Home

We’re home.

For three months we have driven, trained, walked, sailed, ferried, bussed and swum our way throughout this amazing continent. We have explored deserts, mountains, rivers, oceans, rainforests, lakes, islands and the vast areas of scrubland known as the “Outback”. We have lived out of a car and two tents, cooking our meals over open fires, bbqs and our two little gas burners. We have driven 16 388km (with a further 1420km on The Ghan) and spent almost $3000 on diesel! With the exceptions of spending time with friends in Alice and Darwin, and enjoying a visit from Marilyn’s sister Dianne (also whilst in Darwin), we were together 24/7 without any other familiar faces. Amidst the stream of fellow travellers with the many conversations about places we’d been or were going to, we experienced an intimate journey of deepening the connections between us and, we hope, laying a firm foundation for the road ahead as our boys hurtle rapidly towards adulthood. It’s hard to believe that my precious young Nicholas is only months away from turning 16 and about to draw level with me in height!

There are virtually no teenagers travelling the outback roads. A few families with very young children and of course lots of “grey nomads” (whose ranks we will perhaps join in a few years); but no teenagers. We felt like we were conducting a social experiment with our own children. Just at the very age when many young people appear to become increasingly alienated from their parents, we stuck ours in a car with us and drove for three months! The German tourists were amazed that we were able to do what we were doing. The concept of long-service leave doesn’t exist in Europe, and the withdrawal of young people from school for such a period would be disallowed.

Our “experiment” – the results of which are impossible to measure – was to take our boys for three months and give them a huge array of experiences, lots of good food, copious amounts of sunshine, ample time to relax combined with plenty of walking, swimming and other physical activity. We had conversations about the sorts of people they wanted to be, and what was required to achieve that. And sometimes (when confronted by examples of poor human behaviour) we would also talk about what we don’t want them to be! We watched with pride as the boys interacted with fellow travellers, and enjoyed the later conversations (after the boys had gone to bed) when we would be told how thoughtful, communicative and mature they are. We already know that, but it’s still nice to hear it from others.

At the risk of sounding like a teacher writing a school report, let me tell you what I learned about my wonderful boys.

Nicholas’s quest is to “learn”. Everywhere we went he would spend inordinate amounts of time reading, observing and soaking up as much information as he could about the places we visited. Whilst Ryan would (in good humour) roll his eyes at the thought of another museum, Nicholas would be nigh on impossible to extract from the many that we visited. There was not a single moment on the trip that the boys became angry, but the closest Nicholas got (sulking in the back seat) was when we dared to leave “Reef HQ” (the aquarium in Townsville) 15 minutes before closing time! We developed ways of allowing Nick the time he wanted to read and learn and understand, whilst also catering for the needs of our other boys who don’t always posses his amazing levels of patience and curiosity! Nicholas’s natural desire to learn ensured that every experience was a rich and valuable one for him.

Ryan’s quest is to “do”. He was our activity leader, taking charge when we were setting up camp, finding the best places to swim, enjoying a kick of the footy or organising a game of cricket with the campground kids. Everything we did was a competition. Early in the trip there were games of table tennis. Later on we would look for pubs with pool tables. We played cards most nights. Ryan’s constant mission was to “beat Dad”. I can still match him in most of these pursuits; but only just. One night, on Magnetic Island, we debated whether to attend the “trivia night” being run at the resort. Ryan decided to organise a trivia night of our own – wonderfully inventive and humorous sets of questions that revisited the many experiences we had shared. I discovered that Ryan is not just good at “doing”, but that he also comes into his own when he is organising the activities of others. He leads from the front!

Jackson’s quest is to “imagine”. A voracious reader with a vocabulary years ahead of his age, each place we visited was a stage on which the stories from his reading and from his imagination could be brought to life in some way. When given the chance he would wander off – sometimes for hours at a time – playing an imaginary game in some distant corner of whatever location we were in. A highlight of his trip was Paronella Park – a remarkable series of castles, paths, tunnels and beautiful rainforest – built by a man who had a vision and imagination that few could rival. Jackson may well be one of those few! Being the youngest, it’s perhaps hardest for us to know how Jackson will process these many experiences in the years to come. He already wants to write a novel. Perhaps the places we have visited may provide the fertile settings for future works of creativity and imagination.

I have deliberately waited till the end to talk about Marilyn. I’m not a person who struggles with words, but in this instance I find myself struggling. I remember a good friend and colleague of mine, at his 50^th birthday celebration, describe his wife as his “home”. I was moved by those words at the time and have never forgotten them. Whilst we celebrate and grieve the “big moments” in life, most of our existence is comprised of the ordinary and the everyday. Learning to live those moments fully is my quest. As I did so – whether putting up tents, preparing and cleaning up after meals, driving from place to place, or organising and recording the little details of each day – I would notice the way Marilyn and I would work seamlessly together, each understanding the needs and strengths of the other. We challenged and stretched each other – Marilyn with her sense of adventure, and me with my relentless desire to experience everything. And together we would marvel as our boys embraced each experience with openness and enthusiasm. I have a deep sense of gratitude to be so fortunate to have Marilyn as my partner in this remarkable life journey. Perhaps though I’m only just beginning to really understand what my friend meant in his unique tribute to a loving wife.

And so, in every sense of the expression, I am very much at home.

 

Postscript:

Thank you to the many people who have followed this blog, left comments, encouraged us and taken an interest in the journey. We have been humbled by the number of people who have told us how much they have enjoyed following our travels!

Ryan's Journal: Days 80 - 85

Day 80

Distance travelled: 660km!!!

We packed up early because we knew we had a huge day of driving. It was pretty uneventful. We watched movies in the back while Mum and Dad shared the driving. For lunch we went to a bakery at St George. We all had pies and then shopped for dinner, before driving on to Lightning Ridge, an eight hour car trip.

We had a look around Lightning Ridge. It’s a black opal mining town so we looked through the many different opal shops, and bought Mum a necklace! At Lightning Ridge there is also a thermal pool, about 40 degrees! So Nick and I relaxed in there while Dad was cooking dinner.

We spent the rest of the night sitting in the camp kitchen watching Sydney beat Collingwood in the preliminary final!

 

Day 81

Distance travelled: 560km

Today was another driving day. We had planned to drive to Dubbo and stay there, but mum and dad decided it would be more fun to drive to the radio telescope (“The Dish”) in Parkes and stay there. We got to the telescope in the middle of the afternoon and spent a couple of hours there. We watched some 3D movies about space, looked around the information centre and, of course, looked at the telescope. It was massive!

Then we drove into the town, but mum and dad couldn’t find anywhere they wanted to stay. So we kept on driving. It was starting to get dark when we finally found a free campsite in a little town called Gooloogong. Us boys couldn’t be bothered putting up our tent, so we decided to sleep under the stars.

Day 82

Distance travelled: 300km

We packed up at Gooloogong and started driving towards Canberra. We stopped at the Cooma house in Yass. It’s a house where explorer Hamilton Hume lived after his days of exploring.

When we got to Canberra we set up camp at the showgrounds. We went to Parliament House and had a look around at the huge building.

 It was getting late so we went out for dinner and then went up to Telstra Tower which has a view looking out over Canberra.

                                                              

Day 83

Distance travelled: 60km

We woke early so we could get to Questacon, an interactive science centre. After having breakfast we left and did some shopping, before arriving at 10.  Questacon is huge! It had seven galleries full of information. My favourite was the “Excite” gallery, which had two unique air hockey tables, one against a robot and one a four player game. It also had a drop slide, that I spent most of my time on. One time I was taking Nick up there, but he chickened out when we were at the top! It also had a ‘360’. A swing that you had to try and swing around a full 360! I didn’t go on that...

When we finally got out, it was four. We had spent a whole six hours in there! We found a park (after some ‘great’ navigating by me) and had a BBQ by the lake.

 

Day 84

Distance travelled: 60km

 

The AIS, Australian Institute of Sport was our first stop today. First we were taken up to the ‘games’ room, which had interactive games, skiing, skateboarding and stuff like that. We went on a tour at ten, guided by an athlete that had trained there. It was massive! It also had everything. There was a gymnastics hall, that was huge, a 14 million dollar swimming & recovery facility, a big stadium, a place for just about every sport!

We moved on to a place called Cockington Green. It’s a place where people have made miniature dioramas of buildings, mainly from England also but from all over the world. It was amazing looking through the gardens that had all of its flowers, flowering. The buildings were in great detail, and some took as long as five years to build.

We moved on from the AIS to the Mint, where money is made! We watched thousands of $$$ being made by robots.

We only spent a little bit of time there, before heading out to the War Memorial. We looked through, and got lost in the massive memorial. There are many different dioramas and plenty of information to read. We spent the rest of the afternoon there, and watched the closing ceremony, where the man with the bagpipes plays.

We went back to camp where we ate dinner in the car because it was so cold!

 

Day 85

Distance travelled: 675km

Today we were heading home!!! Basically, we spent about nine hours in the car, making a dash from Canberra to home. We woke up at 5.30 and packed the car, and were gone by 6.30. We drove for a couple of hours and then got breakfast at a cafe at the Dog on the Tucker Box. Then we continued to drive for a couple of hours and we stopped again, eating fruit that we had picked up along the way. Then we drove for a few more hours, before dropping in at Yarra Glen to see my Uncle and Auntie Alex & Wendy.

It was a pretty boring drive but we were all excited to finally get home, and when we did, we celebrated with roast pork for dinner and pancakes, fruit and ice-cream for dessert with Oma, Opa and Auntie Di!

Questacon (Nicholas)

 

One of things we wanted to do in Canberra was go to Questacon. Questacon is an interactive science place. It has seven exhibits plus some other rooms where they did talks on various topics such as mummification and music. It was very well set out with children’s play areas, plenty of interactive ways to learn about science and some very entertaining things to do, such as air hockey against a robot, a drop slide and a tunnel that makes you lose your balance.

 

Being me I had to go through and read and do everything that I could possibly do. We spent 6 hours straight there. Ryan spent it going down the drop slide and complaining whereas Jackson and I spent it going through every nook and cranny of the massive building to learn as much as possible.

 

The various rooms all had different set-ups depending on what they were trying teaching you. The first exhibit was all about inventions and pulleys and non-motorised mechanics.  One of the exhibits was on natural disasters and how they’re caused plus they’re different aspects like the different movements of the earth in an earth quake.

 

This was a brilliant way to spend our first full day in Canberra because we learnt loads and had a great time.

Carnarvon National Park

One of the most picturesque places we’ve been to is Carnarvon National Park. This place is one of the best known and popular of Queensland’s gorges. It is in a place called the sand stone belt and is one of the prettiest gorges we’ve been to. The sheer rock walls of the gorge look like they’ve been cut because they are so sheer and smooth, the rock falls look like they’re made of concrete and have been put there deliberately because the sandstone falls in very square shapes.

We have stayed two nights at Carnarvon Gorge and we have found that that was enough to see lots of the gorge and several of the off shoots that are just as spectacular as the main gorge. The first off shoot that we went to is called Warrumbah Gorge and was narrow, cold and wet but also had a spectacular array of mosses and ferns. It was also lots of fun just trying to get as far as you could in the slippery conditions with a very cold creek running beneath you.

On our only full day we did a 15km walk up the main gorge to see the sights. We visited four places in the gorge which were, the Moss Garden, the Amphitheatre, the Art Gallery and Wards Canyon. The Moss Garden was fascinating because the water is soaked up by the sandstone and gradually goes down towards the water table. Before it gets there it hits a layer of slate which it can’t penetrate and is forced sideways out of the rock to sustain a spectacular array of mosses and ferns on the ever-damp rock the dripping water creates. The water is also in the rock for anything upwards of 500 years between when it is absorbed by the sand stone and when it is expelled above the slate level.

The second place we stopped is called the Amphitheatre and was originally a massive piece of sandstone that had faults in the rock all around it. The water gradually wore away to make a massive hole that was only accessible by a narrow crack in one of the walls. It had a nice echo and was nice and cold which was great relief to us because it was building up to be a hot day.

Thirdly, we visited the Art Gallery which, as the name suggests, is a place of ancient rock art done by the aborigines of the area. These art works were in a spot that was slightly higher than the canyon and was consequently hotter but the art work was excellent and very clear despite its exposed position.

The last place we went to is called Wards Canyon and had perfectly clear and freezing water. It was also nice and cold and had some plants that didn’t exist anywhere else in inland Queensland. We had lunch here and it was a well-needed rest break before the long walk back.

It was a long day and my legs were dead when we finally got back, we also got an ice cream before going off on our own to do whatever it was we wanted for the rest of the afternoon.

Ryan’s Journal: Days 76 – 79

Day 76

Distance travelled: 516km

We packed up at Cape Hillsborough and set out to try and get to Rockhampton. We drove through Mackay and got diesel before setting out on the long drive. We stopped at a coal wharf at Point Hay and saw a huge amount of coal waiting to be loaded onto ships and be transported to other countries. We got lunch in a tiny town called Marlborough and bought some pies from the store there. Our main stop was at Capricorn Caves. They are dry limestone caves not far from Rocky. We did a tour and went through the main caves. There were a few caves, the main one Cathedral cave, where they even hold weddings! It had high walls and has good acoustics, so our tour guide played Amazing Grace with the lights out and it was pitch black!

We took a long detour to Emu Park, where there is a monument for Captain Cook called the singing ship.

We got to Rocky and set up before getting some Pizza for dinner.

Day 77

Distance travelled: 338km

We left Rocky and went to Mount Hay, where we fossicked for thunder eggs, volcanic rocks that have trapped gasses in them that when cut, have a beautiful middle.

We continued to Blackwater where we ate lunch and went into a coal info centre. We looked around in there for a while, learning about the process of coal.

We stopped again, at Comet where we saw a tree that Leichardt, an explorer that travelled through the region engraved on.

Guess what, we stopped again! At Sapphire, a small gem town that mines sapphires. We went fossicking again. We loved it and got some small sapphires.

We got to Rubyvale in the end, where we set up and swam in the freezing pool there.

Day 78

Distance travelled: 331km

Although we loved Rubyvale, we had to leave. We drove to Emerald where we stocked up on supplies before heading out for Carnarvon Gorge.

We drove into the caravan park and set up, before heading out to one of the offshoots of the gorge, Wurrumburra Gorge. We walked on the track until it ended, but having been advised by the locals, kept going. The gorge was narrow, but cold and wet. We walked up on the slippery rocks and went further in. The rocks were coated with moss and the water was freezing. It was amazing. But it was getting late so we left and drove to the Rock Pool, and swam. It is a nice spot, a deep pool with a huge rock on the opposite side. We took advantage of it and jumped into the pool.

Day 79

Distance travelled: 9km

15km is a long way. And that was the distance we were walking into the gorge. Carnarvon Gorge has many walks, some as long as 86km. We went to the Moss Garden, a year-flowing waterfall and dripping limestone; the Amphitheatre, a huge hole in the limestone accessible only through a small crevice; the Art Gallery, ancient aboriginal art and Wards Canyon. The Moss Garden is a waterfall with moss covered rocks all around. The limestone drips with water escaping from the rock. The amphitheatre is huge, and with good acoustics, except for when Dad sings... It had a little island in the middle that was very green, mainly covered with moss and ferns. The Art Gallery had clear paintings of boomerangs, hands, fishing nets and the rainbow serpent.

We ate lunch at Wards Canyon, which was beautiful. It is the only place in inland QLD where King Ferns grow. We ate by the small river that flows through and the huge rocks that hung above.

After we walked back, about 7km in the heat of the day, we relaxed because we were all tired

Heading Inland

The “Singing Ship” at Edna Park – a small coastal town east of Rockhampton – is an unusual memorial to Captain James Cook. Built of concrete in the shape of a sailing boat, it incorporates large pipes into its structure that produce a mesmerising hollow sound in the sea breeze. Offshore are more of the hundreds of islands that are part of the Great Barrier Reef, this time the Keppel Group. We had a brief look around and then headed inland towards “Rocky”. It would be our last glimpse of the ocean that has accompanied most of our journey south from Cooktown. Fittingly, we had ocean views from our tents at our last campsite at Cape Hillsborough (near Mackay) before leaving the coast behind.

Our campsite on the Fitzroy river opposite the city of Rockhampton

Our journey inland from Rockhampton was along the Capricorn Highway, which roughly follows the Tropic of Capricorn. South of Mackay we had visited a massive coal port at Hay Point from which millions of tonnes of rich Queensland black coal are loaded onto ships and exported. The trains that deliver this coal to the port run alongside the Capricorn Highway from the many coal mines in this area. They are the longest trains we have ever seen. The boys started counting carriages and each was longer than 100, usually with five engines pulling the massive weight (three at the front and two in the middle)! We visited a coal centre at Blackwater (“coal capital of Queensland”) to develop a deeper sense of how significant the mining industry is to this area.

We were on a mining expedition of our own. First stop of the day was at a tourist park called Mt Hay. This is the home of “Thunder Eggs” – pieces of molten lava that, when cut open, reveal an array of coloured crystal within. The boys went fossicking for the “eggs” and were rewarded with some specimens to add to the rock and shell collections they have established over the course of the trip.

Scouring carefully for pieces of sapphire

Our destination for the day, passing through towns such as Emerald and Sapphire, was Rubyvale. In Sapphire the boys fossicked once again, this time producing small pieces of the semi-precious blue gems that are found in the area. Sapphire and Rubyvale were unique and interesting little towns to visit – dotted with small shacks and caravans on small plots. All the mining was done by hand. It seemed that whilst some people in their retirement travel to “the Gulf” each year to fish, another more eccentric group journey to Sapphire to try their luck at “the diggings”. Whilst they no doubt hope to uncover something large and valuable to fund their retirements, their expectations appear more modest. One man we shared a camp kitchen with had just started working on his plot and was hoping, at least, to uncover enough sapphire to produce earrings for his granddaughters.

From the Emerald region we begin our long drive through inland Queensland and New South Wales back to Victoria, appropriately along a series of highways that been dubbed the “Great Inland Way” (which runs from Cooktown to Sydney). Our first destination will be Carnarvon Gorge. We haven’t told the boys yet, but we have a 15 kilometre hike planned for tomorrow! From Carnarvon we will be very much on the homeward stretch, with some long driving days taking us to Lightening Ridge, Dubbo and then Canberra. The content of our thoughts and much of our conversation has increasingly focused on arriving home. For two years now it has seemed that life had been “on hold” as we have prepared for this trip and faced the challenges of Marilyn’s cancer diagnosis. Our return home is, for us, a new beginning; an opportunity to shape the paths that we will follow over the years ahead.

Silent Night (Marilyn)

For three days I made my home on a 50 foot yacht called ‘Silent Night’.  We had speculated about the origins of the name, but it turned out to be nothing more romantic than the name of the sponsor – a bedding manufacturer.  This yacht was the proto type for the winged keel, its original name had been Madame De Farge, but the keel has now been replaced and the whole thing refitted to go from being a fully equipped racing vessel to a pleasure boat for tourists.

The first thing we were told to do was take off our shoes.  During the safety talk the captain also said that although there was a shower on board there was not enough water to wash your hair.  The cruise was looking better and better as far as the children were concerned.  No shoes and no showers!­

We headed out of the bay with 13 people on board, my family of five, six German tourists and two crew.  The yacht was small and below deck was very cramped.  Peter and I had the ‘deluxe’ cabin...the word shoebox comes to mind; an interesting prospect for someone who is both claustrophobic and suffers from motion sickness.

We headed out to the Coral Sea on a sunny Friday afternoon.  We anchored at Hook Island and set ourselves up to go snorkelling.  Decked out in very unbecoming full length lycra ‘stinger suits’, goggles and snorkel we swam amongst tropical fish and coral reefs.  Watching the coral was quite mesmerising, time seemed to stand still as I floated along with the tide and stared in wonder at the many splendid fish.

Early the next day we pulled anchor and headed for Whitehaven Beach.  Whitehaven Beach is advertised as being the most beautiful beach in Australia, and perhaps the world, so we were keen to see it for ourselves.  The sand was a stunning white and the water a clear blue.  Unspoilt by resort development we walked along the water’s edge soaking up the beauty that surrounded us.

Later in the day we snorkelled again, this time one of the crew fed the fish with left over bread from our breakfast.  The fish were everywhere!  Tropical fish come in the full spectrum of colours and combinations of colours and they are not shy. It was like swimming in an aquarium.

Our ‘pocket maxi’ was a motorised sailing ship and on the second day the captain very delightedly set up the sails and turned off the motor.  Now we were at the mercy of the wind. The ability of the crew to set the sails to make full use of the available wind required more skill than I had realised.

During sailing time, to balance the boat, the passengers were instructed to sit on one side of the boat with legs dangling over the edge.  This was a terrific spot to view the surrounding islands and watch the rhythmic and continuous rise and fall of the ocean.  It was my favourite time on the boat. 

Sailing the Whitsundays was a spur of the moment decision made when we arrived at Airlie Beach. From the moment we boarded the vessel we knew the decision had been a good one.  Nicholas, Ryan and Jackson each had a turn at steering the boat when the sales were up. Seeing a whale and her calf playing in the waves on our way back to port on Sunday morning was an added bonus.  We shared an experience that we all loved; sailing was an unexpected treat, a memory that we will always treasure.

Ryan’s Journal: Days 73 – 75

Day 73

Distance travelled: 7km (by car)

Our little boat is the black one - that somehow accommodated 13 of us!

Our cruise left at 2 so we had a relaxed pack up. We parked the car and went to the shops and had a look around, getting some lunch and a haircut before we walked to a wharf where Silent Night, our boat, was. We were taken onto the small yacht by our captain Sam and deckhand Mike (or Taylor).  At about 2 we motored out onto the calm waters of the Whitsundays. Here was no wind so we couldn’t sail, instead we went out to part of the reef and snorkelled, where the reef was really colourful and there were a few fish. We anchored in between two islands and tried to sleep on the rocking boat.

Day 74

A view of Whitehaven Beach from the lookout

Today the wind was up, so we woke up and after breakfast, went for a sail. We went to Whitehaven beach where we swam, played soccer on the flour-like sand and went up to the lookout and looked out over the Whitsundays. It was amazing! We saw lots of stingrays in the water from the beach as well as a few baby sharks.

We went back to the boat and sailed to another snorkelling spot, the best we’ve been to. There were thousands of fish surrounding everyone in the water. There were some that were colourful, some that were huge and some were just weird. We spent a while snorkelling and feeding the fish, then anchoring in a bay where we spent our last night on the boat, Silent Night.

Day 75

Distance travelled: 148km (by car)

We woke up, after another long night and ate breakfast for the last time on Silent Night. Sadly we had to go back to shore and continue our trip. We set sail again, and we all had a steer of the boat before we made it back to shore. On our way back, Sam, the captain, had a ‘play’ with our boat and another, the Boomerang. Sailing parallel and ‘360ing’! But when we saw whales it all stopped and we watched two whales, mother and calf swim past the boat. It was an amazing ending to the trip.

When we were back on land, we went straight to the car and hit the road again; we got back to the car at about 11 and got our standard lunch from Woollies, 12 cheese and bacon rolls. We drove out to Cape Hillsborough, near Mackay, where we set up camp for the night.

We spent the afternoon relaxing and playing cricket.

Ryan’s Journal: Days 68 – 72

Day 68

Distance travelled: 203 (plus 8km on ferry!)

Today, we wanted to get to an island, Magnetic Island, so we packed up and headed for Townsville. But before we left, we had to do the walk down to the bottom of Australia’s longest falls. So for an early morning walk we went down the 2km track to the base of the falls. The falls were huge, and the spray incredible! But, sadly, we couldn’t swim, so we headed back up the steep track.

We drove to Ingham, another sugar town that in the old days, was an Italian town. We went to the cemetery where all the Mausoleums are. Some of them were huge, and colourful!

Our next stop was at Little Crystal Creek, where there are a few rock holes. We all went for a swim there and jumped off a few rocks. Even Mum joined in!! After lunch and a swim, we got to Townsville where we drove straight for the Ferry terminal to see if we could get a ferry over to Magnetic Island. We booked a ferry across with the car. Magnetic Island is a big island that is mostly inaccessible national park. We stayed at the one campsite on the island and booked for three nights.

Day 69

Distance travelled: 39km

We were exploring the island and drove out to West Point on a 4WD track. We walked along the beach there, but didn’t swim because it was too windy.

We drove to Picnic Bay, one of the many bays on the Island and went in search of a drink, but we were unsuccessful because everything was closed on a Monday!

We had lunch at Nelly Bay were we bought pies. We were going to keep looking around but decided we wanted a relaxed afternoon so we went back to camp and relaxed!

Day 70

Distance travelled: 38km

Today we decided we would check out the bays along a different rough track. We also hired snorkels because there is a big reef of coral around the Island.

Our first stop was Florence Bay, where we started to snorkel but the visibility was very poor and instead we decided to catch the biggest (and only) waves on the Island!! We stayed there all morning but did leave eventually to Radical Bay, the last bay on the road. It was a nice, sheltered bay, but it was really windy when you weren’t in the water and there were many waves. So we moved on and headed back the way we came to try and find Arthur Bay, which we had missed on the way in. We did find it after a little bit of walking. We didn’t swim here either but we climbed up the rocks and sat down for a while.

It was a late lunch, but we got pies again and went to Nelly Bay and got the snorkels out again. We snorkelled for a while but there wasn’t a huge amount to see in the shallow water and we couldn’t see much in the deep. So we went to the pub and played pool.

After relaxing again in the afternoon, we went up to the Forts, old forts built in WW2 to protect Townsville. The views are great, IF you get there before dark. Dads plan was to walk up and get there for sunset. So we left camp just before sundown, but the thing Dad didn’t know was the walk was a steep 2k. So we made it to the top and it was already dark. The walk home was fun though....

Day 71

Distance travelled: 42km (plus 8k on ferry)

After three nights on Magnetic, we packed up and headed for the ferry. We were really early though so we went and got a drink. We got back to Townsville and wanted to look around the interesting city, so we made it to the Museum which has a huge replica of the HMS Pandora that sank after hitting the reef out from North QLD. It also had an exhibition on Illusions and North QLD in general.

We got lunch from a bakery and went to the beach where we ate. Then we went to the Aquarium. The Aquarium has coral, as well as lots of coral fish!  And a croc! We went on a couple of free tours, fish feeding, and dangerous creatures and turtle hospital. The turtle hospital is where the aquarium cares for injured or sick turtles. They had three turtles there, two huge turtles, one that came in very recently and another that was almost better, and a small turtle that they were going to release soon.

We drove up to Castle Hill that gave us a great view of Townsville.

We then drove out to a service station that had free camping and Nick, Jackson and I couldn’t be bothered setting up the tent so we set up out sleeping mats and bags on the tarp and slept under the stars!

Day 72

Distance travelled: 396km

We all woke early, Mum and Dad at their usual early times and Nick, Jackson and I woke at sunrise, because we were sleeping under the sun, and it was bright. So we were all up at about 6:30 and packed up by about 7:30.

We drove to Airlie Beach and looked around town. It had everything. We went to an information centre and asked about the Whitsunday Islands, and booked a 2 night sailing trip around them!!!!! We then drove out to Dingo Beach and looked around the beach there, and walked out onto the beach and around for a while.

Hydeaway Bay was our next stop, all in the same area around Airlie Beach, and got a drink at the pub there. They also had a pool table that was free, so we played a few games, and, again, I beat Dad...

We went back to Airlie Beach and set up camp at a caravan park there. We’re all excited about leaving for a cruise tomorrow.

Sugar Country

For some weeks now we’ve been driving through sugar country. As we’ve made our way south from Cooktown, in the areas of flat land that lie between the ocean beaches and the spectacular jagged peaks of the Great Dividing Range, lie square mile after square mile of cane fields. Alongside these fields are networks of narrow gauge rail lines that link the fields with the nearest sugar mills. The mills can be viewed from vast distances across the horizon as they spew remarkable quantities of steam and smoke into the air.

The first mill we came across was in Mossman. We followed the train tracks (which run along the main roads of the town) towards the mill, hoping there might be a way of seeing inside its imposing steel walls. There wasn’t. It was at this stage that I began to wonder about the processes that produce the sickly sweet substance we call sugar from the many hectares of cane fields we were passing each day.

It is harvesting season. The cane fields are either fully grown, or have already been harvested and are either lying fallow or sprouting shoots from the cane that has been replanted in them. The days of burning the fields before harvesting are, for the most part, long gone. Mechanical harvesters have eliminated the need to clear the fields of snakes, rodents and other dangers to generations of cane cutters.

At South Mission Beach we spotted a notice advertising ‘sugar factory tours’ at nearby Tully. I finally had the opportunity to satisfy my own curiosity, and build an “educational experience” into this part of the journey (otherwise dominated by ocean beaches and tropical islands)!

The eight-hour journey from the arrival of sugar cane at the factory – where it is tipped into a shredder – to the production of raw sugar is a fascinating one. It involves rolling the cane to extract liquid, followed by a crystallisation process and then the centrifugal separation of the sugar crystals from liquid (which produces molasses). What was even more fascinating was the manner in which every by-product in the process is recycled or renewed. The fibrous material left from the sugar cane is burned in the boilers to power the factory (and feed back additional power into the electricity grid). The ash is given back to the cane farmers to fertilise their fields. Most of the molasses is exported, but about 30 percent is also used as fertiliser. Interestingly, the Tully factory is wholly owned by a Chinese company, and all of the raw sugar it produces is exported to Asia. We feel very fortunate to have, in our possession, exclusive little parcels of freshly produced “Tully sugar” – used one teaspoon per day for my morning coffee!  

Had Ryan been attending school this term, he would have been completing a major assignment on sustainability. My hope is that the lived experience of a production process such as this will hold at least equal educational value for him and his brothers. One of the unquantifiable questions of our trip is how much the boys are learning through each of the many new experiences they are having, and how this compares with the learning they are missing through being absent from school for a term.

This part of the boys’ education is over, and it’s time to get back to the ocean beaches and tropical islands. Tomorrow we embark on a three-day cruise on the yacht “Silent Night” for a tour of the Whitsunday Islands!

Amazing Places

“Why are we visiting a cemetery?”

Ryan’s question (asked more than once) was an understandable one. Why were we driving six kilometres out of Ingham to visit the “New Ingham Cemetery”?

The answer to the question has its source in a book that was given to us by my sister Monica as we prepared for our trip – “Australia’s Most Amazing Places”. It became an important source of information as we planned our route, and was one of only three trip-related books we brought with us (the other two being “Camps Australia Wide” and “Explore Australia’s National Parks”). Up until this final part of our journey, we had followed a reasonably strict schedule to meet campsite and travel bookings we had made prior to the trip. Now that we are on the journey south, the only deadline we have to meet is to be home in time to return to work/school at the start of Term 4. Now each day is flexible and much of our decision making is “spur-of-the-moment”.

Our quest has become one of visiting as many amazing places as possible, with the book being our guide. Today we have visited three already. We camped last night at Wallaman Falls (“the highest waterfall in Australia”). This morning we walked two kilometres to the base of the falls (before embarking on the long trek back up!). We have just had a swim in some amazing rock pools of the Little Crystal River in the Paluma Range (“rainforest clad hills, swimming holes and superb walking trails”), under the shadow of an old stone bridge built to provide employment during the 1930s depression era. And, of course, we visited the New Ingham Cemetery (“miniature city of marble mausoleums reflects sugar town’s Italian heritage”).

Another of the “amazing places” was Paronella Park (“tropical pleasure gardens and turret-topped Moorish castle”), which was a wonderland for Jackson to explore and continue exercising his fertile imagination. Yesterday we took a detour to Lucinda Jetty (“the world’s longest sugar-loading jetty”), which is used to load sugar from two local mills; and happens to be 5.76km long! Most of these places we had never heard of, and would have most likely driven past, completely ignorant of their existence.

For the next three nights we will camp on Magnetic Island (“wildlife abounds on this picturesque, easily accessed island”), achieving another of our many goals – to call one of the hundreds of coastal islands “home” for a few days.

It’s fair to say that the start of our journey south was initially tinged with a little sadness – an awareness that we were entering the last stage of our adventure together and leaving the remoteness of “The Outback” for more heavily populated parts of the country. The sadness was short-lived as we have travelled between the coastline and mountains of North Queensland visiting amazing place after amazing place.

Paronella Park (Jackson)

A castle in Australia, at Paronella Park, which we are going to! The castle, built by José Paronella, has quite a history.  José had a dream. He found a beautiful rainforest property by the side of a waterfall and wanted to build a castle that was similar to those back in Spain. He had made a fortune buying and selling sugarcane properties. He worked by hand to create an amazing castle with a ballroom (which was also used as a movie theatre), refreshment rooms, a tennis court, fountains and other buildings. He also created lanes through the rainforest and planted lots of exotic plants.

  José built the first hydro electric power station in north Queensland, giving power to the castle 20 years before the rest of the town had access to power. Lots of people would come to the castle to watch movies, dance and enjoy the lake and waterfall. There was a section called “Lovers’ Lane” which led to a tunnel that was called the “Tunnel of Love”. This lead out to another waterfall called Theresa Falls, named after José’s daughter.

Of course, there is a sad side to it. What José didn’t know was that the materials he put in expanded during the wet season, therefore making the castle slowly fall apart. The worst event however was a massive flood in 1946 that destroyed lots of the buildings and gardens. José rebuilt as much as he could, but some people have said the place was never the same. He died of stomach cancer and after his death the property gradually became a ruin.

More recently the ballroom’s roof burnt down after a wedding and the walls were knocked down during Cyclone Larry and Cyclone Yasi.

Paronella Park was bought by a couple in 1993 who are gradually recreating José’s dream. They have stabilised the remaining walls and are about to rebuild the ballroom. They have restored the original paths and gardens, and have even rebuilt the old hydro-electric system.

The castle was great, with fish feeding, turtle viewing, crocodile watching (a croc was recently found there so we couldn’t swim!) and endless tracks. I found it very good and I wish I could do it again.

Ryan’s Journal: Days 63 – 67

Day 63

Distance travelled: 62km

Today we woke early. I was incredibly excited. We had booked a snorkelling trip at Green Island on the Great Barrier Reef.

We drove out to the wharf where the ferry ‘Big Cat’ was waiting. We spent about an hour and a half on the ferry in choppy water and the boat was heavily rocking. Mum even threw up from motion sickness! But we all made it to Green Island where we collected our snorkelling equipment and went out on the beach. We swam out through the choppy water and above the reef. The reef was incredible! It wasn’t as colourful as the pictures you see but the fish were amazing! Some of the fish were fluoro green, rainbow fish and sawfish, but most we didn’t know.  We spent all day, about five hours at Green Island, exploring different parts of the reef.

We got back on the ferry at about three and got back to Cairns at about five.

I had an amazing day swimming over the reef looking at all the fish and coral. We all slept well that night.

Day 64

Distance travelled: 24km

We decided to spend another night in Kuranda, our fourth. This was our longest stop since Darwin. We went back into Kuranda and everything was open because the Ski Rail was running again. Nick and I went to the Venom Zoo, while Dad and Jackson went to the Birdhouse. The Venom Zoo had lots of different venomous snakes, spiders, scorpions, and (non-venomous) turtles and lizards. We got a little tour of the spiders, scorpions, lizards and some snakes. We got to hold different lizards and even a snake! The Birdhouse was a huge enclosure where there were dozens of species of birds.

We had lunch in town and then went back to camp, where we had a relaxed afternoon doing schoolwork and blogging.

Day 65

Distance travelled: 221km

After four nights, we could have stayed longer but we packed up and drove, our goal to get to Paronella Park, an old castle. But we stopped a lot on the way, first at Atherton, where we stocked up on clothes, food and cricket bats. Our second stop was at Mount Hypipamee crater. We had lunch there and walked to the crater. It was a massive hole in the ground with water in it. It was at least eighty meters deep! Our third and final stop was at Malanda Falls. We had a quick look there and wished we had our bathers.

We arrived at Paronella and set up. At four we went on a tour of the park, where we learnt about the history of José, who built the castle. The castle was very old and partly destroyed by cyclones and fire.

We went on another tour, after looking around the park, a night tour this time and we walked through the park being taught by the guide. We went down to the pool under the water fall and saw a croc!

Day 66

Distance travelled: 129km

We had another walk around Paronella Park in the morning, before we packed up and had breakfast in Innisfail. We drove to Mission Beach, which was destroyed by the two recent cyclones, Larry and Yasi. We thought about setting up camp there, but, we had a look around and decided to keep going. We did set up on South Mission Beach at a Caravan Park, which was luxury! It had everything! A pool and air hockey table, swimming pool with a waterslide and tennis & basketball courts.

We decided to spend the night there and I set up quickly so I could use the games/pool.

Day 67

Distance travelled: 211km

Although we loved South Mission Beach, we packed up and moved on. We weren’t sure where we were going to stay but we drove out towards Tully. Tully was a sugar town; its only industry was making sugar. Tully’s Factory is one of the few factories that give tours, so we went on a tour. The tour took us through the factory and showed us how sugar is produced. I didn’t like it. It was hot, really loud and smelt very bad, which made me feel sick. It was interesting to find out how something I love, sugar, is made.

We didn’t stay at Tully though, we kept moving. We went to Lucinda where there is a 5.76km wharf where the sugar is exported to other countries. Then, headed up into the mountains and set up camp at Wallaman Falls, which are longest falls in Australia.

Snorkelling at Green Island (Nicholas)

On Tuesday we went on a ferry to Green Island to snorkel on the Great Barrier Reef. From Cairns it takes about an hour and fifteen minutes to get there but even to begin with the day was looking great. The clouds that covered Cairns didn’t last the journey and we got to Green Island with only a few scattered clouds in the sky.

On the way to the island we saw the ocean change from one amazing colour to another as we went through various water depths and coral formations. And in the deepest part there were two humped back whales that swam under us. We carried our snorkelling gear on to the island, then set up on secluded beach and headed out to see if the Great Barrier Reef was as good as the pictures say it is.

Initially as I went out there was loads of sea grass and very few fish, but as I got to the coral fields I saw fish that were black, neon green and every other colour of the rainbow, star fish that were amazingly bright blue and hundreds of sea cucumbers. After the first period in the water we decided to move to a different spot in the water that was less choppy as Dad needed to teach Jackson how to use the snorkels and that is difficult when you have to deal with waves as well. The next place we snorkelled in was on the  side of the island that faced away from the wind so the sea was much calmer and there was a life guard and squares made of piping that you could hold onto and fix any minor problems with the snorkels. Here the sea was significantly deeper than what it was on the other side of the island so I got bored and took out my snorkel and dived under to swim with the fish. The rest of the day was spent snorkelling and relaxing on your own schedule as snorkelling is something that you generally do by yourself, and when I tried swimming with Ryan I quickly lost him when I went off chasing fish.

In the last bit of snorkelling I did I couldn’t find any areas with lots of coral and the fish that come with them but I did swim with a sea turtle for a while.

It was an absolutely stunning day and worth every cent to go and see the Great Barrier Reef up as close as we were.

Kuranda

A pot of goulash is on the stove. Nicholas and Ryan are adding to the fire they’ve been working on for much of the afternoon. Marilyn is organising the boxes of food and other stuff that are sustaining us for 3 months. And I am sitting, partly reading, and partly just watching. A couple of brush turkeys make their way around empty campsites in this little caravan park in the rainforest region of Kuranda, looking for any small crumbs the humans may have left behind.

We drove into Cairns three days ago, spent a couple of hours in the city and then decided we needed to find somewhere more rural to camp. The nearest bit of forest (actually Barron Gorge National Park – a World Heritage “wet tropics” area) was to be found in Kuranda. Our schedule had been to stay two nights in Cairns. We are approaching the evening of our fourth night in Kuranda.

Interesting town this one. Made up of three markets (“Heritage”, “Original” and “New”) and assorted other tourists shops, wildlife parks and food/coffee houses, most of Kuranda opens at about 9.30, just before the first tourist railway completes its steep journey up the mountain, and closes at about 3 as the tourists depart. Like “Groundhog Day”, the town just goes through the same routine each day, albeit for a different group of tourists. Marilyn and I have taken to walking into town each morning (through the forest, along the railway track, and up the steps next to the bridge that crosses the Barron River). We find a different coffee shop each day, have a drink and wander back. There’s something about being in the town when only the locals are present.

Having said that, on Monday the Skyrail (the gondolas that also transport people up and down the mountain) was closed for maintenance and the tourists were few and far between. Yesterday we ventured out to a coral island and spent the day snorkelling in the Barrier Reef – a truly magical experience. Today we were back in town again, visiting wildlife parks. Nicholas and Ryan elected to go to the “Venom House”, whilst I accompanied Jackson to “Birdworld”. We then spent the afternoon back at camp for some valuable “down time” before we head further south via a return trip to the spectacular Atherton Tablelands.

This area around and north of Cairns, with its unbeatable combination of rainforests, mountains, pristine beaches and reef, have perhaps become the part of Australia we are most determined to come back to. Incorporating three World Heritage Areas (Great Barrier Reef, The Daintree and the Wet Tropics), each day has been filled with spectacular vistas and lots of interesting places to visit. As a person who enjoys good food, the variety of foods ranging from fresh fruit, coffee, nuts, dairy and boutique wineries are an added attraction. So an intended two nights in Cairns quickly became four in Kuranda, and we would have been happy to stay for longer. Instead we’ll just look forward to coming back another time...