As promised, pics from yesterday’s shindig😍

Our next trip, if funds permit, will be Brunswick for Christmas. As you know our eldest son and daughter-in-law, Nick and Emma live in the Yukon, Canada – with our gorgeous granddaughter Harriet. However, they will be travelling over to New Brunswick for Christmas this year, as Emma’s family live there. We hope to join them😍.

Both of us have gone back to work to try and build up the coffers again. Gregg will be working at our local, the Rising Sun

Meanwhile we’re getting back to normal life after our epic adventure.

Babysitting Henry and Daisy

Gregg deciding to randomly prune a tree on the mooring🤣

Actually not really random, the tree had grown so big it was stopping the suns rays from reaching our solar panels. It’s a lovely tree, sweet chestnut, but it just gotten too tall!

Bit of a disaster on the boat – the engine wont switch on!!! Gregg thinks he knows what’s wrong – the battery for the starter motor is not a sealed unit and it has run dry. We’ve added water now, and charged up the battery ( via the generator) but still no joy😣. Gregg now thinks the battery is goosed – so tomorrow he’ll test with one of our other batteries and if it’s what he thinks, we’ll buy a new battery. Otherwise it’ll be a new starter motor.

Today we will be visiting family on the Wirral. My sister, Bev, is hosting a bit of a do for her daughters ( our fabulous nieces,) Beth and Faye

– pics to follow.

A sad day when we had to say goodbye to our lovely Aussie family😪 but we’ve had an awesome time travelling with them…..and we’ll be back!!

We dropped our trusty campervan off in Cairns and flew Virgin Australia from Cairns to Sydney, even got a slight upgrade! We were offered exit row seats ( so more leg room) and priority boarding – we didn’t say no😜.
An overnight say in Sydney and then queueing up to check in for the first half of our Vietnam air flight home. Well….we thought we must to checking in to cargo class!!!

It seems like everyone travelling back to Vietnam was taking their entire home contents with them! All packaged up in cardboard boxes…we’d never seen anything like it before! The check in queue took ages because each of those boxes had to checked in individually .

We were quite sad sitting in Sydney airport waiting to go home;

The 2 flights back, Sydney to Hanoi and Hanoi to Heathrow were relatively uneventful- mainly because they were night flights – so nothing to report. We had a 4 hour stopover in Hanoi but it wasn’t long enough for us to do anything so we just hung around until our next flight boarded.

From Heathrow we caught the train home and our lovely daughter, Aimee, picked us up the station
We finally arrived back at the boat mid afternoon where due to the heatwave that the UK had experienced while we were away, followed by torrential rain, the grass on the mooring was ready for another cut!!!

A massive thank you to Craig, Bri, Summer and Micah – we had an epic adventure…..can’t wait for the next one!

Craig here, just been made a contributor to The Farlam Globetrotters blog. This could be interesting!

Mum and Dad have done a great job telling you all about our day at the Reef, it was an amazing day. The Scuba Diving was a superb experience, so much so that I still can’t stop thinking about it and now planning to go out and get my PADI qualification so I can instruct Scuba Diving one day! The snorkeling was super cool as well.

Dad did miss some bits out though. He forgot to mention that when we went in for our initial briefing, Dad didn’t see the big SOD OFF low beam and of course he was the only one to smack his head on it! Very amusing for me!

Also, a bit later on when the boat had a bit of a wobble, Mum came downstairs to where me, Bri and the kids where and told us that Dad had just fallen on top of a Chinese woman! Nice one Dad!

(Thank you very much Craig)

Fantastic day though and if anybody is thinking of heading out to the Reef… just DO IT!! Also HIGHLY recommend the Scuba Dive!

Up early this morning as it’s our trip to the Great Barrier Reef. All arrive at the Marina for 9.15am, get all checked in then all aboard the Quicksilver V1 at jetty number 4, it’s a big catamaran obviously in silver.

We set off at 10.00am and headed to the outer reef, it wasn’t too bad a trip as the weather was okay, still got my sea legs and wasn’t sick once.

Me and Craig had signed up for an introductory scuba dive (always wanted to try it) so when were called to a chat with our PADI instructor and to sign the consent forms we both forgot to mention certain issues (Ahem). I was a bit late because we had spotted a humpback whale in the distance. We arrived at the pontoon at the Agincourt Reef, at 11.30, we had to leave Neen, Bri, Summer and Micah as me and Craig were in the 1st group to dive. Stinger suit on then into our dive enclosure where we were fitted out with a ¾ wet suit, mask, weight belt and BA(breathing apparatus). Went through all the procedures for clearing mask off water, swapping to auxiliary mouthpiece etc. Whilst sat just under the surface. Then climb down the cable to a depth of about 15ft. Where Neen and Micah were at a underwater observation window waving. Little apprehensive at first with all the different sensations but we got used to it really quickly. Then out of the caged area from under the pontoon, there was 4 of us with the one instructor, two girls and us Farlams, the girls had to hold hands as did me and Craig then the instructor held our held hands. Out into the open sea, went down to about 25-30ft and it was brilliant, one of the best things I have ever done. We did a tour around the reef lasting about 30 minutes, found a few Nemo’s and Dory’s and a good variety of other reef fish(too numerous to mention). After a bit the instructor let go of me and Craig, obviously thought we were quite competent (he doesn’t know us very well).

All to soon we headed back to the pontoon, back to the surface. We both didn’t want it to end, it was one of the most relaxing things I have ever done. But climbing out of the water up the steps you suddenly remember you have a big weight strapped to your back. Neen, Bri and the 2 munchkin were waiting for us all in their stinger suits, the kids looks so cute.

A buffet lunch was served as we finished our dive, which was actually very nice,

then off for a snorkel, me and Neen had a good perusal around the reef then the rest of the clan piled in. Summer and Micah had their float vests on and a noodle float, they both just walked straight off the pontoon no fears didn’t even wait for Craig and Bri, daredevils the both of them. By this time the sea had got a bit rougher and they were caught by a couple of waves but they loved it. We all got out except Craig who went exploring the reef for a bit longer. All dried off and changed just in time for the trip back to Port Douglas which was somewhat more uncomfortable than the way out. The wind had picked up and the sea was a wee bit bouncier, quite a few people looked a bit green but us Farlams seemed unflustered and it didnt stop us enjoying some cheese and crackers with a glass of wine and a couple of beers(I did have to go up on deck for the last bit, because if I can see the sea and the horizon I’m fine). Arrived back at the jetty by 4.00pm then made our way back to the carpark when I asked Craig if he had picked up the pushchair we had gone onboard with, after a slight pause he said “I’ll be right back”. Back to the camp after a detour to the shops, Neen and I packed, then Bri suggested a Thai takeaway. What a top class idea, so kids in bed, an excellent curry with a few beers and glasses of wine another great end to a fantastic day. (SHIT, Craig, we forgot the whiskey and cigars, we’ll have to do it next time).

Gregg and I organised a trip on the Skyrail for today’s excursion. Cable car up…and heritage rail back down. The cable car ride took us over the top of the rainforest.

There were 2 stop off points on the way – the first stop was Red Peak. Once again we trekked a short way into the rainforest…and this time it was raining!!!😲.

After we got wet, we hopped onto the next leg of the cable car trip , which took us to Barron falls, a magnificent waterfall. A short walk led is to ‘the Edge’ a new lookout feature with glass floor! It only opened 2 months ago, so we were very lucky.

Check out the live web cam from ‘ the Edge’

http://www.skyrail.com.au/webcam/barronfalls

Then back in the cable car to Karundi. Karundi is a village in the middle of the rainforest. It was originally a mining town but now is a major tourist attraction. It’s pretty cool! There are lots of party shops, cafes and markets. Gregg very nearly bought me an opal necklace😋. We had 2 and a half hours in Karundi before we had to catch our train back. Time went really quickly- there was lots to look at and loads of interesting stalls to investigate.
We just managed to the railway station in time for our 2pm train. The train was diesel hauled ( shame it wasn’t steam) but the carriages were all 1930s carriages – there were 12 of them!! The train was so long!! ….and all the seats were full! It was a fascinating ride back down into Cairns.

We stopped at Barron Falls – this time on the other side of the gorge – and we could see people standing on ‘the Edge’ where we’d been just a few hours before!

W

When we got back to the campsite Craig and Bri had booked us all in at the Port Douglas surf club for dinner😊. It was a lovely meal in very relaxed surroundings….and right on the beach.

Another fabulous day in paradise!😍

Today we decided to follow a recommendation from Bri and visit the Daintree Rain Forest. It’s quite a popular tourist destination and a good way to experience a real rain forest. We headed towards the Daintree visitor centre and picked up a shuttle bus to Mossman Gorge. There are several trails and lookouts directly from Mossman Gorge. We followed the longer trail – it was fascinating! It led us first across a suspension bridge and walkway high in the tops of the trees.

There were lots of information boards telling us what to look out for so we learnt a lot.

We followed the track eventually taking us down onto the forest floor, again lots to look out for. We past several watering holes – unfortunately these seemed to be something of a people magnet so we had a quick look and carried on.

All in all a really good and informative trek. A quick ride back in the shuttle bus to the visitor centre where we partook of excellent damper, with honey, jam and cream, and a really good cup of coffee.

Back to the campsite for a dip in the pool, with Summer and Micah❤.

In the evening we babysat while Craig and Bri went into Port Douglas for a meal. We had a great time with the kids – they are endlessly amusing 😄 and they were both fast asleep by the time Mummy and Daddy came home – job well done me thinks😎.

Awoke to our own personal railway alarm, but didn’t rush. It’s easy to pack up when you just need to put the folding chairs and table in the back of the camper. As we were going over the railway crossing back to the Bruce Highway, there was two kangaroos one either side of the railway tracks. That’s unusual to see two at the same place……………. it was actually one cut in half, Neen wouldn’t let me take a pic.

Uneventful trip to Townsville where me met up again with Craig, Bri, Summer and Micah at the Townsville Tourist and Lifestyle Park. We were lucky enough to get a pitch right next to them as their previous neighbours had vacated early(was it something they said?).

The park was nice, we had plenty of space – there were two pools, one was adults only and quite pristine before we arrived – Micah sat one night throwing rocks into the deep end, it was a while before anyone noticed, so there is quite an accumulation of them now! We used the camp kitchen to the full, cooking a bbq on the first night and spag bol the following night.

We ventured onto the Strand in Townsville- that’s where all the action is! It is basically the promenade with lots if activities such as water parks, children’s play areas, art and sculptures, a heated outdoor pool and lots of bars and cafes.

In the afternoon we went to the camp site pool with Summer while Micah was having his afternoon nap.
A quick trip to the shops on Friday morning, Bunnings to sort out C&B’s caravan bed, the pneumatic arm keeps coming off. Bri’s been on the Jayco forum page and found the video on how to sort it out. Now ready to set off on the next leg of our journey.

Garradunga Hotel
We had thought we might split up again today and go to different campsites. Gregg and I had booked into a National Park site called Tulleys Creek and Craig and Bri were going to wing it! – they had no idea where they were going to stay. About an hour into our journey we stopped at a watering hole just off the highway

Shortly after I get a message from Bri to say look at this site ( Garradunga Hotel) it was free to camp as long as you bought a beer in the hotel. The location was perfect and it had really good reviews so we abandoned our planned site (saved ourselves 100km off the Bruce) and headed on up to Garradunga to meet up with Craig and Bri. What a find! It was a fabulous place to camp- the field was enormous so there was plenty of space for the kids to run around.

The hotel was brilliant it was a real local pub with plenty of interesting characters run by a great guy, he took the p@#s out of me, so obviously a good judge of character. Met Craig doing his Uni work in the bar, beer in hand, “but its happy hour” he said. What else could I do…… “two more beers please”. I’ve never been to a bar before were everyone left their wallets on the bar, ever whilst playing the out of tune piano in the next room or playing darts. Everyone was so friendly.
We all had our evening meal in the pub – steak burger for Gregg and chicken schnitzel for me and Craig a sweet potato (this is a dessert dish if you ask me) soup for Bri and a small bowl of chips for Summer.

A couple of beers and a wine or two- we had a great night. It’s a shame really that we hadn’t discovered this place earlier, we could easily have spent a few nights there. It’s also a long time since we were the last to leave so the boss could lock up for the night. On the way out I noticed a rather unusual tree carving (don’t think trees normally grow like this).

This morning we were awoken to the sound of a train, again. This time a sugarcane train ( glad we’re not in Spain), it seems we have followed the railway for our entire trip, it’s just like being back on the canals at home.
Set off back on the Bruce, headed for Port Douglas.

As we have seen so many splattered Roos we thought we should count them on this leg of the trip. After 15 minutes of driving the count had reached 28, all in various stages of splattedness and decompositioness, the game was to easy( we had probably missed a few as well) so packed it in. Caught up with C & B just before Cairns so followed them to our new campsite, Glengarry holiday park, a big 4 site.
We set up in about 30 seconds, well we did have to get the cable out of the van and plug it into the mains and get the chairs and table out. After a quick trip into Port Douglas for a coffee and a look round we returned to the site then all went to try their pool (heated) and small water park. A good giggle was had by all especially when Me and Craig tried the big blue and red slide, managed to soak everyone. The kids loved the slide in the heated pool, it was just right for the kids, but bleedin quick for us bigger kids, came away with a few bruises.

We left the Auz contingent to fend for themselves in the evening and we escaped to Port Douglas for some nosebag. Tried the very busy Court house hotel, excellent fish & chips for me and Neen had a barramundi curry.

Great end to the day.

We left Airlie beach with absolutely no idea where we were going – just that we were heading north. After about 30 mins on the road we came across a sign to Hydeaway beach. That rung a bell – a guy on our Whitsunday cruise had told us that this beach was well worth a visit if we got a chance. So a quick detour and several gravel roads later took us to the Cape Gloucester resort which overlooked the most beautiful beach. We bought coffee and sat at one of the outside tables overlooking the beach – bliss!!

We were tempted to book into the hotel just for one night – but eventually common sense prevailed and we realised that we couldn’t actually afford a night in a hotel if we wanted to finish this trip!
Onwards then along the Bruce highway towards Bowen and Ayr.

We stopped in Ayr to buy some groceries and to call up a campground to try to secure a pitch – as most sites are full ( of grey nomads). We managed to get a pitch at Barramundi Creek, it was on a sugar cane farm and we thought that sounded interesting. The guy gave us directions from Ayr and half an hour later we found ourselves well off the beaten track, completely surrounded by sugar cane. The guy was very friendly and directed us to a section of field that had been cut down. The facilities were very basic – a dunny and a homemade shower!! ( eat your heart out Dan Martin😜)

We were the only ones there so we had the whole area to ourselves. A makeshift campfire and picnic table had been erected under some trees – And there were solar lights in the clearing – it was really quite nice!

Gregg made a good camp fire and we sat out until late under the stars. We weren’t on our own though….a rustling in the bushes and out popped a possum. He wasn’t bothered by us at all and hung around all night keeping us company – as did the mozzies!😲

We went to bed around 11 – and it was midnight when the first train went passed .. about 50 foot from our camper!!! Frightened the life out of us😲😲. After that they came passed about every hour! I slept through most of it – but the trains kept Gregg up all night. Good job we were only there one night😉

Today I licked an ants arse. But let’s start from the beginning.
A quiet day yesterday with Summer, Micah, Craig and Bri, in and around the pool in the camp and at Airlie Beach lagoon. Then a meal at Banjo’s Bar next to the camp. Decent food and a local character (after ordering his food sat at a table with his table number on his head).
After a bit of discussion we all decided to do a croc safari the next day.Picked up from reception by the bus and driven to the Proserpine River for the Whitsunday Crocodile Safari.

Met by our guides then off into the mangroves and flood plain in our wagons towed by a tractor.

Mark was very knowledgeable about the whole area. Stopped to show us a Green Ants nest after shaking it ended up wearing a handful.

They looked rather cool and he said the bites weren’t too bad on his hand but were painful on thinner skin. Then said they produce a form of formic acid which they squirt out of their rear ends for protection, he then proceeded to hold an ant by its head and rubbed its arse on his tongue it tastes a bit like lemon” he said. Who would like to try?
Me says Neen……… “It’s like sherbet” she says.

Someone in another seat says “did she just do that” so I thought I had better try it as well, so that’s how we came to lick an ants arse. It did taste like sherbet and it did slightly sting my tongue, but it wasn’t unpleasant.

Apparently it is used to flavour drinks, cheese and icecream amongst other things.
Back on the tractor train and into the wet lands (we are in the dry season) to see a couple of wallaby’s, a flock of spoonbills, Indian cattle (British cattle couldn’t survive the conditions) and a pair of dancing birds. Back to the ranch were we were introduced to Billy tea, chuck a load of tea into a big tin of boiling water over an open fire, you are then supposed to spin the whole lot in a circle.

Our guide didn’t do it because he said his shoulder was buggered. Then out came the Damper, basically huge scones done in a big cast iron casserole dish over the embers of a fire.

Got to say the damper was really good, didn’t try the tea as people know I wont touch the stuff, coz its shite………. Everyone else said it was a cracking cup of tea (your all mad).
After being fed and watered they lowered the boat into the river using a large crane.

This used to be the main inland port for moving the sugarcane out from the fields to the refineries. Until the usual happened, the railway arrived.
Onto the boat and we set off up river. Within 2 -3 minutes we sighted our first Crocodile a female about 3 metres (9 inches more than 3 yards, for those of a certain age) called Ruby. She disappeared into the water as we approached. We ended up getting really close to a number of the big beasties ranging in size from a little 2 year old nipper about 2 feet long, to Mudguts who is 4.5 metres long and built like a brick outhouse. As we’re sailing along and our guide is pointing out and naming the different crocs, Bri asked, who gives them their names? The guide replies “their parents “ (I think he must tell that one every trip). A few hundred yards further up the river I point’s to what appeared to be something moving through the water, “is that a snake” I enquired. “no it’s a stick” says our guide “ they’re not very dangerous”. That will teach me for laughing at Bri. There was quiet a number of Egrets and kingfishers along the river along with a multitude of other wildlife which was conveniently hiding. The most amazing sight was watching a croc move through the water and then slowly submerge without making a ripple in the water. You would never see it coming………. We were introduced to about 10 crocs in the end, some of the names were, Pearl, Lenny, and Lennys girlfriend. We got so close to some of them you could almost reach out and touch them, but that way lies death in a rather horrible fashion.

We all made it back safely to the jetty and off the boat.

Back to the ranch for an Auzzy bbq, steak, sausage, chicken and barramundi, followed by Lamington cake. All very good, but somewhat rushed as the bus had arrived to take us back to the camp.

 

Apart from that it was an excellent day, would recommend it.