Month: August 2013

Atherton

We saw some mind blowing trees today.  Any ideas what I’m talking about? Yeah, the curtain fig and the cathedral fig.  Wowee.

First up the curtain fig.

A very pleasant and short walk to the tree.A first glimpse of the tree.And then… I wont give you too many photos, because I took heaps – Brett wants lots to look back on for his writing.  But for those who are interested in the how and why of these things… here you go!Next stop was Lake Eacham which is a volcano crater.We saw quite a bit of wildlife – several species of fish, turtles, brush turkeys and robins.  Still no sign of a cassowary, although there are signs about everywhere warning us not to feed them.  You know what else I haven’t seen?  A cane toad.  Does anyone know if they are more active in the wet season?  I’m already assuming they are nocturnal?  We might have seen bats too.

And then, the cathedral fig.  Another fantastic tree. First view of it.And inside it.  Hard to show the size of it in one photo.Isn’t this just so lush?

Our final stop for today was Lake Tinaroo.  The drive to the lake was a little bit scary.  Lots of narrow dirt road, and even more potholes.  We couldn’t believe that people were coming the opposite way with caravans, and were very thankful we didn’t have ours.

The kids had a bit of a swim, some lunch, made some friends and checked out both the playgrounds.  We also found a tick on Jos and he completely freaked out! But we removed it in spite of the carry on.  Poor guy.I just have to say how much I love this flying fox.  Safe without being boring!

Atherton

Yesterday the kids took their breakfast things to the camp kitchen and joined their friends for their first meal of the day.  I think they were hoping for the same today, but it was just us.  Nice though.Again, mostly chilling out today, though we did take a quick trip into town to the Crystal Caves. The kids have taken a real shine to all things rocks, mineral and gemstone.  This tourist spot had some pretty amazing things to see, and set out in a fun way for the kids.It wasn’t quite so easy for those a bit taller.There were lots of different kinds of crystals, rocks, minerals and gemstones to look at.  Amazing really.This fountain is made from rose quartz.  Lots and lots of rose quartz.Here it is again without the flash on, so you can see the light coming through the quartz.And this was the major attraction in the ‘caves’ – a giant amethyst geode – the Empress of Uruguay. She was amazing!Here’s a few more great looking exhibits. This one probably has to be my favourite out of the crystals.  Amazing the shape that they form.And look at the patterns in this one.I also tend to be drawn to all blue stones… I think blue must secretly be my favourite colour (I always tell the kids rainbow). Look at this – made from one piece of lapis lazuli.  Amazing detail.Some more interestingly shaped (naturally) pyrites.And one very cool (?) car.Actually, I don’t think I would drive it!

Atherton

Oh, the caravan park we are staying in is so nice!  We haven’t really done anything today.  I don’t even have much in the way of photos.  Lots of catch up blogging.

The kids found a stick insect.And I found a couple of curlews.  They stood there all day.  Didn’t move from the spot!And that is it for today.

Archer Creek – Atherton

I took some photos down by the creek for you this morning.  It really was beautiful and serene down by the water.  I took a stroll down there before breakfast.

Not terribly clear, but this is the swing.There are lots of things that I like about free camping, but one right up there at the top of the list is how much the kids enjoy themselves.  They know that there is no entertainment to be had, because we’re not in a caravan park.  And they always, always make fun for themselves.  This was what I found Elisha doing when I got back from my stroll down by the creek this morning.He was making a torch.Fire has been very popular with all the kids, it’s nice to be able to let them experiment with it a little and teach them how to be safe with it.  The torches however, were not particularly dangerous.  This is about as hot as it got.We did a little bit of a back track this morning – to Innot Springs.  However, we decided not to go in, as they were literally swimming pools at different temperatures.  Heated naturally, but still… we asked the kids if they’d like to have a wade in the creek that heats the pools, but they declined.  So off we went.

We drove through some amazing scenery today.  Brett and I were particularly taken with Windy Hill and the wind farm.  The kids – they stayed in the car to listen to their story!Next stop – Herberton.  Along the road on our way here, we’d been seeing signs for the Spy Camera Museum, so we thought we’d go and check it out.  And wow, it was fantastic!  So many different cameras from very early days.  The kids’ favourite was definitely the Russian button camera, or perhaps it was the transmitter that looked like something a dog left on the footpath!  What really amazed me is the detail in photos that the old cameras took, and that a lot of the old equipment is still in good working order.  Things really were made to last back in the day. We had a bit of afternoon tea and a play in the playground near a church before heading into Atherton.  We were joined by a bird – a butcher bird I think.

Greenvale – Archer Creek rest area

Today we went to Undara Lava Tubes.  Very interesting.  Very dark, and so hard to take photos. But, as always, here’s a few anyway.

To see the tubes you have to go with a tour guide, on a bus to the site.  It was a very short walk from the bus to the tubes.  On the way we saw this tree, and the guide told us a little about it.

Looks a lot like a boab tree (well we thought so anway), but it’s not.  It is a Queensland Bottle Tree.The marks on the trunk of the tree are remnants from vines being tied around the tree to aid climbing up to get the fruit of the tree.

Then to the lava tubes.  The Undara tubes are basically one long tube that flowed from the volcano.  There are 69 known tubes still intact.  Between these are many that have broken and caved in.  These tend to be filled with rainforest.  Odd when the surrounding area is quite dry.

Here’s the entrance to the first section of tube we looked at.The colours and textures, shapes and patterns of the walls and roof within the tubes is amazing.  The tubes are formed when the lava flows from the volcano; the outer layer cools and hardens, but inside the crust the lava continues to flow.  That is why they are hollow.This is looking back out of the first tube, to the entrance.This next tube section we visited is called The Arch.  Pretty obvious why.Just inside the third, and final, tube we visited there was enough mositure and light to support some plant growth.  The moss looked awesome.  The dips and rises on the ground are caused by the drips coming down from the roof.We had a really enjoyable time.  A pity that I can’t share more photos with you, but everything we saw was by torch light, and hard to take a good picture of.

We saw micro bats, and baby micro bats in a nursery.  So teeny tiny.  Back at the campground we saw this bird that looks a bit like a cross between a magpie and a crow, but not quite either one of those.  I asked one of the guides what it was – a Currawong. This particular one was a Pied.The accommodation for visitors in the park is old train carriages.  They were brought in to minimise damage to the surrounding environment.  This particular one is for the staff, but I took a photo of it because it dates from the 1800’s.

We didn’t stay at Undara.  We decided to keep driving.  There was a rest stop just outside of the National Park, but it turned out to be not too late in the afternoon, and we decided to push on and drive a little further.

And I’m so glad we did.   Our stop tonight is just gorgeous.  A huge area for vehicles to park.  Free firewood.  And a small section closed off to vehicles, but available to those with tents, down by the creek.  A swing in the tree.  Just beautiful.

The kids wanted to take advantage of the free firewood.  They built a fire.  I couldn’t get it lit. But we had help (paper) from one of our friendly neighbours.

I had purchased some marshmallows a while ago in anticipation of having a fire one night.  We put them to good use this evening.  The kids discovered the joy of setting their marshmallows on fire and then blowing them out.  We even put a marshmallow on a piece of wood in the fire to see what it would do.  Very interesting.  After this we had dinner, ate it around the fire in the fading light.  A bat or two flying around looking for their dinner too.

Charters Towers – Greenvale

We’ve left lovely Charters Towers behind.  Drove to Greenvale today.  We haven’t been out of the caravan park, we’re stopping here tonight so we can go somewhere very exciting tomorrow.  Can’t wait.

On our way to Greenvale we stopped in at the Bluewater Springs Roadhouse to use the facilities and buy some chips to go with lunch.

While I was waiting for the chips to be cooked, Brett and the kids spotted a bumblebee.  Do you know how hard it is to take a photo of a bumblebee?

Here’s a clue.It was a case of Murphy’s Law.  Every time I got out there with the camera the bee would fly away to another tree or something. I’d tell Brett it was gone, he’d go and look and it would come back – over and over.

I managed to snap a couple of shots of it, but it wasn’t very co-operative about facing in such a manner to face its best side to the camera.

At least lunch was awesome.

Greenvale Caravan Park was lovely.  I didn’t take any photos though.  We met a couple travelling with a bird – it was an Indian Ringneck.  Beautiful.

There were horses close by too, and Cayley spent quite a bit of time trying to coax one over to the fence for something to eat and a pat.  But I don’t think she was very successful.

Brett treated Elisha and Jos for headlice.  Jos screamed.  A lot.  At least it’s done for a week.

For the first time this trip, I pulled out the paint and paper, and the kids had a play with that. Which was fun.

Can’t wait to show you what we’re seeing tomorrow! Although photos might be tricky.

Charters Towers

Not much to report for today.  Just haircuts.We are still fighting the darned head lice.  Short hair sure helps for the boys.  Pity Cayley doesn’t want her head shaved too.

Charters Towers

We just hung around the caravan park today.  The kids love a jumping pillow.And so does Brett.  Okay, and I had a jump too.  So much fun!

Here’s a few views from around the park. Lots of bird life hanging around the feeder. Lots of rainbow lorikeets, and these two types of bird, but I’m not sure what they are. The first one has a brilliant blue patch above its eye.And this is Crackers (it’s not a great photo, but it’s the only one I took).  He is a crazy bird, and the kids had a good time watching him play, and getting him to talk.  His wing has been broken, and he is not able to fly. He is also let out every morning while his cage is attended to, and he chases all the other birds away from the feeder.  Cheeky thing!Up at the office there was a pond.  Very pretty.  It had teeny little fish, barramundi, and the kids even spotted a frog in there.I quite liked this water feature.

So do the wasps.And here’s the bush kitchen.  Twice a week the staff prepare a meal that you can enjoy for a small fee.  Over in the back right corner you can see the pizza oven…… and here is the bush bbq they use to cook up snaggers for a sausage sizzle.

Rest Area Near Pentland – Charters Towers

Not too big a drive today.  We had to pull over at one stage for a big truck.

We are stopping in Charters Towers tonight.  We made good use of their library this afternoon.  After lunch, Brett went out for his break, and the kids and I sat in the library and did some reading, playing games, and watching someone else play the Wii.We stayed at the library until closing time, we were having that much fun.

The Big 4 caravan park we are staying in is lovely.  It is probably the nicest atmosphere park we’ve stayed in so far.  The staff are really helpful and friendly, and there’s just a relaxed sense about the place.  We’re loving it already.

Richmond – Rest Stop Near Pentland

Now that the bike rack is fixed, we’re on the move again.  Today was a lot of driving, but we did stop for a little while in Hughenden to have a look at the dinosaur and fossil museum there.I want to tell you about moon rocks too.  They are bizarre.  But natural.  They are all around here (and Richmond).  They look manufactured.  I’d love to have some in the garden.The kids’ corner was much appreciated again. 🙂

 

We kept on trucking and stopped in a rest area just outside of Pentland.  We were the only ones here.  Though it wasn’t that quiet, quite a few trucks again during the night.

We ate dinner around a fire, and once the kids were in bed, Brett and I sat out by the fire for a while.