Waterslide action in the Atherton Tablelands

We spent the days after getting our diving license doing our White Card and RSA and finally getting car insurance. Kenny will need the White Card to work in construction and Krissi needs the 'Responsible Service of Alcohol' certificate for work in a restaurant or bar.

After three evenings at the hardware store, Kenny built a rain cover for our car so that we can sleep with the windows open at night even when it's raining and don't suffocate.

To have Wi-Fi and electricity for bureaucracy, we spent a few more nights at the familiar NJOy Travellers in Cairns.

Saturday evening we spent with Alex and Henni - two German girls who were traveling up the east coast together. We spent the evening with them in their hostel room, drinking wine and cider. Henni even gave Krissi a $50 voucher for a surfing lesson, which she unfortunately couldn't use anymore.

On Sunday, we visited the Crystal Cascades - a river with a small waterfall. Here you can swim without encountering crocodiles. Shortly after the waterfall, we spotted our first wild turtles.

On our way back, we found a secluded spot to swim and spent what felt like an eternity watching fish and feeding them our cereal bars, while Kenny tried to catch one with his hand, but didn't succeed.

We spent the night once again wild camping in our little side street in front of the diving school.

On Monday, May 7th, we finally left Cairns for good. We spent almost a whole month here, buying our car, getting our diving license, and exploring the north.

On this day, Cooperlode Falls Dam was our destination. But first, we had to drive almost 20km of winding roads. The journey offered numerous great views of Cairns and the rainforest.

When we arrived at the dam, the view was even more impressive - a huge lake surrounded by lush green rainforest. First, we walked a bit on the dam, then we had self-cooked noodles with tomato sauce for lunch. Some people at the barbecue area mistook us for French or Italians because of our lunch.

We spent the night at a free campsite in Gordonvale, right on the Bruce Highway, which leads down the east coast. In the late evening, everyone somehow got the idea to make a campfire, so the place quickly looked like a smokehouse. Nevertheless, we had a pleasant night there.

On Tuesday, we made our way to the Atherton Tablelands, which is a mountain range with rainforests and a noticeably cooler climate than on the coast. Our first stop was Lake Barrine, one of two crater lakes. We saw two men standing by a small tree at the lake, they were watching a real python. We later learned that it was about 2.5m long and had been hanging out in the tree all day.

In the café, we enjoyed a chai latte, watched turtles, fish, and waterbirds, and observed the changing weather - one minute clear sky and sunshine, the next minute clouds and rain. But that didn't bother us, as we were sitting on our covered terrace. It was truly a dreamy place - quiet, idyllic, and with stunning nature.

We continued our route around Lake Tinaroo. Our first stop was the Cathedral Fig Tree, a huge tree that has been infected by a parasitic tree. Together, they make a beautiful sight.

The next stop was the Mobo Creek Crater. A path led us through the rainforest along a river to two small lakes. With a bit of luck, you might have been able to spot platypuses, but unfortunately, we didn't. It was also very lonely here, and the river was more like a stream - very cute.

We had lunch at the Downfall Creek camping area. There was only one hut, and a snake was hiding in the peak of the roof. Afterwards, we went against many negative opinions to the Platypus Lookout. Platypuses are very shy animals. The rock on which the viewpoint is located is said to resemble a platypus, but we can't really see it. The view wasn't great either, but we had fun because the view was accessible via a metal staircase, on which many small frogs hopped around. It had started raining shortly before, so we walked the path with rain jackets and an umbrella. The highlight for Kenny here was the way to the Platypus Lookout, where he could test and use the off-road capability of our car on the steep track.

We didn't drive on asphalt roads for the whole trip, but on off-road tracks, and we were able to enjoy great views of the lake despite the clouds, rain, and fog. For dinner, we had onion rings, sausages, and toast with a view of the lake, cooked at one of the many public BBQ areas.

Unfortunately, we got caught in the dark while driving on that day and had our first encounter with wallabies jumping across the road - luckily without an accident. We spent the night at a free campsite in a small village called Kairi. In the morning, we waited for a while in front of the showers. There was only one, combined with the toilet, so there was a big crowd, but also joy for the people who finally made it in. :)

On Wednesday, May 9th, we visited Atherton. Apart from a museum with numerous crystals (we only visited the free shop), there wasn't much to discover. While walking around, we noticed that the surrounding 'mountain' offers great mountain biking trails, but we would have had to rent bikes and it was already noon, so the trip wouldn't have been worth it. When we asked about interesting sights, Krissi met a former Munich resident who immigrated to Australia and is now working as a retiree volunteer at the tourist information. For lunch, we went to the Platypus Park and had pasta with tomato sauce again - it seems to be our favorite dish now. :) We were able to spot a platypus briefly, along with turtles, fish, and waterbirds.

We then continued to Lake Eacham, the second crater lake in the region. It was actually too cold and too late to swim, and the sunset was approaching. But Krissi was so thrilled by the clarity of the water that she definitely wanted to jump in, and Kenny joined in more or less voluntarily. It was at this lake that we shot the time-lapse video of our swimming trip, which some of you may have seen on Facebook or Instagram. Afterward, we lay in the sun to dry off, and at the same time, two tour buses arrived, somewhat spoiling the idyllic atmosphere. Fortunately, it wasn't too crowded. We spontaneously decided to have dinner at the lake to watch the sunset. Our campsite for the night was already booked and not far away. After swimming, Krissi discovered a warning sign indicating the presence of freshwater crocodiles in the lake. These crocodiles are apparently not very aggressive and therefore not a danger to humans as long as they are not provoked. Still, it was a strange feeling to only discover the sign after swimming.

Our campsite for the night was the Lake Eacham Tourist Park.

On Thursday morning, we went to the Malanda Falls. In comparison, they weren't really spectacular waterfalls.

Then we headed to the Barron River, or more specifically, to the Dinner Falls. Even in the car park, we met three super nice rangers whom we talked to about our chance of finally seeing a cassowary - an emu-like bird. Unfortunately, you apparently need a lot of luck to see one, and they recommended the Etty Bay to us - apparently, a cassowary named Eddy lives there (that's on our to-do list for May 14th). An information sign instilled some respect in us: A cassowary is apparently able to kill a person, and if it wants to, it can jump at you with both feet - similar to an ostrich, we don't want to experience that.

We had fun at the Barron River - we climbed along the rocks in the river and had a good time - the many kilometers we walked during the day weren't enough. :D

We had lunch at the Millstream Falls, which was also very beautiful. We then met another German couple who were having breakfast there. We hope they can sell their campervan in Cairns. Good luck to them. :)

In the late afternoon, we drove to our campsite, the Archer Creek Rest Area NQ. It was located right between the river and the highway. Luckily, not many cars drive by at night. We took a walk along the river and enjoyed the relatively relaxed afternoon at our campsite. In the toilet shed, we encountered many frogs and little geckos.

The next morning, we went straight to the Little Millstream Falls - another great place to climb where you shouldn't. We didn't meet any other people there and had the playground all to ourselves.

We then drove towards Millaa Millaa along the Scenic Route, enjoying the beautiful views of the surrounding meadows.

The world-famous Millaa Millaa Falls were unfortunately quite crowded. There were two tour buses there when we arrived. They truly look like a painting. It was a shame that there were so many people, and the path was like a construction site. The nice thing is that you can swim behind the waterfall and climb on the rocks there, although the water is really cold. Many girls imitated the television commercial and swung their hair in the air, of course, capturing the moment in photos.

The Milla Milla Falls are part of the Waterfalls Circuit, along with the Zillie and the Ellinjaa Falls.

Unfortunately, you can only officially view the Zillie Falls from above on an observation platform.

However, we discovered a small trail that led us down to the bottom, and of course, we climbed along the waterfall, which was sometimes quite tricky and slippery, but also adventurous and fun.

We only made a short visit to the Ellinjaa Falls because there wasn't much climbing to do, and we had already been swimming that day.

We had lunch in the park in Milla Milla.

Next, we went to a breathtaking lookout point - Milla Milla Lookout. When we arrived, the fog was already rolling in, but it didn't ruin the view. It was a 270-degree panorama, and so far probably the best view. We had the place all to ourselves. :)

We then made a short detour to Henrietta Creek - a small and cute waterfall, but compared to the previous ones, not very spectacular.

Afterwards, we went to our campsite, the Henrietta Creek camping area.

On Saturday, May 12th, we headed back to the coast, passing by Crawfords Lookout and a tea plantation right on the highway. This was followed by another highlight - the Babinda Boulders.

A river with many small waterfalls and rounded giant rocks on which you can climb and sunbathe. Based on the recommendation from another camper, we went to a quieter spot, where mostly locals go and which is not overrun by tourists.

Shortly before sunset, we also jumped from the cliffs. We both jumped from about 7m high, and Kenny even dared to jump from about 12m high. The 7m jump was no problem, but the 12m jump was a bit tougher. The camper recommended this jump to us, although he mentioned 20m, which was probably a bit exaggerated. However, we didn't dare to jump without seeing someone else jump before us, as we didn't know where. Only when two girls (aged around 16) jumped and we saw it from a distance, did we feel confident enough to do it. Shortly before the jump, one of the girls came to jump again, so she could give us tips and film us. :) The Babinda Boulders also have a very dangerous rapid in the Devil Holes, and it is said that a few people have died here.

We spent the night again at a free campsite right next door - the Boulders campsite.

On Sunday, we visited the Josephine Falls and tried out the famous rock slide - Krissi's tailbone thanks us. But would we give up just because of some potential pain? Never - it's our own fault then.

We climbed around on the rocks again and discovered some vines to swing on.

Afterwards, we went to Innisfail, where we spent quite a bit on shopping and the upcoming overnight stay at the Garradunga Hotel - an expensive day. In the evening, we treated ourselves to a glass of wine each, as is customary for a stay here - but no overnight costs are involved.

We are now about 70km from Cairns, but during our route through the Tablelands, we covered about 500km. In the next few days, we will continue south to Etty Bay and Mission Beach. Hopefully, we will see a cassowary.