Blogs from Mossman, Queensland, Australia, Oceania
August 26th 2011
Only spent one night in Mossman. (Not because of Mossman itself but because of the van park we were in.) The Gorge is beautifull like all the gorges we have so far seen. It's also great to be back in busy area where there are road signs, shops, decent priced fuel but for us there was only one place we could stay with the dog and we didn't like it. When you are an unpowered camper you are basically at the very bottom of the chain! So alot of the time you get put in the worst spot in the van park. Which was the case here. Not only where we almost in the carpark but almost on the main road aswell. Under the street light! Our neighbours were alocated an even smaller spot than us ... read more
August 16th 2011
Okay...we we were our usual selves and up early and on the road. We headed to Mossman Gorge, this is another part of the Daintree National forest and is a tropical rainforest. We arrived at about 8:30 a.m. and there were a few cars there ahead of us which kind os surprized us but whatever. We set out on our hike along the Mossman River and through what is surely one of the most beautiful tropical forests in Australia, if not the world. Totally untouched. It was stunning. We were to learn later that we were quite smart to be there so early. For the most part we were alone along the trails. I have learned that the snakes live within the upper canopy so I am no longer concerned about finding one at my feet. ... read more
August 7th 2011
It's been a strange few weeks here in far north Queensland at the Karnak theater in Mossman. We're pretty much as far north as you can go in Australia on paved roads and therefore very much in the tropics, and have to get used to the humidity, violent storms and warms nights that are associated with life here. There are two main things to report i guess. Chris was able to spend 5 days away from the theater and preparations for the opera (more on that later) and learn to dive on the great barrier reef. It was as you can image a fantastic experience. It involved 2 days of theory in a classroom in Cairns and 2 days of practical experience on the reef. On the fifth day Alice and a friend of our's Ania, ... read more
July 6th 2011
We left you after two days of solid driving, but only a tiny proportion into our epic drive from Adelaide to Cairns. We were in the desert town of Coober Pedy. We had a quiet day or so there getting our affairs in order, as they say, before moving on to Ularu (Ayer's Rock). The problem, you think as you drive the 300km off the main road to Ularu (the proper name for Ayer's rock), is that you've already seen it a thousand times in pictures and on TV, it's expensive and a long long way from anything at all. By the time we arrived, and although we didn't admit it to one another until after, we were both expecting to be disappointed; after all it's just a great big stone in the desert in the ... read more
July 3rd 2011
No big adventure plans for today. We were set on hanging out at the pool for the morning and then heading to Mossman Gorge for a one-hour hike. I scouted out a smooth coconut from the beach to use as a rugby football and we played an aggressive game of rugby in the pool. This was followed by chicken-fights and then team swimming races with me and Theo as a team against Geddy and Ivy. Nothing like a relaxing day at the pool... We had a break in the action to head down to Port Douglas to have lunch and check on the weather conditions for tomorrow. We had pushed all in on our last day to wait for our snorkeling trip out to the outer banks of the Great Barrier Reef. That was a go. ... read more
June 8th 2011
We arrived at Cairns at about lunch time. Ash and I wanted to go to the skate park. We found a massive one next the beach – the largest public skate park in Australia. It was during school hours so there were no kids there . Ash and I got stuck in a massive bowl which we eventually got out by pulling ourselves up. After the skate park I stacked just riding along the esplanade footpath. That night we Palm Cove, right beside the beach. We drove to Kuranda, up in the mountains and rainforest. We looked around the markets then went to ‘Birdworld’. I didn’t want to go in but then I did and then I didn’t want to leave. The birds sat on your shoulders and hands and flew all over the place. Ash ... read more
Wwoofing dans un vignoble de fruits tropicaux
Published: May 28th 2011Oceania » Australia » Queensland » Mossman
April 19th 2011
Cela fait un bout de temps que j'ai envie de travailler dans le vin. Dans une région tropicale comme le Queensland, on ne trouve pas de raisin mais ce n'est pas ce qui empêche les locaux de faire du vin ! Grace au wwoofing, réseau qui met en contact des "fermes" biologiques et des gens qui ont envie de donner un coup de main, je rencontre Tony et Trudie. Ils sont retraités et ont décidé de passer leurs vieux jours à produire et vendre des vins de fruits tropicaux. Le principe du wwoofing est simple. En échange de quelques heures de travail par jour, on est nourri et logé et le plus important, on vit au rythme des gens chez qui l'on vit. Chez Tony et Trudie, je vis dans une caravane qui est au milieu ... read more
February 2nd 2011
9pm Tuesday night told that our flight was cancelled but we should be ok to stay at our apartment. 10pm, another call- we need to Evacuate Wednesday morning to Mossman. 3am Wednesday morning, news looks bleak, mum and dad contemplate driving south but don't have enough fuel to get away from the cyclone so decided to stay. 7.30am loaded car and headed north. They were were talking of a 6-7m storm surge and as our apartment was beach front it was not a good idea to stay. Mossman was 12.5m above sea level. Evacuation centre at Mossman State High School was filling up but we managed to get a gym mattress to sleep on and there was los of other children to play with. We had to saty there all day but the weather ouside seemed ... read more
GOLDILOCKS AND THE THREE CHAIRS
Published: February 7th 2011Oceania » Australia » Queensland » Mossman
December 16th 2010
While packing up the next morning Andy discovered a redback spider making a web on our roof. This had been our first sighting of Australias poisonous creatures - well it was a sighting for Andy. I am very grateful that he dealt with it first and told me about it later! We drove the short distance to Mossman Gorge. We walked through the forest and across the Rex Creek Bridge before finding a crystal clear river to have a paddle in. There were some very inquisitive fish in the river. They swam right up to us and looked at us expectantly waiting for some food. “If only I had my fishing rod” Andy sighed “ I bet they wouldn’t take much catching” I’m sure I could detect a look of relief from the fish…. I guess ... read more
July 28th 2010
Today we did a lot of washing before setting out to explore the township at Port Douglas and then the Mossman Gorge. We are not used to having tourists everywhere after our experiences in the Outback. The weather has been overcast with patches of sun and the odd shower at night. However it is good to be able to relax before returning to Auckland. We had a wonderful walk in the Mossman Gorge. We had been there before but hadn’t done the big walk so this time we did and it was beautiful. There was only another couple on the walk and that made the walk a lot more peaceful. There were sooo many other tourists at the actual Gorge. We like walking in peace and quiet so that you can enjoy the bush. ... read more
