From Innisfail to Townsville - on the road with kangaroos, turtles, and cows

On the morning of the 14th of May, we went to Etty Bay. According to numerous recommendations, it should definitely be possible to see a Cassowary there - an ostrich-like bird with black feathers and a blue/red head and neck. Since we had hardly any plans for this day, we went to the beach with all our stuff and relaxed, sunbathed, and waited for the Cassowary. After 1-2 hours, Krissi had to visit the restroom and as she was returning, she noticed a large crowd of people. As she got closer, she saw the Cassowary walking around. Meanwhile, Kenny was lying on his blanket a few meters away, dozing off and oblivious to all the commotion. But then we finally got to see the Cassowary up close. Kenny closer than Krissi, who had quite a bit of respect for the enormous bird. This may be because all the signs were warning about the claws, beaks, and the associated injuries.

When Krissi was satisfied, we headed to Mission Beach after lunch at the BBQ spot right on the beach. Here we met many Germans again. Among them was an older couple who enthusiastically talked about their previous trip.

On Tuesday morning, we went to Mission Beach. We started by walking along the kilometer-long white sandy beach. Kenny practiced climbing palm trees to get a coconut for Krissi's lunch, but he ended up with numerous scratches and unfortunately was not successful in his attempts. Krissi managed to step on the only wasp in the vicinity, but it was still very beautiful. :D

During lunch, a few Australian workers who were having their lunch break next to us gave us a coconut as a gift. Thanks to Krissi's enthusiastic remark, "Oh, you have a coconut," and our interested glances when one of the workers cracked open the coconut to get the milk. So that's how it's done..

We then digested our food in the sun on the beach, and in the late afternoon, we briefly went to South Mission Beach.

We slept at a free camping site right between the railway track and the Bruce Highway - Bilyana Rest Area. Aside from 3 trains passing by during the night, which were really loud and long, we were able to sleep peacefully and comfortably here.

On Wednesday, the 16th of May, after a small yoga session by Krissi, we headed towards Cardwell. On the way there, we made a quick stop at Murray Falls. However, the Cardwell Spa Pool was more exciting.

Thanks to some minerals in the mountains, the water is incredibly blue. A small natural pool was built on the side of the small swimming hole, with small waterfalls on the sides that gave the feeling of a whirlpool.

We then went to Atty Creek, which was great for climbing and cliff jumping after a short hike.

Etty Creek consisted of a small swimming hole and a waterfall a few meters away, where one could sunbathe perfectly. :D 

The next stop was the Cardwell Lookout, but Krissi was not feeling well, as there was nothing to eat all day except for a bowl of cornflakes.

We had dinner at a public rest area in Cardwell right on the beach, where there was a playground and the village youth had gathered for basketball. After driving around for a while, we decided to stay at a campground, which cost $8 per person, the Meunga Creek Caravan Park. We took advantage of the offer and stayed there for less than 12 hours, so we got half off the price. In the toilets, we had the company of numerous frogs and toads, which were not at all impressed by our presence.

On Thursday, we had to get up at 6:30 am - but hey - we saved $8. :D So we had breakfast at the beach in Cardwell and did some yoga. Kenny also showed off some karate moves, which would give us muscle soreness. We had plenty of time since we got up so early. Just as we finished exercising, it started to rain. We briefly looked at the Cardwell Wetland Walk, which was basically a path along the beach, before taking shelter from the rain in our car.

The first stop on this day was the 5 Mile Creek Swimming Hole. Kenny found it too cold, but Krissi couldn't resist swimming in the clear water with numerous fish and a mini turtle.

Originally, we planned to use one of the many free BBQ spots in Ingham, but the rain convinced us to get a $5 pizza from Domino's. Before we continued, we also quickly gave our car a shower to wash off the thick layer of dust from the past few days.

One of the few attractions in Ingham is a wetland walk around two small lakes. At the beginning, we got a brief overview from the Tyto Tower. On the first bridge of the path, we were greeted by numerous small turtles, which apparently happens almost always when someone is walking along the bridge. However, since they were constantly climbing on top of each other, we wondered if they had something else in mind besides us this time..

Thanks to the information board, we knew that it was probably possible to see numerous wallabies nearby. We almost gave up on this idea because Kenny had been bitten by mosquitoes again, but then Krissi saw some wallabies from a distance and insisted on exploring the area further.

Luckily, as we later realized, because in front of us on the field, we saw more than 50 kangaroos of different sizes. Some immediately fled as we approached, while others were curious about what was coming towards them. We spent quite a while sneaking closer, sitting nearby, and waiting to observe them.

Arriving in Ingham, we saw the turnoff to Wallaman Falls. These falls had been recommended to us many times before, but we had forgotten about them at that moment. Nevertheless, we decided to take the 100km detour, even though it threw our plans off track. But it was worth it, the 268m high waterfall was incredibly impressive.

Once there, we found out that there was a 2km hiking trail to the base of the waterfall. It was already 4 pm, so we hesitated whether we should still take the trail. But then we met a sweaty German family who had just returned to the lookout and they recommended the trail to us. However, we didn't want to rush during the hike, so we decided to stay at the Wallaman Falls Campground nearby. Upon arrival, we realized that we should have made a reservation in advance, as there was no registration on-site, but also no internet or mobile reception. After a while, we discovered a telephone booth in the middle of nowhere. So, we booked our campsite through a telephone booth, which is hard to imagine, but it worked perfectly. Another young couple was also camping next to us, and a solo camper joined us late in the evening. Since it started raining shortly after our arrival, we sat in a BBQ shelter, had dinner, and enjoyed a glass of wine before the rain. The fact that we had booked our site legally proved to be correct the next morning when the ranger made his rounds on the campground.

Our plan for Friday, the 18th of May, was set - the hike along the Wallaman Falls. An elevation of 286 meters downhill in half an hour was quite demanding on the legs. Down by the waterfall, there was no rest, but rather climbing on rocks. It was slippery because the water was sprayed when it fell. Then we walked back uphill for half an hour to the lookout. As if that wasn't exhausting enough, Kenny wanted to run the last meters, so Krissi couldn't let him have it all and ran after him..

After a break with coffee and instant noodles, we headed back to Ingham. Here, we briefly looked at a mosaic wall depicting the history of Ingham.

One good thing came out of the 100km detour, Kenny had a lot of fun driving on the winding roads through the mountains. Only occasionally it was a bit dangerous because of oncoming cars or cows standing on the road.

On the way there, we had seen a small black wild boar running across the road, and on the way back, we saw two tiny miniature pigs with black and beige spots. Incredibly cute - even Kenny had to admit it.

We then made a short stop at Jourama Falls - here, the highlight was crossing the river by car on the way there and back - before we set up our camp at the Big Crystal Creek Campground.

Just to report on the friendliness of the people here: Since we arrived in the dark, we didn't know where to find the sanitary facilities, so we asked a family. They not only gave us the answer we were looking for but also lent us flashlights since there was apparently no light. We could have gone back to our car just a few meters away, but they insisted that we shouldn't.

On Saturday, we woke up early again, and yoga was on the program once more. We visited Paradise Waterhole right by the campsite in the morning, and Krissi practiced her diving.

Since quite some time had passed, we had lunch right at the day use area of the campground. While preparing the food, Krissi was busy defending the toast, but when the food was served and Kenny quickly cleaned the BBQ spot, the vicious attack occurred. The plates were already well-stocked on the table where Krissi was sitting, when a kookaburra flew over her shoulder and snatched one of the sausages from the plate. It did not even let itself be impressed by blows with the knife, and it only gave up the sausage after flying across the table and colliding with the coffee cup. But that wasn't enough, another kookaburra tried its luck immediately afterward, but it was easier to fend off. Krissi somehow lost her appetite, the knife covered in feathers, a sausage marked with beak and claw traces, and the bird had messed up the plate... A man came to Krissi's aid right away and tried to scare the birds away from the tree by throwing a stick. However, they didn't care and sat behind us the whole time we were eating - we felt threatened. In the end, we were briefly inattentive because we wanted to pick up a fallen bowl, and the kookaburra grabbed his sausage. Somehow, we started using Kenny to chase the audacious birds with our green pool noodle, but most of the time, they were not impressed. At least with Krissi, the kookaburras have now lost any sympathy they might have had.

(Blows with the knife and the chase with the pool noodle may sound more brutal here than it actually was ;) By the way, one of the men present told us that the people sitting at the table before us had been diligently feeding all the birds in the area - thank you very much for that - even though there are 'do not feed animals' signs everywhere in Australia.

Krissi's mood was then lifted when we returned to Paradise Waterhole. Here, we met Adam and Zac, two Australians who were spending the day swimming and drinking beer. We chatted for what felt like an eternity about everything and anything.

We then went to the Crystal Creek Rock Slides. In summer, there is so much water in the river that the waterfalls are wide, and you can slide along the rocks at many places. We contented ourselves with climbing around, a small water slide, and a few belly flops.

To conclude the day, we made a short visit to Little Crystal Creek - here, the highlight was the hunt for Kenny's flip-flop after he lost it in the water..

We then spent the night at a free campsite at Saunders Beach. It was really crowded, and we were glad to find a spot. Next to us, there was a huge camper lifted quite high, emitting red light, the scent of incense, and sounds of sketches all evening. On the other side of us - as expected - was a German couple. We briefly walked along the beach, and then it was off to bed.

This morning, we drove directly to Townsville. On the way, we passed a festival area for the Heritage Days. There were many classic cars to see, and we got free pink cotton candy. :)

In Townsville, we strolled through downtown and the Sunday market and asked some dive shops about tours. Unfortunately, it doesn't look good; the wind is too strong, so boats will not go out to sea until Wednesday at the earliest. Apart from that, it is quite an expensive hobby, and we wonder if it's really worth it here... so if anyone has any experience, please share. :)