Adventures in Cape Tribulation

Cape Tribulation is as far north along the coast line that a sealed road will take us.  The journey there crosses the Daintree river by ferry and then through a glorious drive in the Daintree rainforest.  

Crossing on the Ferry - 5 very excited Newsome's in the car

The Daintree is an untouched paradise.  The rainforest is more than twice as old as the Amazon, and learning about its intricacy gave me an incredible appreciation for Gods master plan for our eco system.  The tides and seasonal floods bring nutrients from the rainforest out into the sea to sustain an amazing chain of sea life to the reef and beyond.   Amazingly mangrove trees can survive in absolute salt water because they choose just one leaf to absorb all the salt too, this leaf turns yellow while the rest of the leaves stay green.  

The numerous butterflies in the Daintree are stunning, myriads of colours shapes and sizes.  Amy ran into a small grassy field and 100 small white butterflies suddenly appeared from the grass and fluttered around her.  It was a beautiful sight and captured Amy’s wonder.   We used our fishing net to chase and catch the butterflies which was lots of fun.

We choose sea kayaking as our adventurous way to experience cape trib.  We go on separate treks to work around the kids.  John has some experience kayaking, and takes the first trip out.  The guide takes you out in a small group for a relaxing 2 hour paddle through a bay of the coral sea, gliding around reefs, hunting out fish, birds and sea turtles and then riding the waves in as the sun sets.    The next morning it was my turn, and not being very experienced I was pretty nervous, but John reassured me I’d have a relaxing and uplifting journey where you literally feel your soul radiate within the core of your chest.  His description was so intriguing (my hubby is a poet) and now I am keen to experience the same! 

Johns Paddletrek in the Coral Sea

Of course we hadn’t realised the trek I had been booked into was actually different from Johns little paddle.  My trek left the quiet bay and went well out to sea around the headland where the swell and waves were enormous.  The wind today was more than normal and the guide admitted he wasn’t sure whether to go ahead, but decided to anyway.  It took everything I had, rowing hard head on into the waves and against the wind! I am not sure that I actually have any abdominal muscles after three pregnancies in a three year span.  I also felt dreadfully out of shape.  All that chasing around after toddlers doesn’t keep you as fit as you think.  Although I really wanted to make it, in the end I was humbly towed about 200m by the guide to catch up with the rest of the group.  We finally reached the shore around the headland, and I caught a magnificent wave in, only to be dumped just before reaching shore and lose my sunglasses and drink bottle to the sea, in exchange for a nose full of salt water.  It was an emotionally and physically exhausting experience, and although I don’t think I could do it again, the other side of the cape after the push through held a part of the Daintree that was so remote and only reachable by boat.  We wandered into in indescribably beautiful cavern in the rainforest, with the sun streaming through in breaks between the trees.  And there I found my soul radiate within my core, just as John had described.   All that was left was to summon up the courage to jump into the kayak again make the journey back around the headland.  The journey back to the calm bay was a little easier, although I did need towing again to get through the breakers, and enjoyed yet another tumble into the sea.

Of course John had been waiting with the kids in the quiet bay and had no idea what he had sent me out to, when he saw me Kayak back in all wet, he thought I must have decided to go for a nice swim.   For days I had an ache in my abs and blisters on my hands.  

Somehow I manage to bring back a coconut for Josh from around the heads

The rest of cape trib was spent doing small rainforest walks, a boat ride down the Daintree, croc spotting, bike riding, and beach time (oh and of course, wiped bottoms, washed clothes, cleaned the caravan, cooked meals, solved toddler disputes, and kept the kids busy with activities).

We would love to have stayed longer, but had to make our appointment for the caravan mechanic.

We made a lovely friend in the jungle camp we stayed at, and she wanted to pray for our vehicles as we left.  This proved to be just what we needed as we headed off on the long winding road through the Daintree.  I spotted a roadside stall for Daintree tea, and called out for John to stop so I can pick some up.  When I got out of the car we noticed smoke billowing out from under the caravan and the smell of burnt rubber.  The wheel had overheated and caused a small fire inside.   By  Gods grace the only RACQ in the remote area was only a few paces down the road.  He helped us out, changed the wheel bearings and set us off on our way.  But the fire inside the wheel had melted our electric brakes.  If we had driven any further the incident could have been disastrous.  Our appointment at the mechanic was only a day away.

In our experience the Daintree stands as the most beautiful thing in all creation.  Majestic green hills covered in rainforest and rivers that meet with the sea.  It is boarded with islands and coral reefs and and houses a perfectly running bio network, untouched and unaffected by man.   We felt a loss leaving all that beauty.

(Sorry there aren't more photo's to share of the Daintree - lost our camera, and just using our phone to take pics).

The Daintree is an untouched paradise.  The rainforest is more than twice as old as the Amazon, and learning about its intricacy gave me an incredible appreciation for Gods master plan for our eco system.  The tides and seasonal floods bring nutrients from the rainforest out into the sea to sustain an amazing chain of sea life to the reef and beyond.   Amazingly mangrove trees can survive in absolute salt water because they choose just one leaf to absorb all the salt too, this leaf turns yellow while the rest of the leaves stay green.  

Lollipops and Lazy Crocs

Stopping at Palm Cove for a week we had a number of day trips, the two highlights were the Zoo and Barron Falls.

I took Sam and Josh to Cairns Tropical Zoo while Amy and John had a Daddy daughter day.   The Zoo was full of Australian animals.  You could hand feed the Kangaroos.  Of course Joshua ate the kangaroo food and then played drums on the kangaroos back.  Trying to curb joshua’s fear about being eaten by a crocodile I took him for a walk through the croc sanctuary while they were lazing in the sun.  I pointed out how lazy the crocs were and this seemed to help, but later during the show crocs show when they wouldn’t jump out for their food, Joshua calls out in a loud voice to the zoo keeper – ‘they are just so lazy’  Later we enjoyed a private tour of the reptile sanctuary, because we were the only ones who turned up for the tour.  The boys thought this was fabulous and that they really were helping the zoo keeper feed the lizards.  They even got to hold a baby croc.   .

Kuranda is a gorgeous mountain village in the rainforest of Barron National Park just west of Cairns.  We took a walk to the Baron Falls which was the most amazing waterfall I have ever seen.   We had brought the kids a lollipop in the candy store in Kuranda (the kind of store where you can watch them make the lollies) - and Josh lost his lollipop over the waterfall lookout.  Then Amy fell splat on the ground and got a dirt beard all over her sticky face, sam was still working slowly at his lollipop three hours later.   The kids loved the rainforest.  Amy kept shouting out ‘tree tree’ or ‘rock’ or ‘bird bird’.   Sam wanted to lead the way on the bush walk and have everyone follow him.   Josh just wanted to run.  We were talking about what we might see in the rainforest, and they boys mentioned cassowaries and brush turkeys.  Amy suggested fairies (she is in love with fairies right now).  We did see the brush turkeys, then we walked passed two young teenage girls with long hair on the walk and Amy called out ‘fairies fairies’.  Didn’t see any Cassowarys through.

I snuck in a shopping trip while in Cairns region – who knows when we’ll see Myer again.  I had an excuse to shop because John had only packed one pair of shorts and spent a month in them already (not sure if I should have left him to pack his own bag). 

Also spent a day in Port Douglas which was a bit like a tropical version of Port Stephens.

At Palm Cove we had battery problems with the van again with Cairns just down the road it was a good spot to sort things out.  We discovered it hasn’t been the battery all this time, but a wiring problem in the van, and although we don’t have the skill to fix it, we find a way to work around it .  John also change a tyre on the van which kept loosing air – and at this point open up another can of worms.  First the Jack fails (later I searched online and found that model we brought had been recalled).  We worked out a way to get the tyre changed with the assistance of a helpful stranger.  After the wheel is changed it seems wobbly and we think to ourselves with our great mechanical wisdom ‘hmm I don’t think the wheel should wobble’.  Thankfully the kind stranger helping us advises we need to adjust the bearings, he takes of the wheel cap and works it all out for us.  He tells us we need to get the other one done too but without a working Jack it would be a bit problematic, so we contact a mechanic in Mossman.  They book us in for the following week.

Thinking things are now well sorted, we confidently head off to Cape Tribulation.

Beautiful People

Having travelled for over a month, it was time to put our feet up and stop for a while.   We looked up the camp book and chose a spot called ‘Palm Cove’ just north of Cairns – which turned out to be the most beautiful place on the Cairns coast.   It was a small resort village with a promenade of boutique stores, cafes, and exclusive restaurants.  Nestled in right beside all the big name resorts is a little council run caravan park on the beach.  It was a gift to the council from a deceased estate, bequeathed under the condition that it is kept as a camp ground.  Since that time Palm Cove has grown into an exclusive sanctuary.  The caravan park, basic and in need of maintenance, is no longer in keeping with the surrounds, and the council is arguing over its future.  In the mean time for just $18.50 a night we enjoyed pretending to be like the rich and famous in the most idyllic location on the coast.

 

Staying put for an extended period gave us a wonderful chance to get to know the culture and people that had set up Palm Cove Caravan Park.  Happy hour was at beer o'clock and the atmosphere was relaxed and friendly.  The caretaker calls you by name and waves out as he empties the bins and potters around.   We met so many lovely folks.

Roslyn from Newcastle is travelling Australia with her four year old boy as a single mum.  She has packed a bundle of toys and my boys enjoyed playing around her caravan.  I am just amazed at her courage, and I know there is a big story in her.  She plans to travel for the next three years and then return home to family and friends, if that’s where the journey takes her.

Bill and Viv are from Alstonville, retired and travel eight months of the year.  Bill is large and sports a blue tank shirt the entire time we are there and has a big head of wild grey curls – he helps John change the tyre on our caravan.  Viv is short, full figured, and always smiling.  She has a bird ‘lou lou’ that spends the day on her shoulder and sleeps in her hat at night.  The kids love to go up to visit and have a turn with the bird sitting on their shoulder.

Jane was a gift from God.  My hair had become quite long and not having packed conditioner due to short showers, I couldn’t comb the knots out.  I was either going to go down the dreadlocks route, or I needed it lopped off.  The boys hair was getting wild and long too.  I started to get anxious about where I’d get the chance and the money for a hair cut.  Then a picture popped into my head that at the next camp spot there would be a tent with the sign out the front saying ‘hair cuts’ - and that is exactly what I found outside Jane’s tent.   She is young and travelling OZ with her partner.  They have no long term plans and have no idea where they will end up - picking up work and waitressing along the way.    She gave me a great cut.  Josh looked so tiny in her chair with the black cloke around his neck, it’s the first time he has had his hair cut by anyone but his mummy.  After seeing her brothers do it, Amy wanted to have a hair cut too – so she sat up in the chair while Jane ran her fingers of her head.   Amy proudly hoped down, and received her lolly pop reward.

Rebecca is living her second life now that her children are older teenagers and doing their own thing.  She has sold her home and chosen a nomadic life, met a lovely islander who plays guitar.  They have a 7 month old baby and another on the way.  With no long term plans they are enjoying the simple life.   Having recovered from a serious car accident a few years ago, today Rebecca seems very happy and content.   Colourful flags of peace hang from her caravan awning.

Marlene is from Adelaide.  She lost her mother last year, which has reunited her with her sister who now lives in Sydney.  They have chosen Palm Cove to meet together and catch up on lost years. 

Camped beside us were a couple of surrogate grand parents for our kids.  They are from Gympie and had a glorious van with all the gadgets you could imagine.  It is a tribute to years of hard work they have spent in their nursery business.   Now they travel often through the year with their son looking after the business.   They watched our children for us one evening while John and I enjoyed wine and cheese at one of the resorts on the promenade.  They encouraged us for a few days, and then went on their way. 

Jack walked up to our Caravan to pick up his son, who has found his way over to us to play with the boys.  At first we think he must be the lad’s grandfather, but judged too soon.  He warms to John quickly and shares the sorrow of his recent separation which left him to care for their 2 year old son.  He leaves work under the personal stress and is unable to return.  They have no permanent address, but he has his freedom and is devoted to raising his son.  Soon they start talking about music and it turns out Jack is a songwriter with a few small demo’s which he plays to John.    John is able to share his knowledge and encourages him with his writing.  Jack leaves inspired – the next day was his 50^th birthday.

Meeting all these beautiful people makes for a very rich journey – and these are all from one week, in one camp ground.  We stopped again at Palm Cove Caravan Park on the way back from Cape Trib.  It was lovely to see familiar faces, waving and welcoming us.  We felt a sense of coming home, a feeling we haven’t experienced in a while.

For the kids

I am already forgetting where I was last week....memories of some towns are merging into others...'Bowen, where was that, what was there? I can't remember'.  Someone once told me the weakest ink is better than the strongest memories.  A big part of the vision for blogging was to give the kids a record of our adventure..... so this i what has been missed since the last installment..(before I completely loose my recall).  Sam, Joshua and Amy this is for you:


A few troubles with our caravan battery (again) had us stopped in Yeppoon overnight, but stopping right on the beach was glorious and gave us time to get reorganised while the kids played on the beach.  With everything in order we set off in the morning.  


Venturing just north of Mackay, we stumbled upon a fishing village in Seaforth.  The drive in from the highway gave us our first glimpse of rainforest mountain.  As you turned a bend on the winding road, the mountains met the sea and left us in awe.  The village had a corner store, a few blocks of humble pole style homes, and a council run camp ground on the beach. We could have stayed there for the long haul.  However duty called, and John was needed in Townsville in a few days.   Definatley mark that spot as one to return to one day, if it is still there.  The low tide went out about 500m and glissened in the sunshine with islands on the horizon.  There are lots of shells and coral on the beach from the recent cyclone - even coconut shells that have blown in from the islands.  This is where Sam has discovered a new love for collecting shells, totally fascinated he fills up his pockets, and is totally delighted when I produce a little pouch for him to keep his collections in.  He continually counts them in the car, and checks that they are still all there.

Sunset at Seaforth

The stretch from Mackay to Townsville had a suprising mix of arid fields, sugar cane, rocky mountains, the initial signs of rainforest, hemming the shoreline.    

We had a big driving day so treated the kids to hot chips for lunch at Airlie Beach.  The boys keep talking about this adventure because this is where the kookaburra swooped down and stole a chip straight out of Amys hand.   Poor little distressed Amy - and one very guileless bird.  Amy's big brothers are very protective of their little sister, and the Kookaburra may never live down it's notorious reputation. 

Airlie Beach

A short stop over at the small town of Bowen, I expected it to be a bit larger.  We have been skipping past the larger cities in favour of small villages and I have discovered I am feeling a little city deprived.  I need to get to Coles!  I just want to enjoy the familiar aisles and produce of the mega store.  I am really surprised about that!  Hopefully my need for a Coles fix will wear off the further we get, otherwise the trip across the Savanah will be a LONG drive, and you can forget the Nullabor.

 

Finally at the big city of Townsville we stop for a few days playing in the parks and visit the Reef Head Quarters Aquarium.   The Aquarium was a big memory for the kids, discovering sharks, and fish of all colours shapes and sizes, and a re-creation of the coral reef.  During the fish presentation question time, Sam asked confidiently why are there boy fish and girl fish - the presenter gave him a direct answer about the birds and the bees.  I guess that job is done for us.   The Aquarium also had a turtle hospital - Joshua thought that the turtles were there for eating too many lollies. 

Some days we wake up with the wonderful roar of the ocean and magnificient views, taking it slow with bacon eggs and coffee.  Other mornings we wake with the sound of a highway and the smell of one of the kids having wet the bed, we eat a bowl of cereal do a quick wash, and hit the road.

The diversity, challenges and joy of the adventure.

After the Storm

We have just spent time sitting on the beach in Cardwell, a town hard hit by Cyclone Yasi earlier this year.  As we approached, large clusters of trees that line the road have been blown sideways and the sparse houses have chunks of roof or wall missing - even now months on.  We find out later talking with a local that the houses aren't actually sparse, but many had been destroyed and bull dozed.  Looking closer we could see the empty blocks with tell tale signs that a house once stood there, like a shed or half a fence in the rear.


We stop for a coffee on the beach which is still littered with debris, but somehow appears beautiful in the chaos, with the setting sun, the long jetty stubornly intact and the islands off the shore.   The beauty made even deeper by the stories of people with the courage to live out the days of recovery to come.  Their resilience in inspiring.

 Innocently the children play on the beach oblivious, carving roads for their little cars on the rocky shore.  John is inspired by melodies and strums his guitar on the beach with the sound of worship.

Tonight we are camped just outside of Tully at a spot marked with a tick in our camp book - usually that means it is highly rated - but today, the little river is full of broken rainforest that is rotting, and leaving a smell that keeps us in our caravan for tea.

Look forward to passing by here in the years to come and finding the tranquility restored.

In the morning we head for Cairns - and a dormant dream will come to life.  Cairns was our planned honeymoon destination in 1997.  Plans changed quickly when John was offered work in the UK, in 6 weeks.  We jumped at the opportunity, cancelled our big wedding plans, got married quickly and set off.  While we loved the adventure of the UK and Europe, it laid a seed in us to travel our own amazing country.  Many years later, and with 3 kids in tow - look out Cairns, here we come!   So grateful that all good dreams eventually come around at the right time.

Crossing the Tropic of Capricorn

We picked up our awning from the insurance repairer and headed north. The awning was upgraded to the newer model which is nicer and has more features, so that worked out well. 


My very talented rock hubby won prize money at the country music festival we happened upon.   I was really impressed seeing he didn't sing any country songs.  Would like to say that we are going to splash out and enjoy the money on treats, but it just covers the excess on our insurance repair.  Still great to see God providing for our journey especially the mishaps. 

While stuck in Maroochydore waiting for the repairs we also had the chance to catch up with some old friends David and Simone who now live there - they are not just ordinary people, they are extraordinary and inspiring people, and we were encouraged by their life as we caught up.  Simone has an amazing book being released later this year called 'Beautiful'.  If you want to be inspired check out a bit of their story http://www.profilemag.com.au/cms/news/news.aspx?id=114&fid=43

Feedng the ducks

Then on to Hervey Bay – and although later than expected and without the opportunity to plan our connections, the fabulous people at Rhema Wide Bay  were happy for John to come in with very little notice do radio tags and an interview, and also line him up with a performance that evening in Maryborough.

A radio interview will air next Monday at around 12.30 – listen online at Rhema Wide Bay

Highlight of Hevery Bay was the water park, where Sam got really brave on the water slide.   It was a free park with fountains, and slides, so we went back again the next day.  Met a lovely family in the caravan park with two little boys – Sam and Josh spent the time arguing over who was their best friend.

Not to be missed free fun in Water park in Hervey Bay

Amy found a pile of what appeared to be fresh bird poo at the bottom of a light pole by the beach. Thinking it was sun screen she rubbed it all over her face.  Not sure exactly what it was – but got her cleaned up very fast!

Heading out of Yeppoon today where we enjoyed camping by the beach and a visit to the ‘Singing Ships’.   This was amazing to experience - the sculpture has pipes which catch the wind and create melodies while you sit on the headland and behold the view of Great Keppel island.  

Enjoyed spending hours on the beach with the kids yesterday. The water is warm and there is not a cloud in the sky.  It is amazing for us to look over the ocean and see it dotted with islands instead of the cargo ships and endless ocean of lovely Newcastle harbour.  

John and I are both now further north in Oz than we have ever travelled.  Reading Isaiah 54 recently it brings new meaning to “Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide, do not hold back; lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes."  (I am sure the same is true for those traveling in Caravans).

We have been away just over a month now, and I still feel the grip of time on my day.  Looking forward to that hold dissolving as the days roll on. 

Expect the unexpected

After Easterfest, we really weren't sure which way to turn?  We decided to spend at least a day in Brisbane for our wedding anniversary.  This turned out to be fabulous for the adventure, but also created a trip altering event that now has us hauled up in Marychydoore for the week.
South Bank in Brisbane was full of fun activities for the kids.  We enjoyed a city cafe in the morning with the kids having little baby chino's.  They came in minature ceramic cups and saucers with marshmallows at the side.  A giant tea party for Amy, she spent the whole time stirring her little cup of frothy milk with chocolate sprinkles.   

We planned on spending the rest of the day at the museum because there was an amazing dinosaur exhibit for young kids there, but on arrival there was a man dressed up as a dinosaur out side he looked so real and had a ferocious roar - the kids were petrified.  Sam just stood there screaming.  Needless to say they didn't want to go inside.  Josh spent the next few days looking into our eyes and whispering 'don't take me back to the dinosauars ever again'.

So - change of plans - (which is something we are getting use too as part of the adventure) - we headed for the art galleries and library where there were also lots of amazing activities for the kids – and all free.   Sams favourite was a giant table of all white lego where you could sit and build towers!  He was there for over an hour and it was hard to pull him away.   Joshua and Amy's favourite was a giant playroom in the state library.  It had an oversized play kitchen with a giant oven you could climb into, and a giant pot you could sit inside – it had big pillow ingredients you could use to make a soup.   Amy happily crawled in there and didn’t want to come out.  In the mean time John and I enjoyed a chance to read the paper and other bits of reading in the library while the kids were playing.

The biggest change of plans for the day came from parking the van in the side streets of Brisbane, we clipped a tree and damaged our awning.  Thinking initially it was just minor damage, a few days later we found that the awning would no long work and needed repairing.  This was initially frustrating on top of a number of other challenges we have faced so far (yet to be blogged).  Thinking things through we called our insurer - the repairs are covered under our policy and in the mean time while we await the repairs they are paying for us to stay the week in a lovely holiday park with fabulous facilities.  It really is a blessing.

On the music front we stopped off at the Urban Country Music Festival in Caboolture - we were passing through, and didn't want to miss an opportunity.   While John's music isn't country we registered him to do some street performing during the festival and was talent spotted by a a team from a secular radio station who happened to be having coffee in the cafe he was playing in front of.  They asked him to do radio interview and play one of his songs live on air.  This was a fabulous opportunity and John was able to share his story and talk about the christian music industry.  Meanwhile I was keeping the 'twinkle stars' occupied in the media hub.  It felt kind of odd being surrounded by all these funky country artists with their support crews, and here was little me - my dress covered in tiny hand prints - my little ones looking very grotty from a day of festival fun - trying to keep them away from the water fountain and out of the sound recording bay.  Thank heavens for play dough, colour pencils and a bag of lollies I had stashed away at the bottom of the bag.

The Urban Country Music Festival was a such a great experience.  We camped in the show ground like carnival people, and enjoyed giant bonfires, live concerts and fire works.   It was so muddy though, that I had to invest in some gum boots.  John and the kids all had them, so now I fit right in - plus it was a country festival in boggy QLD, everyone was wearing gumboots.   I'll treasure my new gumboots with great memories.

On other good radio news, John has had 3 of his album tracks selected for airplay on Rhema FM Newcastle.   And while in Brisbane we had the chance to meet the music director of Vision FM a large christian radio network across Australia based in QLD.

For now here we are at Maroochydore waiting for the van awning to be fixed, enjoying the pool, feeding the ducks at the pond, the park, the palm trees, Sheraton hotel style showers, water on tap in the van and the luxury of electricity!  (Thank you AAMI insurance).