Oz Part II: FNQ

When we'd had enough of the chillier weather, we flew north to Cairns for a little tropical sunshine. What a dramatic difference! In typical airbnb fashion, we found a gem. The Queenslander style house was so dreamy, tucked away off the main streets and surrounded by trees and birds. Per our new friend Jo's recommendation, we rented bicycles so we'd be more mobile around Cairns and surrounds. Most of our days there were spent riding around the botanic gardens, stocking up at the fruit and veg market, playing cards, and relaxing in the hammock.  The city of Cairns was very touristy and lacked a certain charm, but the real beauty of the place was further away from all the backpackers' hostels (as it usually is…). 

Botanic Gardens

Hiking the Blue Arrow

on our bike route

found my paradise

custard apple

Cairns esplanade

The feature of our trip to FNQ (Far North Queensland), however, was in a 6-day road trip we took in a rented sleeper van. We started in Cairns and drove west, out to our first destination, Chillagoe, stopping at the Barron Gorge and Falls for some pics and to spend a night at a free campsite and try out our house on wheels. Let me just say, I had a bit of a love affair with our van. We have been talking and dreaming about a long US trip in a van at some point upon our return to the states, and our Jucy van made this seem even more possible. Although I would adore a charming, old-school UW camper van to cruise around in, this Jucy camper was just a regular minivan, with puzzle-pieces to form all the sleeping/storage parts in the back. Drive it around like a regular old car during the week, and transform it to a home on wheels for weekend trips. Too easy!

Lake Placid

van life

Chillagoe felt pretty darn close to the Outback to me. It was hot, dry, dusty, and by the end of the day we were covered in red earth. The features of this town are limestone rock formations and underground caves. We toured the caves, and hiked around the formations, surrounded by mound after mound of termite cones. It was otherworldly. Sunset in the rock formations followed by a night under the starriest sky you could imagine was a perfect cap-off to the night. 

Chillagoe

obligatory shitty cave photo

termite city

swimming hole

Chillagoe smelter

I almost forgot! When we were leaving Chillagoe, we stopped at a mysterious gas station which served as Tom Prior's (this man) personal collection of Fords (worth millions of dollars). We got a little stuck talking to this tiny man who had almost no teeth and was next to impossible to understand, but he wanted to show us (and tell us a story) about every single one of his vehicles. It was a pretty special experience. If you ever find yourself in Chillagoe, go give this man a minute (or 60) of your time. Quite an Aussie bloke ;)

After Chillagoe we began a slow journey towards Cape Tribulation, where we planned to snorkel at the Great Barrier Reef. The highlights of this drive included a rejuvenating swim in Milla Milla Falls, a rare platypus sighting in Yungaburra, sunbathing at Lake Tinnaroo, and more nights gazing through our "moon roof" at the stars. 

drinking coffee at the source (a plantation)

along the drive

swimming in Milla Milla falls was definitely a highlight

Yungaburra

no platys here... just a brush turkey 

Ta-da! Check that off the bucket list

En route to Cape Trib we stopped at Port Douglas, which we had heard was beautiful, touristy, and expensive. We were aiming to make just a quick stop for the sunset and a night of sleep, but fate must have wanted to delay our journey a bit, as the battery in our trusty van died while we were sleeping (paranoid) illegally in a parking lot. Things didn't look good the next morning when it took us over an hour to get someone to give us a jump, and then looked even worse when these good samaritans declared our battery completely flat. A bit of panic there, I must admit. But things turned around when the roadside assistance guy showed up and replaced the battery free of charge thanks to our hefty insurance policy (sometimes taking out the insurance is actually worth it). And then we were on our way, with a bright shiny new car battery and not one illegal parking/car-sleeping ticket on our windscreen. :)

Port Douglas

Thinking about swimming anywhere in Australia? Think again

Cape Tribulation is a World Heritage site which can only be accessed by "ferry." In this case, "ferry" refers to a piece of a bridge about 50 meters long which seems to be missing about 50 more meters in length. If it were 100 meters in total, you would not have to pay $23 to travel for 2 minutes while the bridge moves to the other side. It gave me quite a laugh, but then again, I can see why they would want to give tourists a reason not to make the trip to overload the Daintree Rainforest with cars and drunken backpackers. 

In our few days in Cape Trib, we went on some day walks, one of which almost met a very unfortunate end… We had been warned by sign after sign about the elusive cassowary, an endangered bird that inhabits the area but is on the road to extinction. These birds look a bit like an emu, and can easily be as tall as Brian. It's supposed to be a big deal if you see one, because they are rare and like to avoid people. However, while feeling quite sure that you won't see one, you are supposed to always be careful as they can be dangerous if they feel threatened, which might cause them to jump towards you with both feet up, which contain razor-sharp claws it likes to aim at your jugular. So, I didn't really care to see one (unless with a tour, or someone who could act as a barrier between me and the claw), but I figured the chances were slim to none. Well, you can imagine my surprise when 5 minutes into a canopy rainforest walk, a cassowary stood about 60 feet away. I wanted to start backing away slowly (as you're advised to do if they approach you) until I was safely in the car and driving away, but Brian decided he'd really love to get some pics. "Keeping a safe distance," he slowly approached the creature with his camera. When it spotted us, I expected it to turn and run. Instead, it continued going about its business, ignoring us, which caused Brian to go for a few more photos. Well, a minute later I guess curiosity got the better of her, because she came out onto the boardwalk and began approaching us. Brian was not in the category of "people I'd use as a carrowary claw barrier," so I didn't really feel any better that he was front in line. We backed away slowly, MAINTAINING EYE CONTACT as one's advised to do… all the while doing everything in my power not to turn and run full speed back to the car. Well, this game went on for about 2 hours (ok, it was more like 1 minute but it really felt like 2 hours), with this big bird picking up speed all the while, until eventually, just as I was about to pee my pants, she turned to retreat off into the bush. CASSOWARY DEATH AVERTED. Wouldn't that have been an embarrassing way to die? Look these bastards up online, they're no joke.

claw not displayed

yeah sure, no probs

its curiosity is peaked... anyway didn't get any other pics because we were too busy trying not to die

With a new appreciation for life, we got ready to take our speed boat out to the reef. The reef, reef of all reefs. I died the entire way out because I neglected to take my motion-sickness meeds, but once I was out there in the water gazing at cartoon clams big enough to eat me, I felt good again. Because it's kind of expensive and visiting the reef sort of dictated the rest of our Australia trip, I was really nervous about whether or not it would be worth it. Well, it was, 100 times over. The coral was unreal, and the color of the water and the sandbar almost made you feel as if you were on another planet. It really did feel like a special experience and something I feel so lucky to have seen (especially in the capacity of a small, 15-person boat tour as opposed to an 80 foot catamaran where the act of getting in and out of the water is like that of herding cattle. I highly recommend the tour company we booked with, Ocean Safari, and can vouch for the clarity of the water near Cape Tribulation. 

red' to go

yes, those colors are real

happy kid

Other FNQ road trip activities included visiting numerous waterfalls, a rainy day at the beach, and a 100% success rate for camping in potential non-camping spots and not getting in trouble. All in all, a fantastic trip! The only casualty came on our last night in Cairns, getting caught in a massive rainstorm while walking around the city, causing the death of my iphone screen and losing my flip flop into a storm drain while we were still 10 minutes away from our house. Adventures abound! And the moral of this blog post is: You're still alive! Learn to laugh. :)

basket ferns

Mangroves

Crab art

big tree

can't remember where this was... :)