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Coastal Queensland

 The Drier Outlook On A Grand Tableland

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Visiting Atherton, it was understandable why the tableland was named after such a town.  For a rather remote area Atherton was large but still held the features of a quaint country town.  Staying the night opposite the pub of Kiera we continued our free camping.  The next day had a few points of interest in store including an apparent impressive tree (not knowing how amazing this could actually be!)

We were awe struck at the sight of this ancient tree.  It just appeared so unreal as it towered over us as we strolled around the board walk with an upward stare.  Having seen nothing like it before we were keen to read the information boards.  Quickly discovering this fig had been a tiny seed dropped on a branch of its host tree, it slowly took charge from here.  Over many years it patiently grew and dropped roots to the ground for extra nourishment.  Once a substantial size the host tree had become a mere skeleton and gave way.  The Curtain Fig was strong enough to support itself by this stage and the host slowly decayed into the ground. 

Departing from the Curtain Fig we stopped to pay our respect at Yungaburra Avenue of Honour, a tribute for people who had passed away in the wars against terror over the last decade.

The next point of interest along the stretch was Lake Barrine.  Formed over thousands of years due to eruptions from a now dorment volcano, it is now home to a variety of wildlife and a quaint but well situated Tea House.  We smashed out another rainforest walk of 5km around the lake and in doing so stumbled upon some more Great Kauri Trees.  How enormous they were standing strong around the lake (compared to their chopped up cousins at Milla Milla).  We decided to treat ourselves with a well earnt devonshire tea once we had returned to the Tea House which had a magical view of the lake in all its glory.

Still fairly shocked at how fairytale-like a tree could possibly grow, we were excited to take a path to another impressive Fig.  With its devine and towering appearance, it was easy to see how it obtained its name as the Cathedral Fig.  A similar growing story to that of the Curtain Fig, the host of this particular tree withstood the parasite a little longer so it towers high instead of draping along a line.  Back toward the car we reminisced over how these marvels belonged in the movie, Fern Gully.

Being in the northern section of the Atherton Tablelands we found a great spot at School Point Campground, one of many around Lake Tinaroo.  As the skies still tried to rain on our parade, we took the liberty to have a tin or two overlooking the lake.  Unfortunately, we struggled to get a fire going as the wood was saturated from the previous few days of rain.  Once a fire was finally established, we were quick to use the heat to dry our dripping clothes as much as possible.

As we emerged from the tent the sun was cranking!  We made our way down to the lake side and sat in the sun eating our breakfast.  It was so peaceful with the sun glistening on the water and the birds resting on the bank.  Occasionally the odd fish would jump out in front of us too! The vast quantity of sights to see around this area seemed like we had only touched the sides with many hidden tracks darting off the main drag.  On our itinerary for the day was a visit to The Chimneys (two grand chimneys remaining from an old homestead), the Mobo Creek Crater (not an actual crater but created by erosion from cooled lava tubes thousands of years ago) and Lake Euramoo (formed by two volcanoes around 23,000 years ago).  

This road then lead us to Goldsborough.  Only a 30 minute trip off the main track, it was well worth it.  Having to book our camp before entering we claimed site #12 and upon arrivial discovered it was a non drive-in site.  With a ‘she’ll be right’ attitude (not wanting an hour return trip to find reception), we slipped into site #2.  An early retirement to the tent lead us to hiding away at 8:30pm as 4 cars were astonished to see someone set up in their camp (it was us)!  We cheekily watched from the tent as they undoubtably cursed and disappeared to sites #6-7. Bloody booking system!

Through our journey in the Atherton Tablelands, we found a variety of places to suit everyones camping desires.  Even though we were washed out in the southern section it was still a fantastic area to explore.  We hadn’t even seen the coastal side yet!  Having to adhere to our time schedule we thought we’d save the region for a future adventure as our sights were set on Cairns.  We had more visitors arriving who were escaping the cold winter freeze of Melbourne…

Queensland

A Fork in the Road..

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The next day we arose from our slumber just out from Tennant Creek with a slight buzz, for the morning ahead was to bring a well planned twist in the adventure.  Along the road was a place by the name of Three Ways.  After a discussion a couple of days earlier, instead of back tracking 800 kms south again after Darwin and heading north at Three Ways, we were heading east!!

This last minute unplanned twist added some excitement to the day as we were venturing into greener yet still unknown pastures.  Burning down the Barkley Hwy we had to pull over at the border to have another glamorous photo with the sign!  With the road blurring by at 100kms there was one lucky fellow who wasn’t quite ready to kick the bucket as he missed our wheels by mere centimetres.  A wild and displeased looking blue tongued lizard was hissing on the road when we chucked a u-turn.  Disgruntled as the lizard was, Mark was quick to pick him up and sneak him into the bushes not before a quick photoshoot.

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Once everyone was safe we were back on track to make it to our destination of Camooweal.  Here we were able to duck off the track beside a billabong where stunning water lillies were flowering and native birds were keeping us entertained around the water.  When the sun had dropped over the mountain range another friend emerged from the dark, the cane toad.  This was not the last we were to see of this plague as it unknowingly had a great impact on an event to happen in the near future.  Rediculous humidity also seemed to give us a slap in the face while entering QLD as you could see from the pic… Mark was sweating serious balls that night!!

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With a fresh morning we regathered from a rough sleep and set our minds on our next destination, Lawn Hill.  Leaving Camooweal we took a shortcut through unsealed roads where we arrived approx 100km south of Lawn Hill itself beside the O’Shannassy River.  Ducking down another 4WD track after sneaking past a caravan we arrived at our own littlr remote riverside getaway.  We spent some time here to relax and swim while Renee was throwing ideas of homemade scones for afternoon tea!  As the arvo passed Mark was using a creative rock and reel to catch dinner, sadly only caught a small fish not worth cooking.  As the days activities where winding up, Renee had indeed whipped up a scone mix and thrown it in the camp oven.  Before we knew it there were scones with jam and cream for arvo tea!

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After a change of pace from the billabong we were finding ourselves having another leisurely swim in the river the next morning.  Once refreshed we jumped back on the unsealed track that lead to Lawn Hill..