Boulders, basalt, and turtles

If you prepare a 3-months journey, you can’t plan each and every stop. Most milestones for the first few weeks had been defined, but further north the itinerary becomes more “blurry”. I had written down some of the bigger towns — Rockhampton, Mackay, Bowen, Townsville —, but after experiences like Springbrook or Cape Hillsborough we are too spoiled to set up tent next to a highway or Coles supermarket.

The more we travel north, the more fellow travellers we meet, many of whom are going in the opposite direction. So they can share some tips with us. And that’s how we end up at Paluma Ranges National Park, a park that had not been on our radar before. As part of the Queensland Wet Tropics Rainforests it is found on the UNESCO world heritage list. That seems to apply to the majority of national parks in this part of north-eastern Queensland.

But indeed Paluma Ranges is special: The part that we visit features the Jourama Falls. Over several steps they cascade down from a ridge, which is probably 150 metres high, into a valley dotted with boulders. Granite and basalt form an interesting contrast. Even now, in the dry season, the scenery is spectacular. We try to imagine what this valley may look like in The Wet. As access to the campsite requires 2 creek crossings, we doubt that you can get here in heavy rainfall.

Close to the day visitor area you can find a platform overlooking the creek. We spend hours sitting there and watching the turtles surface and return into the dark again.

[Paluma Ranges National Park, Jourama Falls camping area, 29.-31. July]

Sugar and ash

In one of the more recent National Geographic editions I read about our addiction to sugar. The Aussies must be even worse sugar junkies: Starting at Bundaberg only around 300 km north of Brisbane, the highway is lined with sugar cane fields. Sugar cane train railway lines zigzag through the landscape, and from time to time a sugar cane mill or distillery pollutes the air. We start wondering: Is this all about sugar, or its drinkable sibling, rum?

On our way to the Townsville region we look for a convenient camping spot; this stay is not about sightseeing, not about natural beauty. Eventually we find the Home Hill show ground. The place obviously has got an interesting history: In a bygone era it used to be a rodeo stadium. Today, veggies grow where brave cowboys tamed bulls and horses.

At nightfall, we can see lots of fires in the distance. Farmers are burning down their harvested sugar cane fields. In the morning, our tent is covered in ash.

[Home Hill showground, 28.-29. July]

Breakfast with kangaroos

At home in Sydney, when preparing the trip, it seemed to be a well-kept secret: At dawn, Cape Hillsborough National Park features kangaroos on the beach. How Aussie is that?! So I had put it on the itinerary.

Upon getting up at 6 AM in the morning it turns out that there are indeed about one dozen kangaroos only a few steps from our campsite. But they are easily outnumbered by ten times as many tourists with tripods and cameras. I don’t want to share my roo with anybody else; so I take photos of the stunning sunrise and of tourists taking photos of kangaroos.

The German translation of American travel author Bill Bryson’s highly recommended documentary ‘Down Under’ is named ‘Frühstück mit Kängurus’, ‘Breakfast with kangaroos’ — and that’s exactly what we have afterwards.

Don’t get me wrong: Cape Hillsborough National Park is well worth a visit. There are a few excellent hikes through rainforests up to the headland ridge, which is covered in eucalyptus. The slopes teem with Ulysses Butterflies. Most impressive, however, is the aptly named ‘Turtle Lookout’ from where we see Green Sea Turtles frolicking in the green sea. The Great Barrier Reef provides natural protection for the mainland beaches, hence the water is shallow and extremely calm — perfect for this endangered species.

[Cape Hillsborough National Park, 26.-28. July]

St Lawrence

Our trip to Heron Island was a luxurious escape, and it’s now time to cover some distance again. The national parks around Cairns have got a great reputation, and they are so far away from home that we won’t get there that quickly again.

Hence tonight’s stop is all about convenience. The WikiCamps app on our iPad suggests a council campground at St Lawrence. It’s free, there are toilets and showers — if you can afford a dollar, even warm ones.

But first we visit the Capricorn Caves close to Rockhampton. Some kilometres before we have crossed the tropic of Capricorn. We are now "officially" in the Tropics.

The St Lawrence campground turns out to be a former cattle muster station. We set up our tent close to paddocks and timber fences. Most of the other campers are “grey nomads”, retirees who spend many months each year travelling. Which is reflected by their camper vans and caravans. Many of the are actually custom-built buses, which tow a conventional vehicle behind them. There are definitely some townhouses in Sydney’s Inner West that feature less space than these houses on wheels. Of course television is a must, hence you can hear the sound of generators till after the 8 o’clock news broadcast.

The good thing about sharing the campsite with grey nomads is that they have got heaps of tips to share. Since only the first few weeks of our trip have been planned in detail, this provides us some valuable information about potential next stops along our way.

After a good night’s sleep we wander around a bit and discover a peaceful bird sanctuary. St Lawrence turns out to offer more than meets the eye at first glance.

[St Lawrence Recreational Reserve, 25.-26. July]

Nature's wonderland

Heron Island is home to a national park, a Queensland University research outpost, and a resort. As part of the Great Barrier Reef, guests actually stay in a world heritage listed area.

An aerial view of Heron Island and its reef would resemble an infra-red photo of a huge fried egg: On the dark-blue plate of the Pacific Ocean, there is a 25 km2 large coral cay: Like a wall, the reef creates an area of turquoise sheltered water, at low tide almost falling dry, at high tide just 2 metres deep. And in that coral cay, there is the island like the yolk on the egg: tiny, 800 m in length, 300 m at its widest spot, 1.8 km circumference. A walk around it takes 25 minutes.

Yet it’s hard to get bored. The resort staff have put on all sorts of activities to keep you busy and entertained: Island walks that give you an overview about Heron Island, its key natural features and history. Bird walks, star gazing. And of course the one activity that Heron Island is famous for: diving outside the reef and snorkelling or reef walking inside its shelter. You won’t be disappointed. Colourful fishes, oddly shaped corals, a variety of rays and even sharks can be spotted.

This is paradise, and time is flying way too fast. When we embark the ferry back to the mainland we say good-bye, but definitely not farewell to Heron.

Even on a bad weather day sooooo beautiful!

White sand, no photoshopping

Black-tipped reef sharks in the harbour

This ferry is my enemy — day of departure

We'll be back

[Heron Island resort, 20.-24. July]

A bumpy ride

Heron Island is located around 72 km off the Queensland coast, a 2 1/2 hour boat trip on a jet ferry. We leave the harbour of Gladstone in calm conditions. But the skipper already warns us that conditions won’t stay that benign once we leave the chain of protecting islands in front of the harbour behind. And he is right! Though the captain does his best to avoid the biggest waves, there are more than enough that still get us. The ship nosedives, flies through the air or tilts so far to port or starboard that the windows are covered in white wash. No surprise that most passengers soon start to feel unwell. The paper bags that are generously distributed across the vessel find a lot of good use …

Gladstone Harbour

Heron Island's equivalent

They are there!

Today we have had a rather unspectacular day on the road between Hervey Bay and Gladstone. It is puzzling how the vegetation is changing along the way: In northern New South Wales, the landscape is dominated by banana plantations. In southern Queensland, sugar canes take over. Up here further north, it must have been very dry over the last couple of months: The crops along the road are golden. Occasionally you see a few cows, but hardly any farms any more. On the Pacific Highway, not far away in the Brisbane area a busy artery, only a single lane leads into either direction.

In the Gladstone area, one of Australia’s biggest ports for iron ore and coal, things change a bit, and the roads gets busier. We check out the marina to get an idea on parking facilities for the next few days: Cars and camper trailer can be locked away securely during our stay on Heron Island. Finally we leave the town again and soon after find a remote camping spot on a river. It strikes us how far north we have already come:

We are now in crocodile territory!

[Gladstone, Calliope River Rest Area, 19.-20. July]

Ocean giants

Our next stop is Hervey Bay, with the sole intention to jump on a whale watching boat and finally get up-close to these majestic creatures. Our camp ground at Scarness is very popular — not only with campers but with Rainbow Lorikeets that at dusk assemble in the trees. There must be thousands of these colourful little parrots sitting there at night. Okay, I am not going to mention the mess that they leave on car and tent in the morning …

Scarness pier

Regarding the whale watching, it’s still early season. We learn that in winter time the whales migrate up the coast from Antarctica to the Whitsunday Islands, where the water is warm enough for their calves that are born there to survive the first weeks of their life. Once they have got enough “blubber” to keep them warm — whale mum’s milk with 35% fat helps them achieve this in only a few weeks —, they migrate south to the Hervey Bay region for an extended stop-over.

According to the captain of our cruise, there is a 50-50 chance to spot any whales as most of them will arrive around August. We are lucky, and after an hour find two humpback whales that, though not very playful, aren’t shy either. They don’t mind us giving them company (from a safe distance) for a few hours.

From here we are off to Gladstone where we will board the ferry to Heron Island. No phone reception, let alone internet. So don’t expect a post before the end of next week.

[Hervey Bay, Scarness Beachfront, 16.-19. July]

Glasshouse Mountains

In the morning our car’s windscreen is covered in a thin layer of ice. The temperatures had dropped to freezing point. Time to find some more moderate spots. Like the day before we follow rural roads, this time winding down the hills, before we eventually hit the Pacific Highway again.

Here, only around 100 kilometres south of Brisbane, it has got 4 lanes in each direction. Reason is the popularity of the Gold Coast region with tourists. We pass Warner Brothers Movie World, Sea World, Wet’n’Wild, an almost infinite strip of entertainment parks with cheap diners, fast food chains, and roller coasters along the way. We don’t bother stopping in Brisbane, and instead head another 80 kilometres further north till we reach the Glasshouse Mountains area.

The Glasshouse Mountains are a chain of volcanic plugs, i.e. they are the cores of volcanoes that had been active around 25 million years ago. The volcanoes’ slopes have eroded, but the lava pipes have withstood wind and rain. We set up tent at Beerwah (aboriginal for “mother”) with the plan to hike up one of the hills the next day.

On top of Mount Ngungun

The following day Jonas, Niklas and their grandparents visit the nearby Australia Zoo, while Claudia and I climb up Mount Ngungun and walk through heathland around Mount Tibrogargan. We had seen the Glasshouse Mountains a few times before, but always from the “safe distance” of the Pacific Highway. It’s nice to finally “put names to their faces”.

[Glasshouse Mountains, Beerwah campground, 14.-16. July]

Springbrook National Park

I am going to share a secret with you: Springbrook National Park, around 100 kilometres from Byron Bay, is just stunning! Though it is one of the UNESCO-listed Gondwana Rainforest Parks, it is almost forgotten. Well, now in winter time, that is. Who knows what the summer season looks like.

From Byron Bay a narrow and steep road winds up the slopes, on the way passing rural hinterland farms and lovely valleys. Some sections are so steep that thanks to the heavy trailer I have to change to second gear. Up at 750 metres altitude we find a lookout with views over the Gold Coast with its gleaming skyscrapers. Why would anybody want to spend their holidays there?

Gold Coast tourist accommodation

In Springbrook National Park the sign at the hiking tracks announces a 1-hour walk — for 1 kilometre distance! It turns out that this estimate is overly optimistic. The track is so stunning that it actually takes me 2 hours. Admittedly 1 hour 45 minutes are spent on taking photos. No surprise, as this park is home to a natural wonder, the Natural Bridge waterfall: Through a hole in the ceiling, the water drops into a cave, which it leaves a few metres further down the stream. The light, the colours, the sounds leave you speechless. Apparently at night time there are glow worms on the ceiling. A phenomenon that we unfortunately miss.

Natural Bridge

Instead, we set up camp on a site operated by the Queensland National Parks management organisation. $5.95 per person, the Milky Way above our tent, the night sky only spoiled by light pollution from the Gold Coast in the distance. This is the sort of experience we had been looking for when preparing the trip.

Our tent under the Milky Way

[Springbrook National Park, 13.-14. July]

Byron Bay

What a contrast! Cape Byron is the eastern-most point of mainland Australia and earmarked on every backpacker’s itinerary. When we arrive just before sunset and immediately head up to the lighthouse, big groups of tourists are already queueing to take selfies. We leave the spot as quickly as possible. Our first impression: Byron Bay is grossly overrated. Nice beaches, but other beaches close-by can easily match their beauty. A lighthouse, but there are others. It doesn’t really help that the camp ground, though top-notch, is extremely expensive (around 3 times as expensive as others). Our first thought: Why on Earth did we stop here?!

Now it’s too late, and we accept our fate. After a dinner barbecue, accompanied by a few beers, and a good nights sleep we get up very early. For sure all those backpackers have partied deep into the night and are still sound asleep! And indeed we’ve got the lighthouse and the sunrise almost to ourselves, share it only with a few locals and joggers. When we walk to the cape, we finally see whales. Suddenly Byron Bay doesn’t seem that bad anymore.

Cape Byron Lighthouse

[Byron Bay, 12.-13. July]

Dorrigo National Park

Claudia and I had visited Dorrigo National Park many years before. Despite — or thanks to? — all the leeches that back then chased us along the track, it had left a lasting impression. No surprise it is listed by UNESCO as a world heritage area. Up here at around 700 metres altitude on the slopes of the Great Dividing Range, the canopy of the trees is so dense that hardly any sunshine can pass through. In the search of light, lianas and figs climb up the big trees, in the process strangling their hosts and taking over their spots. This is a very old rainforest, and one of the southern-most that can be found in Australia.

Everywhere else in the world such a place would be surrounded by coach parking areas, you’d have to pay an entry fee, and souvenir shops would rip off tourists. As is so often the case in Australia, such a divine place is almost taken for granted, and no fuzz is made about it. On our half-day visit we meet a dozen other walkers, that’s it. We start appreciating the beauty of winter — and off-season! — holidays.

Bellingen

We slightly adjust our plans and head to Bellingen in the hinterland of the coast. It’s a bit closer to our next destination, the Dorrigo National Park, than Nambucca Heads, where we had initially planned to stay. So we only spend a few hours at Nambucca. Still enough time to admire the rock art on the break wall. Generations of tourists have left their fingerprints on the rocks. Next time we will have to bring some paint as well.

Rock Art

In Bellingen, the camp ground turns out to be amazing: The local show ground usually hosts local fairs and the farmer market on the weekend. Furthermore, it serves as exercise ground for horse riders. Niklas and Jonas again get a camera and take some shots.

[Bellingen showground, 10.-12. July]

South West Rocks

We arrive at South West Rock just before sunset. Early enough to watch some Eastern Grey Kangaroos right in front of the toilet block. Hope they don’t start boxing and defending their territory …

South West Rocks features the remnants of an old jail. It had been built in the late 19th century to house prisoners who had to erect the break wall that was supposed to provide shelter for ships at this halfway mark between Brisbane and Sydney. After 10 years, only 15% of that break wall had been constructed. And as by now sturdier boats were used, the whole project got shelved.

The jail then served as prisoner of war camp in World War II and mainly housed German prisoners, i.e. German immigrants that were considered potential enemies. Today, a ruin is all that is left.

All these details for those readers that are interested in history. We actually spend most of the time introducing Niklas and Jonas to the use of a camera. Afterwards they take heaps of photos of kangaroos, while the rest of us enjoy breakfast on a rock overlooking the blue ocean.

First victim of paparazzi N. or J.

[South West Rocks, 9.-10. July]

Seal Rocks

The first day of our 3-months journey contains all the ingredients to potentially end up in a perfect disaster. “Of course” we leave Sydney way too late, hence have to re-adjust our itinerary before we set up tent for the first night. Our first milestone is Seal Rocks around 270 km north of Sydney where we book us into the Treachery Beach campsite. The name should have warned us.

Upon our (late) arrival shortly before sunset we go for a beach walk — only to realise a bit too late how quickly dusk and darkness set in. So we have to set up camp in utter darkness, only slightly lit up by the weakest of our head torches, because the better ones are stored away into some remote corners of our camper trailer where we would find them a few hours later.

“Of course” after weeks of sunshine it now starts bucketing down — and it doesn’t help that the place has no camp kitchen. Boiling water (for pasta) on a barbecue doesn’t cut it, so we have to resort to the gas stove in our camper trailer. Luckily the rain has an insight and stops just long enough for us to cook dinner.

It could have been a start into our adventure that makes you want to turn around immediately and head home. But then …

The night turns out to be an amazing one: The clouds dissolve, and only a few hours north of Sydney the night sky with gazillions of stars is incredible. We experience Seal Rock’s interesting night life: the sound of dingoes, spookily howling in the not too far distance.

The next day welcomes us with sunshine and, after the rain, some amazing morning mist.

Evaporation made visible

We allow plenty of time for “sightseeing” before heading further north. Seal Rocks is a township with a population of a few hundred people, so sightseeing actually means visiting the lighthouse. Yet the scenery is spectacular, and on a good day you might spot some migrating whales. Again we don’t. But some dolphins play in the surf.

Sugarloaf Lighthouse

There is another spectacular feature: The ocean has broken a tunnel into the cliffs and formed a blow hole that waves are thundering through. Of course we have to walk in as close as possible.

Seal Rocks Blow Hole

[Seal Rocks, Treachery Beach camp ground, 8.-9. July]

Day -4 — Yet another Sydney weekend

There are still a few days to go before we leave Sydney. Today is my first one off work. But it mostly feels like a normal weekend, not like the start of 3 months vacation. We have the usual visitors on our balcony.

Male King Parrot wondering why it takes me so long to prepare his breakfast

When this little fella got up this morning, he certainly didn’t dream of becoming the first photo model on my blog.

I spend a bit of time on trip preparations, tightened a few screws on the camper trailer, lubricate locks, unsubscribe from some e-mail newsletters — who needs cheap home loans in the Outback?

A first pack list is composed. Mine is about the optical and electronic gadgets: 2 digital SLR cameras, 2 water-proof compact ones, 2 binoculars, a laptop, the iPad with a “Campgrounds Australia” app, smart phones, walkie-talkies. All with chargers for car as well as conventional sockets. I start wondering: Is this going to be a camping trip? Neil Armstrong didn’t have half as many gadgets on him when he conquered the moon. Modern blessings, I assume — we all can’t do without anymore.

Once again I realise that Sydney weekends almost always feel like short holidays. We have sandwiches at a little café right on the beach, watch the surfers, try —unsuccessfully— to spot migratory whales. No drama, we will catch up with them up at Hervey Bay. During the day t-shirts and shorts are all you need. Sunglasses are a must. But once the sun has set, it gets chilly. In anticipation of the trip we have a campfire in our garden, not bad.

"Look, mum, hands-free!"

Now off to bed reading the book that I have to return to the library before our departure. Another piece of trip preparation.