Back to Mareeba the long way with a coffee stop at Mt. Molloy. There are several cafes there so we were lucky not to miss the last one. Along the way, sugar cane and mango plantations started to appear in ever increasing numbers – sometimes side by side. Approaching the town we decided to stop off at a Mango Winery… Read more

The weather wasn’t too bad, a morning drizzle with a promise to clear up, so we decided to leave Westy in the camp and drive south to Bloomfield Waterfall and then to Cape Tribulation along the Bloomfield Track through the Daintree. We had to head SW first as far as the intriguing Black Mountain then… Read more

Cooktown is markedly changed from when I first saw it on the MGTF tour in 1971 and again on “Cornelius” in 1980. I wish I had the relevant old photos with me. This hotel is where we had fish and chips in 1980. It was almost the only eating place then. The Endeavour River on… Read more

We made it! Cooktown, the most northerly place we hoped to reach on this six month tour of eastern Australia. Here’s an enlarged piece of the map from the last blog. The white ‘road’ (Burke Developmental Road) from Karumba to Cairns via Dunbar (take note Nic’n’Mick! – it’s at the highest point) and Chillagoe tempted… Read more

When we drove from Mt. Surprise to Mareeba we did not stop to explore any of the tableland towns, but now with the window glass ordered and various caravan parts in hand we had more time to explore. Herberton beckoned. Here’s a map to show where we’ve been recently and where we are going. The… Read more

We  made a day trip to Cairns, 62 km via a very twisty road down the mountain. We didn’t stop to visit Kuranda, that will be for another day. Once in Cairns, noticeably hotter and more humid than Mareeba, full of palm trees and overshadowed by the mountains, the GPSr worked overtime as we sped… Read more