Mackay, Rockhampton and Bundaberg.

Rockhampton. Bundaberg and Hervey Bay

On the road and heading south.

After a few weeks taking things slow and having far too good a time it was time to get moving and head south.  Leaving Airlie Beach and heading south along the bloody terrible Bruce Highway we were soon into the groove of drive a while and then stop a bit for some road works.  It is annoying but necessary as the whole road is terrible. The locals say that the road is so appalling due partly to clay soils that expand and contract, floods and serious neglect through constant cheap band-aid repairs...  Soon we were onto Mackay which is a boom town like Port Hedland and lots going on.  We stopped for a swim at the lagoon as you do when it’s free and kept going. Queensland has certainly invested heavily in stunning FREE lagoons and waterparks in major centres where swimming at beaches is not possible (all with 3-5 lifeguards on duty 12 or so hours per day.)   All of Queensland’s big coastal towns are on huge  rivers surrounded by canfields, have a sugar mill and lots of cane trains moving about.  They look like a teenagers train set! 

                                                                   Mackay Lagoon

Moving onto Rockhampton,  the cane fields were missing but this is Australia’s beef capital. It is dry here, but there are still 2 feet of grass in the paddocks and plenty of fat cattle. The Fitzroy River is an impressive river and it was not long ago that it nearly took the town down to the ocean with it.  It was a big day for us  with 480 km covered and more to come the next day. The park we chose was flanked by the Bruce Highway, a rail line and some air traffic overhead for good measure. Despite this we all slept quite well.

The next day our aim was Bundaberg 330km to the south. We drove through lots of cattle country before the cane reappeared as we got further south.  As usual, any time when we want to move a reasonable distance we encountered strong winds and both days were tough driving. The kids caught up with some school work and we eventually reached Bundaberg. We stayed out at Bargara, which is Bundaberg’s coastal suburb. Once again Will was in heaven with a skate park out the front of the van park.

                                                                        Kurt in Heaven

                                                                 Set them up Bartender.

                                                      The Bundy Bear(in the glass case)

We headed back into town to the Bundaberg Ginger Beer factory for some sampling and Will and Kurt got a supply of their favourite drink.  Later we visited the Bundaberg Rum Distillery where Jim did a tour of the factory and was amazed at the process of producing rum and the hidden dangers. On the tour you are not allowed cameras, watches, phones etc, basically anything with a battery. The finishing shed where the barrels of rum give off  highly flammable vapours as they ferment is a powder keg of six million litres of rum ready to ignite. In 1936 it was struck by lightning and exploded. Rum flowed in the gutters where the locals gathered it in buckets and into the river where it killed fish and other animals. The tour finished with a visit to the bar of course for some tasting, along with the purchase of the first bottle of Bundy to enter the  Morcom residence for many years (and Bundy Fudge).

Day three on consecutive travel saw us move onto Hervey Bay 150km further south. A town of 70,000 people with a lovely seaside feel, it is the gateway to Fraser Island as well as a whale watching mecca.  It has good beaches, but not great ones like Albany.  In fact no place we have been has beaches like Albany.  We arrived at the Fraser Lodge Park which was excellent and the headed off to explore.  We made hamburgers for lunch on the foreshore before going to Wetside Water Education Park where the water is reclaimed storm water,  the kids had a ball.  

                                                                   Hervey Bay Sculptor

                                                                   Kurt at Wetside

                                                                    Jordy in action.

                                                                       Ready, steady

 Going well,

 Wipeout!

 Who else but Kurt.

Urangan Jetty, 869m long

 

 

                                                             Morcom Burgers for Lunch

Airlie Beach

Airlie Beach

Just 80km down the Bruce Highway from Bowen lies the coastal town of Airlie Beach.  Here the forest comes right to the beach and with beautiful  blue water and hundreds of yachts it is a very beautiful place.   It is also the gateway to the 74 Whitsunday Islands but we would  not  be cruising this time having had a day out at Port Douglas already.  We booked into the Big4 Adventure Whitsunday Park at Cannondale 4km out of town.   The park was Kid heaven with water slides, bouncy pillows, mini golf etc,etc.  We had a cool down swim before lunch and the boys had the first of many games of mini golf.  One by one Will roped us all in to doing 9 or 18 holes with him throughout the day.

                                                                     Anyone for golf?

                                                                       I am in heaven.

                                                    Shute Harbour near Airlie Beach

Later that day we ventured into Airlie Beach and we had a swim in the lagoon in town which is another one of those beautiful, free,  man  made, safe swimming pools one the foreshore, with lifeguards.... The town is pretty touristy but nice and with lovely views wherever you go. 

                                                              The Lagoon at Airlie

The next day we planned  a quiet one with a bit of relaxing but it didn’t end up that way.   Jim, Jordy and Kurt went on a half day fishing tour and Will and Chrissy went looking for skate parks and ice-creams.  The boys had a great  day fishing with Kurt and Jordy both landing small Barramundi  . Jim caught a Mangrove Jack and a good Fingermark Bream and at the end of the day landed a small but very feisty Queenfish. Everyone had a good day, seeing a range  of wildlife(including a Manta Ray and a Green Turtle)  and learning lots from our fishing guide  Richard. Will and Chrissy had great afternoon BMX riding, mini-golf, eating ice-cream and looking at shops.

Airlie Beach is one of the most picturesque places we have been to and unfortunately our stay could not be longer, this time.

                                                             Kurt with small barra.

                                                          Jordy with another small one.

                                                          Jim with a good fingermark.

                                                                 Jordy with a queenfish

Lucinda, Groper Creek and Bowen

Sadly it is time to leave the far north and start heading home. First stop was a welding shop in Cairns to re-attach the rear bumper of the van that very nearly dropped off through the weight of the bikes and the relentless bouncing from Queensland's finest roads. The rear bumper was custom made to carry the bikes, just not in Queensland. two bikes were also boxed up and sent home which makes travelling a bit easier.
Leaving Cairns we passed through Innisfail and onto our old favourite Lucinda. Jim could have a fish, the kids could play table tennis and Chrissy could buy some more shoes from the lady with the e-bay shop. We also caught up with our feathered friends the curlew's of Lucinda. There are about 20 of them at the park and they are lovely birds.

                                                   Our old friends at Lucinda, the Curlews.


Next day back in the car we by passed Townsville and visited Ayr for lunch. We then crossed the mighty Burdekin River, the longest bridge in Queensland. The river was a mere trickle but in 2010 the bridge was nearly swept away in 15m of raging floodwaters. Thats a lot of water for a river 600 metres wide. Our goal that night was Groper Creek 15km south of Home Hill on the Burdekin. a sleepy tranquil fishing spot with not much fish unless you have a boat. It is a place ready to be washed away in the next flood and is built accordingly.

                                                       Approaching the Burdekin Bridge.

                                 
                                             The Burdekin River, just a trickle at the moment

                                                       Groper Creek early morning.

                                                 Groper Creek kiosk, always ready for a flood.

                                                            Will unplugging the power.


Bowen
Bowen is one of Queensland;s oldest towns. It is the salad bowl of the north with lots of tomatoes and other salad items grown here and sent all over Australia. The town had agreat boost in 2008 when the town was transformed for the shooting of Australia. All of the Darwin scenes were shot here. During our stay it was Blowen in Bowen but it was warm and sunny. We enjoyed the Big4 park and the lovely beaches for a swim. it is one of the few places in Queensland to have coral just off the beach. Unfortunately the visibility was poor when we went snorkelling.

                                                                        The Big Mango

Bowen was a base for Catalina Flying boats during the war. A very interesting memorial has been built to remember this time.

                                                     Jordy soaking up the information

The Catalinas could be stored on the hardstand if needed. Here's Kurt ready for takeoff.

                                                            Will at another skatepark.

                                                           Having fun back at the park

Cairns and Kuranda

Cairns and Kuranda

Jim's perspective,
Cairns is a very touristy city with a busy tourist quarter, a few dodgy parts of town, beautiful Botanical Gardens and spectacular surrounding mountains and rainforest. It is the type of place we have not yet come across on our trip with full on tourism and its associated trappings. We stayed three days, two at the beautiful Crystal Cascades Caravan Park,  had a good time and then moved south.

                                                 Paperbarks in the Botanical Gardens

Crystal Creek from the bike path

Kurt photographed  Australias biggest moth at the van park

Today we took a scenic railway tour from Cairns to Kuranda, an hour’s ride up a mountain range,

My family rode in carriage 4. The ride was made up

of a series  of turns and bridges, along with 15 tunnels of various sizes. During which we had numerous views,

photo opportunities and a station stop at Baron falls.

The track was in fact built nigh more than a hundred years ago, it’s purpose to send supplies for the thriving mining industry  in the Atherton tablelands. After an eventful wet season the tracks going round the mountain range were destroyed by fierce flooding.

The idea came up that they could build tracks up on the mountain, therefore ascending the flood level entirely. The year 1886 was a year of grim work,  as  men pushed to finish the railway, one of the highest                  

of hardships was that every worker had to supply himself with the equipment ( shovels, pickaxes for instance).

After numerous casualties such as cave ins, unknowen diseases and other tragic accidents ,they finished the track.

The completion of the track meant the creation of the village of Kuranda on the range

                               

Today the line is a world heritage site and a common way up to Kuranda, the carriages are the original ones,

though they have diesel engines with indigenous art work to power the train. And the company have a deal with skyrail.

Speaking of Skyrail, that’s what we took home,

We spent a few hours going down the range in a cable car, there were a two stops along the way, the first one with a lookout of Baron falls, but what the stop really

  meant was that you got out, stretched your legs, go for a walk and join the rediculously huge line to get back on. At the second stop dad

happened to run into Hamish McGregor an ex-student from St Joe’s who was

working at skyrail. Above all every one enjoyed the trip

and as always I hope to come back some day.

Mum was surprised of how quiet it was in the cabs.

By Jordy Morcom

      

 On the train to Kuranda

Stoney Creek Falls

                                   The Butterfly Sanctuary

                                       By Kurt Morcom

After taking the train to Kuranda we went to the Australian Butterfly sanctuary.  The butterfly's liked the air at the perfect temperature and humidity.  When we walked in I noticed many  butterfly's, and a stream and a few tubs with nectar, I saw some eggs being laid near by.  The staff collect the eggs and breed them into butterfly's  in a seprate laboratory.

The Ulysses butterfly is the fastest and it therefore lives for the shortest amount of time - the faster a butterfly flies the more it wears out it's wings which it cannot repair, and it dies.  The slower moving butterflies live for up to 10 months because they don't damage their wings as quickly. The Ulysses butterfly lives for only about 14 days.  It is a beautiful bright blue with grey to black outline.  The underside of the Ulysses is dark grey - which is what you see when it folds it's wings together to feed.

It is all most impossible to take a photo of the Ulysses.

Will found a unknown caterpillar outside, it had bright red and yellow stripes and moved very quickly.  We tried to see what sort of butterfly it would turn into, but couldn't see any caterpillars like it.

I wish I could come back asI had a great day.

At the Australian Butterfly Sanctuary, Kuranda

A Cairns Something

                                                                         Ulysses blue

Very hard to catch, they move around so much they only live 16 days.

Others can live for months.

Will's Caterpillar

The Kuranda Candy Shop

Descending on the Skyrail

Barron Falls Station Lookout

Descending on Cairns

                                  Kurt getting some air at the BMX track near the caravan park

Will loved this track.

 

Jordy enjoying the track

When in Cairns, ocean swimming is not recommended for many reasons. this is the lovely saltwater lagoon on the foreshore and the ocean in the background. Some things in life are not black and white, they can be blue or brown.

Kurt and Will at the lagoon.