On our way back to the east coast we encountered numerous waterfalls in the Tablelands region, including a nice loop drive near Millaa Millaa named the Waterfalls Circuit with three of them close to the road. The recent rains have added to the water flow, making these worthwhile stops along the way. The Barron Falls were another highlight in Kuranda.......the gorge is stopover point for the scenic railway trip from Cairns and the skytrain (a long gondola ride).
Prior to our waterfall excursions we took in a few other interesting activities. The first was a tour through the Capricorn Caves, some dry caves popular for weddings and bats (hopefully not at the same time). Another was our time in Charters Towers, an old gold mining town inland from Townsville where we ventured to try and escape the coastal rains. While there we visited the Agnes Battery, the original mill where the miners' gold ore was processed. We had a fun and informative time with Malcolm, a volunteer guide who has spent most of his life in the mining industry and had plenty of stories to tell. The Innot Hot Springs, attached to our campground, provided 5 different pools of varying heat and one cold pool.......the water felt good but the whole facility is in need of some TLC.
Two days ago we arrived in Cairns and found a wonderful Caravan Park to stay at....nice, clean and well looked after. While looking for a place to watch the Masters.......difficult when the 'live' broadcast starts at 4 am........we discovered that the TV in our open-air camp kitchen was showing it on a local channel which was a fortunate find for us. With play ending before 10 am it didn't disrupt our daily activities. Yesterday we walked around the harbour in Cairns, a very pretty area with park area along the shore for a couple of kilometres and a huge pool that was crowded with the 30C heat and humidity. After having a seaside lunch we drove over to the Crystal Cascades where a series of small waterfalls created numerous swimming holes and rock slides. We passed on the rock slides and 10 metre jumps but we did pick one pool for a refreshing dip.
Today we are driving one hour north up the coast to Port Douglas where we will hook up with some Cottonwood friends (Lorne & Sharon) who are also vacationing over here. We will spend the day with them exploring the Daintree Rainforest and the Mossman Gorge.
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| Charters Towers - Venus Battery tour with our personal guide, Malcolm |
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| Ellinjaa Falls on the Waterfalls Circuit |
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| Malanda - Curtain Fig Tree |
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| Kuranda - Barron Falls |
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| Cairns - shoreline park public pool |
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| Crystal Cascades - 10 metre jump |
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