Hitting the East Coast

Ok friends and family. Apologies for not keeping up with the blog but when you are having fun in the sun what can you do. We had a little prompt to stop being slack and update the blog from our lovely friends the Zakic's so we will dedicate this one to you guys. We must warn you all it is a very long blog! Hope you enjoy it.

We finally made it to the East coast of Australia and what an effort it was. Tired but still excited to be on the coast we collected the part for our broken lock at Jayco and headed straight out of Townsville and up the coast. Mel was very keen to see the ocean and our first glance was at Cardwell. A small town with a beautiful view of the ocean although there are signs asking people not to swim because of crocodiles (Oh bother) so we kept driving until we reached Paronella Park. Thanks to our brother and sister-in-law who visited last year we were able to see this stunning place - one of Australia’s little secret treasures. The story goes something like this; In 1913 Spaniard Jose Paronella, immigrated to Australia in search of a better life. Leaving his fiancé Matilda back in Spain while he worked hard in the cane fields for 11 years He sailed back to marry her only to find she had married another (fair enough too). He met her sister Margarita and asked for her hand in marriage (awkward) and they came back to Australia together and built a cottage beside a waterfall. He had a dream to build a castle, ball room, ponds and tranquil gardens inspired by his childhood and totally succeeded at completing it. The most intriguing part of its history is the fact that Jose used the waterfall to generate electricity by way of hydro well before its time. They still use this today and feed the electricity back into the grid. The ruins are covered in moss and surrounded by tropical trees that overhang above creating a fitting scene for an Indianna Jones movie. The price includes your accommodation, tours, a piece of the wall that fell when cyclone Yasi tore through the place and a two year return visit pass. From our experience we were showered with quality customer service. After being greeted outside upon arrival then setting up the van we took an afternoon tour and a night tour, fed the fish, eels and snapping turtles. It drizzled with rain but the temperature was warm but it was quite lovely as we were under canopies of palm trees and other exotic tropical trees. If you get a chance, lookup www.paronellapark.com.au . If you can come and visit, you won’t be disappointed.

TIP: It's off the beaten track but well worth it. Book ahead to stay at Paronella Park as there are limited spots available. The owners also own the pub across the road and the Mena Canopy Walk. By next year they will have more van sites available behind the pub if there is no room at Paronella Park.They also plan to replicate the ball room one day.

The Waterfall setting

The soggy family having fun in the rain

What a beautiful place

After Paronella Park we drove an hour south east to Mission Beach. It was windy and rainy when we arrived but it didn’t deter the Stevos from exploring. We rode along the beach, collected some sea shells and had a go at flying Taylah’s parachute kite. It was great weather for it and we were all keen. But! The bloody kite only worked a couple of times. At one stage while Glen was holding it ready for Mel to fly, the wind picked up and it literally wound around in circles punching Glenno in the face several times. Another great moment of entertainment for the rest of us! Over the next couple of days we walked along the beach watching the soldier crabs making patterns in the sand and going on rainforest walks. There are many signs up asking people to watch for Cassowary’s so we were on the lookout for a one. On our last day we went for a drive and just as Mel said “I am beginning to think the odd looking Cassowary is a myth” we spotted one walking on the side of the road. Glen did a ‘Mel’ and didn’t capture a photo as proof that we did actually see one. We are even now!

TIP: Mission Beach is lovely (and probably even better when it is not windy). There are two caravan parks across the road from one another. If it’s windy we would recommend staying at the Hideaway which is across the road from the beach instead of the Council run one which is situated on the beach. It has a pool and you won’t get windblown.

Glenno flying the kite on one of three occassions

The Rainforest Walk but no Cassowary

The Rockpool at Townsville on the Strand

We progressed further south back to Townsville (3 hr drive). Since we basically drove straight through four days previously we went exploring. We found ourselves down at the Strand which is the main esplanade scattered with several kids playgrounds, an outdoor basketball court, three surf-life saving clubs, coffee shops and a splash park just in case you were bored with the other cool things to do. We decided to have a dip at the rockpool (man-made and nothing like an actual rockpool that Mel grew up with but that’s ok). The water was fresh and Mel chickened out but the kids loved it.

Over the next two days we ventured all over town, seeing the sights and shopping. We drove up Castle Hill which sits right in the middle of Townsville overlooking it from all directions (You would never be able to get lost in Townsville as you have the Hill to navigate around). Looking south you can see the Ross River snaking around and stretching beyond, the view to the West shows you the Military bases resting under the mountain ranges, North gives you a coastline perspective as well as the airport and the East view gives you a clear outlook of Magnetic Island and since it looked so inviting we booked two nights that coming weekend . We were also realising that we needed a break from living in the campervan. A much needed holiday from our holiday was needed! We must mention how fit people are in Townsville. There would have been hundreds of people walking along the Strand all day and many walking up Castle Hill (which is enormous). At the top of Castle Hill the Council have errected a shelter with water sprays for the fitness bunnys and a bench for sit-ups. Glen noticed a big green tree frog on the wall of the shelter and brought it to our attention. Of course we all had a careful little pat of it with our pointer finger. When it was Camo’s turn he literally picked it up with his chubby fingers. The big frog doubled in size stretching out its legs. The entire Stevo family screamed. After the heart stopping moment we asked Camo why didn’t he pat it the way he saw us doing and he replied ‘I didn’t think it was real’. Seriously, what kid would believe a fake frog would be strategically placed there! Only our Camo. Anyway, we drove back to the rockpool for a swim but found it was closed for repairs. The kids were devastated so we tried our luck at the splash park but found out it closes on a Tuesday and Wednesday.By then the kids were cranky, hot and quite frankly pains in the asses. Fish and chips from Harrods along the Strand was lovely as well as a visit to Reef HQ. The Aquarium is great and the kids learnt so much about the underwater world on the Reef. They watched the hammerhead sharks being fed, got to touch a star fish and saw the coolest little fish that glow a flourecent green colour. The area that glows is just under their eyes and it looks like they have a hood. Because Aussie's are so awesome at naming animals someone thought up this really cool name for the cool fish - They are called a Onefin Flashlight Fish.

TIP: Most of the campsites in Townsville are out of town (but only by 5-10km). There is one on the Beach called Rowes Bay but they only take bookings from 8am on the day. You can’t book ahead. We stayed at the Lakes (only 5km from the city) and although it’s setup for grey nomads we still had plenty of space. Each site has an ensuite. 

Stevie the Ocean Turtle who was rescued after being hit by a boat. They think she is 100 years old. WOW!

View of Magnetic Island from Castle Hill

Moving the van in the rain

 On the morning we packed up for Magnetic Island it poured with rain. We were allowed to store the van at the caravan park but had to move it to another site. It was raining that heavy that we left it set up on the chance that it would dry out before we came back in two days time. Fun times (for all of two seconds!).
 We managed to find a two night family deal at the Tropical Palms Inn at Picnic Bay that included car hire and breakfast on both days. The ferry ride over to Maggie Island as it is affectionately known to the locals only took 20 minutes. There was about a twenty centimeter swell and Mel was feeling a little under the weather once we stepped off. A quick cup of tea at the accommodation and she was ready to start exploring. While it rained we smiled the whole day. We had decided the rain was not going to dampen our tropical island holiday so we drove our hire car from one side of the Island to the other-Picnic Bay to Horseshoe Bay and it took a whole twenty minutes. We explored the four wheel driving roads to have a look at Florence Bay, walked on some other beaches then found the rock wallaby's. Camo was so impressed by these agile mammals eating from our hands that he cried when we said we had to go. 

Rock Wallaby's at Geoffrey Bay

Gorgeous Picnic Bay (Townsville is usually seen in the background)

The following day the sun shone for us and we drove to the Koala Bungalow, a small wildlife sanctuary. This was probably the best wildlife park we have been to on this trip. Every animal they showed us we were able to touch or hold. Turtle, Black Cockatoo, White Cockatoo, a shy and sleepy Wombat, Blue Tongue Lizard, Bearded Dragons, Frill Neck Lizards, Stumpy Lizards, Koala, Snake (Mel chickened out again although it slithered onto her lap and she stiffled a scream) and a baby Salt Water Croc. The kids were in their element. From there we did another bushwalk called the Forts. This walk is relatively easy but steep in places. We saw koalas in the trees and more lizard's but the main attraction is are the forts that were built during WWII. Once you are at the top of the Forts you are able to see the east side of the Island and its gorgeous beaches. It was a very tranquil walk.

Our fluffy friend

Cheeky Camo in his element

Our brave Taylah

Little Salty

Florence Bay

Dancing up a storm at the Arcadia Pub

We were also able to swim at the beautiful Alma Bay and the water temp was perfect. We tried to snorkel but unfortunately there was no visibility. Later that night we met our friends the Marinkovics at the Arcadia pub. It was a dodgy pub, service terrible, food average, but its funny how places like that make for a hilarious night. The kids watched two leggy brunettes stroll over to the stage and start playing in the band. That was it, the kids were up and dancing, running back and asking us to dance with them and of course we did. When in Rome hey! It was another memorable night.
Our days were packed of adventure and exploration and it was sad that our 'holiday from the holiday' was soon over. We stayed one more night in Townsville, not getting much sleep that night due to the council sprinklers from the park next door drenching our canvas for an hour at midnight. Next stop Bowen.

Swimming at Alma Bay