Today was spent emptying and cleaning car interiors then packing all the camping gear we would need for the next 8 days on the Cape. We met a guy called Tim who had just arrived back and he gave us some detailed info on the best and most scenic way to drive up.

Branch decided it was time to install the Well’s new microwave as Rosie was sick of looking at the empty space – Macgyver was enlisted to do the heavy work…

It was hot and dirty work so Branch took a break and swum in the only safe watersource in Lakeland – Lake Wells (aptly named by Gordie – who also had a paddle!!) – it was a mysterious lake that had appeared overnight near the Wells van…

There was also a gas issue with the Pearl that Branch covertly attended to – or did he cause the leak in the airbags????

The day was perfect for scone baking so the Bottomless Barista who apparently is also a scone-baking diva whipped up a batch of sultana scones to rival Ellenbrae’s legendary scones. Everyone took a break and had afternoon tea – the leftover scones were donated to Tim and his family in thanks for all their helpful Cape trip tips!

Unfortunately tragedy struck when the Bottomless Barista sustained a life-threatening (or so he thought) burn to his finger during the scone-making process…. Branch was no where in sight as he had just prescribed a teaspoon of cement for the poor Barista in the hope he would harden up!!

It was time to start heading north so we left Cairns and drove to Palm Cove for morning tea and a quick look around. The area was pretty but very “touristy” – we enjoyed a coffee opposite the beach and then continued on towards Lakeland our next stop.

The drive up the coast was beautiful and so we stopped a couple of times to put up the drone and take some pictures of the amazing coastline where the rainforest meets the ocean

The view from Rex Lookout was spectacular and the clear sunny day provided a great opportunity for some lovely photos.

We continued up past sugar cane farms and then turned inland driving up the mountain range towards Mount Molloy. The road was steep and very windy but lined with rainforest it proved an interesting drive.

At Mt Carbine we stopped to grab some awesome homemade pies at the roadhouse for lunch.

Continuing on to Lakeland the landscape changed from rainforest to wooded savannah and dry creek beds after we crossed the mountain range.

A willy-willy crossed the road at one point….

Arriving at Lakeland before sundown, we put on a roast pork for a communal dinner and sat around discussing the next leg of our journey – Cape York. There were a few families who arrived back in to the caravan park having just driven the Cape so the guys were able to get some very helpful tips and updates on road conditions and places to see and stay….should be an awesome adventure!!

The day for traveller’s maintenance had arrived now we were just over half way through the Wild Adventure.

Nikki from Cairns Mobile Hairdressing was booked to arrive at 9AM and so the guys had planned to get some jobs done around the caravans much to Branch’s delight as things had been a little quiet as the investigation into the Poonami had stalled…. Key witnesses had indicated that the offensive flood had occurred in the larger of the Snowy vans but the owners had attempted to keep ii under wraps (or would that be towels???)….the main issue seemed to be the cleaning fetish which saw a hose used to flush out the contaminated substance from the cassette cavity inadvertently flush it all into the said van…nasty!!

Macgyver tightened some screws and hinges in his own abode with Branch’s help while Dave took another trip to Bunnings for some parts….

Nikki arrived on the dot of 9 and the open air hairdressing begun! Nikki had lived in Cairns most of her life and had some interesting info and facts to share about the area.

She did a great job on all 3 girls’ hair and then Gordie decided he needed a tidy-up as well so Nikki gave him a haircut and beard trim which he was really happy with. If you need a mobile hairdresser in Cairns we would recommend Nikki – a great service reasonably priced!

Meanwhile Rosie had discovered an unusual issue under the Well’s bed – the bed base had partially pulled out from the head of the bed – again potentially due to lots of vibrations much to Branch (and others) amusement….Macgyver, Gordie and Branch inspected the damage. Various theories were put forward including heavy luggage packed under the bed may have been banging back and forth against the cabinetry causing the screws to loosen, and it was noted that one of the gas struts was bent now maybe putting pressure on the whole thing…. Needless to say Dave had now arrived back to discover the inspectors at work and he then went back out to Bunnings to buy a replacement strut while Macgyver et al got to work.

The next job to tackle was the Well’s water inlet so Macgyver and Branch got to it – a simple job putting in the plumbing fitting Dave had bought from Reece Plumbing yesterday….but nothing is ever simple. The fitting was installed and all appeared fine until it was tested with the caravan pump on – and water was pumping back out the one way valve…had Macgyver made an error and put the fitting on backwards????

Alas no – after troubleshooting the issue it was identified that the part was faulty….and on old mate across the way had had the very same issue with the same part he had replaced just the other day….so back out Dave went to get a replacement for the faulty part from Reece Plumbing. It turned out that the part was incorrect – not what he needed as it was too high a pressure – after being given the correct parts required, Dave returned and finally Macgyver fixed the inlet – now the Wells are back on tap.

We made some lunch after the works were complete and then went into Cairns itself as Kerry and Gordon had to sort out their phone issues. Kerry’s phone had been possessed by a little green gremlin who was doing weird updates and she could no longer use it so had to buy another phone and Gordie’s battery was playing up….technology!!!!

While they were sorting their tech issues and having a pedicure (Kerry that is!) we looked around the foreshore of Cairns. The town has beautiful tree filled streets and a great swimming pool right on the beach – which is great seeing swimming in the ocean here is risky with crocs and stingers frequenting the area.

After browsing around we all left and drove out to have a look at Yorkey’s Knob – Rose and Dave decided to head back to the caravan park to see if their parts that Amber-Jane from Snowy River had posted to them had arrived at the office – much to Rosie’s delight!

Yorkey’s Knob was a picturesque beach but the wind was whipping up the waves – Trev and Gordie contemplating a surf…. But not to be…the murky waters hide nasty beasts and the waves were tiny…

Driving home the sun was going down and the cloud formations were stunning…

Sunset on another beautiful day….

It was great to see the sun shining as we got up this morning as we had planned to take the Skyrail cable car up to Kuranda to see the rainforest, Barron Falls and the markets at Kuranda.

Although it was busy when we arrived at the terminal at 915 we managed to get on the Skyrail fairly quickly and began the journey up the mountain.

The view over Cairns in the morning light was really beautiful – the cable car gave you a great perspective of the area.

The rainforest is one of the oldest in the world and is heritage listed. We got off at the first stop – Red Peak – and did the rainforest walk through a truly spectacular section full of fantastic specimens of trees such as figs, palms and kauris as well as birdsnest ferns, cycads and orchids in abundance.

Barron Falls was the next stop – absolutely stunning scenery again despite the fact that the falls were not raging as they do just after the wet. It was not hard to imagine how spectacular they would be when torrents of water were flowing over them.

As we marvelled at the falls, a bloke next to us turned to Trev and asked him if he was a “shire boy”…sure enough he had recognised Trev as they went to the same school and played comp volleyball on the same team back then….he now lives in Engadine and his mate that was with him was born in Helensburgh….such a small world!!

We then continued on to Kuranda where we browsed the markets and had coffee with Rose and Dave who caught up to us after their plumbing shopping spree in the morning.

Kuranda was full of a variety of market stalls and souvenir shops – mostly tacky Aussie souvenirs made in China – very few local products which was a shame. We scored a bottle of special sauce for Gordie……

Lunch at the pub at Kuranda was delicious then we hopped back on the Skyrail for the trip back down the mountains…beautiful scenery all around!!

That afternoon we drove to Lake Placid just near our caravan park – and watched ducks surfing the rapids..

A bit further away was Barron Gorge through which the Barron River flows. We drove into the gorge national park and as far as the hydroelectric plant. The rainforest grew down the cliff-like mountainsides on either side of the gorge and small creeks and waterfalls tumbled into the river.

The Barron River was full of rapids and Surprise Creek waterfall was cascading down into the Barron River near the hydroelectric plant.

We watched as some intrepid tourists commenced their “shoot the rapids” journey down the Barron River….there was not a lot of water in the river but enough to still paddle downstream…it was not hard to imagine how torrential the river would be during the wet season.

Back at camp Macgyver swung into action as Dave had managed to source the correct plumbing fittings to fix the water inlet in the Wells’ Snowy….. Branch was glad of the distraction as there had not been much action lately.

The new microwave had arrived as well so Rosie was pleased that Branch and Macgyver were doing the installation (while certain others beer in hand looked on!!).

Dinner was had at the Jade Chinese Restaurant as Gordie was having Chinese food withdrawal symptoms not having had Chinese since we left Sydney.

Back at camp we presented him with his gift from Kuranda – Chilli Willie’s “Blurter Hurter” sauce…..watch the blog for the effects….

Sunday morning – at a beautiful free camp site – we awoke to bright blue cloudless skies and a day that was heating up fast. After brekky we had a coffee and listened to the next sermon on Daniel 11 – one instalment left to go! Everyone got a great encouragement from God’s Word reminding us that everyone needs Christ and now is the time to seek Him….

A couple of wild ducks wandered up from the creek for a feed…obviously aware that campers are a great source of food as they were completely unafraid. Rosie could not resist sacrificing a couple of Weetbix for the cause!!

We left the camp and drove through Ravenshoe on to Atherton. The weather changed remarkably quickly as did the landscape. From dry, arid land with clear blue sky to foggy wet green forests in a matter of kilometres.

The area was very fertile with rolling hills of farmland, sugarcane, macadamia nuts and mango tree plantations.

At Atherton we stopped for “coffee after coffee” -a Sunday tradition – and then drove on to Cairns to Lake Placid Tourist Park where we were booked in for 3 nights.

The drive through Atherton tablelands and down the escarpment was beautiful – amazing tropical rainforest…

The caravan park was right near Lake Placid and Trev and Gordie luxuriated in the thick green grass the like of which we had not seen for more than 2 months.

Everyone needed to get supplies from the shops so Bunnings and Coles were patronised by all…..

The tour of the Undara lava tubes was booked for 8AM so we got up early and packed up as we would need to leave the resort by 1030 – the tour returned at 10AM.

The Undara lava tubes are the largest in the world as far as it is known – none larger have been discovered at this point in time. This area of north Queensland was very volcanic with over 170 volcanoes active thousbads of yeasr ago. The Undara volcano was not a tall volcano but had a prolonged eruption with huge lava flows that were very hot and fluid. This meant that they flowed a great distance and as the outer layer cooled and hardened the inner lava was still molten and continued to flow creating the tubes as we saw today. Some areas of the tubes have collapsed in creating a microclimate area of moisture loving plants which can be seen on aerial shots – these pics showed the extent of the different lava tube systems flowing from Undara. The areas that have not collapsed are now the lava tube caves, a couple of which we visited on our tour.

There was a huge archway of rock at the entrance to the first cave which was the result of a collapse either side leaving the archway intact. You could clearly see the individual pieces of basalt that made up the archway which was enormous…

The interior of the tube was spectacular with volcanic rock of differing colours and mineral deposits forming down the surfaces of the walls. Tree roots penetrated in and there was a colony of small microbats which lived in the caves.

We visited 2 caves – unbelievably big lava tubes – and marvelled at how they were formed and were still intact in areas…

After the tour we left Undara and Trev and I went to the Kalkarni crater for a look and to fly the drone for some aerial shots. Kalkarni was another volcano near to Undara and the crater was impressive. All the volcanos in this area are now extinct.

Back on the road we all continued on to Mt Garnet for lunch – and stopped at the local fete where we bought some locally baked goods and a traditional sausage sanga and chips!

You know you are getting on when you need to use 2 pairs of glasses to check out your mobile phone….

We continued on and stopped briefly to look at Innot Hot Springs – not very impressive or swim-worthy in comparison to Mataranka/ Bitter Springs but the coffee from the local café went down well!!

Archer Creek free camp was only 12 kms from Innot Hot Springs so we arrived there early in the afternoon and set up. Rosie had her usual cleaning frenzy – how many different cleaning positions are there??

Gordie took the quick-clean way and utilised MacGyver’s blower…while MacGyver had a chat with the neighbours and the blog was in production….

The creek was running and Gordie and Trev jumped in – the water was VERY refreshing!!!

Pushbikes were put into gear to collect firewood (??? Not sure this was the best method – Gordie had a close encounter with a 5 ft brown snake and he and Trev looked precarious bringing wood back riding one handed along the highway!!)

We had dinner around the campfire – fantastic – free camping does not get much better than this!

Today’s journey was not a particularly long one so we took it easy. We left Cobbold Gorge and drove out along the dirt road – the last time for the vans on dirt!! There are literally hundreds of cattle congregating in groups throughout this whole area and they  are totally unafraid of cars – we passed one nibbling a bush at the grid on the road – she did not blink an eye as we squeezed past!

Back on the highway we drove on to Mt Surprise over river beds with some water evident in them. It was interesting to hear at Cobbold Gorge that they get their water from the Robinson River – at the moment it looks like a dry sandy bed but they have a pumping system that accesses the water below which is still running at about 20 feet below the surface!

Mt Surprise held no surprises…

quite a few road trains stopped along the road – the Pearl was dwarfed by one…

we grabbed a coffee and sat in the shade – and a bloke whose name was Lester came over and sat down for a chat. He was a local and told us a lot about himself and his life….Gordie got the opportunity to share his faith with him as he was having a difficult time having just lost his brother 3 weeks ago. We left him with a Bible and some reading material, and then Gordie prayed with him before we got back on the road…. Maybe this brief encounter will be used by God to change this man’s life!

Arriving at Undara we checked in, went for a swim in the pool….

The local wallaroos were enjoying the green patch of grass next to the pool…

Gordie had to adopt an unusual swimming style to keep his arm dry as the toilet roll holder wound was still healing…much to Kerry’s concern as he had a lot of trouble keeping it clean and dry as he could not resist any opportunity to get into the water!!

The property has been owned by the Collins family for 6 generations. When the lava tubes were discovered and the significance o them understood, the Collins family who were cattle farmers, also started a tourist business using old railway carriages bought in the 1980s for over 1.5 million dollars which they turned into accommodation and facilities.

The buildings were amazing and the whole place was very well designed and kept. That night we ate dinner in the railway carriage restaurant – very enjoyable although some could not resist their technology….must have been having withdrawals!!!

It had been so cold overnight – unusual for us – that we were up early. The plan for the morning was to buy fossicking licences and go down to Agate Creek to fossick for agates, thundereggs and other semiprecious stones found in the area.

Rose and Dave, Trev and I drove out while the Hunters enjoyed a relaxing morning at the campsite. Along the dirt road and out to the designated fossicking area near Agate Creek we passed a few road trains again – the road here seems quite busy despite it’s remoteness. The landscape was relatively green with gums, spinifex, acacias and grevilleas spread out across rolling hills with rocky quartz outcrops.

The area was once the location of volcanic activity hence the presence of thundereggs and other semiprecious stones.

After locating the fossicking area we spent the next 2 hours combing the dry creek beds and washouts for potential thundereggs, agate and other colourful stones. We all found few stones to take home – a couple may be agate and one looks like a thunderegg but we will need to get it cut open to reveal what is inside.

We raced back to camp to have a quick lunch and start the gorge tour. The tour guide drove us all in via small 4WD buses to the start of the gorge – about a 10 minute drive from the campground

Cobbold Gorge was only discovered in 1992 by the station owner’s son and a couple of mates. It is a narrow gorge filled with water that runs all year round fed by a spring – the creek runs along a narrow fissure which has now been eroded into the gorge it is today.

The gorge is quite unique in its appearance and structure – the smooth rock lining its edges having been polished by the rushing water and debri during the wet season when it is impossible to get in to see the gorge.

We cruised up and back through the narrow passage, the boat at some points just fitting thought between the walls of the gorge. A lone freshie was sunning itself on the bank and the water was full of fish.

It was quiet and serene moving slowly along the creek and the whole gorge area was stunning with amazing rock formations of all shapes and colours.

After the cruise our guide took us on a walk to the cliff above the gorge for a view over the gorge and countryside. Along the way he pointed out many plants used as bush tucker and medicinal purposes as well as native bees, termites and fauna such as walleroos – all very interesting and informative.

The Three Amigos enjoyed the view from the high point above the gorge!

The group was then bussed back to camp and Gordie, Trev and I were then taken back to do the stand up paddleboard along the gorge. Kerry, Dave and Rosie had elected to stay back at camp and relax.

There was only a small group of 6 paddling SUPs along the gorge – it was a fantastic experience to get up close to the massive rock face and paddle along the clear calm water of the gorge. We all managed to stay upright the whole journey bar one man who whilst trying to pass his camera to his wife lost his balance and went into the creek!!

We really enjoyed the SUP tour – and once back at camp jumped into the infinity pool for a quick dip followed by spag bol for dinner kindly cooked by Rosie – delicious!!

Everyone was up relatively early packing up to drive to Cobbold Gorge today – approximately 460kms – the last 70k was back on the dirt…..

At Normanton Gordie wanted to check out the Gulflander train that was parked in town when we arrived – unfortunately it had left…

As we were driving along the road out of Normanton we saw the Gulflander travelling close to the road and so we drove ahead, stopped and got some great photos – Gordie was so excited!! The Gulflander is a service that runs between Normanton and Croydon – very quaint train.

The road between Normanton and Georgetown was sealed the whole way but quite a few sections were single lane meaning pulling over into the dirt to allow road trains to pass…..

The landscape initially was dry savannah but the further from Normanton we went the greener the landscape became…. we even saw mango plantations despite the fact that many of the rivers still appeared dry.

We stopped at Georgetown to make lunch and then continued out to Cobbold Gorge along the dirt road –

….several road trains passed us as the area has many stations so cattle are transported out by the large cattle trucks 3-4 car road trains. There is also a lot of mining in the area and so road trains carrying minerals and ore are also frequent.

The Wells were travelling blissfully unaware that Rosie had left the water pump and power on in the van after lunch and their water was pumping out via the kitchen sink tap which swung on while on the dirt road.

We pulled in to Cobbold Gorge to check in and Dave waited in the car – while sitting there an old couple came upand asked him did he know he had water dripping out the back of the van…poor Dave had dejavu – he immediately thought that Macgyver’s repair had failed…but when he went out to inspect he found it was dripping out the greywater pipe…..and found that the kitchen tap was running as was the pump…and now they had lost a tank of water….again!!

Branch missed this instalment of the Well’s Watergate affair as he was investigating a mysterious report of a “poonami” in an unnamed Snowy River van which involved a leaky toilet cassette, dump point and flush out flooding the van needing all beachtowels to soak it up…..when, where and how did this happen??? All will be revealed I am sure when Branch’s full investigation is complete.

Cobbold Gorge Resort was beautifully set up with an infinity pool, lagoon with canoes, open air bar and restaurant and large sites.

We set up camp and booked our gorge tours for tomorrow afternoon as all morning tour were full. The campsites were all pebbles, quartz and various mineral rocks sourced from the local area – a great change from red dirt/ dust we have been used to!

The wind howled all night and we awoke with it still howling…so no cruises today – a great disappointment as that was the main reason to visit Karumba….

However you never know what a day may bring….a quick Google found the Les Wilson Barramundi Discovery Centre located in the heart of Karumba and so after gaining some local intel we decided to ride our bikes into the town along a track through the wetlands.

This meant a furious cleaning frenzy to get the bikes up to speed as they were caked with layers of red dust…

Dave’s bike had a puncture so Branch grabbed Macgyver and they quickly replaced the inner tube and we were all on our way.

The ride was initially slow as about 1.5k into the journey Dave’s front tyre went down again -fortunately Gordie had a puncture repair kit and so we were on the road in no time.

Gordie had a moment of confusion and sped past in the wrong section with the potential to cause havoc (what’s new??)

The wetlands were pretty dry at this time of year but it was not hard to imagine it flooded during the wet.

Arriving at Karumba town the Wells made a beeline for the hardware store to pick up a sink plug to replace the one that had lost its screw down the plughole plus an variety of bits and pieces – everyone also bought some more duct tape as we still had some dirt roads to come and supplies had been exhausted.

The port of Karumba was an interesting place- mining exports, live cattle and also seafood are shipped from here. Karumba was almost completely wiped out by the floods of cyclone Wanda in 1974 – the whole town was evacuated to Weipa and a few streets were 20 foot under water!!

We rode on to the Barramundi Discovery Centre and enjoyed a delicious lunch of Barra and chips at the Café there. Here they actually farm barramundi and replenish a variety of locations for the fishos.

Gordie and Trev tried their hand at Barra fishing with some success – that fish looks very similar!!??!!

The exhibits were fantastic – really well done – with live specimens of fish as well as a blue crayfish…

After spending some time at the centre we rode back to the caravan park for a swim and quiet afternoon before heading down to the tavern to watch the sunset.

A kilo of prawns for dinner went down well and finished off our time in Karumba…back on the road tomorrow.