Cairns

11th July - 16th July 2014

We picked the best kids park in Cairns, absolute kids heaven.  So many things to keep them entertained, anything you could want!  2 pools, a water park, mini golf, tennis, 2 jumping pillows, table tennis, movies, Neos and the list goes on.  This park has won many awards and l can see why!

We checked out the city of Cairns and took a walk on the esplanade.  It was a Saturday morning so the boardwalk was full of sporting enthusiasts making the most of the great scenery.  We had a quick look at the local market, then met up with friends from Melbourne.  Adam, Vic, Leila and Heath have escaped the miserable Melbourne weather for a 2 week holiday.  We went to the lagoon pool on the esplanade which was beautiful.  The kids all had a swim and a play in the sand while we caught up with Adam and Vic.

We decided whilst in Cairns we must do a trip to Kuranda.  This is a small town in the middle of a rain forest. We went to Kuranda on the scenic railway and came back via the skyrail.  The trip on the scenic railway was very beautiful meandering through 15 tunnels and passing the Baron Gauge.  We learnt about how the track was built and how the tunnels were dug out with a pick and axe!

Once we got to the township of Kuranda we were starving, so had a quick lunch at the pub.  After lunch we walked around the town taking in all of it's markets.  Josh & Ash had a fascination to go to the Australian Venom Zoo, which houses 5 of the most venomous snakes in Australia.  We had a guided tour of some of the exhibits and the boys even got to hold a couple of snakes.  Stu and l gave it a miss!

The return trip to Cairns on the skyrail was an awesome experience.  Soaring through the rain forest in a cable car, absolutely amazing views!  They had two stops which you could get off the sky lift and look around at further spectacular scenery.

Our next stop is Port Douglas.

The lagoon pool in Cairns

Ready to jump on the train

View of the other end of the train on a big bend

Waterfall along the trip

Ash holding a black headed python

Josh holding the black headed python

18 month old pythons, in training for photo use like the big one above!

Skyrail station

On the Skyrail

View from Skyrail

View of the tree tops

Rollingstone - North of Townsville (QLD)

8th July - 11th July 2014

Wow this was a really busy free camp, we arrived at 1.30pm and just got a spot!  This is a really lovely little town, not much here except for a pub, general store and a school!  The free camp area was great didn't have showers but did have toilets.  We were allowed fires which the boys were looking forward too.

We took a walk down the Main Street and read a few of the historical signs around the place.  One of the local residents saw us and came out of her house.  She then started telling us a bit of the local town history. Her house was the old Rollingstone pub before it burnt down.  She even printed us a photo of the burnt down pub and explained the various images in the photo.

A short walk from the camp area was a crystal clear stream which had lots of visible turtles.  It was very cute to see them all swimming around.

Phil and Maureen stopped here for a few nights as well.  We didn't do much here, the boys kept busy playing soccer with Phil and Maureen's son Harrison.  I'll be glad to arrive at our next stop Cairns to have a shower!

Our Camp

Stream near camp area

A turtle!

Airlie Beach - QLD

1st July - 8th July 2014

We had a lovely break in Airlie Beach staying here for one week.  Time to catch up on things and do a few activities.  The first few days the weather wasn't that fantastic, low 20's even a little bit of rain.  We did a few drives and hung around the town a bit.  The town has certainly changed since Stuart and l were here last.  It has a beautiful boardwalk down by the water and a really great lagoon pool.
Phil & Maureen also stopped here which was great to spend some more time with them.

We took a drive to a spot called Dingo Beach, which was lovely and very untouched.  We spent the day here swimming, playing in the sand and l even did a bit of sun baking!

We picked a lovely sunny day for our day trip.  We went to Whitehaven Beach and stopped in at a reef and did some snorkeling.  The boat was great fun, we went on the Big Fury.  The staff were very knowledgeable and friendly.  Josh was a little concerned about snorkeling but in the end he loved it! We got some great pictures with the underwater camera.  Whitehaven Beach was just amazing, voted one of the top ten beaches in the world.  The kids had a great time swimming, playing beach volleyball and enjoying the lovely sand. The tour operators put on a nice meal for lunch, we just had to dodge the goanna's!

The caravan park had a fund raising night and had some live music and Segway demonstrations.  The boys and l had a go on the Segway and let's say it was very interesting after a few sav blancs!

Our next stop is a free camp in Rollingstone.

Dingo Beach

On the Big Fury

Snorkeling

Snorkeling

Snorkeling

Ashton in action!

Whitehaven Beach

Whitehaven Beach

Ash & Josh, a bit excited to be at Whitehaven Beach!

Flaggy Rock - South of Mackay - QLD

29th June - 1st July 2014

Flaggy Rock is a little spot 100 kl ms south of Mackay.  The campsite is at the old school which has been shut down.  It has toilets, but no shower or power.  It costs $7 per night (3 night maximum) for any size vehicle, what a bargain!  The camp area has lush green grass, awesome for the kids to kick the ball around. We are staying here for two nights.  The caretakers Rob & Julie are very welcoming people and lovely to chat to.  On the first night here Rob lit the campfire and we all sat around and had a chat.  It doesn't get very busy here, not sure why more people don't use this spot.  As you can see from the photo we had plenty of room!

On our second day here we met a lovely family Phil, Maureen & Harrison.  Josh & Ash loved playing with Harrison, they spent many hours kicking the ball and running around together.  Our next stop is Airlie Beach and we hope to catch up with Phil & Maureen again!

Our camp at Flaggy Rock

The Caves (Capricorn Caves) QLD

26th June - 29th June 2014

The town of The Caves is about 23 kl ms from Rockhampton.  Most tourists do a day trip to The Capricorn Caves, but we are staying here for 3 nights.  It's a lovely park, more like a national park than a caravan park. Very quiet and beautiful surroundings.  We met a lovely older couple that were also camping here.  The older gentleman was 82 years old and he had done some amazing things, including sky diving on his 80th birthday!

The Capricorn Caves is a dry cave system, unlike The Buchan Caves which are wet caves.  We have previously visited the Buchan Caves and could definitely tell the difference.  The Capricorn Caves are quite big to walk through and not very far underground.  Their features differ, with the stalagmite's and stalactite's a lot smaller than Buchan Caves.  The Capricorn Caves don't receive much rain so the columns take 100 years to grow only 1cm.  The Capricorn Caves are actually privately owned and offer a few unique activities to do. Their main attraction is the Cathedral Caves which is just like a church.  It has been set up so you can get married here.  Lighting is beautiful and sound system is almost eerie.  They also have an opera performance in the Cathedral Caves, which would be amazing.  The tour was very interesting and well worth while.

Our next stop is a free camp at Flaggy Rock.

Campsite at Capricorn Caves

Entrance to the caves

Inside the caves

Inside the caves, this structure is called 'The Harp'

Ashton inside the caves

The Cathedral Cave