Heading through the town of Camooweal, we ventured to the Camooweal Waterhole on the Georgina River. This was a stunning free camping spot and we enjoyed the early evening watching the cows come down to the waterhole to drink. There were a couple of kites nesting across the river and they were periodically leaving their nest and looking for food. It was amazing watching them soar, as well as spotting the various other birds looking for their evening meal. The kids disappeared to invite other campers to a fire with toasted marshmellows. However, just as we were getting the campfire going, a massive gust of wind blew up and started to spread the embers into the nearby bushes. As it started to get worse, we had to quickly put the fire out as we were worried we would start a bigger fire! The wind continued most of the night so we really had to ‘buckle down the hatches’!

Heading across dry, grassy plains the following morning, we crossed over the Qld/NT border. There was quite a lot of road kill along the Barkley Highway and it was not uncommon for one of the kids to suddenly yell out ‘roadkill’!!!

At one point, Joe pulled the van over in the middle of nowhere. He had seen a snake on the road- so the kids jumped out of the car with Joe to check it out. The poor thing had been run over on its head. Once the coast was clear, they all proceeded to pick the heavy thing up and have a couple of photos. We later found out the the snake in question was actually a king brown- the second most deadliest snake in the world!

Arriving just after lunch at the Barkley Homestead, we all enjoyed a wander around the homestead, with a quick (but freezing!) dip in the pool. It was also great to catch up with some other campers, particularly a couple from Perth in their Retreat van. That night, we enjoyed a delicious home-cooked meal in the homestead and Joe enjoyed some homely normalities- watching NRL and playing pool.

Joining up with the Stuart highway the following day, we started to head south- right through the middle of this great land. We stopped at Tennant Creek for some lunch and were quite amazed that part of Red Rooster we were eating in had been made of termite mound bricks! The floor was even patterned with old local news paper! Despite all this, it was a very clean place with delicious fresh food.

Heading up to Battery Hill on Peko Rd., we had a bit of a look around (mine tour was closed that day) and then headed to the adjacent lookout. Before leaving Tennant creek, we stopped in at Lake Mary Ann for a look at this random lake in the middle of the dry plains.

We then headed the 90 or so km south to the Devils Marbles. When they first came into sight, we were truely amazed at the colour and size of them, as well as the way they were just sitting on top of one another! We all enjoyed a climb on the western marbles, before driving around the scattered bunch and heading into the National Park camping ground. After settling in, we climbed the marbles next to the campground for a gorgeous sunset. Just a stunning view of God’s handiwork!

The campground was lovely- being a National Park, it was only $7.70 for the family to stay in and had a good comfortable number of people camping there. We were quite surprised to see a dingo pup around the campsite during breaky the next day.  

After homework the next morning, we headed into Cloncurry on our way to Mount Isa. A small town, we spent some time shopping, including a lunch visit to the local bakery. Joe also bought his first yabbie trap in hope to catch some dinner.

 On our way to Mount Isa, we realised that we had miss-calculated and were pushing it very close to running out of diesel. Let’s just say that we now know that our car can travel 8km on a zero range-something we don’t want to test again! All part of the adventure! It must have been Mel’s wonderful driving that got us into the petrol station safely.

At Isa, we checked into the Sunset Tourist Park and decided we would stay for 3 nights. The rest of the afternoon was spent swimming, washing the caravan (baked on mud from the Kennedy Development Road!) and cooking a delicious roast.

The following day, we left the park early and heading into Outback at Isa. Joe and Zach had booked into the Hard Times Mine Tour. They got all dressed up in their mining gear and headed off with their tour to discover mining life. They both had a wonderful time and particularly enjoyed going down the shaft, having a go at drilling and using the various mining tools. Meanwhile, Melinda, Joshua and Kaytlin enjoyed venturing around Outback at Isa. Joshua and Kaytlin spent lots of time digging for dinosaur bones and also enjoyed exploring the outdoor park. They also toured the Riversleigh display and learnt more about what life in the region used to be like.

That afternoon, we went driving around the main Mount Isa mine site. We were amazed with how large the site was, as well as its close proximity to the town. Surprisingly enough, we found Isa to be quite a clean town, despite the smoke from the neighbouring mine. In our travels around the mine, we came across a water park, which we found out was called ‘Family Fun Park’. Indeed, it was a wonderful site with a huge array of playground equipment, bbq’s, bike track and of course, the water park. The kids were very excited, so we went back to the park to pick up our swimmers and had a wonderful afternoon. Believe it or not, they were actually quite intrigued by the toilets- a fully automated system- yes- right down to the toilet paper! Of course, the orchestral music that commenced when you first opened the door was a lovely touch too! Upon dusk, we left the park and headed up to the lookout. We got some wonderful pictures as the sun was setting, especially with the mine in the background.

The following morning, we headed to the underground hospital and joined a tour. The hospital was built during WWII after the Japanese bombed Darwin. As Mount Isa was the closest major town to Darwin, it was believed that Isa may very well be next on the hit list. The miners would work a full day in the mines and then come across to help build the tunnels for the hospital. Fortunately, the hospital was never used for its intended purpose.  It was amazing to tour and imagine how people would have felt should the need to use it had arisen. The cottage had a large collection of old hospital instruments and we were all quite fascinated by the items on display.

After packing up the following morning, we decided to head back to the Family Fun Park for a morning play and early bbq lunch. The kids just loved this place and we indeed felt it was one of the best we had seen in our travels so far. We also stopped in at the Tent House, which was part of the original tent city from the early mining days. It was quite interesting to see and we were able to peek through the windows, although it was not open for tours.

We then headed west towards the Northern Territory border.

Happily driving on the completed section of the Kennedy Development Road, we continued south to Winton. Following our theme on the Coolabah tree, our first stop was the Waltzing Matilda centre. Included in the museum is a wonderful diorama with a John Williamson performance of the song. This provided a great learning experience for the kids as they learnt such words as ‘jumbuck’ and ‘trooper’. Zach enjoyed playing through a collection of the some almost 500 recordings of Waltzing Matilda and choosing his favourite versions. The big surprise was the outdoor museum, where we were able to climb aboard an old merry-go-round, train carriages and even some old ford cars. There was a countless array of collectible items from yester-year; history lovers could truly spend the whole day there.

That night, we free camped 4km out of Winton at Long Waterhole and enjoyed a campfire toasting marshmallows on the dried up riverbanks.

The following day, we travelled directly to Longreach to make the 11am show at the Stockman’s Hall of Fame. This was a brilliant show, mixed with humour and real life as a stockman. The highlight of the show was the Stockman bringing in 8 bullocks, joining them into a team and taking them out behind the grandstand to collect a timber log. The team was then guided to bring in the log and load it onto a wagon. Following the show, the kids loved being able to pat the bullocks and have some photos with them. We enjoyed a look around the museum, before heading to the Outback Grill for some delicious burgers. We were very surprised to have a couple of brolgas join us for lunch. They were truly stunning and so tall- towering above Zach!

Heading virtually across the road, we made a visit to the Qantas Founders Museum. It was amazing to walk beneath the wings of a 747 and we booked into tour it the following morning. We enjoyed exploring the museum and Zach completed his first transport assignment on the original Qantas plane. Melinda enjoyed seeing the display of past flight attendant uniforms and revisited childhood memories of first flights! It was great to watch the various model planes flying around the ceiling and the kids liked seeing the old plane parts. We also watched a Flying Doctors plane take off at the neighbouring airport.

That night, we free camped out at the Longreach Waterhole (Apex). It was quite a popular place, though it had little shade and was very dusty. It’s in these places, though, that the real camp spirit comes out. A fellow camper taught us about yabbie pots while another camper pulled out her accordion and played some tunes as the sun set. We were then invited to a campfire with a few other campers and enjoyed sharing stories, as well as sharing around our never ending supply of marshmallows.

The 747 tour the following morning was very interesting and quite surreal. We loved standing inside one of the engine and were amazed when our guide told us that new 380’s have engines that are 3 times the size of the 747. Other highlights were viewing the ‘black boxes’ (which, by the way, are orange!) as well the cockpit and the first class section.

We then drove back towards Winton and went to the Age of the Dinosaurs. Involving 11km of dirt track, the Age of the Dinosaurs in located on a ‘jump-up’ (like a flat mountain) and is a working fossil discovery centre. Our tour starts with the amazing view of Winton, followed by an amazing background to the past history of the area. We then ventured into the working fossil centre and were able to see a number of fossils, how they fit together to produce skeletons of Australian dinosaurs, as well as touch a couple of fossils and some casts. It was a very interesting tour and our guide was so passionate about his work that his enthusiasm was quite catching.

Leaving the jump-up, we slowly made our way down and back into the town of Winton. After making the all-to-common diesel stop, we headed to Arnos’s wall- an incredible concrete with everything INCLUDING the kitchen sink! The kids loved walking along it and spotting all different kinds of objects- it was quite funny, in fact! We then headed to the north area of the town and stopped at the Musical Fence. This was another fantastic use of recycling practice and actually included a drum kit, as well as a couple of other percussive set ups. There was even a boxed supply of rubber, metal and woods sticks for the kids (and us adults) to make wonderful music!

After a busy, jam-packed day, we headed west to our free camp beside the road- Wonoona Downs Rest Area.

After enjoying the morning tour at Paronella Park, we headed south into Outback Queensland. What a change of scenery! The landscape became a lot drier and the dense tropical plants changed to sparse grasslands. We experienced our first road trains- some up to 4 trailers long. With both of us sharing the driving, we soon got used to passing these beasts of the outback.

That night, we stopped at the Oasis Roadhouse, The Lynd. It was a nice little roadhouse, with a trampoline and lovely outdoor eating area. The kids were fascinated by the number of white moths in the bathroom and Kaytlin enjoyed following the pony around.

We wanted to short cut through to Hughenden, rather than take the diversion out to Charters Towers. So based on some local advice, we decided to tackle the Kennedy Development road between The Lynd and Hughenden. We expected to have at least 100km of graded road- but the road proved to be an experience to say the least! 2 water crossings and 4 hours later, we were still going. We would hit a black top section and become excited that ‘we had made it’ through the rough stuff- only to hit the dirt again several km down the track. We learnt later that the worst sections of the road are being tarred first- thus resulting in random black top sections. Needless to say, it was quite an experience with the van and car being covered in mud!

63km north of Hughenden, we pulled into Porcupine Gorge. Porcupine Gorge is nicknamed ‘The Little Grand Canyon’ and truely it was grand. Perhaps not as grand as the American one- but amazing to the say the least.

Arriving into Hughenden, we made a visit to Hughie- the resident Muttaburrasaurus, followed by a trip into the Flinders Discovery Centre. This was a wonderful experience for the kids as they had a whole kids section set up with puzzles, games and dress ups. Apart from the display of fossils, gemstones and minerals, there was also a section on sheep farming.

That night, we stayed at the Allan Terry Caravan Park in Hughenden. The kids enjoyed riding their bikes and we had a lovely bbq in the well-equipped camp kitchen.

The following morning, we went past the Rotunda and made a visit to the Coolabah Tree. This was a great opportunity to break into song with Australia’s unofficial anthem Waltzing Matilda. Continuing past the Flinders river was our first experience with how dry the area is. Whilst this river flows full in the summer wet season, it was simply a big sandpit whilst we were there.

The following morning, the kids decided to re-kindle the fire and proceeded to cook some toast in the embers! Heading south through the Atherton Tablelands, our first stop was Coffee World at Mareeba. Ohhhh- well worth a stop here! Our entry included all-you-can-drink/eat of 21 coffee blends, 4 blends of tea, 12 flavours of chocolate and 4 liquors. Needless to say, we didn’t want to see any more coffee or chocolate by the time we walked out of there! Of course, I have to mention that the museum was one of the best I have seen- even including 5 themed rooms. The kids loved belly dancing in the Arabian room and the Italian section was very quaint! What really impressed us was that the kids were given sheets to complete- Josh and Kaytlin did some wonderful colouring in, while Zach raced around the museum with the self-guide listening device and answered the quiz. We spent at least 3 hours here.

We continued south to the Malanda area and stopped in at Nerada Tea farm and factory. We made it just in time to join the last tour of the day. It was really good to walk through the tea trees and then tour through the factory where they process the tea leaves. We were able to get right up close to the machinery and watch the process; it was quite interesting and we all learnt something new. Indeed, we didn’t really realise the extent involved in producing the tea we purchase at the shops.

We then ventured out of the Atherton Tablelands and headed for Paronella Park, our stop for the night. Paronella Park is located about 20km west of Innisfail. It was built Jose Paronella, a spanish man who worked hard to make a place of paradise for his family. The park features his Spanish castle and what is left of the once elegant ballroom and ice cream parlour. It has grand staircase leading down to a gorgeous picnic area right beside Mena Falls. Further down is a ‘recreation room’ with it’s own electrictric lights and water fountains. Jose powered it off his own hydro- electricity, which he cleverly designed under Mena Falls. As you walk through the grounds, there are meandering pathways through the dense rainforest allowing you to truely immerse yourself in the wonder of the place.

The kids discovered turtles and eals in the lake, as well as a tunnel system and another smaller waterfall.

After we set up, we joined the 6:15 night tour- which was just magical and brought another perspective on the park. The lighting that management has placed throughout the park and waterfall is simpley gorgeous. After the kids went to bed, Melinda even joined the 8:30pm tour for another wander around the park.

Although the park almost went to ruins after Jose death, it is gradually being restored by its new owners. They have now even restored the water power system and the whole park now runs off hydro power. Visiting Paronella has certainly been a highlight of this trip- the park simply captured our hearts. The history and wonder behind this place is truly touching. We joined the night tour, putting another perspective on the park with light and sound. When the kids went to bed, Melinda even joined the late 8:30 tour to enjoy the park a second time.

We had booked in advance (recommended) to stay in the adjacent van park and found that the $90 for our family stay, as well as all night and day tours, was very affordable and truly worth every cent!

Leaving Cairns, we headed up to Hartley’s Croc Farm. We enjoyed many wonderful experiences here and even joined the croc cruise twice! This involved a boat trip around the lagoon, spotting the local crocs and feeding a few some chicken for lunch. The kids were amazed by the loudness of the crocs’ ‘jaw snap’- the sound a croc made when just missing their lunch! We also went on the croc farm tour and learnt how the crocs are breed for export. Kaytlin, who had a developed distaste for crocs thanks to a Putt Putt we went to last year (long running family joke) actually grew to love them and held a croc at any chance she got. We couldn’t resist a number of pics of her with her precious ‘snappy’.

We enjoyed a lovely lunch on the balcony, alongside the crocs in the lagoon. One croc even decided to join us for lunch by snapping up a poor Welcome Swallow dipping down for a drink. Of course, with the circle of life- yes- croc was on the menu. The skewers were delicious and tasted a bit of a cross between chicken and pork.

There were quite a number of experiences that we enjoyed at the park, including a reptile show, cassowary feeding and an interactive centre.

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Heading up to Port Douglas was one of the most stunning drives we have done so far. The road meanders along the coast, with the ocean on one side and the towering Atherton Tablelands on the other. At one of the higher points, we stopped to enjoy the lookout and watch a hang glider enjoy the ocean updraft.

Arriving in Port Douglas, we discovered that the city has quite a number of resorts and upmarket restaurants. With 3 kids in tow, we opted for the shop-in-Coles-dinner-in-the-van option! Later, we enjoyed live music from the local, while we fished off the wharf under the stars. That night, along with some other vanners, we simply free-camped near the wharf area.

The following morning, we headed up into the stunning Daintree Rainforest. Travelling into Daintree Village, we booked a tour on the Crocodile Express down the Daintree River. This was an enjoyable experience as we spotted a number of large crocs on the riverbank, as well as some gorgeous birdlife. The rainforest hanging into the river was so dense and it was great to pull up right next it and learn a bit about the various plant life. Those who were game also had a taste of one of the flowers.

After the cruise, we went back up to the river crossing where those who wish to explore Cape Tribulation take a barge across the Daintree River. Here we joined another Crocodile Express tour for a trip through the mangroves. We chose this company for our Daintree River Cruise because we were able to join both of these cruises for the one price of $60 for the family. The mangroves cruise was really enjoyable and we spotted some more large crocs and well as quite a number of small crocs on the river banks.

We then headed south to Mossman and enjoyed a lovely lunch from the cafe, right under trees covered in…you guessed it…moss! There was also a great park for the kids to play in. Driving to Mossman Gorge, we unhitched the van and drove into the gorge area. We had a gorgeous walk through the rainforest along the board walks, followed by a swim in the fresh cool water of the gorge. We were reminded that we were indeed in the rainforest, when we put our clothes down right next to a rather large spider.

Now that the kids had had their ‘baths’ for the day, we drove up into the Atherton Tablelands and free camped in Mount Molloy at the Rifle Creek Rest Area. This was a lovely spot and we enjoyed a camp fire with toasted marshmallows.

After leaving our Babinda campsite early, we headed into Cairns- our next major destination. We were able to check into our van park- Big 4 Cairns Coconut. Cairns Coconut is renowned for being one of the prime van parks in Australia and boy, was it big! 4 pools, 2 jumping pillows, adventure playground and bike track, water park, 18 hole putt putt and outdoor movies- this place is kids central! Of course, these things don’t come cheap- we are guessing that at $95 a night for our powered site, this would be our dearest van park on the trip.

Once we had set up and threw on the customary loads of washing, we headed into the city centre to meet up with Joe’s parents, who were holidaying in Cairns. It was wonderful to see them again and we enjoyed an afternoon of lounging in their beach side apartment and swimming in the Cairns Lagoon. As the Cairns Festival was on (yey- we made another festival!), we were able to  join in with a steel pans workshop. We had a great time and the boys are now keen to join the steel pan group at their school when we return.

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That night, Samir and Souzy joined us for a BBQ dinner back at the van park and we introduced them to Putt Putt- they are both naturals!

The following morning, we all headed up to Karanda via the scenic railway. It was a lovely trip through the rainforest and it was amazing to go past the Barron Falls. At Karanda, we meandered through the shops and enjoyed mango smoothies and watched some sweet making. You could also visit the butterfly farm and river, but we were all having one of those hot and bothered days! So we joined the skyrail and headed back down the mountain. The Skyrail was absolutely amazing and treks  over 7.5km of rainforest. There are 2 stations to get off at during the journey. At the first stop, we followed a board walk through to a couple of lookouts towards Barron Falls, as well as some hands on interaction at the Rainforest discovery centre. At the second station, we joined a ranger for a short guided walk through the dense rainforest. Coming down the mountain on the final leg of the Sky rail was stunning. Whilst the whole day was on the pricey side, it is quite a unique trip and a must-do when visiting Qld.

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The following day, the 5 of us headed down to the marina and joined a Sunlover cruise out to the Great Barrier Reef. Based on a pontoon out at the reef, we had a wonderful day out. We all had a go snorkelling through the reef, the boys even swimming off by themselves a couple of times. Kaytlin enjoyed the kids pool area and even came out onto the reef with Melinda. She wasn’t  to keen on the snorkel, but used the goggles and flippers a couple of times.

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We saw some amazing coral and huge variety of tropical fish. We also enjoyed a trip on the underwater sub, glass bottom boat and a delicious buffet lunch.  We were really happy that we hired an underwater camera and went to town with it, taking over 300 photos. After returning it, we simply took out the memory card and the photos came with us. That night, we watched the movie ‘Cars’ at the Cairns Coconut outdoor cinema.

On Saturday, we enjoyed a day at the caravan park, swimming in the pools and spending hours at the water park.  Joe’s parents joined us for the day, as well as for a BBQ lunch before they flew back to Sydney in the evening. Tetta even had a go on the jumping pillow!  The kids also enjoyed a ride on the parks’ little red fire engine.  We had a wonderful time in Cairns- a lovely place to visit.