Gorgeous! Finch Hatton Gorge

Near Mackay we headed inland slightly to stay in Finch Hatton gorge.

Sadly, at the Platypus bush camp we didn't see any platypuses (platypi?)
The campground is worthy of it's own separate post.....so come back later for that one.

But we did walk up the road a couple of hundred metres, fording the creek

to reach a lovely bush cafe.

With organic chai and sugar-free treats -

Anne is the lovely owner of this delightful garden sanctuary.

 Further up the road (we drove, still not feeling the strongest after the flu-thingy) are waterfalls and swimming holes

....but the water was FREEZING!

On the road again - another winter trip

"Let's go snorkelling on the Great Barrier Reef" he said.
Sounds good to me!
So off we go!
Caravan in tow.

Stopping at a couple of overnighters along the way -

Just off the road at Bauple. Actually there are two free place at Bauple - one is right in the village and the other closer to the highway.

A couple of nights in the low-cost camp at Agnes Waters -

Getting stuck in the sand at Carmila Beach, but finding a gorgeous spot next to the water and being helped by lovely fellow campers.

A free camp in the sugar mill town of Giru - next to the railway line with sugar trains rattling through.

Then a few days at Cairns from where we went on a day tour on the reef. It was fabulous.

We went with Seastar cruises.
It was pretty good. They supplied the wetsuits and snorkelling gear. Plus lunch and morning and afternoon tea.
It takes about an hour and a half to get out to the reef and then we visited two reefs. The first one is off a small cay which is home to...um, birds....lots of birds.
The cruise people took these photos of us.

Oh, yes, we saw fish!
We saw lots of brightly coloured parrot fish, you can hear them munching the coral when you snorkel.
The cruise people found us a cute little clown (Nemo) fish, they are a bit tricky as they hide in the coral.
Some people saw turtles. They were lucky.
Angel fish. spotty fish, Stripey fish. Big fish.
All sorts of fish that I can't even remember now.
And coral.
Yeah, it was cool

On the way back to port we saw some whales! How lucky.
Unfortunately we didn't managed to get to the camera in time.

In Cairns we stayed in the Lake Placid caravan park which is a bit squashy but is in a nice location.
Just a few metres up the road is Lake Placid itself which is at the bottom of the Barron gorge and there is a very nice Italian restaurant there.

It was a great place to eat after a long day out on the water.

G and his birds.

G has been doing a bit of birdwatching, bird-stalking and bird-snapping.

Friendly smile from a Carnarvon Gorge local. Wedge tail eagle not that happy I was around but smiled when he recognised I was friendly.

At Lara Wetlands Camping Area.

Whistling Kite taken over a wedge tailed eagle's nest.

Royal Spoonbill

One bird you never mess with...the 'punk' white faced heron. Lara Station south of Barcaldine. It watches us roasting veges in the camp oven at sunset. Zoom in to see earrings, studs and tatts.

 At Lily Lagoon, near Longreach

Spoonbills and

Dotterell

Driving around Bladensburg National Park South of Winton.

budgie feeding time

budgie feeding time

but I want more. Old trees are important for bird habitat. Bough Shed waterhole

White Necked Heron, Bough Shed Waterhole

spinifex pigeon at Bough Shed Waterhole

Around Lake Corella and Clem Walton Dam near Cloncurry.

Rainbow bee eaters...at the wrong angle to show their magnificent colour. Two of four

Cockatiel pokes its head out

Peaceful dove goes about its business

A rarely seen Cloncurry ringneck parrot

At Camooweal Waterhole

brolgas

brolga flying

And at Boodjamulla National Park an amazing Western Bowerbird bower, decorated with broken glass, bones and toilet paper! Sure to attract the girls.

possible grey falcon

pretty red-winged parrot

Channel Billed cuckoos are residents as are barking owls that really do sound like dogs.

A detour to Lawn Hill

We took a 3 day detour to Lawn Hill Gorge or Boodjamulla National Park.
Rather than drag our caravan over 500 kms of gravel road (OK the first bit is sealed highway) we decided it would be quicker and easier to leave our caravan in Camooweal (at the o-so-accommodating Camooweal Roadhouse) and travel light. Just taking our little 2-man tent - we'd booked into the pocket-sized national park campground.
It was obvious that we weren't the only ones doing that!

It is a pretty special place.
After 5 hours of driving across the drought-dry Barkly Tableland it is a real oasis.
A spring-fed river which has cut a gorge through red sandstone ranges.
Its banks are lined with palm trees, pandanus and other such greenery.
The water is an amazing green colour, sometimes jade green, sometimes almost florescent.

We had a creek-side site, although we couldn't actually see the creek as there was a fair bit of vegetation between us and the water.
We took our own canoe, although you can hire canoes there ($50 for 2 hours).

We canoed a couple of times.
Did a bit of walking.
Swam - a lot! One day 3 times (and I had a shower, I don't think I've ever been so wet!)

favorite swimming spot Indarri Falls

G got up a couple of mornings to witness the sunrise and another day went out lat to watch the sun set.

We ventured to Adel's Grove, 10 kms away to get ice. There are camping grounds there - but not as nice as ours! And costs a lot more. However there is a bar and restaurant there so we also had lunch and drinkies while we were there.