Cairns – Lake Placid

24 July – 4 August 2024

Finally it was time to get serious about finding a builder to build our new home in Atherton so we headed to Cairns for at least a week – and ended up extending when we realised we needed more time that we had thought.

In addition to visiting display homes and talking to builders, we made a number of visits to The Esplanade for its wonderful birding, as well as Catanna Wetlands and a few other favourite birding spots. We also enjoyed a visit from a friend who lives in Mossman.

We always have to visit The Esplanade

Who would have thought the old cemetery
would be such a good spot for birding

The weather wasn’t in our favour and the drizzling rain had started to have us thinking about moving on, even though we were still a long way from being able to select a builder. We decided that a move to the dry part of the Atherton Tablelands was in order so we headed “up the hill” to Granite Gorge, just out of Mareeba.

Etty Bay

22 – 24 July 2024

Etty Bay is well known for its resident cassowaries and there is a small caravan park so we set up camp there for 2 nights. The sites are laid out in such a way that we could see the beach even though we didn’t have a beachfront site. Mick was hopeful of getting a cassowary photo after missing out last time we visited. That time we didn’t see one until we were on the road just over the hill when leaving Etty Bay. Unfortunately photo opportunities were limited that time.

We enjoyed long walks along the beach and in the adjacent rainforest, but there was not a cassowary to be seen. Mick thought that maybe the time if year was to blame, with adults tending eggs and therefore not wandering around as they usually do. We would just have to come back again at a different time of year. It was a lovely spot for a few days anyway.

This stunning sunrise almost made up for the lack of cassowaries

Tully Gorge National Park - Tully Gorge Campground

20 – 22 July 2024

We were aiming on this trip to revisit favourite places but also to visit new ones, so Tully Gorge was next on the “new” list. Another national park campground so we booked online when we stopped in Ingham to do some shopping, before continuing north. We were sticking to our plan of travelling slowly, taking 10 days to get north of the Cardwell Range – about 2 ½ hours from our starting point in Townsville.

We drove up to Tully Gorge campground, another one without marked spots and, being a Saturday, it was quite crowded. Despite the number campers, we were still able to get a spot that suited us. I definitely pays to arrive early in the afternoon.

Once again, we enjoyed the surrounds, especially once the crowds started to thin out during Sunday. There was lots of opportunities to photograph birds, as well as the beautiful Tully River. There is even a short "Butterfly" walk through the rainforest - a lovely walk even though we didn't see any butterflies.

No Butterflies on the walk,
 but lots of palms 

There had been reports of a resident cassowary, but we didn’t get to see it so we decided that Etty Bay would be our next stop – a place where cassowary sightings are almost guaranteed.