Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Great Aussie Adventure - Day 34
Although yesterday was the last day of the lighthouse tour, there is still one more entry. I’m not back in Sydney yet after all!! I’m still in Cairns (pronounced Cans), FNQ (Far North Queensland - as all the travel documents and buses say!) So this morning, I slept in till the last possible minute and checked out of the hotel at the last possible minute! (This was a rather cheap hotel, but the room had such a soft king size bed and a/c and was so nice! I love this hotel chain that I’m a member of!) Anyway, the pool was awesome as well, but since I’m travelling in winter, I didn’t bring my swimsuit, who needs it in winter?!?! (Apparently you do in the North of Australia, from Broome to Cairns!! (I even saw a sign today for the Savannah Highway that I saw in Broome and Darwin. Here it says Savannah Highway - Cairns to Broome! Thank goodness for flights!) Anyway, I wandered around Cairns this morning/afternoon, mostly indoors as I’m wearing my plane clothes and it’s so humid outside. The high was only 28C (82F), but the humidity will kill you!! So I did a bit of shopping. All unnecessary items, but what else do you do while you are waiting for the plane? I did drive around the beach area and it’s nice, but I tell you, the beaches on the Indian Ocean in Western Australia are my favorite, so these beaches here were nothing special. And before heading to the airport, I did find the last two Big Things on my list!! The Big Marlin and the Big Captain Cook. The Captain Cook Statue is on the side of the highway and since there was no where to park, I thought I’d have to just see it without getting a photo of it, but as luck would have it, I was stopped first in line at a red light and was able to zoom my camera to get the photo!
And then to the airport. Unfortunately when I checked in my bag, the lady told me that the flight was delayed by one and a half hours!! Darn Sydney fog!!! So I'm sitting at the airport having a nice local beer - the Reef Blonde from the Blue Sky Brewery - and typing my final entry. I still have 2 hours to kill before my plane lands and then an extra 30 minutes before it takes off again with me on board. Oh well. With a pretty smooth trip, with one or two hiccups along the way, an hour and half delay on my last flight is not so bad. But I'll sign off now, since I'm rambling and fingers crossed for a smooth flight and no fog so that we can land in Sydney on time. (And by on time, I mean on time after the delay!!!) I hope you all have enjoyed my Great Aussie Adventure as much as I have!!
And then to the airport. Unfortunately when I checked in my bag, the lady told me that the flight was delayed by one and a half hours!! Darn Sydney fog!!! So I'm sitting at the airport having a nice local beer - the Reef Blonde from the Blue Sky Brewery - and typing my final entry. I still have 2 hours to kill before my plane lands and then an extra 30 minutes before it takes off again with me on board. Oh well. With a pretty smooth trip, with one or two hiccups along the way, an hour and half delay on my last flight is not so bad. But I'll sign off now, since I'm rambling and fingers crossed for a smooth flight and no fog so that we can land in Sydney on time. (And by on time, I mean on time after the delay!!!) I hope you all have enjoyed my Great Aussie Adventure as much as I have!!
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Great Aussie Adventure - Day 33
Today was so windy in Cooktown!!! Apparently this town is always very windy, but today was more so. I walked around this cute little town and saw all the historic sites. Captain Cook’s ship The Endeavour was beached here in 1770. (I guess that’s why the town is called Cooktown and the town down the coast is called The Town of 1770!) I tried again to see the lighthouse, but the workers were there this morning and no one without a hard had and work boots could get up there :(.
So I headed South again and drove down a 12km dirt road to find Archer Point Lighthouse. There were cows and horses grazing on the side of the road. I just can't get over that! There were a few water crossings and big puddles. But I was able to see Archer Point Lighthouse even though it's on an island.
Back on the highway, I passed Black Mountain National Park, which is just a couple giant piles of black rocks!! Here I was deciding whetherr or not to return to Cairns the way I had come or try the 4WD track through Daintree National Park. I kept hearing my travel agaent in my mind telling me that the drive to Cooktown is what makes this trip worthwhile. And since I was going to be over my allotted Km's for this car as well, I opted for the shorter, 4WD route. And thanks to Liva and her connection at Aussie Outback Tourism (AKA her husband). It was the journey, rather than the destination that was The Thing! (And since the road passes through Aboriginal land, there was a sign again prohibiting alcohol. But read the fine print - I'm bona fide!! Mom, I kept thinking of George Clooney in O, Brother Where Art Thou.)
Cedar Bay National Park
The trip was so scary, but also very pretty and so worth it!! It was a 39+Km drive down (what the signs say) a gravel road. It's actually more like a rock road!! But the Pajero could handle it!! The water crossings in Western Australia were just getting me geared up for this!! Those were just small potholes with water in them!! Today I had to cross some actual rivers!!!! But I watched the other SUVs doing it and remembered Trev and Jackie telling me to slow down but don't stop. But take a look at the photos and you can decide for yourself!! I don't know how many I drove through on this route, but there are 4 actual rivers that stand out in my mind today. (No tears today, but just nerves!!!) There was a part of the road that was under construction and only ½ the road was open, but there were no workers with signs saying stop or slow and this was a steep sharp S curved road! But luckily there was no one coming down as I was going up! I don’t even want to think about what would have happened if someone was coming!
There was one river that is just too deep and wide that there is a ferry crossing!!! But it all worked out and it was just so pretty. It was raining at times, but then the sun would come out and it was lovely.
I stopped in Port Douglas to find the Low Isles Lighthouse there. But this one is out on an island and because it was so overcast when I was driving along the ocean, I couldn't see the lighthouse. (Plus I was driving and that makes it hard to look.) The lady at the information center said that even on a clear day you can't see the lighthouse except at night when you can just make out the light!! So this is officially the end of the lighthouse tour!
So I headed South again and drove down a 12km dirt road to find Archer Point Lighthouse. There were cows and horses grazing on the side of the road. I just can't get over that! There were a few water crossings and big puddles. But I was able to see Archer Point Lighthouse even though it's on an island.
Back on the highway, I passed Black Mountain National Park, which is just a couple giant piles of black rocks!! Here I was deciding whetherr or not to return to Cairns the way I had come or try the 4WD track through Daintree National Park. I kept hearing my travel agaent in my mind telling me that the drive to Cooktown is what makes this trip worthwhile. And since I was going to be over my allotted Km's for this car as well, I opted for the shorter, 4WD route. And thanks to Liva and her connection at Aussie Outback Tourism (AKA her husband). It was the journey, rather than the destination that was The Thing! (And since the road passes through Aboriginal land, there was a sign again prohibiting alcohol. But read the fine print - I'm bona fide!! Mom, I kept thinking of George Clooney in O, Brother Where Art Thou.)
Cedar Bay National Park
The trip was so scary, but also very pretty and so worth it!! It was a 39+Km drive down (what the signs say) a gravel road. It's actually more like a rock road!! But the Pajero could handle it!! The water crossings in Western Australia were just getting me geared up for this!! Those were just small potholes with water in them!! Today I had to cross some actual rivers!!!! But I watched the other SUVs doing it and remembered Trev and Jackie telling me to slow down but don't stop. But take a look at the photos and you can decide for yourself!! I don't know how many I drove through on this route, but there are 4 actual rivers that stand out in my mind today. (No tears today, but just nerves!!!) There was a part of the road that was under construction and only ½ the road was open, but there were no workers with signs saying stop or slow and this was a steep sharp S curved road! But luckily there was no one coming down as I was going up! I don’t even want to think about what would have happened if someone was coming!
There was one river that is just too deep and wide that there is a ferry crossing!!! But it all worked out and it was just so pretty. It was raining at times, but then the sun would come out and it was lovely.
I stopped in Port Douglas to find the Low Isles Lighthouse there. But this one is out on an island and because it was so overcast when I was driving along the ocean, I couldn't see the lighthouse. (Plus I was driving and that makes it hard to look.) The lady at the information center said that even on a clear day you can't see the lighthouse except at night when you can just make out the light!! So this is officially the end of the lighthouse tour!
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About Me
- Laura
- Denver, Colorado, United States
- I'm originally from Colorado, but I've been living in Australia for three years. Before that, I lived all over the U.S.: Washington State, Maine, California, Oregon, Nebraska, North Carolina, Arizona, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, and more... No, I'm not a military brat or a military wife; I was a traveling nurse for 5 years so I moved to a new city every 3 months. During my travels, I became intrigued with lighthouses and started making plans to photograph as many as I could in whichever state I was living (including the two in Nebraska!) My blog is about my trips to various lighthouses, as well as other interesting trips. I hope you enjoy reading, and leave a comment or two!