Bowen, Paronella NP, Tablelands

12.06.17

Bowen

After saying goodbye to the two guys, we treat ourselves to a day at the beach. The weather is beautiful, the sun is shining, and the water is nice and warm. We make ourselves comfortable at Horseshoe Bay. Just before that, we went to the lookout point located on the bay to get a little overview.

To avoid getting too hot, we go snorkeling in the water by the rocks. We meet an older man who seems to have found a coconut and is about to crack it open. I ask if the coconuts are ripe yet and where he found them. Shortly after, I find myself with 3 coconuts on the beach, and the nice man shows me how to open them. I open my first coconut and take a sip. I feel like I'm in the Caribbean. From now on, I'm prepared to be stranded on a deserted island and survive. :D

In the afternoon, we pack our things and continue north to a campground.

13.06.17

We start the day by going to Crystal Creek and then to Murray Falls. After that, we drive to Paronella National Park. The road there is lined with sugar cane plantations, just like it has been since Bundaberg, and now there are also banana plantations. The scenery is really tropical and I really like it. We stop at a trust stand where fruits are being offered. There we buy a bag of passion fruits and a papaya. The passion fruits are really delicious. The papaya, on the other hand, doesn't impress us.

We don't go into the park itself because the $43 entry fee is way too much for us. Nevertheless, we can get some impressions from the suspension bridge. After the short visit, we go to Etty Bay. There are supposed to be a few cassowaries walking around on the beach, but unfortunately, we don't see any. Cassowaries are large flightless birds, slightly larger than emus, that are only found in the tropical rainforests of Australia. They are very territorial and not afraid of humans. Quite the opposite.

We spend the night in Mick's garden. A nice Australian who lets us sleep on his, partly converted to a campground, property for a few dollars. It is located in the Tablelands and has a beautiful view of the landscape.

14.06.17

Tablelands

We drive through the Tablelands and visit a few waterfalls (Milla Milla Falls, Millstream Falls), a volcanic explosion-formed watering hole, and a dairy where we try some cheeses and finally buy a macadamia cheese. We also visit a fig tree that is so entwined with vines that it looks like a curtain.

The night is spent in Gordonvale, where we book a diving tour for the next day in the outer area of the Great Barrier Reef.