9. The one with rock slides in the rainforest

Current weather: 27/19°C, sunny
Total distance travelled: 4005km (+554km)

We left Townsville on July 13th, driving only a short distance to the secluded and shaded Big Crystal Creek camp ground, part of the Paluma Range National Park. Arriving early meant a good selection of sites were still available, most with their own fire pit... shame we hadn't brought marshmallows!

Just a short walk from the camp ground is the Paradise Waterhole, which gave us a chance to cool off, watch fish swimming in the crystal-clear water, and to catch tadpoles. We could have stayed longer, but it proved to be well-worth unhitching the van and driving 4km further up the road to The Rockslides.

Unsure of what to expect, we ended up having a fantastic time climbing and sliding over the naturally-formed waterslides and

pools carved through the rocky river bed. It's certainly a dry season activity, as I imagine it would get very dangerous, very quickly, with a big downpour!

Suitably worn out, we returned to camp, where the kids built and (eventually) started a camp fire, and played half an introductory game of Monopoly. Acacia was well on her way to winning with a nice set of hotels!

We were on the road once again the next day, stopping briefly at Jourama Falls only to find the walking track closed! We restocked in Ingham before detouring out to the coastal town of Lucinda, famous for its 5.7km-long(!) jetty, used to bulk load sugar onto ships.

Around the corner from the jetty are deserted palm-fringed beaches, which a sign warned us are used by nesting sea turtles... and 4WD's?! Go figure. Nothing was mentioned about crocodiles, but that's just assumed in these parts.We back-tracked a short distance inland to a quiet sugar cane farm, parking the van on the front lawn. A peaceful spot, with the smell and sound of the sugar cane being crushed at the nearby mill.

The next day was spent tracking further north through beautiful Cardwell and into Tully where we climbed up the Golden Gumboot. Unfortunately the popular sugar mill tours next door have been cancelled due to COVID, so we pushed further north to Etty Bay to have our lunch with the hope of seeing some cassowaries. Our wish came true, with 2 cassowaries and a 2m-long lace monitor visiting us, much to Josh's delight!

We eventually settled at park in Babinda, a popular camp ground for passing tourists. After finding a patch for our van, I went to restart and move the car away, only to find it completely dead! Further (nervous) inspection with a multimeter revealed a loose car battery connection - phew!!

The road ahead was well & truly booked-out, so we made the most of our almost-free camping spot and stayed 3 nights.

Each day the temperature climbed above 27°C by 10am, so we made the most of the local swimming holes. Our favourite was Josephine Falls, which requires a beautiful short walk under the rainforest

canopy to reach a series of waterfalls, rock slides and swimming holes with pristine fresh water. It's a popular spot, especially with the Insta-obsessed crowd, who go to great & comical lengths to get their desired shot!

Our other favourite spots around town were the Babinda Bakery (yum!) and the Babinda Boulders - another local swimming hole with a gentler current... just don't venture too far downstream. It soon transforms into a raging white-water torrent before dropping into a gorge below!

It wasn't until July 18th that we finally drove into Cairns, with the luxury of a powered, concrete slab site beckoning!