We left Cairns at around 8:00am to get to Tully to do a tour of a large sugar processing mill. However on the way down to Tully we learnt the tour wasn't running today. So we stopped at Innisfail at the Lollipop Shop. Here they have a cafe and they also make candy. Mandy participated in the demo, making spring flower hard bioled lollies and lollipops. From Innisfail we drove down to Tully stopping at Etty Bay for lunch. Etty Bay is a beautiful little beach ge...

We set off early this morning to get to Freshwater train station. There we would catch a train that would take us high into the oldest continually surviving tropical rainforest in the world. The locomotives were modern, but the carriages were nearly 100 years old. We were all very excited. The train was surprisingly full of tourists. As we slowly wound our way up the mountain great views greeted us of the rain forrest, Cairns and the Coral Sea. Arriving at Kura...

We left Mena Creek and headed toward Cairns. It was a slow trip due to lots of road works along the way. The country side here is beautiful. It is lush green and tropical. It's no wonder people fall in love with the area and move up here. We decided to treat the kids to an awesome caravan park, "The Coconut Big 4". It really is an adventure playground with water fun park, three pools, spas, tennis courts etc. We spent the afternoon in the pools with the kid...

After spending the morning looking around Ingham we headed off toward Cairns. We decided to take a diversion from Tully inland to a little place called Mena Creek. Here there is a place called Paronella Park. When you buy your tickets you get a free stay in a paddock behind the local hotel. We decided to do this. Shortly after setting up the Paronella Park mini bus picked us up and took us down the road to the park. Paronella Park was built by a Spanish man...

Leaving Townsville we headed north on the Bruce Highway toward Ingham. The country side began to slowly change, becoming lush, green and tropical. We pulled into the Frosty Mango at Mutarnee. Here they grow mangos and other tropical fruits. Out of those fruits they make everything. Mandy and the kids enjoyed mango ice creams and I had a manjo muffin with cream and jam, very nice! As we got closer to Ingham the sugar cane plantations began emerging. The indust...