Sugarcane and coffee

Saturday 28:
We woke at 530am to poke our heads up over the tent to see the lunar eclipse. Darren, the campsite’s owner, had advised us that the fog for the past few days had been quite thick, so was doubtful we would be able to see clearly. The moon looked slightly orange at half crest – and he was right, the fog was thick and eerie – and without knowing if the eclipse was moving in or out, we turned back over for another hour of sleep.

In the morning, we had our first shower using our on board hot water system! We were doubtful the water would get hot quickly, but to our surprise it was instantaneous! A quick shower, it was amazing! The RTT is covered in dew and packing it up wet isn’t ideal – however hoping we can air out at the next stop.

HangerO is owned by Darren and Sam – a 160 acre property in Gunalda, 2 hours North of Brisbane. They opened just three weeks ago, and we were the only campers for the night. Over the small creek was the main house, and they also have an eco-glamping setup. The fire they had set up for us last night was now dwindling embers, and after our quick wash – I was ready for coffee! Darren and Sam had setup a coffee cart cafe for the public, and it couldn’t be cuter. Built into an old flat bed truck. We chatted with them for a while and shared stories of the top end. Couldn’t recommend this campsite enough! A great stop on the highway up to Mackay.

A big 8-hr day on the road took us to the small town of Koumala. Mackay had little/no places for us to stay, and this roadside caravan park was cheap. Nothing to really write home about, but the facilities were clean and finding these grey nomads help keep things up to scratch! The drive was long, and looking back at least 25% of our trip so far has been roadworks. So many roadworks! Either upgrading or new infrastructure, its good to see progress – but makes for a long journey!

Sunday 29:
I always thought on our drive up the coast to Airlie, we would see the coastline. However I couldn’t be more wrong! Sugar cane country, the landscape changes, but no ocean in site. It’s a dry state, but as we trek further up the coast the cattle seem healthier.

A 2.5 hr drive this morning and we’re thinking we need some fish and chips! We hit Airlie Beach for lunch – we’re not sure what to expect but it’s a pretty cute town. Ive booked us into the commercial ‘Discovery Park’ – pool and spa, yes please! We check in and setup our whole rig – RTT, annex, awning, our trusty steed looks pretty good. We open our RTT completely to give the whole setup a good airing.

After a (cold) swim. yes, remind us its Winter here, we head into town on foot to check the place out. It really does feel like the doorstep to the Whitsundays. We’re hoping if we were a little taller we could see a few things out there… but alas, for another trip. A lot of building and infrastructure happening here as we walk around the ‘Lagoon’, a man made swimming area for the public as in the Summer months there are too many stingers in the ocean.

Johny talks of buying a property up in Airlie to live, but as we move further up the coast, I notice any place that looks nice – he’d like to live.

We head back to camp for dinner and as the park fills up, we head to bed. Half a day spent walking around was music to the soul after such long hours in the car.

Monday 30:
We are up early, there is a bit to do and distance to be covered. The morning sun gets hot pretty quickly. Dew again prevails, and again we pack the RTT up damp. We head up to the Lion’s lookout for a better view over the area. However its nothing more really than a carpark over the Port. On our Hema HX-1 Navigator, we find a dirt track. Despite it being a walking track, we set into 4wd to climb the hill further, and at the top find the city’s tele tower. The view is pretty special up here! We finally feel like we’ve seen some coast. Johny sits, porridge in hand taking in the view. A stellar way to start the day.

With another big day on the road, we pack up and head back down the hill. Next stop, Cairns!

We’re carrying a lot of weight in the back end and our tyres are running pretty hot. Johny constantly checks them and feels them for heat. With a few tests we are now running the front at 38psi and the back at 55psi (started the trip on 45psi) the load and tyre pressure is fit for the road. All this to do once again when we hit the off road sections and air down – the suspension is still wowing us and really happy with how she’s running.

The scenery begins to change rapidly – from dry bush to scrub to tall trees and over hanging canopies – Cairns brings sugar cane country! We pass a large helicopter spraying pesticides over the banana plantations. What a sight!. But it’s a shame we as humans have to resort to spraying chemicals over our food to protect them. Even growing vegetables and fruit resorts to killing of other living things. Nothing can survive the human presence on this earth. The smell of burning sugar at the refineries, we start to travel through produce country! Sugar, mangoes and bananas – Yum. First stop brings us to fresh frozen mango and its delicious. More roadworks, but the pace is easy and really enjoying our countryside as it gets greener and the air gets fresher. Were both pretty excited about hitting the Daintree and all it has to offer. More frozen mango in the afternoon, smiles prevail.

I’ve booked us in at the NRMA Caravan Park in Cairns for the night and as we arrive – its not a good feeling. This place is unbelievably packed! Our spot is tiny and we’re right next to the sportsfield. Our site has a low hanging tree, and with a RTT it’s a bit of a hassle. We wouldn’t recommend this place really, and again, nothing to write home about.

Tuesday 31:
Morning breaks, the first night without dew on the RTT, woohoo, winning! But the bloody tree has dropped a million and one leaves over it. We’re excited for our day at Kuranda Skyrail and scenic rail.

The Skyrail climbs the forest easily and looking down we see amazing iridescent blue butterflies flying over the tops of the rainforest canopy. You wouldn’t want to be fearful of heights, but the sight over the oldest rainforests in the world, its pretty special. Looking down from the gondola we see our first croc of our trip in the Barron river. Stoked. We did a walking tour through the rainforest boardwalk with a guide called Phil. Top bloke. Told us all about the vegetation and wildlife that lives in the 2 million acres of rainforest here. Johny was fascinated with the information. He soaked it all up like a sponge and spent the day repeating Phil and his interesting facts. Like the climbing kangaroo, and that the only reason the rainforest survives is due to the cassowary bird. Ask Johny, im sure he will tell you all about it!

Kuranda scenic rail was constructed by hand between 1882 – 1891 through dense rainforest and its seriously an amazing feat of engineering.

Taking an hour and a half of winding track down through the canyon, to Freshwater station, it’s a great journey.

Tonight we’ve booked into Cool Waters Caravan park – and we love it here. We have a great spot and the place feels really relaxed. They allow pets, so cant wait for a trip in the future with our little Trintrin. The bathrooms look brand new and the people lovely. Gold star! We finally have the time to spend the evening relaxing and catching up on chores. Like going through the draws, re-organising stock, and generally keeping our mobile home ship shape. We even pull out the deck chairs and spend an evening relaxing under our awning. Life cant get much better.

The Cooks.