174-176 Cairns (18/9-20/9)

And so our little posse of 5 became a convoy of 7 with support vehicle for the next few weeks of the trip. B's folks had gotten over their jetlag (maybe) and had picked up their RV, quickly and unfortunately nicknamed "The Dampervan".

There's no denying the feel and atmosphere of the trip changed at this point. It shifted perhaps away from an "adventure" and on to "holiday" mode. But that's a grandparent's perogative and we absolutely loved having them tag along on our "once in a lifetime" experience. Not to mention the ability to reduce the people travelling in the car by 1 or 2 and people having "sleep-overs".

Here the Lizard is giving the Dampervan a stern talking to as to who is the "Big Dog" in this RV convoy and who gets right-of-way when accessing parks and choosing the cool site.

I kid you not, on our first trip to go get supplies, Tadcu and I drive past a Welsh Brewery of all things. Well OK, we didn't drive past it, we saw a mural on the back wall and pulled a "Smokey and the Bandit"-esque U-Turn to go find the front door. Purchased a whole slab of samplers and a top drop it was. Run by a Welsh bloke from up in the Valleys above Cardiff  if I recall.

After months and months of amazing weather, cloudless skies and beautiful it seems the Welshies packed a suitcase of rain and drizzle. Whilst not too bad, it was enough to annoy you and get everything damp. Still, could walk in rain coats and shorts and thongs!

We took a drive up into the hills to the Crystal Cascades swimming holes and waterfall. This was surprisingly enjoyable seeing a rainforest in its natural 'form'. It was warm, humid, damp and misty. So different to the harsh, dry environments we had been used to seeing as we had traversed the country in the months prior.

I found it enjoyable. At times those close to the ground and puddles didn't agree with me.

"Eee heee... its raining AND warm! How interesting!"

We spied this joint adjacent to the entrance to the Skyrail and hadn't seen it on any of the major tourist flyers. But how glad were we that we called in. Even if you aren't into your war memorabilia or equipment, the sheer size and scope of this collection is nothing short of amazing. And some of the vehicles a just weirdly cool!

Like this "Tank Bike!" Also known as:

Ketenkrad SdKfz2 (Light Halftrack Gun Tractor)

They had a kids section at the front where they had a table of soldiers and tanks and the like. I think the kids treated it more like a giant racetrack. But they did have a collection of cool hats. Sam rocking the German helmet.

Tadcu channelling Oxford St whilst B got here "Top Gun" on.

I went for the Desert Marine style (only one close to fitting) whilst James appears to have just put a bowl on his head... Weird kid.

A pretty cool play table with more toy soldiers than I've seen.

Please click on these pano's to get the full appreciation of the size of the collection. And these are full size actual tanks. Not toys...It's one big shed!

Without a doubt my favourite, and centrepiece of this collection is this mobile gun. It was enormous, and if you remove yourself from it's prime function of decimation, the numbers this vehicle achieves is astonishing. Launching projectiles at targets 55km is phenomenal. If only engineering and design like this could have been channelled into other peace-time equipment!

I loved this Mine Clearing Tank. Could be put to good use cultivating fields!

(British Churchill Flail Mine Clearing Tank "Toad" FV3902)

Tadcu, being a war buff, was in his element. Here he is listening to James' questions (of which there were many in this place) and no doubt passing on knowledge. This tank was one of only a few replicas, and was used in the Brad Pitt movie "Fury". A infamous German Tiger Tank.

Believe it or not, thanks to amazing design, this tank (or people carrier) actually could float. Unbelievable. Officially known as: 

USA LVT4 (Landing Vehicle Tracked)

I couldn't help think that this gun was an inspiration for the AT-AT walkers in Star Wars. Officially known as:

Polish 20mm Polsten Quad Mount Anti-Aircraft Gun

For anyone wondering just how many types of armoured vehicles that have been designed and rolled out across the years. Once again, if only this ingenuity had been used for good...

Anyone wondering the difference in terminology between the different forms of shooting things at targets.

And yes, these tanks are the real deal. Most are still running from a vehicle perspective, and this is what it takes to jump start the big engines! Thankfully the weaponry has been decommissioned.

This was a room that vexed me. There's no doubt that guns have a certain morbid fascination to some, including myself. But looking at James looking over them made me feel a bit weird. They aren't comfortable questions when you get asked what are they for or how far can they shoot?

Did I mention there were sleepovers in the Dampervan??

Thanks to being in a "metropolis" we were able to finally order a replacement lens for the spotlight. As usual, I had my trusty little spanner man to help me out.

Staying at Lake Placid CP, it was a short walk down to this aptly named Lake Placid.

Out to dinner one evening it turned cool, and Tadcu did the chivalrous thing and lent Evie his jumper. Sorry Nain, you had to go cold!

And then, on the day we were booked to go on the scenic Kuranda Railway and Skyrail, the clouds cleared and the familar blue sky returned. This was even more humorous as we had planned to go the day before (when it was all drizzle and rain) but it was booked full. I guess the Karma Bus stopped at our stop again!

Happy days, all aboard!

The railway snakes its way up the hills above Cairns using modern day engines pulling older historic carriages. You weren't supposed to stick any cameras out the window to take photos, a rule that was gratuitously ignored by all and sundry!

B nearly pulled off an almighty Pano with this one. The whole train, whilst it was in motion.

As the train scaled the mountain, the views over towards Cairns got more and more spectacular.

James had a whale of a time counting all the tunnels we passed through (14 from recollection)

The railway, originally made as a way to bring supplies from the coast into the Atherton Tablelands, specifically the Tin Mines. To construct a railway in such terrain, through solid rock mountains and along cliff tops.

Stony Creek Falls

At every turn there was a new site, stunning vista and an oppurtunity to break the rules and stick your hands out the window to take a pic.

Trying to spot our caravan on the valley floor!

The train stopped near the top of the hill at the spectacular Barron Falls. Largely a trickle when we visited, I've googled to find pictures in full flow, and well, it'd be scary...

Always plenty of cwtches when Tadcu is around!

Once up in the picturesque and quirky tourist town of Kuranda, we came across this war plane wreck. Here we were thinking that there must an awesome tale of how this plane came to land here. How awesome it was for the town to build around it and make it a feature. And then we read on the plaque that it was a movie prop!

Look closely at the name of this table and you'll understand why Sam is smiling...

Like cwtches, there's always lots of ice-creams when Tadcu's around!

The awesomely presented Kuranda Railway.

Part of the ticket on the railway is to complete the loop on the Kuranda Skyrail. If you are ever heading up this way, I would recommend the train up, skyrail down. Just a better combination I reckon. As you can see, the boys were pretty excited.

The Skyrail itself, is a reasonable example of modern day engineering also. Towering over the rainforest floor, it provides a very unique view of the surrounding area.

Nain and Tadcu were the "lucky" ones to be trapped in a small glass bubble with an excitable Evie!

It was high... very high in spots! On a clear day this would be amazing....

Sometimes you wish that they wouldn't grow up. We loved this letter from Sam to the Tooth Fairy.

I enjoyed our time in Cairns, welcoming Nain and Tadcu to our adventure. It's a nice enough city, but if I'm honest I was happy to be going. I think to this point we'd developed a sense of appreciation for smaller population centres, a slower way of life if you like.

It was time to hit the road.