Up North

9 - 14  November 2012 

Our five days up north was just everything we needed.  We left Brisbane feeling exhausted and stressed from packing and storing all our belongings and packing the trailer and car.  Our brief holiday up north left us feeling rejuvenated and energised for the next part of our adventure.  A little holiday before the trip was just what we needed!

We spent a night in Palm Cove in a skanky motel but the geography of the place made up for the motel.  The palms sway on the beach as they do in all those stereotypical images of a tropical beach but it was the melaleucas that stole the show. We have never seen paperbarks so enormous!  They were spectacular.

The following morning we drove north to Wangetti and on the way back stopped at Ellis Beach to get us some bush tucker.  Nothing better than free mangoes to start your holiday in the right way! We must’ve collected more than ten.

Our next few days were spent on our friend’s farm about 20 minutes out of Malanda. They back onto World Heritage Rainforest and you can see the mighty Bartle Frere on your approach to their home.  It really was a spectacular drive into their farm and I think it was the best country we’d seen all day.  It felt like we were on top of the world.

While there we were nourished, nurtured and entertained by our gracious hosts.  We had delicious curries one night and then the kids played tiggy outside till the wee hours while we watched our friend’s performance in the local theatre company’s production of Chicago (starring role, mind you!). She’s awesome.

During our stay we enjoyed a bonfire, saw the local youth theatre’s show, swam in the beautiful crater lake of Eacham, drank delicious coffee, visited an amazing handbuilt rainforest home powered by the sun and the natural springs it rests upon, and generally lived the life of Riley.

As we drove down off the range we were reflecting upon the amazing times we’d had and decided it couldn’t get any better…

But it did.