Stop #11 - Cooktown by Jai

On the first full day in Cooktown we went on a history tour. We saw statues, museums and played on the musical Endeavor. After sightseeing, we went to a little shop that had delicious pies and tarts that had cream and fruit which was really sssssswwwwwweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeettttttt... Oops day dreaming, now let's get on with the history of COOKTOWN!!! 

So, it starts off in the year 1770. On June 11, the Endeavor, which was being sailed by Captain James Cook, got stuck on the coral reef near Cape Tribulation (he named it this because of the troubles he had there). Captain Cook needed to find a place to repair his ship. After looking for a while, on June the 18th 1770, Captain Cook managed to find a place to beach the Endeavor, and that place was....drum roll please..... COOKTOWN!!! On our history tour, we saw the anchor of the Endeavor, read about the Endeavor at the museum and played on the musical version of it.

Once Captain Cook left Cooktown in 1770, not much changed in Cooktown. Then 100 years later William Hann discovered gold in the Palmer river. On the 23rd October 1873, the  ship Leichardt  arrived in Cooktown with government officials, miners, horses and supplies, signalling the beginning of the Palmer river GOLDRUSH!!! People from all around the world came to Cooktown and the  Palmer river to try to get rich from mining gold.

Then Cooktown became the major port for the gold rush. It had 20 restaurants and 32 stores , 6 butchers, 5 bakers, 3 tinsmiths and chemists, watchmakers, bootmakers, saddlers, two newspapers, a school, a courthouse and several churches. It wasn't until 1937 that a road suitable for transport was built to connect Cooktown to Cairns.

Now, compared to what it was, Cooktown is a small town. There are (only a few) shops, markets, caravan parks and hotels, oh and did I mention the delicious pie place? Cooktown is also known for it's big trade winds which occur in the dry season. We went to Archer Point and it was so windy we could literally lean on the winds.

Overall, Cooktown was very interesting, very windy and has delicious food (mostly because of the tarts).

Jai's top five things to do in Cooktown :

(1)         Go to the delicious pie and tart shop (at the wharf). Unfortunately it does not have a name

(2)         Go to Archer point when the trade winds are there, and lean on the winds

(3)         Play on the musical Endeavor

(4)         Visit James Cook Museum

(5)         Go on a fishing charter (because dad brought us home lots of seafood)!!!

A beautiful week in Cairns (by Grace)

After going to Lucinda we headed to Cairns, I was so excited! Finally we arrived in Cairns.We decided since it was Em's birthday we would stay in a big 4 , actually it is the best caravan park in Australia. When we arrived,  a super friendly lady took us on a buggy and gave us a little tour around, there is sssoooo much to do! I just knew it would just be the best week EVER! 

On the tour we discovered that there was a HUGE jumping pillow and another one too, two pools that both had slides, a splash park that that had 2 big slides, a small slide a HUGE and awesome Pineapple that tipped on you,movies every night,  a pancake breakfast,a games room, a tennis court,playground,mini golf, quoits, snorkelling & water aerobics. I have told you every thing there is, I should of said what isn't there!?

On the second day (Tuesday) it was a special day because it was Emma's birthday.First we gave her her presents. The presents were a dance top, a diary, a chocolate pen and bunchems. She llllloved them. Then we did an hour of school work,.I know you're thinking, Really? on Emma's birthday! We then went to the lagoon it was sooo warm. If you stay in Cairns you really should visit the lagoon. Our Nanny,Grandpa,and some of our cousins all called to wish Emma a super happy birthday.

By the end of our week stay, we had done most of the activities at the park. We did snorkelling with our friends, putt putt with dad and our friends, watched two movies at the movie nights, played in the games room, played quoits (which we didn't do well at) and looooots of bike riding! We also went to the pool and water park a few times and jumped on the jumping pillow,  it was as good as your favourite dream coming true!!!!! My favourite things were playing in the pools and water park.

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We made some friends at the caravan park. Their names were Amber and Lauren .They are on a big trip too. They have been travelling for 7 months so far and they don't know how long they will go for. We did quoites, putt putt and snorkelling with them. We also played at their camp and our camp. We had a blast.

One day we decided to go to Kuranda and it was really good. There were heaps of markets and shops. We went on a little bush walk. Dad said to us that if we didn't  do any of the butterfly park or venom land attractions that he would buy us a double scoop ice-cream. Can you guess what we all said?!!We all got green apple sorbet (yep we learned our lesson from last time). Emma and I also got passionfruit and Jai got mint and chocolate chip.  It was as good licking 20000 lolly pops !!!!We also went to this candy shop and got super good candy. We then had to go.

We have now sort of got into a schedule for the school work. We do 1-2 hours in the morning and then 1-2 hours after lunch. We then get to have most Fridays off!!! We normally try to get ahead by doing some work in the car so that we don't have to do it later.

Anyway, that is what we got up to in Cairns. You really should try to visit. I wonder what we will get up to in Cooktown.

Stop #10 - Cairns

Cairns was always on our list of places to visit during our trip around Oz, as it is a favored destination of ours, and Emma had specifically requested we be at the Cairns Lagoon for her birthday.  Not wishing to disappoint our little princess, we obliged and booked 7 nights accommodation at Cairns Coconut Holiday Resort.

The kids were very much looking forward to our stay at this caravan park, as we'd read about it and seen so many pictures of it.  It was like there were going to Disneyland.

Well the resort certainly lived up to it's reputation, it is a massive organisation.  From the introduction to the "resort", the personalised buggy tour, daily activities and night movies, the resort hummed along like a large corporation.

The place has a Gym;

Outdoor Chess board; Basketball courts;

Two jumping pillows, the second being one of the biggest in Australia (if not the..);

Putt Putt golf;

Numerous swimming pools, spas and lagoons; and of course the water park.

With the family having been to Cairns and the surrounds many a times, we had not planned to do much in Cairns, more spend the time relaxing and partaking in activities within the resort.

Particularly popular were the free pancakes on Thursday mornings, and the snorkeling lesson.

On Emma's birthday, we grant her wish and visit the Lagoon in the centre of town.

Kids can't have all the fun !!

How old is Emma turning?

One of the joys of staying at Caravan parks is meeting and chatting with other travelers and meeting the "residents" of the park, as well as watching the kids make new friends.  Older travelers and residents are more than willing to impart their experiences and provide insider tips on must sees in the the area.

On this particular occasion, an elderly European resident across the path befriended Jackie and accosted her a number of times; telling her life story and providing a personal tour of her art collections in their permanent caravan.  Her husband was also a wealth of knowledge about the area, and he provided a must see tip of a watering hole in Aloomba and the best pie shop, in Gordonvale.

So one afternoon we set out on an outing, hoping the tips are worth their while.  After driving half an hour, following directions scribbled on notes and getting directions from the local kids, we arrive at the watering hole.  The water was fresh, and creek bed serene.

Emma gives the place her seal of approval.

The flow of mountain cooled water through the bridge pipes created a natural Jet pool.

We head off to Gordonvale (home town of Nate Myles - QLDer !!) in search of the pie shop, arriving at 4:40pm.  Much to our dismay, the shop was closed by 4:30pm on weekdays, earlier on weekends. They must be doing well...

We also venture up to Kuranda one afternoon to check out the markets, do a bushwalk and sample some of the home made sorbet ice creams.

We had a great time in Cairns, as always, and look forward to re-visiting again.

On our way to Cooktown, we stop off at the markets in Mareeba.  Thirsty, we line up to sample the sugar cane juice, and I snap a photo of the kids.  Unbeknownst to me at the time, in front of us was Bob "Mad" Katter doing the rounds at the local markets.  He wasn't quite kissing babies, but he was certainly mixing it with the locals and having a pleasant chat with Jackie and the kids.