Townsville

5 October 2023

We reluctantly packed up and left Kurrimine Beach early so that we would have some time to linger a little longer on the way back to Townsville. We had to meet the real estate agent at 1:00pm so kept an eye on the time as we travelled.

Our first stop was a detour into Mission Beach – another long-time favourite place. We walked on the beach and found a coffee shop for morning tea. From there we continued back to the highway and south through Cardwell, stopping at the Hinchinbrook Channel Lookout. We made it to Frances Creek Rest Area, just south of Ingham in time for a quick lunch and then it was back to Townsville – and home for the time being. We’ll be “house bound” for a while, but can’t wait to get out and start filling in some of the gaps on the map.

So..some stats –

• We travelled over 40 00 kilometres
• We were away from Townsville for almost 2 years
• We drove on 6 iconic roads - Strzelecki Track, Oodnadatta Track, Mereenie Loop, Gibb River Road, Kalumburu Road / Mitchell Plateau Track, Birdsville Track, Nullarbor
• We camped in caravan parks, national parks, conservation parks and reserves, free camps, pubs, community campgrounds, roadhouses, rest areas, showgrounds and on a friend’s property
• We spent 6 nights at sea – crossing from Victoria to Tasmania and back 6 times
• We stayed a total of 60 nights in 22 different National Park Campgrounds
• We camped by rivers, lakes, beaches and gorges; in forests, mallee, mulga, desert, savanna; in towns, cities and in the bush
• We stayed in cabins, cottages, houses and units in 14 different locations
• We spent time is all states –
• Qld – 31 nights
• NSW – 5 nights        
• Victoria – 73 nights 
• Tasmania – 295 nights
• South Australia – 97 nights
• Northern Territory – 90 nights
• Western Australia – 120 nights
• Mick went on 4 pelagic boat trips and 5 other bird tours
• Together we went on 5 tours – Murray River Sunset Cruise (Waikerie), Lake Argyle Sunset Cruise, Dinosaur Adventures (Broome), Yellow Water Cruise (Kakadu), Danggu Geikie Gorge Boat Tour (Fitzroy Crossing) 

This map shows all the
major trips we have done since 2014

Kurrimine Beach

4 – 5 October 2023

We left Cairns and headed south towards Kurrimine Beach. Because it’s a relatively short drive we decided to detour via Etty Bay, just south of Innisfail. Cassowaries are often seen near the beach at Etty Bay and we were hoping to add to our bird list for the trip. We drove down to the beach and made morning tea – all the while hoping for one of these magnificent, huge birds to come wandering along. Unfortunately there were none around that day.

We jumped back in the car to return to the highway and were very surprised and pleased to see a cassowary wandering along the edge of the road a few kilometres away from the beach, adjacent to some rainforest. We did get a good look but by the time we were able to turn the car (and camper trailer) around, it had disappeared into the bush. At least we were able to add it to the list.

We moved on to Kurrimine Beach and arrived at lunch time. The caravan park was fairly full even though it was late in the tourist season and we ended up in a spot near the road with little shade. It wouldn’t matter for one night but we were glad we weren’t staying longer. During the afternoon we went for a walk along the beach – always a favourite activity – and observed heaps of coral spawn washed up. Coral spawning occurs once a year after a full moon, generally in October or November and when sea temperatures are right. It appears there may be some healthy reef in this part of the Great Barrier Reef.

It has become our habit to go out for dinner on the final night of our long trips so we had chosen to stay at King Reef Resort and Caravan Park, which just happens to have a very nice on-site pub bistro. We sat outside to enjoy the view and were entertained by some of the local curlews who wandered around the tables.

We left early the next morning for the final leg of our almost two year journey – returning to Townsville to make a new home (for now at least).

Cairns

30 September – 4 October 2023

It’s a relatively short drive from Yungaburra to Cairns so we stopped in Kuranda for a look around and a coffee. Towing the trailer makes parking a challenge but there are a number of long vehicle parking bays one street back from the main street. We were early so found one easily. Disappointingly, when we returned later, every other spot was taken by a single vehicle.

We drove down the Kuranda Range and arrived at the caravan park in time to set up and have lunch. This park allows check-ins for powered sites from 11:00 am – very convenient and helpful. We had stayed at this one before and chose it again as it is on a creek, has lots of shady trees and a lovely pool.

Mick had a number of things on his Cairns wish list so we had a fairly full schedule planned, most of it involving photographs of birds. We started with a drive to the mouth of the Barron River at Machan’s Beach. The tide was out quite a long way so Mick had a bit of a walk to get close to the birds there.

On Sunday morning we headed into The Esplanade – always a favourite spot and usually a great place to photograph birds, if the tide is right. It wasn’t, but we had a good morning visiting Rusty’s Market, walking along The Esplanade and having an ice cream. We also did some grocery shopping while we were in town. Later in the afternoon we walked along the creek out of the caravan park and into Goomboora Park. This lovely, “rainforesty” park was being well used by locals to fish, walk, exercise dogs, cycle and play.

On Monday morning we set off early to Catanna Wetlands. Once part of a cane farm, and sand quarry, this environmental park has been rehabilitated into a fabulous network of walking tracks and wetlands, with a number of viewing platforms, bird hides, seats and BBQ areas. We spent a few hours spotting birds and enjoying the surroundings. Later in the day we visited the Cairns Botanical Gardens but the sandflies were biting so we didn’t stay long. After the Botanic Gardens we returned to the Esplanade where Mick met up with some fellow birders – including one he had met on a Pelagic out of Eaglehawk Neck. As always the locals were very generous with their information and shared photos of a rare sighting – a laughing gull. Despite everyone’s best efforts it wasn’t seen again – but they did have lots of photos to prove it had been there.

On Tuesday morning we made another early start – this time to the Mangrove Boardwalk near the airport. We knew from past experience to expect sandflies there so we were well prepared with long pants and shirts, as well as heavy duty insect repellent. Even so they managed to find those exposed parts of the body that hadn’t been smothered in spray. It was still a great walk along the boardwalks above the mangroves. Late in the day, we went back to the Esplanade – again – just in case the Laughing Gull returned. It hadn’t, but it was a nice afternoon there anyway.

We had one more night before returning to Townsville so decided Kurrimine Beach would do us nicely, so that’s where we headed when we left Cairns.