Category: 2020 Queensland

Today was the day for Majella’s birthday gift adventure. We needed to be in Cairns in time to drop bags at our hotel, return the van, and be at the aquarium in good time without feeling rushed.  I had set an alarm for 5:30 am to ensure an early start but I was awake a bit before that and headed...

We lived in Innisfail from 1984 until 1988 and have driven the road between Townsville and Cairns several times but have never found time to visit Wallaman Falls near Ingham. It is the highest, permanent, single-drop waterfall in Australia so worth a visit and I ensured it was on our itinerary for this trip. Once again we were on the...

We have been to Charters Towers once before. That was a day trip from Townsville where we were visiting Angela and Liam while on holiday from Kingaroy in the early 1980s. Since we had to go this way to Townsville it seemed fair to stop for a look. It must be that we have turned and are heading for home....

While we were in Winton during July, Bob Whittaker suggested a visit to the Combo Waterhole near Kynuna. We didn’t have time that afternoon but made sure to include it for this trip. Hence our journey from Cloncurry to Richmond was via there rather than direct, making it close to 500 km rather than about 300 km. We were awake...

Rather than return to Cairns the way we came, we are following a variation of the North West Loop suggested by the Drive North West Queensland website. That loop goes west from Cairns then south to Cloncurry and east to finish at Townsville. We will complete the circle by returning to Cairns via Townsville. Today began that circle back with...

That’s Karumba on the Gulf of Carpenteria not ‘caramba’ as exclaimed by Bart Simpson or Speedy Gonzales. It’s the extremity of our travel before we drive south tomorrow and then east the next day as we begin to head for home. Morning in Croydon was pleasantly cool by comparison with yesterday afternoon, a mere 24ºC by 7:30 am when we...

Distances in outback Queensland are long but we like to keep daily driving time to no more than four or so hours. That allows time for breaks and diversions for the unexpected. It requires planning overnight stops to suit. Croydon fitted our need for an achievable destination after a full morning at Cobbold Gorge balanced with a comfortable distance tomorrow knowing...

Our itinerary for this trip was built with some inspiration from a tourist website that offered self drive itineraries for North Queensland. Cobbold Gorge was suggested as a side trip from Georgetown when driving west from Cairns to Normanton. Access is by guided tour only and in October tours depart at 8:00 am so we needed to drive in today...

This was a day with relatively little driving. My first plans had us stopping last night in the Atherton area but Innot Hot Springs was too tempting so we came a bit further yesterday leaving an hour less driving today.We seem to have developed a routine that allows a relaxed morning start and still gets us on the road by...

We finished the day on schedule, despite an early start and having completed the first activity I had planned for today yesterday afternoon. The extra time was filled with activities suggested by friends who are following our progress from a distance. My plan for today had been loose. It allowed a couple of hours in the morning to explore the...