Day 50 (6 September) – Cairns
A really quiet day unpacking, putting things away after the trip and generally catching up on admin and news (as mentioned in Week 7).
We went to the Cairns Aquarium in the afternoon, picked up Lyn’s new glasses and then back to the motorhome.
I checked some options and then booked a trip to Kuranda by the Scenic Heritage train from Cairns Central Station with a return by Skyrail to Smithfield, then bus back to the station.
Dinner at Splash again where we related our trip North to the waitresses – Angela, Sarah and Chi . Another really good meal and a walk along the foreshore after dinner before returning to the motorhome via the Cairns Central station to check on parking for the next morning.
Day 51 (7 September) – Cairns
Up relatively early for a 07:30 departure to the Cairns Central train station. We arrived at the station around 07:35 and had to wait around for the station to open. We got our seats – Car 2 seats 13 & 14 – by email just after 07:45 and had to wait on the station until they opened the carriages at around 08:20. They were fairly good seats in the carriage second from the front (hence Car 2). I was surprised at how loud the whistle was and how often it was used as it was blown each time we approached a level crossing. We travelled through residential and industrial areas before arriving at Freshwater station where the train took on lots of new passengers. The train travelled slowly up the mountain and we were told the gradient was 1 in 15 in parts. Fortunately, there were 2 locomotives for the 15 passenger cars being pulled up the mountain.
A couple of stops on the way up with some spectacular views. We had some great views of the main railway bridge and some small water falls before seeing the magnificent Barron Falls.
On arrival at the top, we spent a couple of hours walking around Kuranda, having lunch and visiting a number of shops before heading to the Skyrail station for our trip back to Cairns. We found a seat made from railway track – I think James could make one of these for Wren and Luna in their back yard.
On ordering the tickets I had selected the Diamond View option on the Skyrail trip back. Diamond View has a Perspex floor and view directly down through the gondola. Definitely not worth the extra money as there is only 1 Diamond car every 7 to 8 cars so you have to wait for one to arrive and, as Lyn is not keen on heights, the Perspex floor didn’t help with her experience. A couple of stops on the way down though – Barron Falls and Red Peak – where we could take a break.
We arrived at the bottom and had a coffee whilst waiting for our 15:00 bus back to Cairns Station.
Another great meal of prawns and salad in the motorhome from Lyn before starting to pack up as we were leaving Cairns the next day.
Day 52 (8 September) – Cairns to Pinnarendi
We packed up and were pleased to be leaving the Cairns First City Caravilla park as the park owner had used all available options to charge us as much as possible due to our change from storing the motorhome to keeping it on the site we’d been allocated. We had noticed the caravan park wasn’t that busy and were told the owners weren’t very helpful. This just reinforced that advice as, although we stayed nearly 3 weeks, we were charged full rates per night to stay. It was evident that upkeep was not important when I went to the bathroom on the final day and found a broken seat.
Leaving the caravan park, we headed up through some very windy and steep roads to Kurunba and then Mareeba where we had coffee and lunch at Coffee Works – a great and interesting place to visit.
On through Atherton into the tablelands and passing through Ravenshoe and then on to Innot Hot Springs where we visited the caravan park hot spring pools and then alongside the caravan park to Nettle Creek where the springs bubble to the surface and the caravan park obtains their hot water. It was interesting to see the hot water bubbling up and the algae growth in the water due to the hot water. The sand and water were very hot to touch.
On to Pinnarendi station where we checked in and had a walk around the area before buying a pizza that had been baked the previous night (Naidene doesn’t prepare meals on Sundays). We joined some fellow travellers around a campfire at the back of our site and then settled in for our meal and a quiet evening. One of the guys mentioned that the stop light on the passenger side of the Jimny wasn’t working, explaining a number of faults showing up in the motorhome.
Day 53 (9 September) – Pinnarendi
Breakfast at 08:00 in the cafe then a walk to the Pinnarendi airstrip before returning to the motorhome.
We found that there weren’t any tour type activities at Pinnarendi so we got the bikes off the roof of the Jimny and had a ride into the Forty Mile Scrub National Park. Not an easy ride as we had to travel out to the main road then head South for around 700m to the start of the Forty Mile Scrub National Park boundary access road. We headed West along the access track which was pretty challenging due to the surface and slope. Lyn slipped in the very loose surface and came off her bike so we headed back to the main road, then headed East where there were some fairly large termite mounds. The track was a little better and, as we took our time, we got a fair way in until we had to turn around at a steep creek crossing. The total ride was around 20 km and took us around 2 hours.
Lunch back in the motorhome then an afternoon walk around the main walking track where we visited a number of dams and later encountered Ronnie (Pinnarendi owner with Naidene) looking for one of his horses. We had a brief chat about pigs and politicians!
We loved the amenities block with its unique artwork.
Dinner at the cafe where we had a lasagne night dinner with a number of other guests.
Day 54 (10 September) – Pinnarendi to Undara Resort
Our last day at Pinnarandi and we found ourselves in a very light mist. The ground was wet and when I tried to pack away the chairs and mats, the dirt stuck to my shoes, leaving a very dirty set of stairs and inside of the motorhome. We left Pinnarendi around 09:00 and headed towards Undara Resort where we were due to stay for the next couple of nights.
As we left, the AEBS light came on with a warning that the Jimny lights weren’t working (as mentioned by our friend as we arrived at Pinnarendi). Unfortunately, this caused the adaptive cruise control to stop working also.
I noticed the AdBlue level was pretty low and so we looked at our options to top up. It looked as though Mt. Surprise was the best option and saw it had a BP station, so we headed to Mt. Surprise, passing the turn off to Undara on the way. We tried the BP station (diesel at $2.13) who told us the nearest AdBlue was at Georgetown around 100km away. We decided to head back towards Undara, and then called in at the next service station 100m up the road (diesel at $2.12) who also didn’t have AdBlue but suggested the Post Office/garage may have some. We found some AdBlue at the Post Office garage and got 10L of AdBlue and filled up (partially as diesel was at $2.32 there).
We got coffee at the snake handler’s place who had gotten rid of his snakes and then headed back towards Undara. On the way back to Undara we realised that it would be better to be at Mt. Surprise as Lyn had to do a telehealth call. I used the time to check the faulty stop light, book the Suzuki in for a service in Townsville then called our mechanic, Joe, about the Cessna 310 he was working on for me.
After the call, we headed off to Undara Resort where we checked in and walked around the resort before dinner. The meal was good that we then ordered desert. We waited almost 45 minutes whilst watching others being served dinner and desert with no desert delivered to us. I finally decided to cancel our order after talking to the staff after 30 minutes and being assured it was on it’s way, then still not getting the desert after another 10 minutes. Off for an early night as we were booked on an 08:00 tour the next morning.
Day 55 (11 September) – Undara Resort
We had a 08:00 tour of the Lava Tubes – called the Archway Tour. Apparently, David Attenborough visited here in 1991 and declared that this should be the 8th natural wonder of the world after reading an article listing the best places to visit in Australia. After his visit, a large area around Undara was designated as a National Park. The Collins family, who owned the land, were adamant that the area and attractions be preserved and so only rangers, scientists and resort run tour groups are allowed to visit the lava tubes.
The lava tubes are fascinating needing 3 key elements to be formed and the right conditions to be preserved. These ingredients are 1) a volcano (Undara was a shield volcano which oozes out lava instead of spewing out the lava); 2) the right composition of lava (silica and iron) and 3) a slight downhill slope so the lava can flow at the right speeds downwards. As the lava flows, typically down creek beds, the lower shell cools to form a crust on the outside. A crust forms above as well as the top contacts the air and then solidifies. The gasses from the lava were contained inside the top crust resulting in a tube of flowing lava with a solid outer layer. This repeats as the volcano starts and stops erupting. As Lava can’t flow through granite, the flow diverts around any granite deposits producing meandering lava tubes.
The resulting tubes from Undara are approximately 8-10m in diameter and fascinating to see. We visited Stephensons cave, the Archway and were given a briefing on the area, flora and fauna of the local area.
In the early afternoon we took a walk to Atkinson’s lookout above the resort. A great view of the surrounding area – the walk was around 3 km long with not much wildlife to be seen. It is worth noting that you are expected to enter your walk on the walk register, then sign back in on return. A good safety initiative for walkers engaged in such independent activities.
A lazy late afternoon (maybe a nap) and then the Sunset tour out to Barker’s Knob (well, a nearby lookout over Rosella Plains) where we had champagne and nibbles and a talk with our fellow travellers. It was Nathan’s 47th birthday so we all sang Happy Birthday as the sun set at 18:16. We had to leave immediately to see the micro bats that were in the cave under Barker’s Knob – between 20,000 and 40,000 bats. We had a quick look inside the cave then went to the entrance and watched thousands of micro bats fly out. It was interesting to also see a feral cat just above the cave entrance. The rangers had removed about 300 cats recently and 3 managed to avoid the removal. There is a campaign to remove the last 3 to ensure the bats are not impacted any further
. Back to the lodge for a meal – much more attentive over our dinner and sweets and we each had another good meal.
Day 56 (12 September) – Undara Resort
Up very early as we wanted to visit the Swamp area below the resort around dawn. We decided to do the Swamp Walk and signed out on the register. As we reached the swamp, I remembered that we were told the swamp was fairly dry now and only had water at the Northern end. So instead of heading South along the Swamp Walk way, we headed North along the Circuit track. At one point we reached a road going into the swamp area and entered the swamp area. We saw a few mobs of macropods (the term used extensively here), then returned to the road and Circuit track. Traveling further North, we finally made it to the Flat Rock outcrop which was on the edge of the swamp where we found the only visible water in the area. The water wasn’t extensive however there were approximately 100 macropods in a few large mobs, a kite flying overhead, some red-tailed cockatoos and a number of other birds including ibis, rosellas, bustards and other smaller bird species. There was also a big black feral pig further in and to the North, demonstrating how pervasive the feral pigs are.
On the return trip we took another walk – the Bush Walk – and returned to the lodge. In all, we covered around 8 km along some narrow trails and difficult to locate paths including a number of granite outcrops.
After returning, and signing back in, we had a quick break before going to the lodge for our Wind Tunnel tour. Our guide, Alan, tried the same jokes and patter as the previous tour, as we experienced the magnificent lava tubes closer to the Undara volcano site. When the lava tunnels collapse, they create a microclimate which enables a small rain forest area to exist. Typically, it is below grade level and protected from the surrounding savanna by some of the symbiotic animal behaviour including wallabies and brush turkeys.
Back at the lodge in time for lunch then a relaxing afternoon, an early dinner then we prepared to leave on the following morning.
Day 57 (13 September) – Undara Resort to Cobbold Gorge
Packing up to leave the resort but we had a very important call to make as it was Wren’s 4th birthday.
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