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Published: August 6th 2011
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Savannahlander
Savannahlander After leaving Flying Fish Point we travelled just a short distance to a place called Fishery Falls which is a very small town 35km south of Cairns. We had been told this caravan park was really nice so we thought we would stay a couple of nights before venturing onto Cairns. It was a nice park with lovely gardens, set behind the hotel and that was the whole of the town with just a few other houses. A lot of people stay at this park and travel to Cairns and the Atherton Tablelands as it is so peaceful. They have a Happy Hour every Friday evening and they have a raffle with about 6 prizes and Trevor and I were lucky enough to win the 2nd highest prize of $30 so we were very pleased. The next evening we went to the pub for dinner and they had the best hot chips served with the meal. We might call in on our way back home just to have a bowl of chips for lunch.
We then travelled to Cairns and booked into Lake Placid Caravan Park, 13km north of Cairns which is nestled in a bush setting just near the
Chillagoe Caves
Chillagoe Caves Barron River. We booked a trip back in June for a 4 day trip on a train called the Savannahlander which left on the 20th July so we spent the first 10 days in Cairns just looking around the beaches and going to Kuranda. The railmotors were built in the 1960s and the return trip to Forsayth is 850km and for much of the journey the Savannahlander has the railway line to itself. If we wanted to stop anywhere special for a photo we just had to ask the driver and he would oblige. Also we were able to sit up next to the driver to get a bird’s eye view and ask any questions which was a great experience.
The train leaves from Cairns to Chillagoe and then onto Cobbold Gorge at Forsayth and finally to the Undara Lava Tubes near Mount Surprise. There were only 11 people on the tour and 2 train drivers who were great. We had a wonderful time stopping at many interesting little towns on the way for morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea. Then dinner was at the towns where we stayed in accommodation overnight. This is the train going over one
Creek 1
Lynd Creek during the train journey of the many bridges on our journey.
Chillagoe is an historic mining village where ruins of the century old smelters still dominate the skyline. In the 1900’s this region operated the largest private rail network in Australia, servicing the surrounding mines and smelters. There is also a lot of marble mined there with big blocks of it all over the place. These are the Chillagoe Limestone Caves which were very interesting.
This is Lynd Creek and Junction Creek, two of the larger creeks we crossed, still with plenty of running water which was very clear and we even saw a small crocodile in one of them.
Because we were travelling through cattle country we had several times where we had to slow down for the cows to get out of our way and a few occasions it was kangaroos.
This is the Copperfield Gorge with sheer walls dropping into the sandy river bottom. The river has cut through a lava fissure giving visitors another aspect of the lava flow. The Gorge is located at Einasleigh which was once a copper mining town set amongst the flat top hills that rise up
Creek 2
Junction creek was one of many creeks we crossed out of the grasslands.
This is the magnificent Cobbold Gorge where we are taken on specially constructed boats run by very quiet battery powered outboard motors so as not to disturb the quietness of the place. We cruised along the narrow channel waters of the Gorge carved over eons of erosion. The Gorge is located on a cattle station and the owners have opened it up to take visitors on this spectacular boat trip.
One hundred and ninety thousand years ago the earth trembled, the sky darkened and flaming fountains of lave bathed the land in a fiery glow. Undara had awoken. Wave after wave of molten lava spewed from the crater and flowed across the land incinerating everything in its path. Toes of lave, searching out for easy ways to flow, found their way into the low contours of the land, forming rivers of molten rock which would their way across the now blackened landscape. The air began to cool the surface changing it from scarlet to a sullen crimson and finally to a solid back crust. Underneath the lava continued to flow. Now insulated from the surrounding cooler environment, the lava continued to flow
Cows
Some of the local domesticated stock beneath the surface in the lava tube carrying it further and further from the crater, flooding more and more land as it went. The eruption slowed then stopped. The lava flowed out the far end of the tubes, leaving hollow tunnels hidden below the devastated land. Visitors are taken inside these tubes and this photo shows where the roof has fallen in in one section, they are truly amazing. They have railway carriages for accommodation which was also an experience. We had dinner at the Lodge and at breakfast time they set up a couple of camp fires about 200 metres away from the main lodge which was just a wonderful setting as we were down there when it was still dark so all the stars were still out. You were able make your own toast over the fire and there was also billy tea and billy coffee along with fruit, cereals, pancakes, bacon, sausages, eggs and baked beans. What a great selection it was and they had logs set up as tables and chairs for you to eat. It was fabulous.
On our return from our trip on the Savannahlander we had to go grocery shopping and on
Copperfield
Copperfield Gorge at Einasleigh our return to our car in the parking lot we could not get the car to start after several times attempting to do so. Thankfully we are in the RACQ so we called them and the car had to be towed away in the end. Two weeks later and now on its third repairer we have finally found out what is wrong, the turbo has gone on it. The people who have it now have tried everywhere in Australia to get the part, but unfortunately there is not one here so it has be ordered in from the States and will be here in a week’s time so that has put our schedule back 3 weeks. We are not going up to the Atherton Tablelands with the 5th wheeler now as we have made a couple of days trip up there to have a look around.
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Viv & Terry
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Great Stuff!
we are really enjoying your Blogs, keep them coming!