Carnarvon Gorge

5 – 7 October 2024

We headed south and made a stop in Clermont for morning tea at Hood’s Lagoon. This is a favourite spot to take a break – there are picnic tables, toilets and a lovely walk along the lagoon with the added bonus of some birding opportunities. It is also very easy to access when towing. From there we made another stop in Capella to pick up some supplies, then on to Emerald where we stopped for lunch.

We still hadn’t decided where we wanted to stay next, but we both agreed we wanted to find somewhere nice. There was a long weekend coming up so that would limit our options. After lunch in a park, we took out the map and decided that a detour to Carnarvon Gorge would be nice. I rang and was able to book a powered site for a couple of nights. Although we would have preferred to stay in the national park itself, that campground is only open during school holidays.

We continued on and turned off for Carnarvon Gorge south of Rolleston. The caravan park wasn’t as crowded as we thought it might be, but there were still plenty of people there. We settled on to a site not far from the creek. We opted not to go on the Gorge Walk – neither of us felt fit enough to tackle the almost 20km hike – so instead we took the shorter Mickey Creek Walk. At around 3.5 km it was a leisurely stroll which we very much enjoyed.

There's some lovely short walks in the National Park

We had easy access to the creek adjacent to the caravan park so we did a fair bit of walking along looking for birds. There is a swimming hole, but it looked a bit murky and not terribly inviting.  Once again, we weren’t really sure where we would stay next so we made our way back to the highway and travelled further south while we made up our minds.

 

Belyando Crossing

4 – 5 October 2024

Well rested from soaking in the thermal pools, we packed up and started our long journey south towards Tasmania. We chose to take the inland route as it’s much less busy, and there are some interesting places to stop – unfortunately our first night would not fit into that category.

We left Innot Hot Springs with a view to staying overnight at Charters Towers, with a lunch stop at Greenvale along the way. We pulled in to a free camp on Fletcher Creek that we had read about. We had planned this as an overnight stop, but decided against it. It was still reasonably early in the day and all the shady spots were taken. There were some over the other side of the creek, across the road, but they were a very long way from the toilets. What was left was really just an open paddock – not very appealing – so we decided to press on.

We refuelled in Charters Towers and continued along the Gregory Developmental Road, arriving at Belyando Crossing late in the day. We checked in to the caravan park attached to the roadhouse and made our way to the unpowered section “down the back”. There were no marked sites, nothing near level and a very untidy area. To cap off the disappointment, the amenities were not in great condition, nor were they as clean as they should have been. The place was so awful, I didn't even take a photo!

Definitely not photo-worthy

We were up early the next morning, ready to move on, and vowing never to stay here again.

Innot Hot Springs

3 – 4 October 2024

We left Etty Bay and drove back towards Atherton, making a morning tea stop at Henrietta Creek which we had to abandon due to the number of march files intent on biting us. We stopped at the park in Millaa Millaa instead.

We were aware of bushfires in the area near Innot Hot Springs
so called ahead to make sure we wouldn’t be bothered by smoke. We stopped for lunch at Millstream Falls and went for a walk down to the falls lookout.

It's only a short walk down to the lookout
at Millstream Falls

We drove on through recently burnt scrub but did not see any active fires that afternoon. The attraction at Innot Hot Springs is, of course, the springs which bubble up in the creek, at sometimes extremely hot temperatures. The caravan park has taken advantage of this natural phenomenon and created a series of small swimming and plunge pools of varying temperatures. These are available at no extra charge for park guests, and day visitors can pay to use the facility.

Once we had chosen a site and settled in we wandered over for the first of a number of dips. Therapeutic value aside, moving between the pools at various temperatures was a great way to spend the afternoon and evening.

The following morning we packed up again and set off down the Gregory Developmental Road on our way south.

Etty Bay

1 – 3 October 2024

We’ve been to Etty Bay a number of times, including earlier on this trip and each time we hope to see Cassowaries. Although we have seen one on the road beyond the range twice in recent years, we haven’t seen one on the beach for many years, so Mick was more then a little anxious this time. He really wanted to add one to his "year list" for 2024 and this would be his last chance.

We settled on to a nice site with across from the beach. Most people there were hoping for a cassowary sighting and there were a number of other serious bird photographers camped around the park. Everyone was very helpful and it was easy to tell when one of the resident birds made an appearance as people started moving in the same direction as word spread. We were all quite excited to see such a magnificent and striking bird close up, moving around the beach and campground quite confidently.

It's pretty exciting to see a cassowary up close

We stayed for two nights and were treated to multiple sightings, including of a dad with his chick. Mick was very pleased to finally get the sort of photos he had been after. Even if he hadn’t, Etty Bay is still a really nice place to spend a couple of nights.

We had been trying to work out which way we would travel on our way south and decided to go back up though the Atherton Tablelands and along the inland route. Our first overnight stop would be Innot Hot Springs.

 

Atherton

30 September – 1 October 2024

We headed over to Atherton and took an unpowered site for the night at the same caravan park where we had stayed in the cabin. The unpowered sites are beautifully situated adjacent to the nearby creek and bushland. Being so close to Hasties Swamp, Mick just had to visit again. I also took the opportunity to do some grocery shopping, ready for a number of days away from major centres.

A lovely spot by the creek

We took our time leaving Atherton as the drive to Etty Bay would only take about 1 ½ hours and we didn’t want to arrive too early.

Mareeba

14 – 30 September 2024

Finally leaving the comfort of the cabin in Atherton we hitched up and drove to Mareeba. The trailer really needed a clean so we called in to the carwash before checking in to the caravan park. While cleaning underneath Mick discovered that we had a broken shock absorber. I must have done it on the trip back down the Cape from Lockhart River but I hadn’t noticed any change in handling. We went straight from the carwash to ARB, who set about determining what was needed. It was late on Saturday morning so we left it to them to try and source the part needed and checked in to the caravan park.

Although I was a little concerned about how we would go setting up with Mick physically limited, we managed just fine and didn’t need any help from friends. The caravan park wasn’t the sort we would normally have chosen but it was well maintained and had a very friendly atmosphere. We weren’t the only ones there waiting for post-Cape trip repairs.

We ended up having to spend longer than planned as the part we needed had to come from Cub in Sydney and there were some delays. Again we made the most of the time in Mareeba including returning to Cairns to talk to builders – again – and visiting local attractions. A walk to Emerald Creek Falls, followed by ice cream at the Emerald Creek Ice Creamery was a highlight, both places we had never visited before, but definitely on the return visit list. We also visited Davies Creek Falls in Dinden National Park.

There is a nice walk at Emerald Creek Falls

We had been experiencing ongoing issues with the 12v system in the camper trailer so we found an auto electrician who would come to us. Fran was fantastic and identified a number of issues. She presented a couple of options and fixed the main problem at a very reasonable price. We may need to replace one of the battery chargers down the track, but on Fran’s suggestion we will see how it goes with the new fuses and a new solar panel, and then decide.

After one final visit to builders we were able to make our choice and were ready to sign initial agreements. The trailer part arrived late on a Friday afternoon and was booked in for Monday morning. We decided that we would head off from Mareeba as soon as the trailer was ready, and where we would go would be determined by what time we could pick it up.

We packed up and dropped the trailer off fairly early and went for a wander around town before settling in to the library to get some admin work done. We returned to town for lunch and had just finished when ARB called to say that the trailer was ready to pick up. We wanted to go to Etty Bay but the only site available was not suitable so we decided to go back to Atherton for one night, then on to Etty Bay after that.

 

Atherton

27 August – 14 September 2024

Leaving Hahn River Roadhouse I was relieved to see last of the dirt road only about 20km south – it would be an easy drive the rest of the way. Once again I took a break at each opportunity – Laura and Rifle Creek – and arrived at the caravan park in Atherton before lunch time. The staff were fantastic and helped me with the trailer, as well as providing the cabin key so that I wouldn’t have to go back to the office once I returned with the patient.

I was just driving through Atherton on my way back to Cairns, when Mick called to say he would be discharged shortly. I headed back towards Mareeba, and “down the hill” through Kuranda on the way to Cairns. Mick did not want to wait at the hospital so made his way very slowly and carefully to our meeting point on the Esplanade.

Neither of us had eaten so we settled on lunch at his favourite bar which does a great pizza. Although he was still in some pain from the surgery, he enjoyed lunch and then we set off to return to Atherton.

We settled in to the cabin and took it easy for the next few days while we considered what to do. Mick has been advised that he could undertake some gentle exercise (walking) but was not to lift anything over 5kg for the next 6 weeks. That would make life in the camper trailer almost impossible so we extended our stay in Atherton after which we planned to move on, and back to the camper trailer.

Mick’s recovery progressed well and we were able to get out for visits to some of our favourite local spots including Lake Eacham, Lake Barrine and Hasties Swamp. Photography was limited to using the smaller lens, except when I could carry and set up the “big” lens in the bird hide at the swamp.

We even managed a walk around Lake Eacham

We continued to work through the decisions needed for building our new home, including a couple of trips to Cairns to talk to builders again. We also visited new friends Cheryl and Rob at their home in Ravenshoe. Despite the circumstances, we made the most of our time in one spot while preparing for the next leg of the journey.

When we were ready to move on we felt we needed to remain close to Cairns so planned for the first few nights back in the trailer to be at a caravan park in Mareeba close to friends Bill and Kerry. We weren’t sure if we could manage with me doing all the heavy lifting and wanted to be close to friends in case we needed help.