After our second night at Airlie Beach we headed north for Mission Beach. It took us 1 and a half days to drive there and we discovered that the North Queensland coast is very busy with campers and caravaners. We stayed at the Mission Beach caravan park and had some very friendly neighbours in caravans.

On our first full day we headed out to the Great Barrier Reef with Mission Beach Reef Express Tours. We would highly recommend this tour and had a great day with them. We met them at the Clump Point boat ramp and boarded their 12 seat boat. From there it took 45 minutes to get out to the first reef which we believe was the Ellison Reef. This reef was teaming with fish and had plenty of coral to see. The water was warm and we were made comfortable with the wetsuits they provided. One of our tour guides also jumped into the water and showed us a few of the known spots to them including a giant clam and a few Clown Fish. We stayed in the water for a little over an hour then boarded the boat for a second location at this reef.

It was quite similar to the first location except as we got there the tour guides told us that this is the home of a shark. It wasn’t long before we found the shark, just a small 2m White Tipped Shark. It was scared of us so we were not able to swim close to it but it was a great experience to swim nearby and see it. After a 45minute snorkel at this location we boarded the boat again and headed to another reef.

This reef was very different. It had big Plate Coral everywhere and the water was crystal clear, it was almost a bit surreal. Again there were plenty of fish to see and we had a nice time. We stayed in the water for about 45minutes and thoroughly enjoyed it.

We boarded the boat and headed back to the boat ramp. We can’t recommend Reef Express Tours enough, we had such a good day and enjoyed the fast trip out to the reef, the smaller group and the friendly guides.

Week 2 of our travels was much different to the first week. This week we kept heading north and then made our way out to the North Queensland Coast to see the Whitsundays, snorkel the Great Barrier Reef, stay on Dunk Island and explore around Cairns. We were also picking up another couple and traveling with them for 8 days.

We first made our way to Proserpine Airport and picked up Libby and Cam. From here we headed to Airlie Beach and stayed there 2 nights. From Airlie Beach we went on a Whitsunday Island tour where we went to Whitehaven Beach for the morning and then onto Daydream Island for lunch and the afternoon.

The tour was great and we thoroughly enjoyed it. We had good weather and the water was warm. It took a bit over an hour to get to Whitehaven Beach but it was nice to see the other islands and chill out on the boat. Once we were at Whitehaven beach we were amazed by the crystal clear water and very white sand. It was relaxing to have a swim, play in the sand and explore around the rocks.

From Whitehaven beach it took another hour or so to get back to Daydream Island where we enjoyed lunch at the Boathouse Bakery ($20 voucher each!). We took a short walk through the rainforest and then jumped into the water at Lovers Bay for a snorkel. There were lots of fish and a bit of coral. The water was warm but it was fairly cloudy.

After our snorkel we had a look at the Living Reef  which is a man made lagoon with coral and fish and watched them being fed. We then wandered back to Mermaid beach for a photo or two and then jumped into one of the resorts spas for an hour before boarding our boat and heading back.

As we continued our trek north our next stop was Carnarvon Gorge. This is a national park north-west of Brisbane and is part of the Central Queensland sandstone Belt.

We arrived later than expected at the Takarakka Bush Resort and were lucky to get a caravan site for 2 nights. We were originally hoping to stay in the National Park campground but on arrival discovered that it was tent only camping. To make the most of our time here we set up and unhitched the caravan immediately and set off for a couple of late afternoon walks. We did two short walks, the first was the Baloon Cave walk. This is an easy 1km return walk up to a small cave with Aboriginal art work. The second walk we did was down to the Rock Pool which is an easy walk and only 600m return. Unfortunately as it is winter it was too cold to swim.

The next day we walked up Carnarvon Gorge. We were hoping to walk all the way to the Big Bend and do all the side tracks on the way out – this is against the recommendation of walking to your furthest point and then making your way back through the points of interest. We also decided to only tackle the Boomlimba Bluff at the end if we had enough time and energy.

The walk in general is fairly easy and flat. The only harder sections are on the side tracks. We started out from the Jeep at 9:30am and our first stop was the Moss Garden. This is an amazing little gorge which is covered in a moss carpet. It has a beautiful water fall and plunge pool. We stayed here and ate morning tea as we loved the location.

Our second stop was the Amphitheatre. You will need to climb a couple of ladders to get into this and make your way up a small gorge which leads to a massive chasm called the Amphitheatre. It has shear rock walls and only one entry/exit. Its size made it hard to photograph.

We then made our way to Ward’s Canyon. It is a really nice walk and had a little bit of water flowing through it. It is a very picturesque location but had many people walking through it so was a little hard to enjoy.

From here it was only a short walk to the Art Gallery which seemed to be the location that many people ended their walks at. We were going to head up here next but a group of around 20 people were just in front, so we skipped it and made the 4km trek up to Cathedral Cave. It is littered with Aboriginal art works and is a nice spot. We had lunch here and enjoyed finding the different aboriginal art on the wall.

Not far from Cathedral Cave is one of the most spectacular canyons you will see. Boowinda Gorge is a must see if you’ve trekked this far out and is worth walking up. It was quite cold and dark in there so we needed our jumpers.

We continued through Carnarvon Gorge, the track is not as clear from here but it would be hard to get lost. We made it to Big Bend and enjoyed a short break before heading back. There was only 1 couple up there camping and we thought it would make a great place to stay.

On the way back however, we past around 15 more people heading out to camp. The campground isn’t big so it would have been a cosy night! We made our way back to the Art Gallery and enjoyed the aboriginal art. It was not as spectacular as we expected but it was good to have a look.

We then made our way back to the Jeep. We returned around 5:30pm feeling tired and our legs were sore. It was a great day and we thoroughly enjoyed the walk and side tracks. We are keen on coming back to explore this area more and perhaps venture over into the Mount Moffat area. We definitely recommend coming here but perhaps staying 3 nights rather than just 2.

After visiting the Warrumbungles we headed north for Pilliga and the Pilliga Bore Baths for some relaxation. We arrived there after taking the fastest route and 30kms on dirt. We noticed that these areas were quite wet with some water on the roads. We stayed at the Pilliga Bore Baths 1 night and managed 3 swims. There were others here who had been staying for a couple of weeks and it was great to hear their local knowledge and share our travels.

After our refreshing time at the Pilliga Bore Baths we went into Narrabri for a quick stop and then out to Sawn Rocks. This is a spectacular site and is a must see if you’re in the area. It is only a short walk along a wheelchair friendly path.

This week we’ve traveled west from Sydney over the Blue Mountains and then headed north west through Mudgee to the Warrumbungles. From there we went up to Pilliga, across to Narrabri and then up to Carnarvon National Park.

Our start wasn’t without problems, we had some tow bar issues after we changed tow bars to a lower drop. The tow hitch on the caravan could not drop down on the ball properly as the base of the ball was stopping it. We ended up removing the ball from our original tow bar and putting it onto the lower drop tow bar. We then discovered that we had an issue with our caravans gas. After dropping into my father we quickly worked out it was the gas regulator. He kindly gave us the one from his caravan and we went on our way.

It took us two half days to get to Coonabarabran and we arrived just after lunch time to the Warrumbungles National Park. It was only 5 degrees and stayed that way all day so it was pretty cold. We did the Burbie Canyon loop walk which was around 4kms. It was an easy walk but went through a nice canyon with a flowing creek and a view of Split Rock towards the end.

Later that afternoon we also did the Belougerie Flats Trail which sets off from one of the campgrounds and does a big loop. It was another easy walk, around 5km in length and had nice views overlooking the fields and the surrounding hills.

The next day we did the Breadknife and Grand High Tops walk. This is a spectacular walk that takes you up to the Breadknife rock, walking alongside it you then head up nearby to the Belougery Spire and finally up over the back of the Breadknife with views looking down over it. From there we opted to do the Dadga Shortcut and back to the carpark. It was bitterly cold up at the Grand High Tops lookout due to the icy wind but it was well worth the walk. In total we walked 12.5km.