The drive from Port Douglas to Palm Cove was one of the most spectacular drives I have ever undertaken, and would rival any road trip across Australia, and would even rival some of the great European roads we have travelled. Captain Cook Highway follows the edge of the Far North Queensland coast that looks out to the Great Barrier Reef. Fortunately, the day we travelled it was clear and sunny, and we felt compelled to stop several times for photo opportunities. Palm Cove lies between Port Douglas and Cairns on the sunny Far North Queensland coast. It lacks the championship golf courses and ritzy shops of Port Douglas, but has it’s fair share of exclusive resorts, luxury condominiums and expensive restaurants. The long beach front stretches from Palm Cove through to Clifton Beach, and has two ... read more

Mossman was our next stop, and it was an ideal base from which to explore the Daintree Coast, including having a good range of shops and services. We managed to secure a powered site in the Mossman Shire Council Caravan Park, which was conveniently located adjacent to the Council Swimming Pool, for which caravan park guests had free and unlimited access. I took the opportunity to do laps on several of the days we stayed in Mossman. Mossman lies in the heart of sugar cane country, and hosts the Mossman Central Sugar Mill, which runs as a Co-operative owned by local farmers. Cane train lines criss cross the area, and you need to be mindful as you drive around. The soil is rich and also supports many tropical fruit farms, as well as of course, the ... read more

It was only a forty five minute drive to our next booked stay, being the town of Mareeba. Mareeba is located within a large agricultural region, with a wide variety of crops grown including avocados, mangoes, lychees, longans, sugar cane, cashews, macadamias, bananas, pineapples, tea tree oil, coffee, cotton and various vegetables and tropical fruit. A sign entering the town boasts that Mareeba has 300 sunny days per year. Tobacco was once the main grown crop in the area, but is no longer grown within the Mareeba Shire. I did notice the faded Tobacco Co-Op sign on a older building in the main street as I was driving through. After our busy schedule in Atherton, it was good to enjoy the laid back atmosphere of Trinity Plains Caravan Park, located just outside of the town. There ... read more

Ravenshoe is the highest town in Queensland, sitting 920 metres above sea level. And yes it can get cold here. One morning we woke up to a frost on the grass. Situated on top of the Great Dividing Range, Ravenshoe lies between the Wet Tropic Rainforests to the east, while to the west lies the drier open forests of the Gulf Savannah, where we have just come from. Ravenshoe should really have been named Waterfall, as there are numerous waterfalls in every direction. Our first waterfall to visit was Millstream Falls, which has the widest single drop falls in Australia. We then visited Little Millstream Falls, which are not little at all. Millaa Millaa is a small town east of Ravenshoe, formerly the centre of a large timber industry, which unfortunately logged many of the giant ... read more

Continuing our journey along the Savannah Way, we discovered Pinnarendi Staion on WikiCamps. The station has been in the Atkinson Family for over five generations, and Ronnie and his wife Nadine, have opened up a section of the property for farm stays. The property is 1,571 hectares of land, and sits on top of the Great Dividing Range at an altitude of 750 metres, with around 325v hectares of cleared pasture. There are both powered and non powered sites, however, the reason we especially wanted to stay here was for the wood fired pizzas. Ronnie is very capable and built his own wood fired pizza oven, along with a large shed where guests can eat from the attached cafe. The food served up by Nadine and her assistants is first class for an out of the ... read more