Granite Gorge (near Mareeba)
14 – 16 June 2016
We had enjoyed a short trip part
way up “The Cape” (Cape York Peninsular) only a month ago and were keen to head
off again, with a much more flexible timeline. We had decided to leave on
Monday 13 June, but the weather forecast was for rain – all up the coast – and
this time it was quite correct. We didn’t fancy starting off with a wet camp,
so we delayed a day and headed off on Tuesday morning.
We had a very leisurely start in
the morning and only managed to get away just before 11:00am – very late, even
for us. It was raining a little at home and the forecast was for more rain up
the coast but we were hopeful that by the time we reached the Atherton
Tablelands it would be clear.
After lunch at the Francis Creek
rest area just south of Ingham we drove through more rain, especially around
Tully, then up on to the Tablelands. Our plan to stay near the Ma:Mu Tropical
Canopy Walk was again put on hold due to the weather. It was still raining when
we stopped for a quick coffee (and look in the op-shops) at Malanda. We hoped
that it would be clear by the time we reached Atherton but alas, it was still
raining. We drove on towards Mareeba and the “dry country”. It certainly was –
the sky cleared as we drove, even though we could still see some ominous clouds
in the distance. After a stop at the visitor information centre to find out
about caravan parks, we decided on Granite Gorge, a short way out of town. We
are so glad we made this choice. We had seen some very crowded places as we
drove through the Tablelands (this is high season for southern visitors –
mainly Grey Nomads) but Granite Gorge was pleasantly less crowded, although
there were still quite a few there.
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| White-cheeked Rosella feeding on wattle seed. |
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| Grey-crowned Babblers gathered nesting material close by. |
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| Fairy Gerygone male. |
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| Squatter Pigeon. These were quite tame and common around the camp ground. |
This caravan park and campground
is part of the Granite Gorge Nature Park and is quite bush-like. We were able
to select our own spot among the trees. We were soon visited by the friendly
farm animals – ducks, peahens, chooks and a turkey. The Mareeba Wallabies that
inhabit the gorge and surrounds also visited. As we had arrived quite late, we
didn’t explore our surrounds until the morning.
This is the easiest place I have come across to see and photograph Squatter Pigeons, race peninsulae. There were plenty of Fairy Gerygones and Yellow Honeyeaters about and the Grey-crowned Babblers were quite approachable. Mick.
After another wet night – do we
bring the rain with us everywhere we go? – we had a relaxed start to the day. We
set off on a walk to the gorge. The map that all visitors are provided with
shows a number of walks around the gorge, many of which involve “bouldering”.
You do need sturdy shoes, as well as water and a hat, but it is worth it. One
track is rated a grade 3, and another a grade 4. We only did the easy one. We
went down past Wallaby Rock and down to the weir, where you can swim.
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| If swimming, you would be sharing with quite a few of these turtles. |
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| The tiny Striated Pardalote. |
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| Mareeba Rock-wallaby. Very cute! |
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| Extremely cute!! |
After lunch we drove into Mareeba
for some shopping and then went for a bit more of a walk. This time we
approached Wallaby Rock from the other end. This track also involves climbing
across rocks, but again is quite beautiful. The track is quite difficult in
parts and would not be suitable for many.
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| Sunset, Granite Gorge. |
Heading off in the morning we
decided it would be a good idea to book some of our National Parks camping so
we stopped in at Macca’s for a coffee and to access the free Wi-Fi. We are glad
we did as we could see that the campgrounds we wanted to visit were filling up
fast. We travelled on the short distance to Mount Molloy for lunch in the rain
at Rifle Creek – a popular free camping spot, then on to Mount Carbine Caravan
Park for two nights.
Mount Carbine
16 – 18 June 2016
We had driven through Mount
Carbine on our last trip up north and had read that the caravan park was a good
spot to stay before heading up to the Cape so we decided to give it a try. It’s
situated on the site of the old mining township, in a bush setting. The manager
was one of the friendliest people we have met, and was happy to give
information about local attractions and possible birdwatching spots.
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| A Great Bowerbird in its bower. |
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| Tawny Frogmouth found easily in the caravan park. |
On Friday morning we drove back
along the highway to Maryfarms and along West and East Mary Roads – both good
spots to see Bustards. Mick managed to get a few shots although the birds were
mostly in the long grass. We also drove out to the dam near the pub but
couldn’t get close, due to the long grass and “keep out” signs.
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| A pair of Bustards. |
Being Friday night we ventured
down to the pub for a cold beer – an early birthday celebration for Mick. We
were the only ones there, apart from the publican, another friendly chap. We
only stayed for one beer as we had to drive home.
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| We were the only punters in the pub giving little indication of the crowds we would encounter further north. |
Coen
18 – 19 June 2016
We had hoped to go back to stay
on Artemis Station, but couldn’t get in touch with the owner so had to change
our plans. We decided to add an extra day to our camping in Kutini-Payamu (Iron
Range) National Park. Once you get past Mareeba, mobile signal is patchy at
best, but we remembered that there was a good spot in Laura – opposite the pub
– so we called to change our booking. I had tried to do it online but the new
booking system was “down” again! We had lunch in the park and set off for the
mostly unsealed road north. There are some patches of bitumen but they get
fewer and further in between as you travel north.
We stopped at Musgrave Station
(Roadhouse) and refuelled. We had a look at the campground, which looked OK,
but they had no powered sites so we decided to press on to Coen. We
arrived there after 4:00pm and checked in at the pub. Luckily they had powered
sites available, even though the campground was quite full. We found a spot and
set up camp, before heading up to the pub for a birthday dinner. The menu was
very limited, but the pizza was surprisingly good, and the beer was cold.
Doesn’t get much better than that!
There was rain again overnight,
but quite light and not enough to really wet the canvas. In the morning we packed up and bought some
grossly overpriced supplies at the servo (the supermarket doesn't open on Sunday) and heading north once more.
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