jim and Kims Travels

We were a little unsure about staying in Cairns after listening to the radio shock jocks railing against out of control crime in the area, as we were driving down the Far North Queensland coast. We had booked into Big 4 Ingenia Holiday Park at Worri, which is a fifteen minute drive from the centre of Cairns, and we couldn’t have felt safer. Security gates and regular patrols were in place, and the facilities in the park were the best we had encountered. Two water parks, a mini BMX track, playgrounds, an excellent café and reception doubling up as a tourist booking agency, made our stay there memorable. Cairns, being the first large city that we had stayed in on our trip, provided an opportunity to take care of some minor maintenance. First priority was our ... read more

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