Continuing down south, we stayed in most of the "towns" as we did on our way up to the tip, but with names like "Hann River Roadhouse" and "Archer River Roadhouse", you can imagine the size of these places! From Laura (a considerable large town in comparison), we headed to Cooktown, and then to Cape Tribulation for a couple of nights. More beautiful rainforest and amazing beaches. The Daintree certainly is as the brochures describe, “where the rainforest meets the reef”.
After Daintree we found ourselves camped in Wonga Beach for a couple of blissful nights, just metres from the beach. I treated myself to a 3 hour trail ride through the rainforest and along the beach, even picking up the pace to a canter! The infrequent horse rider I am though, left me walking with a strange saunter for the next day or so!!
Monday 6th July, and we made our way back to Cairns again. We had left some of our excess camping equipment there to make the trip to Cape York a little lighter, so we collected that and enjoyed the kids facilities for another couple of days! Tuesday and the kids and I swam all day while Grant cleaned and played with the Prado for some hours!!
Next we headed to Ingham, where we camped at the back of an old restored Hotel, and the next morning enjoyed the views of Wallaman Falls. As Fin is happy to recite, Wallaman is the highest single drop waterfall in Australia with a drop of 268 metres. Fin has spent a lot of time studying the map book along the way, and can out-quiz Grant and I on most parts of our trip!
Next morning we drove to Townsville and tried to avoid the roadblocks around town due to the V8 Supercar race that was on that weekend. Grant managed to catch up with his old signwriting buddies who were working on the track, and then we enjoyed catching up with my Aunty Peggy and Uncle Trevor in their home. Uncle Trevor tickled the boys exactly the same as I remember he used to chase me around the house! The kids loved the spoils of lollies, ice-cream, and lots of fun. We explored Townsville, to find my old house at 16 Goldsworthy St, and saw some amazing views of Townsville from Castle Hill.
Saturday we continued south, through Bowen. Bowen is the town my Mum and her 4 sisters grew up in, so we tracked down the old family farm and were fortunate to have a look around courtesy of the current owners. Although I had never been there before, I took some photos for Mum to see. We also managed to find the house my Grandparents lived in after they sold the farm, which is what I remember of Grandma and Grandad. So, it was a good day of family history. We ended up staying the night in Airlie Beach. It is a very touristy/backpacker town, being the closest mainland point to the Whitsunday Islands, but with beautiful views of the islands, and some very expensive boats moored in the marina. We spent one night in the caravan park, where the kids watched another outdoor movie...much to their delight!
On Sunday we drove from Airlie Beach, through Mackay and to my Aunty Margy and Uncle Bruce’s house, south of Sarina. The kids (and Grant and I too!) were excited to be here, to see the rellys, but also to sleep in a bed for the first time in several weeks!!! We were kindly hosted by my Aunt and Uncle on my cousin’s beachfront property, Carmila Glen for 4 nights. We arrived and went for a ride on the quad bikes with them and my cousin’s three children, Ashlee, Tammy and Kevin to the beach. They have about 9kms of beach frontage, flanked by two national parks. Views of islands and bush on the shore...how amazing. The kids went for rides behind the quad bike on a tyre tube...a few spills but plenty of fun!
Tuesday, and we went for a drive into Mackay to meet up with Aunty Fay and Uncle Bruce and my cousin Leesa. It was great to catch up with them, and for the boys to meet their relatives.
The next day we had a lazy day at Carmila Glen...more fishing, quad bikes, and relaxing in the sun. That night we watched the third game in the NRL State of Origin Series, with lots of my Aunty and Uncle's friends. The boys enjoyed some friendly banter between AFL and NRL, and Fin was glued to the screen the whole time!
Thursday 16/7, and we left Carmila, bound for Mount Morgan (a little south of Rockhampton) to catch up with the final of my Mum's sister's, Aunty Julie. She and Uncle Rod live in a tiny town called "Struck Oil" which has an interesting history to the name. Just ask Fin about it when we get home! Another night in a bed, and meals cooked for us...so spoilt!
On Friday we left early for a big drive south to Hervey Bay, in preparation for our trip to raser Island. So, Grant and the boys have met all of my Mum's siters and lots of my cousins too which has been great.
Next stop, Fraser Island...
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