Gold Coast, Qld

12-21 September 2016

SkyPoint Observation Deck

SkyPoint Observation Deck

Southport

Dreamworkd – Tower of Terror

Dreamworld – Mick Doohan’s Motocoaster

Dreamworld – Can’t keep him from the firetruck

Dreamworld – Brock’s Garage

Dreamworld – Tail spin

Dreamworld – Which one’s the ogre?

Dreamworld – Meeting a 9 month old tiger

Dreamworld – White Tigers

Dreamworld – Having a ball

Dreamworld – Caught

Dreamworld – Thirsty work

Dreamworld – Tiger leap

Movie world – Doomsday Destroyer

Movie world – Greem Lantern

The Gold Coast was pretty much all about the theme parks, Shane was in his element.  We did go to the SkyPoint Observation Deck, 77 floors above Surfers Paradise, an amazing view of this extremely built up area.

We went to Movie World the most times as they had the most extreme rides.  The first ride we went on was Superman Escape which launches onto the roller coaster going from zero to 100km/h in 2 seconds.  After this ride Tina decided that she didn’t like these extreme rides anymore so Shane went on all the others rides on his own, his favourite was Arkham Asylum which has 5 inversions and pulls 4.2G.

Dreamworld also had some great rides, here Tail Spin was Shane’s favourite, each rider was in control of their own plane and could make it rotate 360º, most people were just flying normally whereas Shane’s plane was spinning madly.  Tiger Island was closed for renovations the first time we went but we were still able to get close to one of the 9 month old tiger cubs and get a pat.  We did go back once Tiger Island had opened where Shane managed to get a great series of photos of a tiger leaping into the pool.

Wet n Wild which was good fun although it would have been nicer if it was a warmer day.  It was hard work too, all the water slides are getting higher and higher which makes for a lot of stairs to climb to get to the top.

Maroochydore, Qld

9-12 September 2016

Maroochydore Beach

Watching the sun set

Paynter River with the caravan park in the background

Kondalilla Falls

Python

Lookout

Our only plan for our stay in Maroochydore was to do a whale swim but unfortunately the weather was against us and the trip was cancelled, there had been 2m swells and they hadn’t been out all week.  We have re-booked for later in the month so fingers crossed when we come back the weather will be better.

We went for a drive into the hills to Montville, a beautiful little village with an amazing view.  First stop was Kondalilla Falls, as we were walking to the falls we saw a python climbing a tree next to the track, it was fascinating to watch as it curled around the tree gradually moving its body further up the trunk.  We had lunch in Montville then walked through the shops most of them filled with yummy things to eat, we had to visit Fudgyboombahs because of the brilliant name but then were tempted by the array of flavours of fudge and nougat so had to buy some.  The Clock Shop was an interesting visit filled with hundreds of cuckoo and grandfather clocks.

Hervey Bay, Qld

6-9 September 2016

Fraser Island

Whale watching

Whale watching

Spy hop

Whale tail

Breach

Beach

Sunset

Sunset

It was a relaxing stay in Hervey Bay, the park we were in was right on the beachfront so we had plenty of walks along the beach and foreshore.  With it being so well know for whale watching we were surprised that we couldn’t see whales from the shore and then when we did go out whale watching it was over 30 minutes before we reached the area where they start looking for whales, although we did enjoy the morning tea they served on the way.  We saw a few different pods of whales.  A mum and calf spent quite a while swimming around the boat.  A couple of pods also met up close by to the boat and there were a couple of breaches.  At one point there were 3 whales going from one side of the boat to the other, rolling over and spy hopping just a few metres from the boat, we got wet a few times when they took a breath.  One young male stayed with us for ages and we weren’t sure who was watching who at that point.  Finally after a few great hours with the whales it was time to head back.

Heading for Hervey

3-6 September 2016

Cape Palmerston

Cape Palmerston

Tannum Sands

Bundaberg Distillery

Bundaberg Rum

Bundaberg Rum

Distillery and Sugar Mill

It was a fairly quick run down from Mackay to Hervey Bay with 3 one nighters along the way.  Not far from Mackay we did the tour of Sarina Sugar Shed where they demonstrate the sugar making process which was very interesting and we got to taste lots of their products.  From there it was on to Cape Palmerston with a great spot close to the beach.

The following day we headed on to Tannum Sands near Gladstone, another nice spot over the road from the beach, so we had a long walk ending up with a drink at a place overlooking the water.

Last stop was the long awaited Bundaberg, first up was a tour of The Barrel showing how the Bunderberg soft drinks are brewed and we tasted all 14 different flavours.  We also did the Bundaberg Rum Distillery tour which is the best tour we have done so far.  They take you through the whole distillery, we had a look at a 5 million litre molasses well, then walked through the distillery and into a huge barrel leading into a room with an amazing display of all of the different varieties of Bundaberg rum.  Afterwards we could choose a sample of rum and a liqueur from all of their different varieties.  There are 3 different liqueur flavours and we each tried a different one, both were so nice that we had to try the 3rd flavour as well to make sure we bought a bottle of the best one.  The Salted Caramel was the stand out.

Mackay, Qld

31 August-3 September 2016

Araluen Cascades – Finch Hatton Gorge

Finch Hatton Gorge

Wheel of Fire – Finch Hatton Gorge

Wheel of Fire – Finch Hatton Gorge

Skink

Pathway to Sky Window lookout

Sky Window Linkout

We spent 3 nights in Mackay at a great spot right on the beach at Blacks Beach Holiday Park, we even had a sea view out of the caravan windows.  Our main outing was to Finch Hatton Gorge, the walking trails weave through the sub-tropical rainforest first leading to Araluen Cascades with some crystal clear pools amongst the granite boulders.  Further along the track we had to cross the creek, luckily we managed to hop across some rocks and logs without having to get our feet wet.  After climbing more than 300 stairs we finally reached Wheel of Fire waterfall, another beautiful waterfall with a large rock pool at its base.  While Shane was taking photos Tina cooled her feet in the freezing water.  On the way back we spotted a skink peeking out of a log.  We also stopped at Sky Window lookout which has a walkway through the lush rainforest to a lookout with expansive views across Eungella National Park and Pioneer Valley.

 

Townsville, Qld

26-31 August 2016

View from Castle Hill

View from Castle Hill

Freshwater Lagoon

Long Swamp

Koala

Koala

Koala

The Forts

View from the Forts

View from the Forts

Horseshoe Bay

Olive-Backed Sunbird

Allied Wallaby

Allied Wallaby – Chillin

We were staying just over the road from the beachfront of Rowes Bay so we had lots of walks along there, one evening we went out for what we thought was going to be a short walk and ended up walking for over an hour, it was so nice that we just kept going.

We weren’t energetic enough to walk to the lookouts at the top of Castle Hill, a massive pink granite monolith but we must have passed hundreds of people as we drove up, it would be a serious workout.  It is an amazing view from the top with numerous lookouts so there are spectacular 360° views across the city and Magnetic Island.

We took the ferry over to Magnetic Island, just a short 20 minute trip. Our first stop was to do the Forts walk which leads to historic WWII fortifications and infrastructure. It sounded like a nice walk but another reason for picking it was because koalas are often seen in the trees along the track.  It was a slow walk at first as we were searching all the trees along the track, it didn’t take too long for us to spot one in a tree just off the side of the track, the first wild koala we have ever seen. Not far along was another one, this time on a tree right next to the track. The forts were impressive perched on top of some huge boulders, with magnificent views of the neighbouring bays and across to the mainland.  From there we cut across an old unmarked track towards Horseshoe Bay finding another koala just a couple of metres above the track.  We had lunch overlooking Horseshoe Bay then headed back to the ferry terminal.  There was some time to kill before the next ferry so we wandered along a path to the sea wall protecting the small harbour and found a group of Allied wallabies that seemed to be living in the rocks making up the sea wall.

Not far from where we were staying was Town Common Conservation Park, as we were driving past the wetlands there were hundreds of magpie geese and brolga.  We stopped for a walk that had a few bird hides overlooking Freshwater Lagoon but unfortunately there were no birds there, the most animals we could see were about 20 green tree frogs that were huddled inside the bird hide!

Ingham, Qld

24-26 August 2016

Falls from the lookout

Falls from the lookout

Base of the falls

Despite being the tallest single-drop waterfall in Australia we had never heard of Wallaman Falls before. They are close to Ingham so we spent a couple of nights there.  It was another steep and winding road to get up to the lookouts which provide a view of Stony Creek as it plunges 268m to the pool below.  From there we walked the steep track down to the base of the falls, a tough walk but worth it for a close up view of the thundering falls.  On the slow slog back up the track Tina almost stepped on a snake that was just moving from the rock that she was about to step on, the closest she has ever come to a wild snake but thankfully it was the tail end!

Paronella Park, Qld

23-24 August 2016

Mena Creek Falls

Mena Creek Falls

Grand Staircase

The Avenue

The castle

Gravity fed fountains

The castle

Hungry turtles

Water dragon

Illuminated castle

Paronella Park is an unusual place, built beside the impressive Mena Creek Falls are the remains of a Spanish castle, picnic areas, tennis courts, bridges and a tunnel that were created back in the 30’s. Unfortunately after floods, cyclones and a fire it was all abandoned for many years. The current owners purchased it in 1993 and are trying to maintain and preserve it.
The entry fee includes a night in the on site caravan park which meant we were able to visit the park pretty much whenever we wanted.  During a day tour we were told the history and how it was created by the Paronella family, wandering around afterwards we found a spot on the river with lots of hungry turtles climbing over each other to get to the fish food we were given, there were also some decent sized fish and a couple of big eels.   In the evening we did another tour where the main features in the park are illuminated. After the tour we had a short walk to the Mena Creek tavern for a good meal although we had to use a suspension bridge spanning the top of the falls which was a little rickety especially after a drink!

Henrietta Creek, Qld

22-23 August 2016

Silver Creek Falls

Nandroya Falls

Nandroya Falls

Nandroya Falls

Nandroya Falls & lower falls

Lower falls

In Wooroonooran National Park is Henrietta Creek campground, a small campground with just 10 sites on the edge of the rainforest.  From there we walked to Nandroya Falls passing the 10m high Silver Creek Falls on the way.  The track was so muddy with some sections really dug up.  Nandroya Falls drop in a narrow 50m fall from sheer cliffs surrounding a pool that then drops over a wide fern lined step. We took the longer circuit track back which follows the creek. Along the way we saw a good-sized snake sunning itself just off the side of the track, as soon as Shane tried to get a bit closer it took off quick smart.
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