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Published: November 20th 2011
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And then there was three…….
We started our Australian jaunt in Sydney and did the usual tourist stuff, Harbour Bridge, Opera house, open top tour bus etc. Although a big city it has a good feel with lots of green parks and ocean views, the ferry to Manly was a great way to see the harbour and as a bonus we spent a few hours lying on the beach watching surfers do their stuff. As an added bonus Liz gets to watch fit young men close up at no cost.
Our plan was to head north to tropical Cairns as quick as we could to avoid the worst of the summer heat and humidity. This was to take about a week to drive and then we will slowly travel back south over the next 2-3 months. The wheels came off this plan when Alan gets toothache and requires treatment ASAP. As luck would have it we do actually know a dentist who runs his own practice in Hervey bay which was close enough at the time to make a detour to. Dentist friend David earned our eternal gratitude by seeing Alan the very next day even although it was his
day off, roped in his wife Jane as his assistant and drilled and filled the malfunctioning molar.
Hopefully restored we set off north as per our original plan and decided to stay at a truck stop in the middle of nowhere. Although the evening started well with some really friendly banter in the truckers bar, in the end staying there was a very bad decision as some truckers partied until dawn, some ran their diesel refrigeration units all night long, some left to hit the road at dawn (4.30am), some more joined at all hours and those that didn’t stop tooted like Casey Jones as they passed by. Needless to say we were exhausted and vowed never to stay at a truck stop again. Just to add to our discomfort Liz inadvertently found a stowaway which must have attached itself to her in the form of the biggest bloody Cockroach you have ever seen. Despite our best efforts cockroach Reg as he is now known fled under our fridge and has secreted himself somewhere probably for the rest of our journey.
We were fed up after days of driving and gave ourselves a two day pit stop at
a little place called Agnes Water, the weather was great and a day on the beach complete with a swim was much better than driving. After Agnes Water you can’t swim in the open ocean as chances are if the crocs don’t get you then several species of jellyfish will! Agnes Water had a takeaway café where we had our first ever Barramundi and chips, which apparently is a stripy fish when not deep fried in batter like our was.
So back into the saddle and several more days driving, crossing the Tropic of Capricorn on the way and we arrived in Cairns where the weather was noticeably hotter at 30+ and high humidity which is very pleasant in the shade. Cairns is a young people’s town somewhat reminiscent of Queenstown in NZ with a university which helps fuel the many bars along the waterfront. Cairns gets round the Crocodile/Jellyfish problem by having a huge open air pool by the seafront. The pool is populated by lots of fit and tanned young men showing off to the girls, or possibly other men. Boardshorts are the order of the day for the fashion conscious and my speedos which border on
budgie smugglers would have picked me out as a strange old guy and sadly this was not the pool for us. Anyway, Close to Cairns is a Skyrail gondola which takes you skimming over the rainforest treetops and to the village of Kuranda from where we caught the excellent scenic railway back to Cairns. After Cairns we took another pit stop in the beach town of Palm Cove with its pretty beachfront backed by impressive Melaluca trees which have a papery bark and twisted cord like trunks. The trees are old and protected and enterprising developers on the beachfront use them as part of the furniture with them growing through the buildings.
After palm Cove we drove to our northernmost campsite of our trip at Cape Tribulation where we were delighted to find a small and friendly campsite right on the beachfront, albeit a croc infested beachfront. However it had a convivial bar serving ice cold wine and beer and a wood-fuelled pizza oven which smelt tantalisingly good. The pizza was resisted but we certainly enjoyed a few drinks sitting in the semi dark surrounded by the continual noise of the insects and birds in the rainforest. A planned
trip to the barrier reef for snorkelling had to be cancelled when the boat we were to go on had lost its mooring and drifted onto the mangrove in the night, so instead we took a river cruise on the Daintree to observe crocs, snakes and other wildlife at close quarters. The boatcrew knew all the crocs by name, Scarface, Elmo (who ate someone’s dog called? yes you guessed it!) and imagine our delight when a large female was introduced as Lizzie. Discretion got the better part of me at that moment and I kept my mouth shut.
We follow a lonely planet guidebook which over the years has shown itself to be a reliable source, taking us sometimes off the beaten track to quirky places. I was however pretty sceptical when the guidebook said that Cassowaries could be seen on the beach in a tiny hamlet called Etty bay. Blow me if we hadn’t been there two minutes and as casual as you like one of these magnificent and much endangered birds strolls right past us with a nod in my direction. It made our day.
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abz
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cassowarys
hello, you are aware that cassowarys are probably more dangerous then the jelly fish and crocs...they can disembowl you with one kick. stay away!!!