Brucie Bonus Highway gets tropical!


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Oceania » Australia » Queensland
May 8th 2008
Published: May 8th 2008
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Bloody great signs over here!Bloody great signs over here!Bloody great signs over here!

Helps pass the time on long drives!

2nd April 2008 - 17th April 2008



Ingham - Lucinda - Bellenden Ker Range - Cairns - Port Douglas - Atherton Tablelands - Tully - Cardwell - Townsville - Agnes Water / Seventeen Seventy - Bundaberg - Childers - Hervey Bay (Fraser Island) - Big Pineapple - Australia Zoo - Brisbane



The Bruce Highway is the main road along the East Coast and has been our companion since leaving Brisbane. Having travelled north in excess of 2,000km thus far we were now firmly in the tropics and beginning to feel the heat. We were also beginning to notice the crocodile warnings next to rivers, creeks and even the sea!

After leaving Bowen we headed towards Townsville stopping at Home Hill to buy some lunch where we stumbled upon a rest stop complete with free hot showers - we'll use that on the way South! We also got chatting to a Liverpudlian couple who have lived in New Zealand for twenty years and Australia for three years only returning to the UK for ten days in that time yet they have lost none of their Scouse accent!

We ended up driving through Townsville without stopping, deciding to visit
Bushtucker!Bushtucker!Bushtucker!

Claire later reversed over this helpess creature (by mistake!) - better than being eaten alive I suppose!?
on the return leg and pulled into another rest area a little further north just before sunset. We cooked up a meat feast - chicken kebabs and beef burgers, plus some salad - all on offer at Woolworths (Woolies is a supermarket out here).

A lunch time stop at Ingham which houses the infamous 'Pub with no beer' (it was drunk dry in 1941 by servicemen on leave and has been made into a popular Aussie song) and then on to nearby Lucinda to marvel at its 6km long pier and finishing the day at a rest stop a little past Mission Beach where we had earlier gained an opportunistic hot shower from the beachside campsite.

I got chatting to an Aussie guy in the morning who was keen to advise us where we should visit. We followed some of his suggestions and visited the Bellenden Ker Range with its' picturesque 'Josephine Falls' and the powerful 'Boulders'. The Boulders is a dangerous fast flowing creek with rocks the size of houses. It was just a short drive from here to Cairns where we headed straight for the man made lagoon by the beachfront to cool off for a couple of hours. We stayed at a Big4 campsite and were shown to our pitch in the back of a golf cart and then given a whirl wind tour of the amenities.

In the morning we drove another hour north along a beautiful stretch of coast to Port Douglas a now trendy tourist spot. We stayed here for the day just chilling out taking a well earned rest from driving satisfied that this was as far up the East Coast we wanted to go. The following day being Sunday we checked out the busy Sunday morning market before leaving.

People might be surprised to learn that we didn't visit the Great Barrier Reef, one of the wonders of the world. Well, having done a scenic flight over the Whitsundays and deciding boats are for losers we thought anything less than a flight over the reef would be a disappointment. Our funds couldn't really stretch that far and besides there is coral on the West coast you can snorkel amongst literally metres from the beach for free and without small armies of Japanese tourists!

We took a detour on the way south from Cairns through the Atherton Tablelands. Our first stop of the day was to look at a 'crater lake' - a lake formed out of a dormant volcano - where we were able to enjoy the view while scoffing on Devonshire Cream teas! Just a few kms further there was a second crater lake where this time I took a very welcome and refreshing bathe (literally, no showers at the rest stop this evening!) while Claire watched from the edge (smelly bugger!). A quick 'schooner' of beer (about 2/3 pint) at the Eacham Hotel that hasn't changed since its' construction in 1910 and a brief stop to view a huge fig tree (it may not sound impressive but it was!). Finally we checked out a cool windfarm before finding our rest stop near Ravenshoe which has the highest pub in Queensland by virtue of the fact that Ravenshoe is the highest place in Queensland!

Our second day in the Tablelands was a day of waterfalls. They have so many in this region there is a waterfall circuit. We did about three and that was enough even though they were all quite beautiful. By the afternoon we were back on the main highway of Bruce where we were excited to be visiting the town of Tully as we had read about a big 'gum boot' they have which you can climb. The reason for the boot is that it measures 7.9m tall which is the record amount of rainfall the town received in 1950. It was an impressive boot but we were crushed when we realised the stairway inside was closed due to maintenance.

On from Tully we drove to Cardwell where we had lunch on a picnic table right by the beach. From here we could see Hinchinbrook Island which is the location for a recent film called 'Nim's Island' starring Jodie Foster. Arriving at our rest stop at Rollingstone about 3pm (which is more like a campsite - it's great!) a quite large iguana strutting around was brought to our attention by some young kids. They told us to be careful as they eat people!

We left the next day having avoided being eaten by an iguana and this time stopped in Townsville driving straight up Castle Hill lookout which gives fantastic 360 degree views of the area. Along the beach front was a free water park for children which we stopped to observe for a while before leaving as it had a hilarious oversized bucket that slowly filled up with water until full emptying its contents onto the hyperactive 'little nippers' below. There is little else to keep you at Townsville so we headed on to the rest stop at Home Hill, the one with the free hot showers! Before having a shower Claire cut my hair, she did it rather well considering I was her first model!

The next two days were largely behind the wheel of Chubby as we travelled almost 1,000km back down the coast, stopping at St.Lawrence rest area on the way for our three minute 'golden' shower. Our next stop of note was Agnes Water which had a really nice and unspoilt beach (it reminded us of some beaches in Cornwall) where we relaxed and sunbathed. In the afternoon we moved along to Seventeen Seventy which had great lookout points and views of the sea but the beach was not as nice as the one we had just left. As we were heading to our rest stop late in the afternoon near Bundaberg we passed the 'Bert Hinkler' house and museum so did a quick u-turn and went back to have a look. The museum was closed (but didn't look that great from the outside) but we were able to investigate his house and gardens. Bert Hinkler set a world record in 1921 flying 1,270km from Sydney to Bundaberg. In 1983, the house where he had lived at the time of his death in England was transported to here and rebuilt brick by brick! It was really exciting seeing such an English house, pebble dash and everything!

We left the rest stop the next morning early, earlier than we thought as it turned out as our watch was somehow one hour out! We drove to Childers to visit the memorial to the 15 backpackers that died here in a fire (it was closed by the time we got here last time) and made a cup of tea to pass some time before it opened at 9am. It was exceptionally well done, very moving as you would expect yet quite heartwarming at the same time as the local community really came together at this tragic time.

From here we drove to Hervey Bay which is the launch pad to visit the much recommended Fraser Island. We have lost count of the number of people that have told us to go to Fraser Island. Travellers all over Asia have told us we 'must' go and seemed absolutely gobsmacked when they learn I have been to Australia before and never went. People we have talked to in Australia have been the same, one guy in the north appeared quite distraught that we hadn't gone before realising we were heading south again and could go on our way back! We have been debating since not long after leaving home whether to go or not and even in Hervey Bay we were unsure. Our main concern was that we were simply going just to say we had been and wouldn't enjoy it, especially as it's so expensive. We have also managed to avoid the backpacker scene since leaving the hostel in Brisbane and Fraser Island is firmly back in backpacker territory. We therefore opted against an overnight camping (get pissed with fellow backpackers) experience and went with the more family orientated day trippers, purely so when the next person asks us; 'Did you go to Fraser Island?' We can reply 'YESSS!'.

Fraser Island, for those that haven't been (oh my god, you haven't been, you have to go!) is the world's largest sand island. It also has rainforests, crystal clear streams you can drink from, amazingly beautiful lakes, wild dingoes and plenty of sharks in the sea! On the forty minute ferry crossing we were excited to be going but a little apprehensive too as could it really live up to its' hype? We boarded our 51 seater four wheeled drive bus last and were rewarded with the bumpy seats at the back. 4WD vehicles are required on the island as the road network consists of rough dirt tracks although the main highway is the beach! Cars, planes and pedestrians all share the highway along 75 Mile Beach (pedestrians actually have right of way) and you can drive on either side which can get confusing!

Our first stop along the beach was at Eli Creek where millions of litres of freshwater meets the sea every day and we had a sip - it was pretty tasty! From here we were given a much too brief ten minutes to look at the 'Maheno Shipwreck'. The ship, beached in 1935 and subsequently used for target practice by the Australian army, is still an amazing sight. We were then shown some uninspiring coloured sands and finally (after an excellent all you can eat buffet) we 'bounced' our way through dirt tracks to Lake Mackenzie which was spectacular and one hour here went much too quickly. This is also the most likely place to see a dingo but we never did. We had a really enjoyable day and our guide was fantastic but is it a must see? It probably is but we don't understand why so many people rate it as one of their best experiences above everything else in Australia. We actually had a far superior time just a couple of days later at Australia Zoo!

However, before Australia Zoo we visited the 'Big Pineapple', literally a huge pineapple which this time we could climb up! Not only that but inside the pineapple was a pineapple musuem - it was awesome! Anyway, Australia Zoo. This is the late Steve Irwin's zoo and you can't easily forget it! There are Steve Irwin images, statues, films and souvenirs plus the opportunity to have your photo taken with him. It all seemed a little weird to us but aside from this fact we had a brilliant day (and we used our fake student id and received $11 discount each!). Before we even entered the zoo a koala was with its' keeper at reception where we were allowed to pat it and have photographs with the cuddly creature called Lawson (not 'Awesome' as I thought). We were there the whole day from opening to closing time and only just fitted it all in with barely a break - our feet were aching by the end! It was so interactive with feeding sessions, keepers walking around with their animals and an open kangaroo park plus there were lots of informative talks showcasing various animals that the time just flew by. Forget Fraser Island, this is a 'must' do! Just take a browse at a fraction of our pictures and you'll see what we mean - 'crikey!' (as Steve would say).

The next day, after having travelled around 5,000km, we were back at the start, Brisbane. A whistle stop ... stop saw us collect 'our' lost and now found rainbow umbrella from the airport (it wasn't ours but he told us to keep it anyway) a new roof vent for the van from Travellers Autobarn as ours is on the side of the road in North Queensland somewhere and a tour of the Castlemaine XXXX brewery. The tour was very interesting and quite comical and included four free beers for me as Claire was driving. Whilst walking around Brisbane earlier Claire's flip flops (or 'thongs' as they call them here) broke and was forced to walk barefoot for some time. However, this is not unusual in Australia. It is common to see people walking barefooted in petrol stations, supermarkets and even toilets (yuk)! The other annoying habit we have noticed is the ability of Australians to shorten every word possible. For example, from the more well known 'this arvo' (this afternoon) and 'how's youse' (how are you) to the more irritating 'doco' (documentary) and the ridiculous shortening of the MCG (which is the Melbourne Cricket Ground) to just 'the G' - it's already been abbreviated to MCG!!

The following day we had a short stop at Surfers' Paradise, maybe a surfers' paradise but not ours, so we quickly continued to the border of Queensland with New South Wales at Tweed Heads which is a rather convenient time to end this blog. Until next time then ...






Additional photos below
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Lunch at Cardwell Lunch at Cardwell
Lunch at Cardwell

Hinchinbrook Island (aka Nim's Island with Jodie Foster) can be seen from here.
View of Townsville View of Townsville
View of Townsville

Magnetic Island in the background
Townsville Water ParkTownsville Water Park
Townsville Water Park

Check out the big bucket - great!


8th May 2008

Still Looking for the Crocodile
G'day Guys - so have you started thinking with an Aussie accent yet, probably take a few more weeks eh! Well yep am so so jealous, love the pics of the amazing scenery and animals. Any problems with the mosquitos or are you now totally weathered and immune to them. Keep it coming................ xxx

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