Ravenshoe - House Sit

 30 May - 8 June 2025

We left Yungaburra to drive to Ravenshoe where we would be house sitting for a few weeks. We met Cheryl and Rob at Merluna Station on Cape York in 2024, and it turned out they might be looking for house sitters in the future. We exchanged contact details and stayed in touch catching up with them in Atherton, at their home in Ravenshoe and then  at Lake Cargelligo in western NSW. When we returned to the Atherton Tablelands we firmed up arrangements to look after their home, three sheep and Lexie the dog, so they could go on a caravanning trip. Unfortunately for them their plan to head south along the Birdsville Track was stymied by record rainfall which closed that route for many weeks. Fortunately for us, they changed their plans and headed off anyway.

It didn't take long to settle into a routine and to get to know the area. We've been visiting the Tablelands regularly but haven't spent much time in this part. On one excursion we went down to Tully Falls. There are two sections of Tully Gorge National Park - the Tablelands Section accessed from Ravenshoe and the Tully Section accessed from Tully. The road to Tully Falls is signposted to advise unwary travellers that it does not go to Tully township, and also that it is not suitable for caravans.

After days of rain we set off on a beautiful sunny day and arrived at the falls picnic area in time for morning tea. After marvelling at the view we headed off on the short rainforest walk, only to have to turn back when we came across a lot of vegetation that had fallen across the track. Although we probably could have crawed through, we were very wary of leeches after the recent rains, and also rainforest ticks.  

We've now visited both sections of Tully Gorge National Park

On our way back home we stopped at one of the creeks just because we could. There are a number of places to stop, and heaps of trailheads for some serious hikes in the area. We didn't go walking, but did stop to take some photos of the creek.

Charmillin Creek - one of many on the Tully Falls Road

On another day we took the car into Atherton for a service and spent the day visiting our usual spots - Lake Eacham, Lake Barrine and Hasties Swamp. It wasn't hard to fill in the day. We stopped at Hasties Swamp a couple of times on our way to and from Atherton and we lucky enough to spot the resident platypus one day. 

While we were staying in Ravenshoe we didn't do as much sight-seeing as we though we might - mainly because we just enjoyed having a "home" for a while. We took the opportunity to attend to some business in Atherton, as well as to do some repairs and maintenance on the camper trailer, including removing mould from the canvas, and re-waterproofing it. Having access to a large shed and tools made the jobs so much easier. It was also a real treat to have a "proper" kitchen for a while.

Autumn leaves in the yard

Nothing beats a drink by the fire on a cold night

After almost 6 weeks Rob and Cheryl returned from their travels and we packed up to leave. Our next week was planned out to fit in some medical appointments and also to have some repairs done to the car.