16th September 2014 Daintree

Heading for the Daintree today took us down one of the longest hilks I think I have known, it was going down into Mosman, the speed limit was 30km, all vehicles were recommended to use low gear as it was steep and very windy, it also seemed to go on for approx 10km.
There was only a couple of places that you could see out, there was a couple of lookouts, once again, what a veiw ,the rest had thick rainforest along the edge of the road.
When we got to the Daintree River we caught a ferry across, there was a very large crocodile laying on a sandbar, no time for swimming here, we then made our way to the Koala Park camp area.
The last 5km of the road down to the park was a narrow dirt road so we were taking it easy, as we rounded a corner there was a cassowary slowly crossing the road, there are supposed to be only 1200 left and we were lucky enough to see one.
In the afternoon as the tide was coming in we went along the beach to try for a fish, we caught a few small ones but while doing that I dropped my phone in the water, doh!!!.

15th September 2014 Mt Carbine

We left our camp wishing there was lots more places like that, but we think they are pretty rare.
We had decided to stay the night at Mt Carbine as we had stayed there on the wsy up, it was clean and quiet.
This caravan Park is renown for all the different types of birds, so much so, there are bird wstching tours brought into the park.
On the way we had to go down the range that I had been worried about,  when we got to it the sign said buses and trucks must use low gear, it was a 9% decline.
The road was a first class sealed road but it was the steep sheer drop on the sides that had me nervous, as we went down it was only possible to go very slow due to the corners, then as we started down the overall veiw made me forget anything else.
There are no words to really describe it, awe inspiring, magnificent,  out of this world, unbelievable,  these don't come close.
I didn't get a photo, there was only a small lookout and a car was parked right in the middle, not enough room for us, it didn't matter a photo would never do it justice.
After dinner we were sitting outside watching an owl flying down picking up what looked to be mice, they were his dinner.
There are also tawny frogmouth nesting in the park as well.

14th September Endevour River Escape Cooktown

Definitely too windy gor fishing today, we have checked the pot nothing this morning.
After breakfast we went for a drive to quarantine bay, and because it was very close we went for a walk around the golf course, it is a nice course but we didn't have a game.
In the afternoon we pulled our pot, it had the biggest freshwater eel in it that I have ever seen, it was as thick as Mervs arm, we didn't want to kill it just to taste to see if we would like it or not so, it went happily back to the river.
Nice fire again tonight, I used all the wood as we are leaving tomorrow.

13th September Endevour River Escape Cooktown

We were going to go fishing today but the wind is 25 knotts plus, so it was more exploring time.
There is an area approx 65 kms away on aboriginal land that has coloured sands, the community is Hope Vale, an area that the aborigine people were taken from and moved further south, they soon became sick and were rapidly dying. It wasn't until Joe Be Elke Peterson was premier that he saw the problem and repatriated them back, that is why they named it Hope Vale.
There is a bush camp ground on the beach, good beach fishing,  talking to the locals  and people who were camped there was great.
We waked around the beach and watched a Dugong very close in, as we were walking back there were 2 aborigine families who drove along, we asked what they were fishing for and they showed us a large turtle they had, as they left we thought,  hope they don't go and get the dugong,  I watched they didn't.
On the way back we stopped and went for a walk to,,,,, wait for it, another waterfall, Endevour River Falls, only small but pretty.
The wind appears to have increased so no fishing tomorrow.

12th September Endevour River Escape Cooktown

There are quite a few walks around town that we decided to do today.
The first was a walk that started at the visitor centre went through the botanical gardens then the trail went up hill and down dale till it came out almost at the lighthouse.
The hill the lighthouse is on is the hill that Captain Cook went on to try to navigate a safe passage through the Barrier Reef after his ship was repaired.
The trail led us into two lovely bays, Finch Bay and Cherry Bay,  each time it went down to a bay it had to go back up again, very hilly and rocky but well worth it.
The walk took approx 21/2 hours, we were going to walk up Mt Cook but by the time we had finished the first walk we thought that was enough for the day, Mt Cook is over 430 metres high, a steep rocky challenge.
We drove back up to the lighthouse to take a few pics.
Pulled the pot had our first mud crab.

11th September Endevour River Escape Cooktown

Picked up some new spark plugs, fitted, checked the filters, checked for water in the oil, gave the motor a good tun connected to the hose, seemed ok so we took it down the river for a test run, all ok.
We had some old bait so when we went back to camp we walked up the river and set our pot, hoping for some cherubim.
Took the chainsaw up the road and collected a load of firewood, we have great fires every night.

10th September Endevour River Escape Cooktown

Fishing today, we pick up the bait and ice, get a bit of local knowledge from the lure shop owner, he was very good.
The was very good,  made for an easy launch and retrieve.
The day was nice but windy, the locals reckon it blows 360 days a year here, I think this time of the year it is the trade winds.
We went out of the river mouth, it is a huge river, we were hoping to catch some flathead or whiting,  there was too much wind so we had to anchor, after quite awhile with no bites we moved up the river.
We anchored near some marker pylons, Merv caught some moses perch, a trevalley and a barracuda, I was smashed off twice,  I had light gear on, big bite all the gear taken, went to the heavier rod and reel no bites, back to the light gear smashed off again.
Everthing that was caught went back.
The engine was stalling a lot today so we will fix that before we go out again.

9th September Endevour River Escape Cooktown

Boring stuff this morning,  washing, we took the washing to the laundromat in town as there isn't one at the camp.
While the washing was being done we checked the boat ramp and wandered around the wharf, there was people fishing,  one had caught a couple of mackerel.
After household duties we drove out to Arthurs Point, a lighthouse area where it is possible to camp.
Another beautiful area, locals were fishing, Merv tried for a fish, no luck,  I wandered around over the exposed reef looking in the pools, they were full of beautiful coral,  it was just like snorkeling without getting wet.
We walked to the top of the hill near the lighthouse, what a way to see the Great Barrier Reef.

8th September Endevour River Escape Cooktown

We head for Cooktown and immediately we are surprised by the beautiful ranges we are going through.
One in particular I told Merv that I was glad we were on the inside as we went up, he said "we have to come back this way, we will be on the outside then" holy crap, I may have to think about walking down that one, it is only 11/2 kms, the road is a first class one, maybe I can put my head under a pillow. The road is a great one, it has not been  long since being made up to here, I hate to think how rough it would have been before it was sealed,  some of the ranges are just huge solid granite.
There was burning off going on so that spoilt the veiw a bit, the ranges seem to go forever but there was a lot of smoke haze.
We booked into a camp area 9kms from Cooktown,  the Endevour River Escape, it is on a farm property,  huge grassy areas for each site, hot showers, flushing toilets, drinking water, fireplace at each site, most of all very quiet, only natural sounds, no road noise.
After setting up we walked down to the river but decided not to launch in this one, to small, lots of logs and obstacles but most of all a crocodile nest opposite the ramp.
There was a man taken here last year putting out his cherubim pots, I am not that keen for a feed of fish.

7th September Mt Carbine

Today we said goodbye to Dave and his place, it has been so relaxing I really could have stayed so much longer.
The balloons landed again this morning,  they unloaded 20 people, took 20  more on and took off again, so beautiful to watch.
Mt Carbine is a very small place that has been a mining town.
We stayed at the caravan park, walking around we found that there used to be swimming pool, kids playgrounds, basketball court, fountains,  all there neglected because the tungsten mine closed.
They are talking of reopening it in December.
The park was very good and is quite famous for the birdlife that is in it.
There is a frog mouth sitting on its nest that is easy to see.
Very quiet peaceful night again.

6th September 2014 Ringers Rest

Today was just take it easy and go for a drive out through some of the towns in outback Queensland,  it is amazing hiw quickly the landscape changes, it doesn't take long from rainforest to sugar cane fields then mango orchards and before you know it you are in dry srea with small gum trees.
The night was another great one around the camp fire,  there was a wedding at the reception area that went till midnight, they played great music that we could hear and it sounded like they had a lot of fun.
Dave has a wedding there every Saturday for the next 2 months, great place and he has his little horse and gig for the occasion.

5th September 2014 Ringers Rest

There is a wetlands not far from us we thought we would check out, it has a ranger there and is supposed to have a wide range of birds,  including jabaru.
The drive out was nice.
We had thought that we maybe able to put the canoes in, but they hired canoes and besides the area was too small to be bothered. They also had a cruise that people could go on, it was in a small tinnie but you could see it all from the cafe.
There was not much in the way of birdlife, but we went down to the little jetty and watched a very large barramundi swimming near it, unfortunatly we couldn't get a good photo.
As we left there was a emu family lying under the tree, they were pretty quiet, quite used to people.
Look out winery here we come.
The Golden Drop mango and tropical fruit winery is on the list for today.
This winery won a silver medal in last years Perth show, they are hoping for good results this year, the wine has already been sent.
We tasted quite a range, they had a dragon fruit one which was delicious but I had to make a choice, as we don't have much space to take extra we could only get one bottle, I settled on a bottle of mango liqueur, devine.
Back to camp for the camp fire, when we were settled I made a chocolate cake in the camp oven by the fire.

2nd September 2014 Ringers Rest

Last night was one of the best sleeps I have had in a long time, not a sound anywhere except for the occasional call of the curlew, lovely clear night, but no wear near as cold as it has been, beautiful clear sky with stars that go forever.
We were woken to the sound of hot air balloons, I raced outside, they were so low I thought they were going to land in the paddock, what a glorious colorful sight.
The cattle were up at the fence waiting for scraps and a scratch, so I had to give some a bit of bread, there was too many to give them all some.
The horses were roaming about very close, one in particular loves to come up to the camp, he has put his nose in people's caravans to try to get their fruit,  he is very gentle and cute.
Merv and I went down to the river for a look, very nice, then later in the day another lady, myself and a young girl all went for a swim, very refreshing.
In the afternoon Merv and I took a couple of golf balls out into the paddock for a bit of practice.
Merv got out the chainsaw and cut up some of the dry wood that was near the fire into logs that could be handled, I got the fire going so there would be good coals to cook with the camp oven.
It was a another very pleasant night near the fire with a beer listening to more stories of Daves past.
A great restful day.

1st September 2014 Ringers Rest

Time to move on, we headed for Mareeba.
On the way we stopped at Atherton golf course for a quick round, another very big interesting course, you get plenty of exercise walking the distance.
We had heard about Ringers Rest from other campers and on wiki camps so we thought we would give it a try.
The country here is so different from where we have been and yet it is only about 40km away. It is much drier here with gumtrees and no rainforest.
When we got to Ringers Rest we found the camping out on a huge paddock, there was toilets and water for $10.
The camp is on a property that the owner set aside 60 acres for campers, it is great, there is a large fire lit every night, very quiet, cattle come up to the fence for a pat, quiet horses roam around the camp and a great little river to go for a swim in.
Dave the owner is a real old timer, he isn't that old but the stories he can tell of growing up and working on the stations, being isolated, never going to school and the things that had to be done to survive is worth listening to.
Dave can't read or write but he has built a great reception area that is used for weddings mainly,  he also has a horse and gig for the bride, he has a wedding here on Saturday.

31st August 2014 Lake Tinaroo Yungaburra

It was a beautiful day so we took the boat out to explore the lake.
There was a lot of area still with trees, the water was 2o metres deep and a lot of the trees were another 5 metres above the water, that is without their leaves, tbey must have been huge trees before the area was flooded.
We made our way up into a lot of the little bay areas to search for wildlife, lots of birds but nothing else.
The peace and quiet up the far end of the lake was a stark difference to down around the launch ramp, lots of water skiers, jet skis and just power boats.
There was one little bay we really liked so we had our picnic lunch there.
When we were on our way back we went up the area that we had been up inthe canoes, we were hoping to see the tree kangaroo again as I had my camera this time, once again no luck but we did find a huge barramundi,  it was still alive but dying, Merv hooked it with the gaff so I could take a photo,  he said to tell everybody that I had caught it.
The barramundi was one that had been caught and released but suffered too much stress, there is no way I would take it to eat, it was not healthy.
The people at the caravan park said one had washed in at the ramp last year, someone found it, cleaned it and gave it away to all the unsuspecting campers in the park, not nice.

4th September 2014 Ringers Rest

Woken early by the hot air balloons again, they were floating majestically about the only sound was the burner, not a breath of wind anywhere just crisp early morning sunshine.
As we watched one of them came down and landed in the paddock that we are camped in, it was such a gentle touch down, it was  hard to believe, it would have been great to have been in the basket but they charge several hundred dollars, so I will watch from the ground.
After breakfast we went out to the Davis Creek National Park to the  water falls, (more falls).
The drive up the mountain was pretty hairy for me, Merv was driving and taking it very steady but with the track in places one vehicle wide and a drop off the side of 75 metres, I was barely breathing. Merv did say when we got to the top that he was wondering how I was going,  he knew I wouldn't be liking it, but I told him if it got to the point that I felt sick I would ask him to stop and I would walk, I know that a lot of people would think it silly but you just can't control things like that.
The falls were very nice, the veiw out across all the mountains never fail to amaze us, we had some fruit for lunch then, (oh no) headed back down.
After that I needed a treat so we went to the Emerald Creek Ice creamery, they make all their own icecream from local cream and fruit.
We both had a double scoop and sat out on their veranda to eat it, because we were there when we finished we just had to have another one, I don't think that you can ever get too much good icecream.
Punishment time, because we ate 4 scoops of icream it was time to go to,(here we go again) another falls, this time Emerald Creek.
The road was ok going to this one, we came to the base of the mountain, but instead of the trail going to the bottom of the falls it went one and half kms up the hill, steep hill, that used up one icecream.
The falls were average but the veiws were pretty spectacular again.
Back to camp to veg and cook dinner.

3rd September 2014 Ringers Rest

After a big sleep in, I think I must be getting a lazy masie, we decided today we would go into Mareeba.
There is a coffee plantation where you can sample as much different coffee and coffee liqueur as you like, they also make wonderful tasty chocolate,  that you can sample all day if you are able, we went there and had a huge fill of both.
After eating and drinking as much as we could we went into their museum, it is a huge museum with so many different types of coffee machines from all around the world, and all ages, they also do teas, there is a wide range of teapots, some quite amusing pieces.
It was time to go back out and sample some of the tea, and of course more chocolate.
There is a well stocked gift shop, we bought a bottle of liqueur with some coffee and of course some chocolate.
They have great lunches there but we were to full, we will have to go back for lunch another time.
We walked around Mareeba,  trying to walk the chocolate off, ha ha, it is a very surprising little town,  it would not be hard to live up here, apart from anything the weather is wonderful.