Published: 20.10.2018
At night we could only hear the chirping of insects and the waterfall right next to us, so we could sleep well again. Cooler than the other nights on the coast, only about 23 °C.
Since yesterday we have been on the Kennedy Highway 1. We are stopping in Atherton, the heart of the Tablelands. 6000 inhabitants, mainly growing corn here. And there are the Crystal Caves, minerals from all over the world have been collected here. A great exhibition, everything can be touched. The largest is an amethyst geode from Uruguay over 3 m, simply gigantic. Also beautiful was the 30 cm Malachite Egg. The next stop was 12 km away from Mareeba (the center of tobacco farming). 2 km of red sandy road, with a lot of termite mounds. The wallabies (small kangaroos) live there in a large enclosure at Granit Gorge, we were allowed to feed them. Really cute and trusting. There are also other animals there, including a Blue Tongued Lizard (photo). On the way back, a huge wind farm could be seen in the distance.
100 km back to the coast with a wonderful view of Cairns and the surrounding area. And then farewell to the Maui campervan, after 10 days and 2357 km driven. We had already got used to driving on the left, the relaxed driving and life in the open air (after the rain showers almost 3 days in the camper). It's only been a few days since I really feel "arrived". There are so many different impressions and great experiences close together. It can hardly be processed so quickly. The sky is often cloudy here, but today between 27 and 31 °C again, further north always more humid.
For the next 4 days we are staying in a "studio" in Palm Cove, 23 km north of Cairns, and doing activities from here. At the reception we learn that you can currently go into the sea without jellyfish, strong winds will only come next week. When we had settled in our accommodation and wanted to go to the beach, we were told that the beach had just been closed because a crocodile was spotted! Too bad, I just wanted to go swimming! ;) . Another long walk on the beach, some food and another wonderfully impressive day is over. How quickly time passes in general.
Such a "studio" after 9 days of camping has something too. Unfortunately, the wifi is bad and the photos hardly load.