Day 12: Murray Falls - Mamu Skywalk - Millaa Millaa

July 3, 2018

We slept well last night. When we went to the toilet in the morning, we noticed that the campground had filled up. No idea when the 'Grey Nomads' arrived with their jeep and trailer!? We didn't even notice. They are already sitting outside on the camping chairs, drinking their coffee, and greet us with 'G'morning'.

A little further along, there is now a Jucy Camper van, from which 3 (!) girls later get out (how did they sleep in that small van with three people???)

While we are in the bathroom, the ranger drives by and checks the reservation. A quick glance at our windshield, thumbs up in our direction, and he's gone again.

During breakfast, we briefly consider what we want to do today. I have already written down several ideas at home:
- Walaman Falls
- Murray Falls
- Mission Beach
- Mamu Skywalk / Rainforest

We definitely won't be able to do it all. After looking at Google Maps, we decide against Walaman Falls (I don't even know if we could get there with our 'ship'). On the internet, the falls also look very similar to the Canadian Helmcken Falls, and since we have seen many waterfalls during our Canada-USA tours in recent years, we decide against Walaman Falls.

Since we had so much fun at the rockpool yesterday and the weather is sunny, we decide to visit Murray Falls, where there is also a swimming area.

We leave the campground and drive back through the 'river' out of the national park.

The construction site road is very busy today. While yesterday we only saw the construction vehicles, today the workers are also busy working. We slowly make our way through the construction site on the sandy-clay track, with the workers giving us a loud 'Good Morning' and waving, heading towards the paved road. We briefly stop at the Hinchinbrook Island outlook. However, it is noticeably cloudy over the coast here, and the island is not clearly visible. So, onward towards the sun along the coast!!

We make a brief stop along the coast at the viewpoint of Hinchinbrook Island National Park.

We continue north along the coast and make a short stop in Cardwell to check out the beach. The sun is shining here, but the water is not very inviting - brown with the look of the North Sea - so it doesn't matter that there are warnings about crocodiles everywhere. We wouldn't swim here anyway...

We continue north into Girramay National Park to visit Murray Falls. While we admire the landscape, there is almost a collision. Out of the corner of my eye, I suddenly see a kangaroo shoot out of the sugarcane field and hop alongside the motorhome. I manage to warn my husband in time, we brake, and the kangaroo continues to hop alongside us at the same pace. When we slow down, it hops across the road and onto the other side...

What a silly animal! If we hadn't braked, it would have jumped right in front of the hood...
Lucky us... that was close!

After endless small roads, we reach the Murray Falls Day Use Area.

There is also a nice campground here. This would have been our alternative to the Jourama Falls Campground, as we could have camped here with our motorhome. It is really beautiful here, but we don't regret choosing the Jourama Falls CG to stay overnight. It was a bit more 'adventurous' :-)

First, we walk to the main waterfall, which is really impressive. But the kids noticed the 'Swimming Hole' sign when we arrived, so they are in a hurry to get back to the motorhome.

They quickly put on their swimwear, and in no time, the family disappears into the swimming holes. Although there isn't a large swimming hole like at Jourama Falls, the highlight here is trying out the many 'natural slides'. You can slide down the rocks perfectly. It looks funny. Today, I prefer to sit lazily in the sun and capture the spectacle in photos and videos.

The kids don't want to get out of the cool water anymore, but as always, we still have some plans ahead. For lunch, we want to go to the beach in Mission Beach.

The sun is shining under a blue sky - wonderful!

In Mission Beach, it's really crowded. Wow!

All campgrounds have a 'Full' sign at the entrance. All restaurants are completely full when we finally get a table at a fast food place, we are told that it would take about 45-55 minutes. Whaaaat??? Oh dear...
We leave the place and continue looking on the other side of the road for an available spot.

We find one at 'The Ocean Bar' and enjoy a delicious lunch.

After lunch, we head to the beach.

Wow!!! Just WOW! The beach is huuuuuge!

The only downside are the many warning signs about crocodiles and jellyfish. Oh man, to have such a beautiful beach and not be able to go swimming...

We walk along the beach for a while, the kids play tag, and we enjoy the great weather at the beach.

At some point, I glance at the clock. It's 3:30 PM. I vaguely remember reading on the internet that the Mamu Skywalk closes at 4:30 PM!? Oh no! It takes us about an hour to get there. So, let's go!

We walk through an oceanfront campground (also 'Full') back to the motorhome and head into the rainforest. Checking my smartphone confirms that according to Google, the Skywalk closes at 4:30 PM. Let's go!

We drive up into the mountains, and the landscape becomes greener and greener. Amazing. While the sugarcane fields dominate along the coast, here we see brightly green meadows and pastures with cows on both sides. The contrast between red soil, bright green grass, and turquoise blue sky is truly indescribable. Like a living color booster!

We arrive at the Mamu Skywalk at 4:40 PM. While my husband quickly runs to the ticket booth to ask if we can still visit the Skywalk, I pack all our things in a hurry and lock the motorhome. In the rush, I forget my camera backpack...

Darn... but I only realize that later.
We're in luck! Contrary to the information on the internet, the Skywalk doesn't close until 7 PM, and admission is allowed until 5 PM. So, no problem, we are allowed to enter, and the kids even get information sheets and fun animal sticker tattoos.

We walk to the first viewpoint. Impressive!

So much green and my absolute favorite plants: the 'tree ferns'. I have become a big fan of them. At first, I thought they were palms, but then we quickly realized that they are giant ferns. Cool!!!

When I want to take a photo of one of the cool tree ferns, I realize that my camera is in the motorhome. Darn!!!! Okay, I have to make do with the phone camera. How annoying!!!!

Actually, the Skywalk is a kind of 'treetop walkway' that runs through the rainforest on stairs and bridges. At the end of the Skywalk is the observation tower, from which you have a great view of the valley (according to my family), but I can't climb the tower. My fear of heights is just too great - and then you can also look through the steps - no way....

We reach our motorhome with the beginning twilight and continue to Millaa Millaa, where our booked campground is for today.

A kookaburra family sits in a tree above us and greets us in style.
After dinner, it starts to rain... great.... Rain in the rainforest. Well, there must be a reason why everything is so green here...
After an evening game of UNO and a big portion of noodles, we go to bed and quickly fall asleep.

For the statistics:
Campground: Millaa Millaa Caravan Campground
Cost: 30 € / Powered Site with Slab
Distance traveled: 290 km
Animal sightings: turkey, birds, kookaburras, kangaroo with suicidal tendencies
Weather: sunny with 25 degrees
Summary: sun, waterfalls, beach, and rainforest!