Maryfarms - West Mary Campground

9 – 11 August 2024

We have stayed at Mount Carbine and driven down the Maryfarms Road before, to look for birds, but had never stayed at the campground there. We had read good reviews and decided that we would book in for one night, and extend if we liked it there. We were greeted very warmly on arrival and chose a site with some shade, some sun for solar and not too far from the amenties. The creek was just a short walk away and looked very inviting, but still too cold for us to swim.

Late in the afternoon, the communal campfire was lit and we gathered with fellow travellers to have a drink and a chat while we watched the sun set over the hills. The farm horses also come in at this time and some of the children fed them carrots as a treat (for both horses and kids).

The horses know when it's time to come in for a treat

We made the decision to stay an extra day and relaxed around the camp, with lots of short walks to explore the creek and surrounds. We had to move on as our next few nights would be spent in National Parks, which had necessitated booking ahead.

We've camped in Rinyirru National Park a couple of times so had booked to return to Hann Crossing, where we'd stayed before, as well as a  Kalpowar Crossing where we'd never been. 

Rifle Creek

8 – 9 August 2024

Rifle Creek is a very popular free camp just out of Mount Molloy where we have stopped many times for coffee or lunch, but we have never stayed there. There are well maintained toilets and cold showers, as well as a dump point. It's not really the sort of place we'd want to stay bt many caravanners set up there for a few days at a time. It's close to the main road, busy with people coming in to picnic and use the amenities, and not all that attractive as a campground. The attraction for us, however, is the proximity to a favourite birding spot – Abattoir Swamp.

There is a bird hide at the end of a boardwalk
at Abattoir Swamp

We hadn’t travelled far from Mareeba, so decided to visit the swamp to have lunch and a look around before returning to set up camp later in the afternoon. The campground fills up through the afternoon but we were able to get a good spot. There is a bit of road noise during the night but it was still a fairly peaceful night. Mick was up early to go back to Abattoir Swamp while I started the packing up.

Once again we had our sights set on a camp not too far away so there was no need to hurry. Our next stop would be at  Maryfarms, just south of Mount Carbine.

Granite Gorge

4 – 8 August 2024

Granite Gorge has been a favourite of Mick’s for some time and we have visited quite a few times. The setting is lovely and there are lots of good birding opportunities, but unfortunately the caravan park itself is not fabulous. The facilities are seriously lacking so not inviting for any longer than a few days. Despite that, we enjoyed a break from the rainy weather while we talked to builders on the Tablelands, and considered our next steps.

We did enjoy walking in and around the gorge and seeing the Mareeba Rock Wallabies. We found the caged birds, on the other hand, were quite distressing.

There are lots of walking tracks around the gorge

After several quite stressful weeks trying to decide on a builder and house design we came to the conclusion that we needed a break and a trip “up the Cape” would be ideal at this time. We spent some time thinking about where exactly we would go, and how long we could be away. We couldn’t leave until after Mick’s follow-up appointment with his surgeon, so we made that our starting point.

We packed up a lot of our cooler weather gear and other items we wouldn’t need for the Cape leg of the journey and left them with a friend in Mareeba. We filled the empty spaces with necessary supplies and prepared the car for the remote trip.

We left Granite Gorge, stopped at Coffee Works for morning tea while Mick had his tele-health appointment then headed north, with our first stop not far away, at Rifle Creek.

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.

Abergowrie State Forest - Broadwater Campground

18 – 20 July 2024

After three days at the beach we headed back inland a short way to the Abergowrie State Forest, still within the Ingham district. We’ve camped at Broadwater before and booked for a couple of nights. The campground is spacious with no marked sites. We travelled along the back roads and arrived fairly early so were able to select a good site.

There are a few walking tracks, and of course plenty of birds to photograph. The campground is beside Broadwater Creek, and you can swim. We chose not to – it was too cold for us. 

Even though it looked inviting,
we knew it would be too cold to swim

Fires are allowed in the designated fire pits so we took the opportunity to use some of the firewood we had purchased down the road at Crystal Creek. The nights were cold so it was nice to cook some bread to have with homemade pea and ham soup, and sit by the fire as night fell.

We decided that our next camp would be in a National Park - this time Tully Falls.