Day 294 – Sunset Spot

• Croydon – Karumba
• 232kms
• 27°c

As we pulled out of Croydon we spotted The Oldest Store In Australia, so we had to take a quick peek inside, it was very cool with all the items displayed on the shelves behind the counter. It reminded me of the candy store in Willy Wonka, except this had grocery items as well!

A stop at one of the overland rail stops was a good time for a cuppa tea. Then it was on to Normanton, where I had thought we'd probably spend a week? About 30mins later including lunch and a trip to the supermarket and we were done! Maybe it's just like that on a Sunday?

We took a quick look inside the Purple Pub which is nothing more or less than that - A Purple Pub!

Then we stumbled upon The Big Croc, a replica of one caught by a woman named Krystina in 1957, 8.63 metres in length! Whoa, it was a dinosaur

Karumba is apparently a fishing mecca, but we had been told it has been overfished and plundered for many years, but the sunset is apparently one of the best. Rach booked us in for dinner at the pub to watch the sunset, we didn't see any crocs as we sat eating and drinking but we did see a beautiful sunset.

Karumba Gulf Caravan Park, $41 unpowered, pool

Day 293 – Desert Oasis

• Mt Surprise – Croydon
• 242kms
• 30°c

Whilst the Mums & Dads packed up camp, it was mini golf time for the gang! They were having a ball.

On arriving at Croydon it was really quite busy at the check in counter and we were glad we'd called ahead. The manager Rob was a friendly, funny fellow recounting the tale of why he has a sheep living under the house; too too many beers at a trivia night and yep - he bought a sheep!

It didn't take long for the 5 to find the pool and they were in as soon as their camp jobs were done.

After dinner Steve, Rach and Troy headed to the pub (surprise, surprise!) to watch the footy and leave our mark on yet another establishment. On their return there were tales of the locals including that of "Pop" aptly named for an incident that landed him in Pentridge some years ago and of a lady trucker with whom the boys shook hands and were glad she didn't give them the Mick Dundee handshake because their fingers were close to breaking!

Croydon Caravan Park, $30 power, water, pool

Day 292 – Innot Hot Springs

• Malanda Falls – Mt Surprise
• 228kms
• 31°c

A quick stop off to check out the old railway museum, not a lot to see but interesting nonetheless.

The Innot Hot Springs were on our list of things to do today and I was really quite excited about this natural phenomena! But I was not ready for the heat, we all noticed the steam rising off the water but not once did the thought "boiling water" cross my mind, perhaps in hindsight it should have! Max was first in and said it's burning hot, not taking much notice I firmly planted both feet smack in the middle of the steaming water and I swear I must've leapt 20 feet into the air; it was literally boiling water! I guess the two grey nomads and their dog sitting quite happily a metre from us gave us a false reading on the springs, after the initial shock wore off and we advised the children not to do it, Steve led us down stream to a spot where it was just nice! He and the kiddos had a nice bathe in the safe warm water but my poor feet marched themselves back to the van where the aloe vera awaited!

We arrived at Bedrock Village and after setting up camp, the kiddos were straight to the pool, of course! Once again to cold for a swim but nice enough to cool my still burning feet! After dinner we ventured over to the campfire singalong minus Steve who wasn't feeling 100% :( The kiddos had scored a spot front and centre and as we walked over they were clapping away so we thought this singalong must be alright?! We soon realised they were clapping because this meant now the adults had arrived they could go for a night time swim, as we were next to the pool.

Bedrock Village Caravan Park, $34 power, water, pool, fire pit, mini golf

Day 291 – Waterfall Circuit

• Malanda Falls
• 26°c

Today was a big day on the sightseeing circuit and first on our schedule was The Curtain Fig Tree.

What an amazing sight it was, a truly majestic tree and a very beautiful feel to it.

Next stop was Lake Eacham, the local swimming pool for many years, so the story goes! Too cool for the adults but the kiddos went in to varying degrees. It was a great spot for our picnic lunch, but I wasn't at all impressed by the black snake lurking in the shrub nearby! ergh

First of the waterfalls was Milla Milla and apparently it is the most photographed waterfall in Australia?! It was another really beautiful place and had it been warmer I would've loved to have gone for a dip.

As we pulled back into camp it was just about 4pm, calf feeding time, much to our delight we hadn't missed it, she sure drank it down quick!

Just out back of the caravan park was an amazing waterhole where there have been platypus sightings, how could we resist checking this out!

Another great place to swim, a real hidden treasure, we walked on though as there were platypuses to be found. (I must admit defeat, I had always believed the plural of platypus to be platypi, but according to the google machine it is said to be platypuses!)

It was a lovely afternoon stroll through a beautiful rainforest but alas, there were no platypus sightings to report!

Day 290 – Crystal Caves

• Malanda Falls
• 26°c

A beautiful morning for some meditation and yoga! A bit of time in the Trailer Trash Hair Salon and Rach and I were sporting some new hairdos!

We headed into Atherton to meet Rachels’ parents at the Barron Vale Pub for lunch, it was used as a military base during World War 2, it was a great old pub.

Next we headed to the Crystal Caves which was amazing, we did the tour which took us through a man made cave tunnel system which was scattered with amazing crystals and led us to the “The Empress of Uruguay” which is a 3.5 metres high Amethyst and is truly magnificent. 

After the tour, the kids chose a Geode to crack, inside they found Angel Wing Calcite, we will keep one half and the Le Fevre Family will keep the other as a memento. 

It was a really interesting day out, however the skies had darkened and we headed home to save the washing!

After dinner the kiddos retreated to our van to watch some movies and Steve, Troy & Rachel went to the local pub to catch the State of Origin whilst I hung out back at camp catching up on some photos.