Advertisement
Published: September 13th 2009
Edit Blog Post
Cape Hillsborough NP
A quiet little spot we found with an amazing view... Charters Towers was a charming town and perfect for a two day stop to finish off school work, find the next Harry Potter book for Sam (he is devouring the series and is often glued to his chair for hours, ploughing through the chapters). We decided to head to Paluma National Park, north of Townsville, for a dose of tropical forests and quiet camping (except the birds who seemed to be nocturnal at this spot!) We were camped near some Canadian birdwatchers and as soon as Jojo saw them he dug out our binoculars and started following them. “Can I go hunting with them Mama?” he asked. Sam impressed them with his encyclopedic description of the local wildlife. He is able to speak on so many topics with such authority that he could convince the most experienced bird watcher that he had seen a cockaone, a cockatoo and a cockathree!
After a walk near the tiny town of Paluma (and a hot chockie) we ventured to “The Rockslides” where we all spent hours sliding down these natural waterslides. It was particularly special as we had the place to ourselves, which is unusual in sunny Queensland. We returned
Mission Beach
When Jojo gets a little annoying this is what we do... to the campsite and opted for an indoor meal as we were still recovering from the mosquito invasion of the night before.
As far as the kids knew, our next stop was south of Townsville…but we had a surprise up our sleeve. Both Max and Sam had brilliant memories of a holiday six years ago in Mission Beach. We had rejected their pleas to return there as it was too far out of our way. Well they didn’t notice our left turn into Bruce Highway and accepted our “ring road” explanation as to why we hadn’t gone through Townsville. It was only when they saw the sign of the caravan park “South Mission Beach Resort” that it clicked. Within an hour they had Adam on the beach constructing a huge sand roller coaster, using mangrove seeds as the carriages. For the next 11 days that was part of a very enjoyable routine: Roller coaster construction, swimming pool, breakfast, lunch, dinner, walks, burgers and some kite flying after a purchase at the Mission Beach Monster Markets. Even after such a long stay, we were all sad to leave.
It was time for another dose of bush camping as we
Paluma NP
The water was quite nice ..well his face tells a different story headed for Broadwater State Park. Again we found a magnificent and almost deserted campsite, with a swimming hole, baby turtles and brush turkeys keeping us company. We used this spot as a base to explore Girrungan National Park and Wallaman Falls, the highest permanent waterfall in the Southern hemisphere. The views were spectacular and Max and Adam went on the long hike and descent to the bottom of the falls. Jojo, Sam and I went on a shorter walk along the turtle path which ended at small rapids and a swimming hole. We spent hours sending sticks and leaves down the rapids, cheering the victors and mourning the vanquished. As we were leaving Sam spotted a family of six turtles venturing close to a sandy beach. He and Jojo approached quietly and the turtles emerged, looking at us inquisitively. Sam was the “Turtle Whisperer” chatting to them while crouched down in “turtle position”. This turtle encounter made our day!
Bowen was our next destination (via Townsville to get the next Harry Potter and buy Max a stockman’s whip) but it was a bit of a disappointment as a town. This can have side benefits however, as school work can
Paluma NP
The boys... be completed without the temptation of exciting activities and calls of children playing outside teasing them out of their focus on school work. As a reward for completing their unit, we went to the local cinema to watch “Up” which we all enjoyed and Jojo is planning our next trip around Australia by starting a balloon collection to carry our van so that we can really go off road!
The kids won the next destination battle and we ended up in Airlie Beach at a resort style caravan park with tennis court, mini golf, waterslides, go karts and a huge jumping pillow. The kids were in heaven and Adam and I survived this burst of civilization virtually unscathed. We recovered at Cape Hillsborough National Park, where we had a camping spot on the water next to another family from Canberra with three boys. We enjoyed some guitar by the campfire, (thanks Max, Sean and Paul Kelly) befriended an Israeli couple and woke up for a family beach cricket competition, with kangaroos as spectators. Adam and I were in heaven again and the kids were pretty happy too! We were sad to farewell the Canberra cohort and enjoyed a final
Cape Hillsborough NP
Jojo coming back from the beach...what more can I say dinner and campfire sing along with some extra musicians and lots of singing and then headed off the next morning for Gladstone for a pit stop before arriving in 1770, Captain Cook’s pride and joy as well as the first surf we have seen on the East Coast. Already the boys are keenly searching for second hand surfboards and have already mastered the local swell! It is the final countdown but we are loving every minute of it!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.166s; Tpl: 0.013s; cc: 12; qc: 62; dbt: 0.0767s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb
shellie jelinek
non-member comment
missing you
amazing photos guys...it looks almost too good to be real. having said that...it also makes me miss you even more than i already do. i know your trip is coming to a close and three months of stability is awaiting...but so am i!!!! Love you so much and miss you to bits xox shellie