Cassowary Falls

Wednesday we took a drive up to the town of Daintree and went for a walk to Cassowary Falls. It was a bit of a rip-off; we had to pay $10 each to walk through private property but the falls were pretty nice and refreshing at the end. 

Indi was happy because there was a horse lazing around the front gate. She named him ‘Fortune’. 

The walk took us through an open paddock along a creek, then through some denser forest where there was a little pool and lots of big rocks

We followed this creek along until we got to Cassowary Falls. It was beautiful and green and cool, and we had it all to ourselves. We all jumped in for a swim. The boys swam all the way across to the waterfall on the other side, but I wasn’t that game! 

Indi taking in the view

Little freshwater Perch came up to greet us

On The Road Again

Well we’ve driven 3000 kilometres north and it’s time to turn around. We are in the car now, heading back down. I’ve been trying to blog almost everyday but we’ve been so busy exploring that by the time we get back to the van we are too buggered to do much other than pour a glass of wine and maybe watch a movie. Since my last post we’ve spent 4 days in Townsville and 8 days exploring Cairns and its surrounds. It’s been absolutely awesome and I don’t want to leave! I’ve got lots of great pictures and funny stories to write about. We’ve got a few big driving days so I’ll be able to write a bit while the kids are sleeping, so stay tuned!  

Beaches and Rainforests

Day 4 and about 1400 kilometres. We’ve seen some beautiful rainforest and beaches already and the weather is so bloody WARM! We’ve been sniggering smarmily because apparently the weather back home is horribly windy and hailing. 

We spent the first night in a caravan park at Woolgoolga. We’d planned on going further but it was getting dark so we pulled into a powered site. The next morning on our way out we took a quick drive up to the headland because Steve hadn’t seen it before. It’s a magnificent view, over 180 degrees; the photos don’t really do it justice.

From Woolgoolga, we headed up to Coolangatta for a quick catch up with my dad. As usual, the Turkish pizza restaurant was delicious and we left there with very full bellies! 

That night we pulled into a free camp area near Landsborough called Jowarra Park. It was really nice and shady with lots of bush turkeys wandering around. We had a little fire there and Steve pulled out his didgeredu for a little play. The next morning we followed a short walking trail through a patch of rainforest  There were some MASSIVE old figs and rose gums. The kids really enjoyed it. I can’t wait until we get up to the Daintree rainforest; they’re going to love it!

This strangler fig looked amazing;

Once the kids had had a bit of a run around, we jumped back in the car and headed towards Noosa, but we ended up at Coolum beach. Not much swell, but the boys went in for a quick surf anyway. The kids also decided that a swim was in order. 

We then drove the coastal road up to Noosa Heads; what a beautiful drive it is too. We’ve been blessed with gorgeous warm sunny weather and the ocean was sparkling azure blue. We had to head into Noosaville to buy a few things for the van; some light globes and a new battery. We had a borrowed one from a mate and it died the night before. Well, we thought it died. Turns out it was just a fuse but we needed to buy our own one anyway. 

We found another free campsite in a small town called Tiaro. It was gorgeous too; right on the banks of a the Mary River and we woke up to the sounds of the bush birds. Steve got up really early this morning to get some sunrise photos and saw a platypus! He didn’t get a picture though because by the time he’d set the lens up properly the little fella had gone. 

The kids had a good morning playing down near the river. 

Now we are back on the road heading toward Yepoon. We’ve decided to get a site in a van park tonight; I need to do some washing and we’re all in desperate need of a shower! 

We're Rolling!

Well, we are on the road! (Literally; I’m typing this from the front seat of the car heading north on the Pacific Highway) Man I’ve been busy; I’ve been trying to sit down and blog all week but there has been so much to do. But it’s been sooooooo fun packing up our little van; I haven’t been able to wipe the grin off my face all week! 

Firstly, thanks to everyone for the recipe ideas; I now have a freezer full of delicious home cooked food ready to heat up in a flash. Tonight it’s chicken and bacon casserole with rice. 

Secondly, we’ve had a last minute change of destination and decided to scrap the Darwin leg of our trip. It turns out that stepson number two, who normally resides in Darwin, is down in Townsville with step son number one doing some kind of ‘war-game’ thing so we can catch up with both of them at the same time.

We were still going to go to Darwin regardless, but when we sat down and wrote down a rough guide to driving times, we realised that we were going to be really rushed. Darwin is another 2500 kms from Townsville, so that would’ve meant 5 days solid driving, but we’d only have had enough time to stay for 3 days before making the 5 day trip home again. Somehow I can’t imagine the kids being too enthusiastic about that! Also, Craig is an interstate truck driver; he drives AT LEAST 5000 kilometres a week. It wasn’t going to be much of a holiday for him.

All is not lost though ... instead we’re going to head further up the QLD coast and spend a week or so exploring Cairns, head out to the Barrier Reef, and take a trip up to the beautiful rainforests of the Daintree. 

So we left home this morning at about 9.00 am, after a rather tumultuous evening of last minute packing and tidying. Our first stop was Hawks Nest, which is only an hour and a half away from home but the boys needed to have a surf (yes, I do mean needed. If they don’t surf they turn into grumpy trolls hehehe). They’ll probably only have three days to surf because there’s not much swell up north. 

It’s a beautiful beach. The kids and I had a walk, run, did cartwheels and just generally mucked about to expend some energy before we got back in the car. It obviously worked, because they are both asleep in the back of the car right now! We collected some awesome shells too so we can do some cool crafts when we get to Townsville.  

We grabbed some lunch at the local bakery, and now we’re doing a couple hours of solid driving. We’re running a bit later than we’d hoped, but hey, it’s OUR holiday so who cares?  Ha ha ha ha! It just means we’ll be setting the van up in the dark when we get to the campground. 

Well, that’s about it for today. Tomorrow we are going to meet up with my dad in Coolangatta and have lunch in this great little Turkish Pizza place that we’ve been going to for years, and then head up to Noosa. Stay tuned! 

Kitchen Goddess

That is what I've been the last few days; cooking up the proverbial storm in anticipation of our trip.

A few months ago I was perusing the shelves in the 'Australian Travel' section of the bookshop for a particular guide that lists all the free and low cost campsites along the major roads throughout Australia. Turned out that the bookshop didn't have it but it became one of those 'Wow right-time-right-place' moments' when I got chatting to a lady also eyeing off travel books. Turned out that she had travelled around Australia twice already, with two little kids in tow and was more than willing to share a few hints, tips and funny stories: 

'Glow sticks! Make sure you get heaps of them and put them around the kids' necks and wrists so you can see them when they're running around at night, which they will do once you hit Darwin because the weather is so bloody awesome and WARM all night, oh and the night time markets make sure you don't miss them they are amazing, oh and ... ' 

LOL! She just got me so KEEN to travel!

Anyway ... (I have a habit of trailing off mid-post don't I? LOL!) She was telling me how they took an extra freezer in their van and cooked enough meals for a few weeks, froze them flat and then just pulled one out and re-heated it at dinner time. Great thinking!

Craig needed a new fridge for his truck anyway so this week we went and bought one. Good timing because we got it at a discounted price and a sh*tload of useful free stuff with it!
So it's just been cooking cooking cooking. I've been chucking dinner in the slow cooker of a morning and then proceed chop, fry, blend and stir. One big pot of bolognaise, a wok-full of green curry chicken and vegies, and I'm about to embark on some rissoles ...  

Anyone got other recipe ideas? I reckon I can fit about 20 meals in the freezer so let's brainstorm some delicious home cookin' peoples! 

Alternative Suburbia Hits The Road!

Thats right folks; in three weeks we're grabbing the kids, the surfboards, a guitar, a ukulele, a didgeredoo and our best mate Steve, and packing up the little Jayco to head north for a month-long road trip!

The excuse for the journey: My two eldest stepsons are in the army; one is posted at Darwin in the Northern Territory and the other at Townsville in Queensland.
So our plan is to travel up the East Coast to Townsville over four, maybe five days. This is about 2100 kms from our home on the NSW Central Coast (about half way between Sydney and Newcastle on the map). We'll spend three or four days there with Scott (eldest stepson), and then we'll head over and up to Darwin--another 2500 kms-- to spend a few days with Zach (second eldest stepson). We haven't decided whether to head back to the coast or take the inland route home.

Needless to say, I'm very excited! I spent a short but memorable part of my childhood travelling around this country and I'm so happy that now we have the opportunity to do it with our own kids, even if it's only for a month. Not only that ... I get to leave behind our daytime temperatures of 18 degrees celcius to bask in Darwin's balmy 33 degrees celcius. 

So has anyone travelled this route before? Any hints and tips? Must see places? I'd love to hear your stories.

Otherwise, stay tuned and live vicariously! 

Our new caravan

Well after months of searching and researching, we found a nice little van for ourselves.
It goes from this ... 

to this ...

 

with a minimal amount of effort. Well, about the same amount of effort as it took to set up the tent. 

It's very roomy inside,with a double bed at each end, a U-shaped lounge (that converts to another bed) and seats and a table for four (that also convert to another bed!). It also has a 90L fridge, sink and a two burner gas stove. 

We need to do a few things to it; firstly we want it to be self-sufficient power-wise, so that we aren't reliant on powered sites at caravan parks. It has a small 12v system at the moment, just enough to run the two internal lights and a maybe a portable dvd player but we are looking at getting a bigger battery and wiring the whole thing to charge off the alternator. 

Our first real trip will be up the coast in the April school holidays. After that we will do a month long trip; all the way up to Darwin to visit stepson #2 in the army, then across to Townsville to visit stepson #1 and back home down the coast. 

Oh I can hardly wait! Meanwhile, I'm having lots of fun setting it up inside like a little home, scrounging around the thrift shops for bits and pieces of kitchenware, and lurking around 4WD and camping websites and forums online.