Single parenting is not for me. As much as I love the boys dearly, having sole responsibility for the health and welfare for Theo for a sum total of 50 hours was HARD! For the weekly shop , I may have forgotten to eat lunch and ended up buying raisin toast, a loaf of bread, cookies, donuts and to top it off a vegemite scroll for the road. Carb craving much... Theo loved it!

Bern and Archie headed to Newcastle on the long flight via Brisbane from Cairns to be at Uncle Davids funeral, while Theo and I enjoyed what Cairns had to offer. A massive run and play day with the running pram and scooter in tow, got us to see the city centre and esplanade along with the amazing waterfront lagoon, playgrounds and the biggest skate park in Queensland.

We woke to Archie's 1st birthday (albeit with Archie being a few thousand kilometres away) and took advantage of the nearby Parkrun to get myself an all time PB. Then back to camp to get preparations for the big party underway, fruit platter and cupcakes at the Lagoon on the Esplanade. Theo and I arrived at the airport early, to make sure we were on time for the pick up, and Bern and Archie arrived glowing after a long but successful flight. Archie loved the lagoon, digging at the man made sand beach for over an hour. The cupcakes were somewhat less appealing, although I did manage to finish off any left overs.

We left Cairns to explore the Atherton Tablelands with our first stop in the tranquil Kuranda (or at least it used to be tranquil until the tourists flooded in). Perched high in the mountains and surrounded by dense World Heritage rainforest with the slow moving Barron River wrapping its way around the town before impressively plummeting down the falls towards the coast. We wandered the markets, experienced the life of a butterfly first hand (thanks Peter and Wendy for the birthday pressie), and cruised the river to experience our first freshwater crocodile. After our short rain forest adventure, we headed west to Mareeba to find the perfect farm stay at Birds on Barren.

Just down the hill from the farm house surrounded by the small fruit orchard, we woke to a magical sunrise piercing through a thick fog floating over the paddocks and rising into the air, unveiling a slow moving herd of cows, horses, and an emu named Emmy. We explored the property on foot, and then found our way to a local coffee plantation to sample some of their finest brews. It was magnificent, especially after a morning run and then back to the farm. We had planned a few other activities for the day, but Theo found himself a group of friends, so that was cancelled and an all day cycle, explore and play ensued, with the big finale, an all in soccer game with the camping families and a few Dutch backpackers thrown in for good measure.

Our neighbours, Lee and Shae were a young musical couple with young girls from the Sunshine Coast, travelling in the smallest Jayco you could imagine, and busking to pay for the next week. And we were lucky enough to learn from them, the secret to the perfect beat box. 'Bouncing Cats' and 'Baboons and Pizza!' He also generously gave us some of his albums which have quickly become the sound track to our trip. Thanks @leehardisty

One day we drove over 200 km for a cup of tea at the Mungalli Creek Dairy, stopping into Millaa Milla Falls for a quick visit on a wet and miserable Tablelands day. Another day we drove back to Atherton to run the rail trail from Atherton to Tolga, but the highland winds got the better of us and we cut it short.

Being located exactly 7 km from the Mareeba Wetlands, we gave them a visit, and wow, if we didn't have a 1 and 3 year old we would have had the most relaxing time, sitting back on the balcony, cool drink in hand, staring out over the humid lakes coated in green Lilly pads, watching the water birds feed and play. We did manage a slow cruise around the main lake, and the boys loved it, although the tranquility of the moment wasn't necessarily experienced fully as we tried to prevent Archie climbing over the edge into the cool waters.

To finish off our Tableland experience, we opted for an alternate form of transport back to Cairns, with Theo and Steve riding the Skyrail from Kuranda down the mountain, and Bern driving the winding mountain road to the pick up just in time for our rendezvous with Peter at the airport, and the start of his Cape York Loop.