Our new grandson, Hayden Thomas Bizzill, arrived safely and well on 25.09.09. As you can see he is very handsome!
At Lake Tinaroo while Aaron and Tracee were welcoming Hayden into the world, we were hiking the Kauri Creek rainforest trail
We had to get our feet wet a few times at the creek crossings
Our next stop was Granite Gorge where the owner's dog, Milo, decided to adopt us
Helen waving for Brian to save her from ....
...... the whale!
From Granite Gorge to Cooktown where Captain Cook's Endeavour foundered on the reef and he careened and repaired the hole in the the vessel. Lots of Captain Cook history in this area
Cooktown from the lookout
From Cooktown we drove to Mossman/Wonga Beach.
Sunset over the Great Dividing Range at Mossman
Car ferry across the Daintree River
Wonga Beach council caravan park had a Fish-a-Q while we were there. $5 each for all the fresh fish and chips you could eat. A good fun night
We wanted to stay longer at Wonga but after three days were given our marching orders as someone had booked our space. So on to Port Douglas which is very lovely but just a little bit yuppy.
This is Four Mile Beach at Port Douglas which is a very nice wal
From Port Douglas we went to Cairns. They have done a wonderful development along the foreshore with this salt water lagoon, plus lots of nice picnic areas and green grass. This area is used a lot by locals, as well as the tourists.
The Duyfken was moored at Cairns marina
Whilst we were in Cairns we flew back to Perth for a very brief visit to see our new grandson as well as the rest of the family.
We took a ride on the skytrain from Cairns to Kuranda which was fun. There are two stations along the way where you can get out and wander around enjoying the view
From Cairns to Bramston Beach, only about 40 km south. A great campground right on the beach
Happy hour at Bramston Beach
Hi Cheryle! We will do it face to face soo
From Bramston Beach we went to Paronella Park, an amazing place developed by a Spaniard, Jose Paronella, back in the 1930s. It was like a modern day theme park with a waterfall, swimming pool, boating, tennis, roller skating, picnic areas and beautiful walks through the rainforest.
This view is called Kauri Avenue
Jose built two castles on the site, one with a grand ballroom the other as a refreshment kiosk. Fire and floods have destroyed much of the building,and the current owners are trying to preserve what is
Part of the main castle - the only part left
The grand staircase from the castle to the swimming area
The waterfall into the swimming/boating pool
Our next stop was Kurrimine Beach where we camped only metres from the water
You can't get much closer than this.
We were grateful no tsunami occured
We spent one day at Etty Bay to try to spot the rare and elusive Cassowary. We had given up hope and were driving home when this Cassowary walked across the road directly in front of us. The whole thing took about 10 seconds so we were very lucky to get this photo
From Townsville we took a drive to Wallaman Falls, the longest single drop falls in Australia, It was a 2 km hike down, very steep, but great at the bottom. Then the 2 km hike back up! We made it.
We then drove on to Birthday Creek Falls where there is a short track through the rainforest to the bottom of the falls. Along the way we saw a Tooth Billed Bower Bird, a Red Bellied Black Snake, and then the best one was this beautiful Golden Bower Bird which is quite difficult to find. It was just near its bower. Brian got some really good shots.
