Helter Skelter To Cairns

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On Saturday 27th the journey to Cairns was to prove quite an experience. We left quite early because we wanted to call in at Youngaburra in the hope of seeing the elusive platypus. There’s a very good viewing platform – much like a bird hide – at Youngaburra but our attempts yesterday were fruitless because it was the wrong time of day. We were confident that this morning would be different but we hadn’t bargained for one thing – Youngaburra markets! They’re quite famous in these parts and very, very popular. This resulted in vehicles being parked on every conceivable piece of spare ground in and around the town so the chances of parking a car and caravan were NIL! We meandered through the small town very slowly in case an opportunity presented itself but we were to be disappointed. Even if we hadn’t seen a platypus it would have been good to stroll around the markets which were huge, but we had no chance.

So we carried on along our route towards Cairns following the Gillies Highway completely unaware of what the next 30 kilometers or so would throw at us. The descent from the Tablelands on this road down to Cairns is one of the most scary we’ve ever been on. It was very, very steep, very, very winding, very, very narrow in places and with road works every few kilometres controlled by traffic lights, it was constantly stop-start. The views were magnificent but poor Graham had no chance of seeing them as he concentrated hard on keeping the car and caravan on the right side (that’s the left side!) of the road and it wasn’t always as easy as it sounds. It fully tested the new brake shoes we had fitted in Townsville and the re-conditioned handbrake was regularly put under pressure as we had to stop at traffic lights for ages as up-coming traffic, often going much slower than we were, negotiated the road works. At one point we were holding up quite a lot of traffic including a large gang of motor cyclists. There being no “slow lane” on the left, Graham began to pull across to an empty lay-by on the right only to be overtaken ON BOTH SIDES by what seemed like dozens of motor bikes – it was very hair-raising. After about an hour of pathetically slow motoring, the road began to level out a bit and, thankfully, we were past the worst. We have it in mind to go back to the Atherton area on our return journey down from Port Douglas (probably our most northerly stopping place) but we’ve made a mental note to avoid the Gillies Highway and to use a different route.

Eventually we arrived at our chosen caravan park in an area of Cairns called Lake Placid. It wasn’t our original choice but so many people had recommended it that we decided to give it a try. It was to be an excellent decision although our choice of site let us down a bit. The Lake Placid Tourist Park looked excellent – clean, well looked after and with really good facilities. It is right next to the Barron River where, at this point, the water flows very slowly through a particularly wide stretch of river giving the impression of a lake – hence the area name. We were allowed to choose our own site and the very first one we saw looked perfect. It had a block to step out onto, it was well manicured with shrubs and trees around it, it was handy to all the facilities including the river-side walk just across the road– it looked splendid. We were even more impressed when we were invited to unhitch the caravan in the lay-by and leave it to the park warden to park it up for us. He attached a small tractor to the front of Sweetie and in no time at all she was suitably parked on site. Unfortunately, we hadn’t thought it through. Because it was the very first site in the park, every vehicle entering and leaving the park went past, often at inconsiderate times and often with inconsiderate noise. Also, the reception/shop was immediately across from us and people often parked next to us, leaving the engine running while they popped into the shop. It would have been better to have chosen a site a little way into the park where there was less hustle and bustle. We’re planning to return to the park in a few days time so we’ll make sure we don’t make the same mistake.

Settling in was easy - the difficult parking routine was done for us so all we had to do was set up the awning etc. We then had time to do a bit of shopping and to consider what trips we might do and on which days. The shopping was easy - just along the road is a shopping precinct called Smithfield which is enormous and which had everything we wanted. Booking trips will also be easy as the park reception is also a booking office for most, if not all, of the many trips and activities available in the area. One activity which we won’t be doing is white water rafting but, as it happens, the rafting takes place up in the Barron Gorge a few kilometres away and finishes at Lake Placid just across the road where, if they choose, participants can also enjoy a swim. The caravan park acts as a “refreshment centre” so every day small coach loads of mainly young backpackers who have survived the rafting then use the park facilities to shower and the camp kitchen to partake of snacks and drinks after their white water experience.

We finished the day with a stroll to the lakeside where Graham saw a turtle but I was too slow to capture it on camera.

First thing on Sunday morning we completed a few chores which included me doing a bit of washing. Having considered the various trips on offer, the main one we had in mind was a train/cable car combination. It involves catching a mountain train up through the steep Barron Gorge to Kuranda and returning on the Skyrail – a cable car trip of about one hour so we pencilled that in for Tuesday. For today, armed with a picnic we drove the five or six kilometres into Barron Gorge. At the far end we parked up and strolled across a bridge to the Barron Gorge Hydro Station Visitor Centre. High above us was Surprise Creek Falls and above that through a gap in the trees we could see a bridge on which the mountain train would go on its way up to Kuranda. On the other side of the gorge we could just make out a couple of the cable cars of the Skyrail. Inside the Hydro Visitor Centre were display boards and models telling us all about this remarkable underground hydro power station. It is the most northerly generation site in Australia and powers 36,000 homes each year.

Back outside, the clouds had increased and there was a swirling wind so we abandoned our plans for a picnic and ate our sandwiches back at the caravan. Later in the day the clouds cleared so we went off to find some of the local beaches – Clifton, Trinity and Kewarra. They all looked very pleasant with Trinity Beach being the most commercialised with lots of people in the sea and plenty of inviting cafes and shops. By the time we had strolled along each of the beaches it was beginning to get dark so we went back to the caravan for some supper.

On Monday morning we drove into Cairns and headed for the Esplanade, one of the areas we remembered well from our previous visit. We didn’t remember the ‘one-way’ traffic system though so it took us a while to work our way towards the lagoon area where we wanted to be. Unusually for a coastal town, Cairns has no beach – just miles of mud when the tide’s out - and so the man-made lagoon is a wonderful place for locals and tourists to spend time relaxing. The lagoon was newly opened when we were here in 2003 and the Esplanade area is still being redeveloped after all this time. To be able to park for nothing we had to park some way away but it was a nice stroll and out on the mud flats were a few interesting waders – a whimbrel and a pied heron amongst them. We wandered around the marina admiring the huge cruisers that were docked there and because helicopters were parked just a short distance away we could daydream about who might come off the boats and fly off to their holiday home somewhere! We found a nice little café for lunch and then wondered about having a swim in the lagoon but decided against it as all our gear was in the car some way away. We would hopefully get another opportunity before we finally leave the area. By the time we got back to the car our 3 hour’ free parking was nearly up so we meandered back along the one-way system to the main highway and out to the caravan park.

There were a couple more places we wanted to visit so after a quick cup of tea we drove off towards ‘Yorkeys Knob’, a rather strangely named beach and small township. Before we got there we saw a sign for the ‘Cattana Wetlands’ so we decided to go there first. It is an area that has been developed from what was once used for sugar cane farming and gravel and sand mining. There were picnic places, footpaths and a boardwalk – the only things missing were birds! There were plenty of joggers though! We strolled around the boardwalk and saw about two ducks! By the time we found Yorkey’s Knob it was beginning to get dark so we were only able to have a brief walk on the beach before we went back to the caravan to prepare for what we hoped would be an exciting day out tomorrow.

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Photos

Very clever painting on the roadside
but Graham couldn't look as he needed to concentrate on the road

Although it had been a short journey in kms it was very tiring for the driver
so it was a great help to be able to unhitch and just watch for a change

but as I was getting a cup of tea disaster struck
when a pot of jam fell out of a cupboard and smashed into one of our precious mugs that Sarah and Darryl bought.

A couple of swags on a site near us
owned by a couple of chaps off up to Cape York on a 'Tag along Tour'

Peaceful scene at Cattana Wetlands
but where are all the birds?