Heading back down the coast

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We left Cairns and headed for Bingil bay, a campground right on the lovely beach with a caretaker who lives in a camper trailer too! Unfortunately both Kym and I were getting really frustrated with having this most magnificent water right at our doorstep, the temp was in the mid 30’s and humidity very high but you CANT SWIM. Stinger season starts in Oct and of course the saltwater crocs...so we decided that we would push down the coast as fast as we could to get to somewhere where you could swim safely in the ocean. Before we left we spent a night at an amazing place called Paronella Park. This place was built buy a Spanish pastry cook in the 50’s and rediscovered by the current owners about 10 years ago. It is simply breathtaking, the whole place is focused on a natural waterfall and swimming area and has been planted out with thousands of rainforest plants. We did the night tour of the place and discovered a totally mystical feeling to the place, as well as feeding some of the 70 odd eels that inhabit the swimming hole. There were turtles, fish and apparently some platypus that live there, along with a colony of the cutest microbats in an underground section that was dug for clay to render the buildings. If you are in the north of Queensland we would definitely recommend a visit to this place.
From Paronella park we shot south about 500k’s to a campspot at Dingo Beach just north of Bowen, only to discover we had camped almost on the backdoor of an eco tourist accommodation village! Another 500 k’s saw us at the Calliope river (pronounced Cal eye oh pay - of course!) A really nice spot right on the river. There were some young Canadians camped there and they asked us if the river was safe to swim in, and as there were skiers on the river when we rolled up we said “Of Course”. Upon leaving we saw the Warning/Achtung! sign that marks most of the rivers in FNQ where crocodiles inhabit........ (we had a swim tooooooo) Haha. From Calliope to a caravan park in Caloundra, and then next stop was the barge to our favourite desination while we lived in Brissy - North Stradbroke!

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Photos

Cedar lane
The waterfall is right at the end

Wait-a-while
Thorny cane that is used to make wicker products.

Paronella Park
This was the entertaining area

Paronella waterfall after rain
At night of course..