Southern Atherton Tablelands - Waterfalls to Mission Beach

My sister Annie is such a good sport. It can't be easy being a passenger to a driver who wants to "(Let's) go and see that". When we spoke to the helpful staff at the information centre, more a travel agent really, he suggested that with a car we can easily drive to see waterfalls, the crater lakes and Paronella Park... all in the setting of the wet tropics. And so that is how our day begins.

We head down south of Cairns towards the southern section of the Atherton Tablelands - to see waterfalls and lakes. We head down Captain Cook Highway towards Cairns where we buy fruits  (I feel like I am in heaven!) on the side of the road and took the opportunity to fill up with petrol.

The weather forecast for Cairns was sunny with a chance of rain, but as we head further outside Cairns, the clouds starts to gather into threatening balls, heavy with rain. We watch the clouds surround the mountains, like a shawl wrapped around a shoulder preparing for the rain. It is rainy reason in the wet tropics and we may just find out what that means. 

We drive down the Bruce Highway, following the signs to Townsville. On either side of the Bruce Highway are the farm lands. It wasn't until much later that we find out that what we were looking at were sugar canes. Acres and acres of it as far as the eyes can see, reaching, towards the mountains.

Driving down the Bruce Highway, you start to appreciate why Queensland is where many of the fruits we love are grown. All those lovely bananas. I am reminded of the cyclone that hit Queensland in February 2011. It was still in people's minds. The devastation caused by Cyclone Yasi made news nation wide. Banana prices rocketed. It was good to see that the farmers of Queensland are recovering.

There were roadworks on the road. What impressed me about this was how we were slowly brought down to 60km zone, first 80km from 100km. I have driven long distances along the NSW, Victoria and even South Australia and I don't remember those drives being interrupted by road work this smoothly.


Babinda Boulders

Babinda is located one hour away from Cairns. It is a small town with a hidden gem - though not quite so secret - The Boulders. The Boulders are located a short drive from the main street, past the farm lands, towards the rainforest. 

The humidity invites the locals to their water hole. When we arrived there were a small number of people enjoying the sun, shade and water. A couple were reading under a tree enjoying the sound of running water. There were families swimming in the most inviting rainforest's water.

The Boulders at Babinda

Babinda Boulders

Water so clear... you can swim!

Josephine Falls

Our next stop was Josephine falls, located eight kilometres away from the Bruce Highway. Walking up the path you hear the sound of birds and somewhere far away is running water. When we finally reached the clearing there were people sunbathing, swimming, exploring the rocks and sliding down the rocks.

Josephine Falls

Inisfail and Mission Beach 

The one thing I failed to mention was our lack of appropriate swim wear. So when we got to Inisfail, we had lunch and went shopping. When we were once again on our way, we bought bags of lychees in one of those road side vendors just outside Inisfail. Lychees were in season and it was cheap.

Now to go back as to why my sister is such a good sport. You see, my plan for today was to visit Mission Beach, located two hours away from Cairns. The drive to Mission Beach, though scenic and lovely, was a long one. Long if you are only spending one hour or two there before driving back.


Coming up Southern Atherton Tablelands - Falls, Lakes and Paronella Park.

Central Atherton Tableland - Kennedy Highway to Mareeba

My sister Annie and I decided to take the Kennedy Highway towards the Atherton Tablelands. The Kennedy Highway is the gateway to the Savannah Highway, the bridge between Cairns (Queensland) and Broome (Western Australia). As you can expect, excitement was rolling inside me when I read this. This is a road I definitely must take with more planning and time. See the map of our journey from Kewarra Beach to Mareeba.

As we drove along the Kennedy Highway we saw the sign to the village of Kuranda. Unfortunately I had decided to bypass the village so we can explore further into the Tablelands. I was a little disappointed that we missed Kuranda - the village set amongst the rainforest. We have heard from our reception staff (and information centre) that it is the place to do some shopping. I am unsure if they meant souvenir shopping or fashion shopping. Karunda is also the start, or finish, of the Skyway Rainforest Cableway that must sister and I wanted to experience. That is for another adventure, I suppose.

The start of the Kennedy Highway is a long and winding road as you climbed through the rainforest, past Kuranda village. Eventually, the rainforest gives way to flat, farmed lands. It eventually levels out to a more comfortable driving.

At the end of Kennedy Highway is Mareeba. Mareeba is located about an hours drive from Cairns. Part of the Atherton Tablelands, it is rich in agriculture and cattle. It is also very hot!

We headed in to the Information Centre to ask about the area and where we should visit. We wanted refuge from the heat. We almost missed it as I was distracted by the watermelons near the entrance. Although I had a rough idea of what we wanted to visit, I always enjoy dropping for some local perspective.

From here we headed towards The Coffee Works and  Golden Drop Winery. But not before buying some watermelons - five watermelons for the bargain price of $8. On the way back, we visited Jaques Coffee Plantation.

Mareeba Information Centre

There is a museum inside the Mareeba Information Centre. There is a gold coin donation on the way out. While I obtained information, my sister took a tour around the museum taking photos.

Mareeba Information Centre - note the yellow "I".

Golden Drop Winery

It was hard to go past a winery that had the promise of the taste of mangoes. Sure enough, we were not disappointed. As we drove into the plantation, mango trees lined up the driveway inviting us in. We followed the sign towards the Golden Drop Winery cellar door.

Mango trees at the Golden Drop plantation

Trees lined both sides of the driveway - towards the distilerry

Coffee at Jaques

On our way back to Cairns, we stopped by Jaques Coffee Plantation. The plantation was eight kilometres away from the main road. We were met by plantations after plantations then finally  termite mounds lined the side of the road that lead to the plantation. We took the tour of the plantation - a promise of a ride on the Bean Machine, then coffee at the end.

Jaques Coffee plantation is rich in history. The family, coming from Africa, located land to start farming what they knew best - coffee. The Atherton Tableland was similar in temperature and environment to their homeland. Perfect for growing coffee - Arabica beans. The family went through a number of difficulties including government regulations and bankruptcy. Today, the plantation thrives - pesticide free.

To my amusement, the road that let into the plantation was also an air strip. We had to give way to planes. There were a couple we saw taking off.

Give way to the planes

Bean Mobile Safari

Coffee bean trees

Termite mounds littered all over the Tablelands

A pin for every visitor who took the tour...

I am including the The Atherton Tablelands here as the website reminds me of the brochure we obtained from the Information Centre. We can only assume that this is their web site and so is a source of very useful information to start.

Next is the Southern Atherton Tablelands.

The Gong - Gateway to the South Coast

I have to share this.

Mother Nature must have finally received the memo - that it was Summer in Sydney. You see, the sun hasn't shown her lovely bright face all that much since Spring gave way to Summer. In fact, I got the feeling that Winter just did not want to give in just yet.

The last couple of days has been absolutely glorious. When I got into the car today, I was still deciding which beach to visit. I was two minds whether I should head north to Coogee Beach (city) or south to Wollongong.  In the end, however, I headed down south.

Sydney has so many beaches - with their own personality, mainly made up of the people who frequent them - that it's hard to decide. Growing up in Sydney, my family loved fishing and beaches. With a convoy of cars, we almost always had a beach to visit every weekend.

Wollongong, or the Gong as the locals affectionately call it, is located one hour drive from Sydney. Head down south on the Princes Highway, past the National Park that blanket either side of the Princes Highway, down the winding road of Bulli Pass, or if you prefer to head down Mount Ousley and head down towards Wollongong.

Today was Bulli.

Bulli Beach is just before Wollongong. The first sight of Bulli is always exciting. With the blue skies over blue water, you can't help but feel excited about getting to the beach. As the car winds down Bulli Pass, each glimpse of the water between the trees is a promise of something exciting - a much needed refuge from the heat.

Here are some photos of the beach....

First glimpse of the beach from the park

Surfing with a difference...

The rock pool

Yesterday - Wollongong

I headed towards the two lighthouses, past Stuart Park. Stuart Park is where the skydivers land on the beach. One of these days...
 

The rock pool at the bottom of the light house

The boats docked at the marina

 
Wollongong is also a university town with it's very own University of Wollongong.

For more information, please make sure you visit the Wollongong Tourism Web Site for more information.

Paradise in Cairns

Earlier this month, my sister Annie and I went to Cairns. We stayed in Paradise Palms Resort and Country Club, which I had found one night in one of those deal sites called OurDeal.

Paradise Palms is located in Kewarra, approximately 30 minutes north of Cairns along the Captain Cook Highway. You can view Google Map here.

We stayed for six nights in a one bedroom apartment. My sister and I could have easily stayed in that apartment for our entire stay but with the whole of Tropical North to explore it would be such a shame to. So instead, we used the apartment as our base as we explored the surrounding areas.

We were pleasantly surprised that the photos on the web site were a true reflection of the accommodation, the restaurant and the golf course. We had our daily breakfast - my favourite was the fruit platter with the beautiful fruits, yogurt and honey. We were also able to convince the helpful staff to let us drive the golf cart - without having to play golf. Every morning the reception and restaurant staff would greet us warmly and enquire about our day. We always had something happening so we were quite busy - and chatty.

Over the next couple of weeks, I shall blog about our experience and post some photos.

In the meantime, here are some photos of Paradise Palms.

Main entrance to the club house

View from the Restaurant - what we saw every morning!

View of the club house from afar

View of the club house from the golf course

The accommodation from the pool area

The pool

Next is Central Atherton Tablelands - Kennedy Highway to Mareeba.

Let's Go!

I love driving trips. Anything from day trips to long, semi-planned road trips. Get me behind the wheel of a car and I am content to drive for hours. All I need is a full tank, a sense of adventure and my camera just in case. 

I am lucky enough to be living in the beautiful country of Australia. This expansive island-continent which I have seen described as the whole world wrapped into a small package. It is my hope to drive around Australia, to slowly reveal the world within, with each road trip I take. Even if I don't get the chance to find, to see all that she has to offer, I would enjoy each journey - and all those in between.

These are my stories. I hope you enjoy them.

“Australia is an outdoor country. People only go inside to use the toilet. And that's only a recent development." -  Barry Humphries