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Time to leave our lovely spot at Wonga Beach and move onto Mt. Garnet, we chose this town because of the distance from where we are and also because we are keen to drive back the 21kms to Innot Hot Springs. We have only booked two nights as we will for our next few stops, our aim is to get to Karumba where Robb is hoping to pick up a fishing charter so the next few stops will be quick and just give us the time we need to visit the attractions we want to see. Our drive through the Atherton Tablelands took us through the towns of Mareeba and Atherton both of which are good sized towns and we also passed a large Wind Farm where we drove up to the viewing area but couldn't stop because the park wouldn't allow us to turn the van around. We were hoping to make a quick stop at The Humpy again to pick up bananas and nuts but the car park was too busy to try to get the van in. We did originally intend to stay at a cheap spot behind the servo on Mt. Garnet, however, they don't have power and while this didn't originally worry us we had an issue with our C-Tec/Battery system last night and we needed power to charge the battery up again trying to discover if the battery has had it or it is a problem with the C-Tec. We chose to stay at the Travelers Park in Mt. Garnet which turned out to be quite nice. we could choose our own spot so we chose one with the sun behind us, all areas are grass and there are lots of trees around us, this will do for the next two nights. It doesn't take us long to set up and when this was taken care of we took a drive around town which only took us five minutes, I think we stopped here last time we were up this way, I remember the quaint little Information Centre where we had a nice chat with the volunteer on duty the day we visited.
The temperature had dropped a little bit overnight and we were both looking forward to sleeping with a doona over us, having said that I woke at 2.00am to find the doona on the floor at the end of the bed. We did have a bit of rain overnight which was quite pleasant and Robb got up around 4.00am to drop the awning to let the water run off luckily because there was already a bit stored in the awning. Like most of our days we didn't have a lot planned but somehow we found more to do than we originally thought. Our first stop was at Innot Hot Springs which was only 16kms down the road back in the direction we had come from, we didn't know what to expect here but I thought it looked interesting when we passed it on our way to Mt. Garnet it definitely needed a visit. I stopped in the office first just to make sure of the path we had to take and that there wasn't an admission fee, free entry here so we wandered down in the direction indicated and eventually came to the stream that is the Innot Hot Springs. We had been told to be careful of the water near the rocks because it tends to get a bit too hot. You will get a better idea of the springs when you see the photos below but just to describe it there is a creek filled with a sand botom and there is steam rising off it, at different spots holes have been dug out to allow the water to filter in and people either wander through the creek or the holes and sometimes find somewhere in one of the more temperate holes to sit in. There were three larger holes together where the temperature in the first hole was luke warm, in the next it was warmer and in the last it was very hot, too hot to walk in, I felt like Goldilocks trying to choose the right one. We preferred the middle hole and we stayed there for a little while paddling through it, we had our toggies on but didn't think it would be a long term event so didn't bother stripping to get in. The water is supposed to be therapeutic but unfortunately Robb sank a couple of inches in the sand and wrenched his knee trying to get out and struggled back to the car, we found the nearest chemist and bought a supply of knee supports and inflammatory medication to try to help.
The nearest chemist we could find was in Ravenshoe, we hadn't planned to visit here but Robb's injury necessitated a visit to either a doctor or a chemist, he didn't want to mess around with a doctor so the chemist it was. We drove into town where I found a pharmacy on the main street, the lady I spoke to was very helpful so I came away with a knee support bandage, Voltaren and a pair of nail clippers we had been trying to find. The IGA was next door so I called in there to pick up the few items we needed and then we drove over the road to the servo where I filled the car up ready for moving on tomorrow. From here we drove around the town to have a quick look and then onto the Ravenshoe Heritage Steam Railway display, we had visited here last time we were up this way but what the heck it is an interesting display and our son is a model railway enthusiast so he will appreciate the photos.
We drove back from Ravenshoe stopping at Millstream National Park on the way. I wanted to visit Big Millstream Falls, obviously Robb was not able to do any walking so we parked and I climbed out of the car with my camera and headed down the path indicated which said it was only 340m away. What the sign didn't say was that it was all downhill which meant on the way back it was going to be all uphill and not your tiny little grades that we have to do occasionally but serious 10% grades. I have to say though it was worth every struggled breath I took on the way up and would have to be one of the most impressive falls I have ever seen. I took heaps of photos on the way back not because I thought they would be any more value than the other dozen I had taken but every time I saw people come towards me I stopped to take a photo so that the wouldn't talk to me and see how out of breath I was.
It was not a very long drive today from Mt. Garnet to Undara Lava Tubes Experience in the Undara National Park. Last time we were here we missed the tour of the Lava Tubes but I cannot really remember why, maybe it was timing. I had phoned ahead yesterday to book our van site for two nights and said we wanted to do the Archway tour but in the meantime, Robb hurt his knee and there was no way he could negotiate the paths down and up from the tubes. When we arrived, I explained the situation and adjusted the booking to two nights stay and for me to do the tour by myself. My tour booking was for tomorrow but because we were here early enough, I asked if I could change that to today and it worked out ok. We drove around to the spot allocated to us and backed in and set up, I quickly organised lunch for the two of us before being dropped off to meet the tour. Our tour guide Wes was full of information about the local area and the flora and fauna and he kept us entertained for the length of the drive. We stopped at a point where there was a notice board of information about the formation of the Lava Tubes and Wes explained it to us in more detail. From here we took a path around to the first cave, the Archway. It was interesting to see the various formations from the lava flow and to see how the tubes were formed. We visited two other tubes from here, each different to the other. It was an amazing tour and Robb would have love it but he also enjoyed looking through the many photos I had taken. This would have to list up there with one of the best tours I have taken and I would thoroughly recommend it to anyone coming out this way.
The only disappointment we have with this stay is that we do not have any service for the internet, we have two nights here without internet and we feel like our throats have been cut. I was talking to others on the tour today who are staying here and they were saying the same thing. When Robb picked me up this afternoon we returned to the van where I made up some mayonnaise for our salads, took care of a load of washing and then prepared a beef stew for dinner before we drove down to the bar where I thought there might be internet coverage. I purchased a drink each and then we found a table to sit at and then logged into the camp internet which unfortunately was not as great as I first thought it might be. We plodded along with this and I managed to at least download my emails but it wasn’t good enough to do much more than that. We persevered for a while but then decided we may as well give up and return to the van. At least I can edit and name my photos but I think it might be an early night for the two of us.
As I thought last night was a very early night for both of us, we love to read but there is only so much of this you can do. We both had a good nights sleep though and didn’t wake until our normal time. I had made plans for the day which involved a bit of cleaning so once we were up, I stripped the bed and put a wash on and then made our coffees, we sat reading for a little while, I had planned to do a couple of loads of washing today so when the first load was ready, I hung this out and went back to reading waiting for the next load. The result of the day is that the van is sparkling clean, all our bed linen and towels are spotless and we are having leftovers for dinner so nothing to prepare there. After lunch we wandered down to the bar area where we at least had a minimum of internet and I caught up on emails and notifications from IG and FB. From here we returned to the van but it looks like a long night ahead without TV or internet. We are moving on tomorrow to Croydon and we are desperately hoping we have coverage there.
We had a good drive to Croydon on a road that constantly went from one lane to two but everybody on this road behaved well and slowed down where necessary. We stopped for fuel at Mt. Surprise and then passed on through Georgetown where they have the Terrestrial Museum which we visited last time in this area and didn't feel the need to visit again. When we arrived at Croydon we stopped at the supermarket to pick up a few items and fill up with fuel and then drove over the road to the caravan park to book in. We drove into the site we thought we wanted but then luckily one of the other people staying there said they had stayed in that spot and the birds in the trees had crapped all over their van and awning, so we moved on away from the trees. We were only there for one night so we didn't unhitch so it wasn't long until we were set up and I had dinner organised. We had a little bit of internet so I spent the rest of the night catching up on emails and social media. We are moving onto Karumba tomorrow hoping Robb can find a fishing charter, we will book for four nights but then if we have to extend our stay there.
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