166-168 Lake Eachem (Tablelands) (10/9 - 12/9)

So after months of endless red dirt and dust (not including the short sojourn to The Top End) we rolled into one of the greenest parts of Australia I've seen, let alone been to. It was almost surreal and the crew in the car certainly took some time to adjust the contrast in our eyes to make sure we weren't seeing things.

I really didn't know to much about this area of the country, the Atherton Tablelands. It turns out it's quite the spot, both from an economical and natural perspective. Given the sunshine and rainfall this tropical area gets, almost anything grows up hear, and because of that dairy also flourishes.

Fruit... fruit beyond your wildest dreams!

The area, from flora, fauna and geological perspectives has evolved over millenia from volcanos, the remnants of which are stark and quite obvious.

The Tablelands was one of the few places that B and I could see ourselves relocating to should the oppurtunity arise. The people, the place, the scenery. It was brilliant.

The snug spot at Lake Eacham Tourist Park. Took a little bit of Austin Powers style manoeuvring but we made it work. In the end, it turned out to be a lovely quiet and affordable spot that comes highly recommended.

No sooner had we parked than we needed to stretch our legs. A kay up the road was Lake Eacham itself, a lake formed out of the remains of a volcano.

This was an interesting little walk to the lake, and for some reason we brought the footy. Not sure why, wasn't exactly suitable location!

The trail to the walk was great and included a number of information signs aimed at school children. Lucky we had a few of those on hand!

It was quite funny actually, as the 5km walk around the crater actually gave you very few views of the lake due to the dense foilage. At one stage we joked was there actually a lake at all, until there was a break in the trees and we spied this!

The walk around the lake was interesting enough with plenty of strangling figs and rainforest crawlies to discover. And then on completion of the lap we came to the swimming area, which was a snapshot of swimming of yesteryear. I could picture ladies having "luncheon" and "high society get-togethers"

The kids were the only ones from our crew to go for swim... Water far too cold for me!

The water in the lake was crazy clear. Given there is no in and outflow (not including groundwater seepage) it's pretty pure. If you look closely, this spot is littered with turtles clambering over the logs and each other.

The camp kitchen was pretty rustic but really quite awesome. We found plenty of fans by firing up the fireplace hotplate each evening. The first time was intended to cook on, but really, without decent wood, it really wasn't getting hot enough. Still, fire did what we love best, and brought everyone together...

...and B revelled in the responsibility of taking over the tongs on the gas BBQ!

A pano of the beautiful Malanda Falls. Another one of the swimming holes of yesteryear.

The Information Centre at Malanda was one of the best so far. Incredibly informative, interactive and inspirational (not really, just wanted another 'i' word). 

We took a drive around the nearby "Waterfall Way"

#1 - Milaa Milaa

Life springing from a new branch

#2 - Zillie Falls

#3 - Elinjaa Falls

Here was a first for all of us, a trip to a tea plantation. B and her addiction to tea brought us here, and was reasonably interesting. It would have been better had the plant been up and running but I think they were prepping for a harvest.

I thought this was interesting... These are the same type of tea plants. The one on the left is how it looks being harvested and if they were left to grow 'rogue'. I didn't realise they got so big!

A highlight of the plantation for most was the sightings of some rare tree kangaroos which lived near the cafe. 

And of course tea and scones were a must!

Nearby there was the enormous Curtain Fig Tree located in the aptly named Curtain Fig NP. This tree was enormous, and no matter how we tried we couldn't get the whole tree in the shot!

Overexposed I know, but it gives you a size of the tree... An impressive display of nature.

We called in to the Yungaburra Platypus Viewing Platform. Here I was thinking "as if we'd see any". How wrong was I...

We spotted 3 seperate little critters on the beautiful walk along the creek. It became one of our favourite walks. Turtles, frogs, platypus... Awesome.

Bubbles... bubbles... bubbles... Hello!!

Along the walk there was plenty of calls  of "sssh... I think I've spotted one"

The Peterson's Creek Walk come highly recommended. Lots of stops and cool things to read about.

Open grassed areas, perfect for a picnic lunch or school excursion.

Creek crossings as well!

It's a little hard to see but there are a couple of turtles in this shot. There was at least 8 or 9 on the logs as we approached, but they jumped in as they felt us coming. I used it as a lesson for Evie. I asked her to yell at the remaining turtle to scare it, but it did nothing. When I asked her to stomp her foot on the ground, it slipped into the drink. A nice lesson in why you have to be quiet and gentle when looking for wildlife.

On request from some other campers, we started the fire in the camp kitchen. This time Sam asked if he could do it himself and this was his effort. He's done well this grasshopper...

We took a trip into Atherton to have a look at town and have a trip to the Crystal Cave Shop. This shop had an amazing display of gems and fossils and stones. It was really cool.

James had some birthday money to spend. The shop had baskets full of geodes which you can choose to open. For those not in the know, a geode is a ball of crystal and rock, formed by air pockets in volcanoes millions of years ago. Most of these were sourced from Mexico I'm lead to believe. James had to choose one to crack in the machine. 

The it was loaded into what are essentially industrial sized nutcrackers...

Was a little hard, and a big brother was needed for the extra bit of mumbo.

The first one was a fizzer and didn't really have much in it, so they let him choose another to crack.

And here was the result of the second one. Crystals formed over 44 million years with this 5yr old the first to see them! It was a really cool experience and James loved it.

Sam was transfixed by the Amethyst Table... 

We took a walk around the neighbouring Lake Barrine Walk, which like Lake Eacham, was formed by water in a volcano. We had a quick bite to eat before setting off. Not entirely how Evie can sit like this, that would be the complete end of my knees...

So we went for a walk and found this sign. We were keen for a trip to the Teahouse... No guesses which way this group of walkers went...

Some great views of the lake.

Evie and I walked ahead of the crew for the entire 5km walk chatting. Well, she chatted, I just let her talk. She has an amazing ability to keep conversation when stimulated. 

When finished we went to the Lake Barrine Tea Rooms for a coffee. There we found the single greatest childrens reading nook. Was brilliant and the kids happily lounged and read the entire time we were there...

...so much so they didn't even notice us upgrade the coffee to cake as well! No sharing required!

One of the more unique signs in the area...

We loved our time in the Tablelands and was so unexpected. It was such a peaceful and interesting place. I can't wait to come back and explore it more next time we pass through the area.

And it will be my turn to crack a geode!

163-165 Mt Isa to Lake Eacham (inc. Karumba) (7/9 to 9/9)

A "small" little photo post to reflect on our time travelling from The Isa to the Gulf of Carpentaria on to the green Tablelands of Atherton.

This trip was an interesting one on a few counts. It was a continued exploration of a part of Australia I had never seen or really covered any footage of. It was our first taste of "Gulf Country" and a cheeky last sunset over water. It was also the final time we see the different shades of "red dust" on the trip as we headed to the mountainous regions of the East Coast.

A stark and occasionally barren piece of country, it yet again formed another chapter in the catalogue of landscapes that is collecting in my "minds eye". And like the times when on the West Coast when we felt like the only people on the planet, this was again a return to a feel of real isolation. A real reminder of how remote country Australia can be.

Pulling out of Mt Isa, the call came down the radio (and via the flashing lights of the escort vehicle) to "find a spot off the road". Not often easier said than done at the last minute, but we did find a safe spot. A few minutes later, this big rig ploughed it's way down the road like a giant metal bull. Again, a reminder that we aren't the biggest fish in the pond. Also, a unique look at the big Tonka Trucks without their massive tyres and buckets.

A nice bakery stop over at the country town of Cloncurry. I judge most towns on the quality of their bakeries, and from this point, Cloncurry is an excellent town!

We then pointed the Rock Truck North and headed straight up the tarmac for the Gulf. A path not often travelled by caravanners, the traffic was intermittent and few and far between. There was also only a few places to stop for fuel. The above stop at Four Ways, was one of them. Uninspiring and run down, the people remained friendly and fuel available. A quick lunch in their outdoor "dining" area with our contraband food (it wasn't a BYO venue!) and we were off. But when I look back on places that felt out the back of the Outback, Four Ways will come to mind...

And despite the kilometres, these three continued to happily travel. Here James can be found writing. Not sure what this time, but we roll with it and encourage him enthusiastically.

Things were really starting to dry out...

...and then the road went down to one lane for quite a long way. We got lucky and only once from recollection had to drop the wheels in the gravel for oncoming traffic.

And then two wonderful wide lanes! With lines to boot! The spread out clouds meant that we were nearing the Gulf apparently, as they are very common up this way.

At a "toilet" stop (there wasn't actually a loo) the boys decided that, despite all the space in the world, they'd pee right next to each other. It reminded B and I of the John Williamson song "Big Brother, Little Brother":

"It's really great to have a little brother,

Piddles everywhere I pee."

A stop in Normanton to have a shot of the famous statue of Krys the Croc, apparently the largest croc ever captured/killed in history. Whilst all tangible evidence of Krys has mysteriously disappeared, he was apparently about this size. I've seen some big crocs in my time, but I think there might be a substantial amount of "Hollywood licence" in this tale... 

And then we made it to our destination for a couple of nights. The sleepy fishing town of Karumba located on the southern point of The Gulf. The view from the pub in town of the sunset is nothing short of amazing and we spent both our evenings here admiring the colours bouncing off the water.

Sunset over water... I get it.

Our camp in Karumba. Slightly overpriced for my liking but it has been the only place where we've noticed staff thinking about where they put vans, staggering them out during quieter periods so you have as much space as possible. Also, the "hardest easy" site we've come across to park in. For some reason, I just couldn't park the van straight and we could even drive through! I guess you have some good parking days, and some bad parking days!

A walk around the small township of Karumba showed a great little waterfront. The expansive river served as a runway for Catalinas (sea planes) during World War II.

Then we headed to the Barramundi Discovery Centre where we learnt a heap about these amazing (and elusive) big fish. A tale of how an industry realised that what they were doing was unsustainable, and rather than fish the barra to extinction in the area, the invested time and money in learning how to breed them and restock the natural environment. A hugely successful venture, they now send fingerlings all across the country in a concerted effort to ensure the survival of the grand fish. And to do this, they have some enormous breeding barras on site which you could feed. Here you can see one of the big females passing Evie (that's her head in the foreground) trying to find a bit of bait. 

Here James realised how big they can really get! It was a pretty cool place that allowed the kids to feed the big fish (with whole squid!). Unfortunately, no tips on how to catch the buggars!

The temperature did rise so back to the aircon for some respite and some indoor homework. Here James and I were working on how many blocks of lego long his bed was. I don't recall the number, but is was quite a lot!

Sam working on mathletics during some valuable tablet time.

And Evie in her "happy spot" reading with Holly Polly the Cuddly Sloth.

And walk back to the bar in the evening for a night cap and a final admiration of sun vs. sea.

This time without alcohol....

Sam found time with the other two to continue the totem and wall building started by others.

And with that, we were on the road again. Here's our lunch stop in Croydon. For the record, it's absolutely nothing like Croydon in Melbourne... Except for the desolation and feeling of hardship...

And then the country started to change gradually... We did a few climbs here and there, and found this wandering stock. We got through unscathed but not before the black cow on the right in the shot darted right across in front of us at the last minute!

And then we can to the start of the Tablelands which spread out in front of us. 

The road, undergoing continual upgrade to two lanes, continued in single lane format in parts, which always kept things interesting...

Our overnight stop at the lovely Planet Earth Adventures Caravan Park. A beautiful green spot with some awesome showers and friendly owners! The let us park near the school oval and said we were more than welcome to jump the fence to kick the footy if we liked... Not sure what the school thought of that...

...but meh... we did it anyhow! Missing a few posts but good enough for us!

Next day was a short little jaunt of 220km down the road to Lake Eachem and our exploration of the Atherton Tablelands.

There was no denying, with the avalanche of shades of green through the windows of the truck, we were back in the tropics, and a climate not quite like we'd seen before. Yet another unique and wonderfully new part of Australia to explore for a few days.