Cape Hillsborough

On the recommendation from a friend, we decided to include Cape Hillsborough as a stop on our road trip. Actually what sealed the decision for me was the fact that you can see kangaroos on the beach - in the back of my mind I thought that would be a great photograph! It is not a hotspot on the backpacker trail and only gets a small mention in the Lonely Planet's Guide to Australia but it was a stop I am so grateful we did.

To get there, you leave the Bruce Highway and head down a country road for about 50kms, slowly working your way through farms and sugar cane fields, until you reach the ocean. The drive itself was worth the detour.

As I mentioned earlier, one of the reasons I wanted to come to this place was for the possibility of seeing kangaroos on the beach. When we checked in they let me know that the Roos often come out just before sunrise and stay for about an hour. So the next morning I was up very early - sunrise is at about 5 am - to head down to the beach with my camera. It was well worth the effort to drag myself out of the tent and take in this beautiful sunrise!

The people at the front desk were also right - the Roos did make their way out of the surrounding forest to spend some time on the beach. So I went back to the tent to get Gemma and Ruben - I knew this wouldn't be something they would want to miss.

After hanging out with the Roos we decided to take a hike in Cape Hillsborough Park. I know I keep coming back to how dry everything is but it is hard not to take notice how months of no rain combined with intense heat day-after-day is affecting the forests. Plants and trees are browning and wilted, looking desperate for a sip of water, and the ground is dusty and covered in dried leaf litter. Hiking was hot work as we climbed up a hill that had the promise of scenic views of the surrounding landscape.

With each step came the sound of scurrying skinks trying to seek shelter from potential predators. Where there are skinks there are hopefully snakes, at least it was our hope that we would finally get a glimpse of a snake. On the last part of the hike we walked right past this very very long snake - if you look carefully you can see its tail reaches down to the bottom of the picture frame! We had no idea whether this was the harmless tree-snake variety or perhaps a more lethal variety but you always assume the worst. It was nerve-wracking being so close to an animal you have no idea whether it will lash out at you or not, and if it did whether its bite would be the one that could harm you.

We continued hiking along an exposed and hot trail, taking in more lookout points along the way. Eventually we wound our way back down to the beach and were relieved to finally find some respite from the heat of the walk by dipping our feet in the ocean water.
In the afternoon, we headed up into the hills to a park called Eungella National Park. We were headed there with the hopes of seeing a platypus! Patience, the ability to be still and a keen eye eventually led to Dave being the first to spot a platypus! It was very cool. It was much smaller than any of us had imagined - even biologist Dave did not anticipate it being as small as it was. But once we spotted one, we were able to sit on the banks of the river and watch it for close to an hour while it swam around, disappearing every once in awhile under the water.

A perfect day to end our eighteen-day tour of northern Queensland!


Until next time,
love H, D, R & G

On a Deserted Island

Before we headed off on our Island adventure we had two days on the mainland coast in a town called Airlie Beach - the gateway to the Whitsunday Islands. After more than 8 hours of driving, we logged over 700kms of travel in one day, it was time to lounge by the pool.

On day two we decided to take in a local hike in Conway National Park along the Coral Beach trail. It was a beautiful hike through typical eucalyptus forest, offering peek-a-boo glimpses of the azure waters of Shute Harbour which eventually brought us to the appropriately named Coral Beach. Again the day was hot and humid, and we were looking forward to a swim to cool ourselves off.
But no such luck! When you come across a sign posted right on the beach that has a crocodile, with its jaws open, you don't take any chances! To make matters worse for my mum, Dave had to point out that we should also keep our eyes open for any crocodiles sunning themselves up on the beach - my mum was not feeling too relaxed after that comment. Despite the fact that none of us were willing to brave jumping into the ocean, the beach was a beautiful oasis and a perfect spot to find that unique shell or piece of coral to add to the collection.

Airlie Beach is a happening place with people planning and making preparations for their trip out to one of the Whitsunday Islands or maybe they are one of lucky ones setting off on a multi-day sailing trip.

I had made reservations a couple of months in advance for us to spend four nights at Hook Island Resort. As always when booking places over the internet you don't truly know what you are signing up for, it is a risk you take. Although I would use the term "Resort" very loosely when speaking of our accommodation, we lucked out in terms of location and the accessibility to some fantastic snorkeling and diving.

In some of the photos you may notice a haze - this is the tail-end of a major dust storm that hit New South Wales and Queensland from September 22nd - 24th. As many of you know, large parts of Australia have been in severe drought for almost 3 years resulting in the interior of the continent being very parched and dusty. The spring winds picked up an estimated "16 million tonnes of dust from the deserts of central Australia" and dumped it all over New South Wales and Queensland- one of the worst dust storms in Australia's history! Luckily on the trip, the dust storm was mostly in the form of a haze but when we came home, our house - inside and out - was covered in a fine red dust.

We woke to sunny skies every day and warm blue water inviting us to jump in to swim and snorkel our day away. Four more days of pure rest and relaxation! The picture below is the view from our tent (we camped and my parents stayed in one of the rooms) - one of the most picturesque views from a 'room' I have ever stayed in.

Every day we would make the short 20 minute trek from the beach in front of the resort over to Pebble Beach. Along the trail we spotted a snake (not sure what kind) and a very large spider!

Off shore there was some spectacular snorkeling - it definitely rivaled what we experienced on the Great Barrier Reef. It was so special to be able to go out whenever we wanted, whether it be morning, afternoon or evening, once-a-day or twice. We were lucky because we saw a sea turtle one day - how special!

On the walk back to the resort, Dave decided to try his hand at getting a coconut from the many trees lining the beach. It took several attempts, using various items he scrounged up from around him, but he was eventually successful!

There is nothing like the taste of fresh coconut - especially the kind that you have to work so hard to get!

Off to the see platypuses and kangaroos on the beach.

love H,D,R and G

The Daintree

For Ruben's 8th birthday we spent the day exploring the Daintree Rainforest - a two-hour drive north of Port Douglas. Photographs cannot even begin to do the scenery on the drive justice. The road starts out with tropical rainforests of the Great Dividing Range on one side, and sugarcane and tea plantations on the other. You follow this scenic road until you meet the Daintree River - one of the longest rivers on the East Coast of Australia.

The Daintree River is also home to a population of about 70 Saltwater Crocodiles (Salties as they are called) which are some of the largest Crocs in the world. The average male can reach up to 5 metres long and weigh up to 1000kg! Despite the fact that a face-to-face encounter with one of these creatures would most likely mean your demise, we were still hoping that we would see one sunning itself on the river's shores. As we took the cable ferry across, we scanned the water's edge in the hope that we may catch a glimpse of a Saltie but no luck this time.

Once you cross the River, you are instantly transported to another place and time. The road winds its way up through mountainous terrain with the dense vegetation of the rainforest on either side of you. The Daintree is a part of a larger system - an area known as the Wet Tropics of North Queensland. The Wet Tropics covers only .01% of Australia's landmass but contains a staggering portion of its plant, animal, frog, bird and butterfly species. In 1994, this whole area was given World Heritage status in the hope of protecting its unique and prehistoric features.

There are about four areas that have been set up with boardwalks and short walks for tourists to hike amongst these forests. It is hard for Dave to be limited to a boardwalk trail that only gives a glimpse of what is on offer. So when he discovered there was the possibility of exploring deeper into the rainforest, we were off on a bushwhacking adventure! As we all know there is plenty to be wary about when hiking anywhere in Australia, and hiking in a rainforest is no less of a concern. Prior to and upon our arrival we were told about the snakes, variety of spiders, sharks, jellyfish and crocodiles that had the potential to bring harm. But who would have thought a bird could be on this list - at some point during our time here, Gemma learned that the Cassowary may charge at you if they feel threatened. Never mind that it is extremely rare to even see one of these birds, and one charging you even rarer, this information was enough to make Gemma and Ruben wary of venturing into the thick bush

Dave and I were excited at the prospect of seeing one of these bizarre creatures in the wild -we have seen one in a sanctuary. It is a flightless bird that is only a tad smaller than an emu or ostrich. On first glance they look harmless. But it is their three-toed feet with sharp claws, one of which is dagger-like, and powerful kick that can make an encounter with them deadly!

After hiking 6kms through dense bush, and at times along a vague trail, the only sign of a Cassowary we saw was their poop. But as we walked through the forest, we were surrounded by the beautiful sounds of tropical birds, an amazing array of over-sized and ancient plants, and vines tempting you to swing from tree to tree.

After our long hike in the heat and humidity we were excited at the prospect of finding a safe swimming hole to cool ourselves. A local told us of a secret spot to have a dip and gave us the needed directions on how to get there. After months of little-to-no rain the local swimming hole didn't look as inviting as we had hoped - shallow, murky-brown water was not what we had in mind. Although we did not get the much-needed refreshing swim in, we did see the beautiful blue Ulysses butterfly float by when we were eating our lunch.

With four days of pure relaxation and adventure under our belt, it is time to head south and begin the long journey home. First though a stop at the Whitsunday Islands - we are not ready to leave the tropics just yet.

love H, D, R and G

In Search of Nemo

It has to be said. Four nights and three days were not nearly adequate to soak up all there is to see and do in this part of Queensland. As soon as we arrived I knew I had grossly underestimated how much we would love Port Douglas and the surrounding area! Oh well, we know we are very lucky to have had any time here and we definitely savoured every moment.

Port Douglas is a beautiful seaside town and jumping-off point to the Great Barrier Reef. After four days on the road it felt so good to relax on Four Mile beach and splash in the warm waters of the Coral Sea, and of course give our snorkel equipment a trial run.

On day two in Port Douglas we made plans to get out to the Great Barrier Reef, a short hour-and-half boat trip would take us to the outer Agincourt Reef.


The Great Barrier Reef is world renowned and for good reason. It is roughly 9000 years old, is considered one of the seven wonders of the natural world, is the largest reef system on earth - stretching for more than 2300 kms along Queensland's coastline and 80 km at its widest, is the only living thing on earth that can be seen from outer space, is home to over 1500 species of fish, 400 types of coral, 4000 species of mollusks, 215 species of birds, 6 types of sea turtle. I could go on but I am sure you get my point. It is a very special, unique place to have the opportunity to visit.

Both Dave and I have snorkeled a few times in our lives but it has been at least 15 years since we last had our faces submersed under the water. We had three hours to take in as much of this underwater world as we could. The experience of snorkeling is pure magic. You float above a world filled with life and buzzing with activity - schools of fish that come in all shapes, sizes and colours. We were awed by the Butterfly fish, parrot fish, a few larger-than-life moari wrasses, clown fish and yes, the moray eel. The corals are a feast for the eye, they come in an incredible variety of colours and shapes, as varied as the fish that swim among them. We swam above giant clams, with their colourful "lips" pursed open, prepared to capture passing food, brilliant blue starfish, sea slugs and a variety of anemones. It is so easy to lose track of time and space in this place as you find yourself involved in a game of hide-and-seek with a fish until another one catches your eye and you are off in another direction. Of course, in your periphery you are keeping a watchful eye out for a reef shark or the elusive sea turtle.

This was Gemma and Ruben's second time snorkeling - they had done it once before in Florida. Ruben thought it was "very beautiful, awesome and magnificent!". This is what Gemma has to say of her experience - "I loved all of the fish and coral, it was like you were in a different world. It was so pretty."

Again, we feel so lucky to have another amazing adventure.

Now off to one of the oldest rainforests in the world.
Love H, D, G and R

On the Road

As soon as we found out we were going to Australia for a year, I got my hands on the foremost guide for travelers, a bible of sorts, the Lonely Planet's guide to Australia. It was no time before I had created a long list of all the must-sees I wanted to do - a list that was probably too long to fulfill in just 365 days. But there were some of these must-sees that were non-negotiable, one of which was to go snorkeling and diving in the Great Barrier Reef - the largest barrier reef in the world. This mission to see the Reef is what took us on a epic journey to northern Queensland.

On September 15th, my parents, Ruben, Gemma and myself started to make the pilgrimage north (we met Dave a few days later in Townsville). The trip was the longest we had embarked on thus far and would prove to be a test to our family's road tripping endurance. Our final destination was Port Douglas, a beautiful beach town and jumping-off point to see the Great Barrier Reef. It is a mere 1759km- one-way trip - we planned to go there and back to Brisbane! This would be the same as packing up the family wagon and heading to Regina. All-in-all it was a round-trip journey that would take us over 3500kms! Lucky for us,
the landscape along this drive is as varied as what you would encounter traveling across the three provinces it would take to get to Regina.

Queensland is a mecca for growing any type of tropical food - well any type of food really. Traveling north is a mouthwatering experience as you pass by mango and banana orchards, tea and macadamia nut plantations and a variety of fields filled with as many fruits and vegetables as you can imagine. (As an aside, the Macadamia Nut is actually called the Queensland Nut as it originated here and not in Hawaii like myself and pretty much the macadamia nut-loving-world believes.) But by far the most common crop is the sugarcane. I think it grows all year round and fields are filled with cane in various stages of its life cycle. Australia grows enough sugarcane to supply the country's addiction and still has enough left over for export.

This corner of Australia had not seen rain in any significant amount for at least 3 months and it was apparent at times. Beyond the sugarcane fields, you pass through ranching territory. I could not help but wonder what the cows thought of their reality as they foraged for a morsel of food among a dry and brown landscape, paddocks that resembled dust bowls rather than fertile pastures. A landscape made all the more stark with smoldering fires, leaving behind a path of burnt Eucalyptus and charred earth, on the side of the road.

Eventually the two-lane highway leading north leaves the parched sub-tropical climate behind and enters into lush tropical climes. I love the tropics, and Australia's tropical coast is nothing short of the picture-perfect postcard - sandy beaches lined with coconut palms, air that wraps you up in warmth and turquoise waters that feel as though you are stepping into a warm bath. The towns that dot Queensland's north-east coast add a charm to this region's tropical vibe. Most of these towns are heritage towns, which have maintained part of the colonial architecture.

As you approach Port Douglas, the tropical rain forests and mountains of the Great Dividing Range have the appearance of dropping right into the ocean. Everything around you is green and lush, and feels full of life - a stark contrast to the area we had just traveled through.

After four days on the road, slowly making our way north, we arrived at our first destination - the beautiful town of Port Douglas. Now the real exploring can begin.

Stay tuned for our adventures in the Port Douglas area,
love H,D, R and G