Day 9 - Cooktown to Musgrave Station

We packed up and had a good look around Cooktown in the morning.  It was a real pity that the Captain Cook Museum was closed because it was listed as a must see.  We drove up the really steep Grassy Hill and went to the lookout.  Awesome 360 degree views.

Amelia loved getting out and having a look around.

 

James had his hand on the map checkout where everything is.

We went to the local beach, Finch Bay

 

We bought this backpack carrier in Cairns after seeing a few other people with them.  This was the first test run and Amelia loved it.

 

 

 

We got on the road and headed North stopping in at the 'Old Laura' homestead for a break and look around.  Life must have been tough for these guys!

Another addition to Amelia's belongings is her new chair.  A bargain purchased at Cooktown.  At least we all have a chair now :)

 

Day 8 - Cairns to Cooktown

Today we left Cairns.  We had a great time at the Coconut Resort Caravan Park and will definitely stay here again.  This is highly recommended accommodation and deserves it's 5 stars.

We went across the river Daintree River on the ferry.

We then headed up the Bloomfield Track towards Cooktown.  This track has some incredibly narrow sections and some super steep sections.  This tested out the Cruiser with the big V8's turbos whistling and working hard up some of the hills and even dropping back to first gear on a few occasions.  A great drive and highly recommended.  We stopped along the way for a bite to eat and a stretch of the legs.

 

We arrived in Cooktown late in the afternoon and set up camp.  We had some dinner gave Amelia a bath in her 'portable' bath and crashed out for the night.

 

Day 6 - Cairns (Repairs & Shopping)

A bit out of sync because I forgot to post this day.  We spent the day having the back window fixed and doing some shopping.

We now have cardboard on the window.  I asked to keep the box that the new window came in so I could tape it to the window. I like the way Windscreens O'Brien kept the exact piece with the relevant information on it :)

Not much else to post about today. We just stayed around the caravan park and chilled out.

Day 7 - Cairns (Great Barrier Reef)

Today we went on a tour out to the Great Barrier Reef and also got to tick off seeing 1 of the 7 wonders of the world.

We were picked up at the caravan park in a coach and transferred to the wharf.  Amelia even got her own seat!

A nice little boat to cruise in!  It was reasonably wavy on the way out and Leticia managed to get a bit sick.

 

We docked at a pontoon which was the base for the day

We went in the semi-submersible first and it was really good

 

 

 

Then we went on the glass bottom boat

 

 

After that we had a great lunch and then it was time to get in the water.  Going snorkelling was absolutely awesome.  Heaps of fish and coral.  We even spotted a turtle.  I had my photo taken with it but I'll need to scan it before I can post it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It will probably be a couple of days before I get to update here as we are off North today and will struggle for phone range.  I reckon Weipa in about 4 or 5 days will be next.

Day 5 - Cairns

We were up early to catch the train up the mountain to Kuranda.  A great trip up there with some incredible sights.

 

 

 

 

We visited Bird World and got up close and personal. Even Amelia fed them!

 

 

 

 

 

We came down on SkyRail and got close to the Rainforest from above.  Again, some spectacular sights. The are two stations on the way down where you can stop and have a look around. The informative boardwalk tour at Red Peak Station was the best!

 

 

 

 

A rest at the bottom before taking the bus back to the train station to pick up the car.

 

Day 4 - Cairns

The girls arrived safe and well at Cairns airport after their 3hr flight.

We headed to camp and the kids (ok - and the parents) went off to check the place out.  We had some family time playing around and a nice BBQ dinner with an early night.