Day 72 to 75 Cairns to Cape York

The next part of our trip was the 1000 km drive up to Cape York, the most northern part of Australia. 700 km of this drive is on unsealed road and is recommended for 4wd cars only. 

The last couple of days we had collected all the information we could get our hands on about this drive but still we didn't quite know what to expect. 

The trip takes at least 10 days and there are only three small ‘shops’ on the way. As you can guess the groceries are very expensive in this remote area. So we bought veggies in tins, vacuum packed smoked chicken and smoked fish, cans of soup and hotdogs and in case we couldn't buy any fresh bread along the way, we brought crackers and wraps. 

The first part of the trip brought us back to Mareeba. This is where we had visited the Coffee Works Museum and as the entrance tickets were valid for 3 months we decided to have some more free coffee and chocolates (hey, we are Dutch after all, right?!)

That night we camped at a free campsite just north of Mareeba. There were heaps of Grey Nomads around, but it seemed hardly any planned to go all the way to Cape York.

The next day we drove via Lakeland to Laura and from there the unsealed road started. We deflated the tyres and started our adventure, which Monique was pretty nervous about, mainly because we didn't know what to expect.

We had never traveled on an unsealed road that wide before. It felt like a freeway! Every few km we had to slow down as they were maintaining the road. The road was actually in great condition. After driving another 200 km we camped at Musgrave Station.

The next day we drove for about 350 km and camped at the Moreton Telegraph Station. The road conditions stayed similar most of the drive with an occasional couple of corrugated kilometers. Every now and then we had people passing us or overtaking us, leaving us in a big orange dust cloud but that was about all the excitement of the day. We also passed a few townships on our way up, which in most cases wasn't more than a Station with a fuel pump and a campsite at the back.

From Bramwell Station there are two options; you can either continue on the Old Telegraph Track or take the Developmental Bypass Road. As the track is not maintained anymore and involves a few very tricky creek crossings and some serious 4 wheel driving, we decided to take the bypass. From here the road got more narrow and corrugated. After about 150 teeth shaking kilometers

 we came to the gorgeous Fruit Bat Falls where we had a refreshing swim (one of the very few places that is safe for swimming in regards to crocodiles).

We only had to conquer another 50 km from here to the Jardine Ferry Crossing. After paying a whopping $129 it took only 3 minutes for us to cross the Jardine River by Ferry.

We had made it to the Northern Peninsula! 

Day 70 & 71 Back in Cairns for two days

We had to go back to Cairns today as we had an appointment at the mechanic early Monday morning. It's probably not hard to imagine we didn't really want to leave this beautiful camp spot. Especially after we watched dolphins swim by whilst we had breakfast! Incredible!

But as checkout time was 10 am (we didn't leave one minute earlier..hehe) we found ourselves driving back to Cairns before noon. A bit hesitant we decided to check into a hostel again. This time we ended up in 'Gecko's' and straight away we felt more at place in this hostel. It was much cleaner and quieter and the bed pillow didn't look like it had served duty since WW2  (like in the previous hostel)

We spent the rest of the Sunday and Monday exploring Cairns and again we were pleasantly surprised. Unlike Alice Springs this town seemed to have really 'bloomed' since our visit 10 years ago! We had a great time walking around enjoying the view, the shops and all the good food and drinks it had to offer.

Day 69 Cairns to Ellis Beach

The hostel turned out to be very noisy during the night and as it wasn't very clean either, so we were happy to leave this morning. We drove to the esplanade to prepare breakfast in the park. A good start of the day after all.

It was such a nice day that we decided to get away from Cairns for the day to get to a proper beach (Cairns only has a muddy inlet). We ended up in Palm Cove. I had stayed here with a friend a couple of years ago and loved it. So we walked along the waterfront for a bit and just enjoyed the view and the sun.

Although we have to be back in Cairns on Monday to get the car checked we decided it was just too nice up here, so we found a camp spot for the night at Ellis Beach. Best decision ever as we camped right at the beach. Amazing! We met a Dutch couple who are traveling the world and we had a very 'gezellige' evening!

(nogmaals bedankt Atte en Marijke)

Day 68 Speewah to Cairns

This morning after breakfast it was only a short drive to Kuranda, a picturesque mountain village with lots of things to see and do. Being so close to Cairns means heaps of tourists visit on a daily basis. After strolling around the market for a bit we went to the Butterfly Sanctuary, where we learned all about the local butterflies during the guided tour. There were some really beautiful ones in bright green and turquoise.

Around noon we couldn't resist the smell coming from the German sausage place around the corner, so that's were we enjoyed lunch. 

Before driving out of Kuranda we visited the Barron Falls. Then it was time to head to Cairns. When we drove to the other side of the mountains the sky started to clear and we had our first look at the east coast. 

It looked promising!!!

In Cairns we checked into a hostel and in the evening we walked along the esplanade and had amazing Thai food. It was Friday night and it was really busy everywhere. It felt like a proper holiday destination!

Day 67 Tinaroo Lake to Speewah

This morning when we woke up the sun was shining and the view over the lake was just so nice. The ducks must have been happy too as they started this whole bathing ritual, all splashing around like crazy.

From our campsite it was a short drive to Tolga (via Tinaroo Dam). At Tolga we visited a wooden craft gallery with some beautiful artwork. 

When we arrived in Mareeba we felt like coffee and what better place to stop than The Coffee Works.

The entree fee allowed us to try all the different coffees, chocolates and coffee liquors on display. You could eat and drink as much as desired. On top of that it gained us access to the museum which had a great setup with heaps of information about the history of coffee and all the different coffee tools/machines throughout the years. It was interesting to read and hear about the Dutch influence on the whole coffee industry.

We spent much longer in the museum then anticipated. It was just a really great place!

After lunch we did some grocery shopping and drove around Mareeba for a bit before heading to our campsite in Speewah. Not long after we set up camp it started raining again so we spend the evening watching a movie under our awning.

Day 66 Herberton to Lake Tinaroo

Today we visited Atherton and surroundings. We'd seen enough waterfalls yesterday so today we focused on all the other things that are there to see.     

I can only imagine how stunning the Atherton Tablelands must look on a sunny day.

We drove around to see the famous Fig trees. We had lunch at Lake Eacham and also checked out Lake Barrine, both volcanic lakes with crystal clear water and surrounded completely by the rain forest. Gorgeous! A bit to cold for a swim though. From Cathedral Fig we drove all around Tinaroo Lake and found a really nice campsite next to the water edge.

There was heaps of wildlife around and we even had some kind of rat that looked like a bandicoot trying to lick our dirty dishes clean.

Day 65 Archers Creek to Herberton

Today we really noticed the big change in difference in regards to the landscape and the weather. From the dry and dusty outback we had moved on to the tropics. Well and with the tropics comes the rainfall as we experienced today. Nevertheless we enjoyed seeing a bright green landscape for a change.

On top of the wet weather we saw heaps more water falling down from the many waterfalls we visited that day. Millstream Falls, Millaa Millaa Falls, and Hypiamee National Park were the main places we visited.

At the end of the day we found a campsite at Herberton which had a little tin shed with a wood fire. We had a dry, warm and fun evening with a Scottish couple.