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Bundaberg

Great to catch up with friends Jamie and Jan again in the lovely city of Bundaberg, famous in Australia for what else but Bundy RUM – Australia’s favourite spirit! So off we went on a visit to the distillery that was set up to use the molasses left over after sugar was refined. They certainlyContinue reading “Bundaberg”

Tracking South – leaving the tropical wet rainforest

We are finally moving south – but slowly so that the cooler temperatures don’t shock us too much! First top was Cardwell. Our memories of lunching on beautiful fresh mud crab sandwiches in a local cafe were dashed as they had closed down. We did try the new outfit (complete with a large crab onContinue reading “Tracking South – leaving the tropical wet rainforest”

Wildlife Photography Workshop – Malanda FNQ

I recently saw a pamphlet at the Malanda Dairy café and gallery advertising a weekend wild life photography workshop with Steve Parish and Martin Willis. I have admired Steve’s work over a number of years – I’ve always thought of him as the ‘calendar bloke’. Martin’s work is on display in the gallery and IContinue reading “Wildlife Photography Workshop – Malanda FNQ”

Good food, pigs, boulders and dreams…

Mission Beach seems to be a generic term used for the region that also includes 3 other very pretty beaches of Wongaling, Bingil Bay and South Mission Beach (fab views out to Dunk Island). Each place has a different mojo whether that be water sports, fishing, art galleries, music, drinking at a beachfront bar orContinue reading “Good food, pigs, boulders and dreams…”

Innisfail

We moved 84 kms south from Cairns to Innisfail as this is a good central location to explore interesting local spots. Our last visit here was shortly after Cyclone Larry in 2006, which had a devastating impact on the town and the the many crops grown in this region – you may remember whenContinue reading “Innisfail”

Whyanbeel Valley and Cairns

Another beautiful day trip in this region is the Whyanbeel Valley, about 40 kms north of Port Douglas on the Daintree Valley Road. This is a farming valley, mainly sugarcane and cattle, banked right up against thick rainforest and waterfalls visible high above in the range. We first visited Hogland Art Glass in 2006 whenContinue reading “Whyanbeel Valley and Cairns”

More FNQ…

In our last post, the peacocks and bats in the tree above our caravan were making life difficult. All was resolved when a large goanna (aka barnie or perentie) took up residence in the tree, and apparently under our van when we were out. All arguments ceased – the male peacock still slept there eachContinue reading “More FNQ…”

Far North Queensland

Is anyone actually living in Victoria this winter?! Judging by the car licence plates in all the caravan parks, most Victorians are here in Far North Queensland enjoying the warm weather with us! Port Douglas has changed little since our last visit in May 2012 when we attended the wedding of Ginny’s niece, Stephanie and herContinue reading “Far North Queensland”

Cooktown

We took off from Atherton for Cooktown where we hoped to have warmer, drier weather and return to the the coast. That was a mistake! The drive up was very pleasant as the scenery is lovely tropical green and the road was excellent (for Queensland, as we have experienced some shockers) and the burgers atContinue reading “Cooktown”

The Atherton Tableland

Getting to this region inevitably involved climbing as we travelled from the drier ‘flat-lands’ up to the Atherton Tableland. The contrast between the dry country and the wet tropics is amazing over such a short distance (around 300km). There are so many interesting places and small towns to visit that we stayed for a weekContinue reading “The Atherton Tableland”