Leaving Cairns at 11am we planned to head towards Cowley Beach, hoping that the wind would drop and we could enjoy some boating around the Barnard Group of Islands.  On the way we dropped in at Josephine Falls for a looksy and also for a slide down the rocks.  By the time we got to the Falls the weather was bright and sunny and we enjoyed the refreshing swim in the cool mountain waters.  In all we spent a couple of hours at Josephine Falls sliding to the rocks into the pool below.   Bushman Bud and the kids had a ball sliding down in multiple combinations with the waterproof camera in hand.  We had an awesome time enjoying the adventure of a beautiful place.  Josephine Creek is fed from the towering Mt BArtle Frere, QLD’s highest peak at 1,622m and by the time the cascading waters reach the bottom they are icy cool and as fresh as water can taste…beautiful!

I mention Bartle Frere because it was here just over a year ago that Joey Jess and Bushman Bud climbed the peak, twice.  Once up the Western Route, which starts at Josephine Falls and once from the Eastern side.  Therefore Joey Jess was pretty excited about her return visit and walked some of teh path reminicing about her past achievements…good on you Joey Jess, a spectacular achievement at just seven years of age.

From Josephine Falls we travelled to Innisfail for lunch at the skate park where the kids had fun on their scooters.  I ate the last of my Red Claw BBQed in garlic and butter.  Leaving Innisfail we eventually arrived at a rather windy Cowley Beach, the caravan park deserted.  The interesting thing was that the lovely beach had been decimated by drift wood, obviously the carnage of the rampaging cyclone Yarsi this time last year…what a shame that this previously unspoilt beach and gateway to the Barnard Islands was damaged in such a way.  With the wind up and the beach a mess we reviewed the maps and headed towards Bingil Bay and Mission Beach.  I am glad we did because the drive into this place is spectacular and when you get there teh drive along the beach is very special.  We missed this coastline last year and alsmost again this year so it was good to have a visit, if not a fleeting visit, to investigate a place for a holiday in the future.  We ended up staying in the Council Park right on the beach front overlooking Dunk Island.  The scenery in this place just magnificent.  Unfortunately the wind was still blowing, meaning the boat stayed on the car roof, but on its day, the boating would be sensational around these parts.

In the evening I made a Halloween pumpkin for the kids and they enjoyed an hour of more “Trick & Treating.”  They did amazingly well given the tourist season is well and truly at an end in these parts.

We will continue down the coast today and see where we get to.  We are heading to JD’s farm for the 5 November in Bundaberg and then onto Fraser Island with “Bessy” on the 7,8 &9th November.  We then head to Brisbane for teh 11 November for our course “Design Your Destiny” with Christopher Howard, a person who has been responsible for massive changes in my life and one of the reasons I am fortunate to share these experiences with you.

Bushman Bud…Enjoying Australia

With very threatening rain across the gulf we had to make the sad decision to avoid the gravel roads along the Savanah Way and bottom of the Gulf.  This decison has since proved very wise with some areas through the Gulf receiving significant rainfall…getting stuck out in the middle of nowhere is not fun!

So, we left the very hot Elliot last night and travelled through to a rest area just North of Tennant Creek.  Rising in the morning we fueled up at Three Ways and crossed the NT/QLD border early afternoon.  We have had significant problems with water in the fuel ever since leaving Darwin and have had to continually clean the fuel filter.

It is probably best to note that we had planned to fish King Ash Bay around Borroloola and Bing Bong…simply we just ran out of time, needing to be back in Brisbane by 12 November for some personal development courses.

Moving on we hit Mount Isa late afternoon and fueled up and ate dinner in town.  We left Mt Isa on dusk heading for Cloncurry and then onto Kurumba where we were hoping to get some fishing in.

We finally got to 100klm South of Normanton and stayed in a rest area overnight.  Waking the net morning we passed through Normanton and then onto Kurumba where we spent less than 2 hours.  It was very windy and was to remain that way for the next few days, combined with rain also on the way we decided that it was not the place to bunk down for a few days…boredom would have set in big time.  So, saying goodbye to the windy and hot Kurumba we headed off towards Lake Tinaroo, one of our favourite haunts.  Luckily we still had the best part of the afternoon still to travel so off we went heading firstly for Normanton and then turning left onto the Gulf Developmental Road we fueled up in Croydon and headed to Georgetown arriving there at dusk for dinner.  We were sick of the car and wanted to get as close to Lake Tinaroo as possible so the following day was only a short one in the car.  We finally pulled over into a rest area just West of Ravenshoe (nice rest area) and crashed for the night.  Next day we headed into Atherton, through Tolga and into Lake Tinaroo…finally we had arrived, 3,500 klms later.  You beauty, time to relax, swim, scurf, fish and catch Red Claw…awesome!!

Bushman Bud…Enjoying Australia

Next stop Cania Gorge, approx 250 klm inland from Bundaberg.

We left Dawson Creek Rest Area and headed for Cania Gorge arriving there around lunch time.  There is no free camping and/or National Park camping here so you have to stay in one of two caravan parks.  Being Big 4 members we stayed at the park closest to the Cania Dam.

During the rest of the afternoon we let the kids have some downtime using the playground, jumping pillow and swimming pool whilst Bushman Bud and Lovely Lynda had some relaxation time.

At five pm that evening the caravan park feeds the lorakeets and cockatoos and we headed to watch and join in the fun.  You get a handful of bird seed and can enjoy the birds close up as they balance on your fingers munching away.

After that we took a late evening sunset drive up to Lake Cania, which is another dam stocked with fresh water fish and Red Claw.  We drove up onto the lookout and watched the sun go down over the Lake.  What a great place for the boat enthusiast.  The lookout took in the surrounding gorge and dam and is well worth a visit – late in the evening is especially nice as you get all the colours reflecting off the sandstone cliffs in the late sun.

Back to camp, dinner and bed.

The next day we were ready to head of and explore Cania Gorge.  We travelled back down the main access road to the Cania Gorge picnic where the majority of the walks begin.

We decided on the Dripping Rock and Overhang walk, a combined return distance of about 3.5 klm on easy walking trails.  Dripping rock was kind of a mini Moss Garden and compared to Carnarvon Gorge is a low scale attraction.  Continuing onto the Overhang you are presented with a nice location to sit back for a while.  The Gorge here overhangs a considerable way over a small creek bed and is worth a visit.  We enjoyed this area and the kids had a great time playing in the small cave created by the overhang.

After the Overhang we headed up to Dragon Cave which was somewhat uneventful.  After that it was back to the caravan and point our way towards Bundaberg.

I sum up our Cania Gorge visit like this…we were spoilt having just visiting the Canarvon Gorge which is just spectacular…after that unless you find a really special place then it probably is not going to stack up.  Cania Gorge is a pretty place in its own right but for me not spectacular.

Leaving Cania Gorge we travelled through Kalpower on the way to Bundaberg.  This was mostly on very steep grade and winding rough gravel roads…the Kedron getting a severe work out as we passed through the very hilly ranges around Kalpower Forest and Recreation Area.

Eventually we arrived in Bundaberg late evening camping at the Bundaberg Port (which although listed in the Camps 5 book is no longer a free camping location and attracts a $1,800 fine if you stay there.  A security guard (nice one at that) very nicely moved us on.  Well done for being so good instead of the usually bloke who’s authority seems to have gone to their heads.

We eventually camped at Sharon Nature Reserve, a nice rest area, although a little noisy.

Bushman Bud…Enjoying Australia

Time for Joey Jess to summit this mountain.

Leaving Lake Tinnaroo at 5:30am we were caught out a little with the length of the drive to the walking track for the Bartle Frere summit.  This took us 1 hour and 15 mins meaning by the time we grabbed the back pack and sprayed ourselves with Bushman (for the plague like leaches) we hit the track about 6.50am.

Within the first 300m we realised that the climb was going to be torturous.  There had been heaps of rain the past couple of days and in places the track was water logged and extremely muddy.  This didn’t help the progress and it became a slow grind to the turn off to the waterfalls (about 1.5klm along the track…the name of the falls escapes me at the moment).  From here the track gets a little steeper in sections and the muddy overgrown track was becoming very difficult to negotiate.  You have to constantly watch where you are stepping whilst trying to follow the badly marked track which is in need of urgent attention…mark my words…someone will get lost on this track if it is not fixed.

The kilometres passed very slowley and Joey Jess was getting tired by the 4klm mark and we had a chat about continuing.  After thinking it through Joey Jess was happy to contine…the condition of the track and constant wiping off of many leaches were taking a toll.

We eventually arrived at Northwest Peak which seemed to take forever and stopped for a good break eating our sandwiches and realising that we had left some of our energy food behind…oops.  This seemed to refresh Joey Jess and we moved quickly from the Northwest Peak to the first of the two camps below the Bartle Frere Summit.  This was where the going got really tough and time was slipping away from us.  We had set a cut off time at 12:30pm for the summit and it was closing in on midday.  From the camp we had to negotiate about five massive boulders rising steeply up a small creek, all extremely slippery but not quite as dangerous as the Eastern side if you fell.  These were very difficult and took us a long time to climb over and Joey Jess was getting very tired by this stage and I started to question my decision to take Jess up the mountain…we were however, so close now that I wanted to give Jess every chance to succeed…so we pushed on.

After the boulders we then had to negotiate a running stream which after the rain was cascading down the mountain slope.  This was the last part of the mountain and completely unexpected as it was completely dry last time I came this way.  This was slippery and we both soaked our boots through.  We carried on though and came to the last 200m walk through rainforest…we had made it to the summit of Mt Bartle Frere…you beauty and good on ya Jess – what a climber and machine you are.  What great desire and determination you have in following your dreams and goals, I am so very proud of you for pushing through your limits and boundary conditions on such a tough climb and coming out the other side learning new lessons that will allow you to travel and accomplish even more in life.  You learnt many lessons on Mt Bartle Frere today, well done.  You gave it your best effort and succeeded by going the extra mile.  I love you and am so very proud of you!

We arrived at the top of the highest mountain in QLD at 12:40pm.  Unfortunately the peak was in cloud but we took the chance to take some photos at the peak next to the sign before having to get back down before nightfall.

I must say that I was a little worried.  It had taken us well over 5 1/2 hours to reach the summit and if we took the same amount of time to get back down we would be travelling on an overgrown track in dark…impossible, we would have to camp out and spend a very nasty night in a leach infested rain forest…that was all the motivation we needed.

We left the summit after about ten minutes and a phone call to Nanna & Gramps and Mum.  I pushed Jess hard to the Northwest Peak to try and make up some time.  We lost the track several times and I am thankful that I had the foresight to lay extra markers at places that were unclear.  We arrived at the Northwest Peak in good time and had a well deserved break.  I gave up my sandwich to Joey Jess and we continued on.  Down, down, down we went.  Time seemed to be slipping away when we heard the faint sound of Bobbin Bobbin Falls and realised we had come further than what we had thought…we were going to make it back to the car in daylight…you beauty.

On the track approaching the falls we came across a small snake sunning itself, trying to soak up the last rays of the day.  Try as hard as we could to scare it, we couldn’t get it to move.  We then started throwing sticks at the snake to give it a move on before realising that we would need to sneak past it.  It eventually moved just off the track and we squeezed past.

We arrived at the track to Bobbin Bobbin Falls and with new found motivation quickly knocked off the final 1 1/2 klm of track to the car.  Awesome and what a feeling of success.  We had climbed Mt Bartle Frere on a tough and very demanding day with the track in poor condition in 9 hours and 59 minutes…unbelievable effort by Joey Jess…I take my hat off to you my darling.  You did well today and achieved your goal.  You have now climbed some of the highest and challenging mountain peaks in Australia and are a long way to achieving your goal of climbing the highest mountain peak in every state…good on you…you go girl!!!

Check out the vids and photos…coming soon.

Bushman Bud & Joey Jess…Enjoying Australia

Check out the

On the road early this morning and a trip to Port Douglas and Mossman Gorge.

We arrived in Port Douglas around 9:00am and took sometime just walking the streets and browsing through a few shops.  It was great fun with the kids and yes…Bushman Bud ended up buying the kids some rather expensive bathers and Lovely Lynda some Lorna Jane active gear…why did I agree to go to Port Douglas…huh!

With the ladies happy and some funtimes had we topped off the visit with a nice icecream before heading towards Mossman Gorge.  Port Douglas for us was very much a tourist town with a beautiful holiday feel.  The main drag is littered with all kinds of shops and eateries and would have a great atmosphere at night times.  Whilst we appreciated the town for what it was, it is just simply not what we go on holiday for.  It is however worth a visit and if you have time…and are inclined that way…get down to the beaches and have some fun.

Leaving Port Douglas we headed back to Mossman and onto the famous Mossman Gorge.  Repairs and upgrades to walking tracks in the Gorge meant that the road into the Gorge was closed.  This meant cueing up for a shuttle bus…yes I said that right, cueing up!!! there are som many tourists that go to see this gorge which, quite frankly spoils the beauty of this special place.  After a very hot 15 min wait and uncomfortable bus ride we were dropped off at the gorge.  The walks at the gorge follow the cascading river for 700m with various platforms designed to give you a better look at the river.  Arriving at the top end of the walkway there is a swing bridge that will take you to a further 2.5klm loop walk but this does not give you any better view of the gorge, so save your energy for other walks along your travels.

The Mossman Gorge is a beautiful place but one trafficked by many people.  The river cascading over oval shaped smooth boulder is awesome to witness and you could only imagine how much better the sight would be in the wet.  It is a place to visit but be prepared to share it with the masses.

For me taking the track less travelled and making the effort to get out and about takes you into places just as scenic or more so.  These places are enhanced because many times you have the place to yourself…sorry but you just can’t beat getting off the beaten track and stumbling on a place of breath taking beauty.

Well, been there and done that…I think the saying goes.  Happy for the experience, but not likely to go back.

Another wait for the shuttle bus and finally back at the car.  We drove the 20 odd klms back to Wonga Beach and finished the day with another refreshing swim.

The Crebb Track beckons tommorrow.

Bushman Bud…Enjoying Australia

We finally left lake Tinnaroo around 9:00am Monday morning heading towards Tolga and then onto Mareeba.  Just outside Tolga we got held up for a couple of hours waiting for the road to be cleared after a nasty accident and fatality.

We had planned to visit the Coffee Factory in Mareeba and then head out to Chillagoe arriving later in the day.  Due to the two hour delay we found ourselves behind schedule only arriving in Mareeba and the Coffee Factory just after lunch.

The Coffee Factory is an amazing place, firstly there is the coffee tasting and liquer tasting, all you can drink for an entry price of $14 per adult (after a $5 discount voucher which you can pick up at most touristy places around the area).  The there is the chocolate, about 12 varieties, again all you can eat and included in the entry price.  I must say that the chocolate is amazing.

Once you have tasted multiple samples of coffee, liquer and chocolate you can take all you hyped up energy for an exploration of the factory.  Firstly there is the gift shop and then the roaster plant.  This is cool for a look but the biggest surprise is the enornmous two story coffee museum.  This place has one of the biggest collections of coffee pots, perculators, roasters, crushers, etc from just about every country and dating back centuries.  The tour around the museum is self guided and you can find out about most pieces through a clever head phone unit.  You simply dial in the number of the item you are looking at and listen on your head piece for the description..awesome…and the kids had a fantastic time touring the factory before getting stuck back into the chocolate.

We left the Coffee Factory happy for the experience and headed to the Mango winery just north of town.  Lovely Lynda sampled some wines and bought a bottle for later.  Personally I found the wine overpriced and when you have to pay $1 for a taste I just switch off.

After the two excursions we fueled up and noticed time had got away from us and was now 4:15pm.

Quickly we found the turn off to Chillagoe and set off on the 150 klm trip.  After about 50 klms we noticed the big build up of clouds and were hit with a massive downpour.  This got some of the creek crossings running and one creek crossing inparticularly, very deep…

The rain slowed us down and eventually in fading light we pulled off teh road 35 klms from Chillagoe and slept for the night.  Waking up in the morning the weather was blue sky above and all around, so we hit the road arriving in Chillagoe around 8:30am.  We had been meeting up with Alex, Hamish, Jacob and Emma (Gray Family) and they had been a little concerned after travelling through very soggy and boggy conditions yesterday afternoon…we however had arrived safely and quickly booked into the Royal Arches Guided Cave tour at 1:30pm.  The tour cost $47 for the family.

This meant we had time to explore the area.  Firstly it was off to balancing rock and the aboriginal rock art.  The scenery around balancing rock was awesome with the massive black limestone pinnacles rising out of the ground in big towering spiers…the rock itself a little less spectacular but still worth a visit.

With time still on our hands we decided to have a look at two of the three self guided tours…make sure you have torches, a spare torch and batteries.  The two caves we explored were Bombari and Pompeii.  Bomabari cave was the pick of the two caves with several low tunnels and a few minor caverns.  Pompeii cave was simply a collapsed cavern and small tunnel…which you were prevented from exploring anyway…you didn’t even need your torch.

By the time we had seen balancing rock and explored the self guided caves it was time for a quick bite to eat and time for the guided tour of the Royal Arch Cave.  This tour is guided by the local ranger who equips you with your own battery pack and torch.  The tour takes about 1 3/4 hours and covers over 1klm of tracks inside the cave weaving in and out of various caverns with some amazing formations for you to view as you go.  The tour finally reaches the Fig Tree Cavern and then lastly the Royal Arch Cavern.  Both are amazing and are lit by natural daylight from way above you.  Both have large Fig trees and the Royal Arch cavern,,,obviously has quite an awe inspiring natural bridge/arch.

We all found this cave a great experience and the kids had a ball.  It is one of the better caves I have expored simply because of the variety of contrasting caverns and walkways…not to be outdone by the bats that occassional smack into you!!

The cave itself lies under another limestone monalith with the beautiful coloured jagges spiers.  This place is certainly an interesting and historic place to visit.

There is of course more to visit than the caves in Chillagoe, namely the historic town buildings, smelter and dinosaur bones.

We were all quite exhausted by the cave tripping and rising temperatures on the outside so we headed back to camp at the Rodeo Showgrounds where you can pick up a camping spot for $6 per family per night, water available but no power.

We had a bit of quiet time before building a warm fire when the evening finally cooled and the surrounding skies put on a fantastic light show full of fork and sheet lightning.

Another great day on the road…

Bushman Bud…Enjoying Australia

Our time at Lake Tinnaroo has sadly come to an end.  The wet season is fast approaching and we have still heaps that we want to see.  This place has been fantastic and rates highly as one of the better places we have stayed since our adventure started over a year ago.  We have enjoyed setting crab nets each evening for Red Claw and checking our success next morning.  This has provided us with a fresh seafood delight each day.  The rest of the day has been spent scurfing, swimming, walking, mountain biking, jogging and climbing Bartle Frere.  How awesome life is on the road when you find a place which really soothes the soul.

Tommorrow we start another adventure.  Our plan is to head to Chillagoe to see the Limestone Caves before heading onwards on the dirt road to Mt Surprise.  From here we join the bitumen and follow it to Kurumba.  The plan here is to enjoy a couple of days of fishing before back on the dirt roads to Burketown and Lawn Hill National Park and its brilliant gorges.

Seems like an awesome couple of week s ahead of us so stay tuned as we leave one awesome adventure and head off on another.

Bushman  Bud…Enjoying Australia

The day finally arrived to tackle Queensland’s highest peak, Mt Bartle Frere at a respectable 1,622m. 

Bartle Frere is in cloud 8 out of every 10 days so to get a day with bright sunny skies takes some doing.  Today was the day.

The initial idea was to scout the track so that Joey Jess could give the summit an attempt.  Jess has been asking me to climb the mountain ever since we hit the surrounds around Cairns.  So Hamish and myself (Bushman Bud) arrived at the start of the Western climb at 10:40am.  We knew this was late in the day to start the climb but were pretty confident that we could get up and back if we backed ourselves.  We set a cut off point of 2:00pm for the summit and set off on the track.

The first 2klm or so leads slightly downhill to Bobbin Bobbin Falls, a very picturesque water fall with amazingly fresh water to drink…you have to check out the falls when climbing Bartle Frere.  The falls are about 30-40m high and cascade down through the small gorge.  We left the falls for the return trip so as not to use up valuable time on the way up.

It is at Bobbin Bobbin Falls that the track starts to climb and this continues steadily right up to the Western Peak at 1,450m.  The trail is mostly through rain forest with some scrambling over, around or through large boulders along the way.

We moved steadily with little to no rest arriving at the Western Peak at 1:00pm.  Here we climbed up onto the granite boulders where you are greeted with amazing 360 degree views of the surrounding coastline and Atherton Tablelands.  It is also here that you can get a glimpse of the BArtle Frere peak for the first time…that is if you can work out which peak it is!  The surrounding country is full of small peaks which look like any could be the summit!.

Leaving the Western Peak we had one hour to get to the summit, this was going to be tough going.  We set off with new enthusiasm thinking that the summit was not that far away.  However this section of the track crosses a few saddles so you drop down about 200m before climbing 100m, dropping another 100m and climbing the remaining few hundred metres to the summit.  This makes the last 2klm quite a challenge and energy sapping.  Made worse is the condition of the track which has not been cleared for two years due to lack of funding.  Many times we had to stop to find the track and it is amazing that more people have not got lost on this section of track.  There were times when we were pushing through head height grass hoping to come out the other side and find a track marker…be very careful on this section. 

The last section of the summit is steep with some sections exposed to the sun until you finally arrive at a tree topped summit.  Therefore there is very little view of the surrounding country side other than one rock platform which leads you to spectacular views of the coastline.  These views are simply breath taking and although minimal are well worth the climb.

We arrived at the summit bang on 2:00pm after a torturous hour of hard climbing.  The torture was our own doing simply because we hadn’t left ourselves much time.  A more leisurely climb would not have been so sapping.

A quick lunch, photo and we were back on the track heading down.  Once again we had to retrace our steps several times to pick up the track…QLD parks really need to address this issue.  Put into perspective, this walk is to an iconic QLD location (being its highest peak) and the track was in diabolical condition…this in my mind was simply not good enough.

You always make up time on the way down but on this mountain it is probably not as noticeable due to many exposed tree roots which make the track unsteadyand uneven under foot and therefore at times slow going.

We did make good progress though and were back down at Bobbin Bobbin Falls at 4:45pm.  We wondered down the track about 100m which is steep and probably the last thing you want to do after pushing yourself realy hard for 6 hours.  The legs were a bit wobbly on the way down, but this was made up for easily with the fresh cool water.

Back up to the main track after 20 mins at the falls we were back at the car around 5:30pm.  What a day full of hard climbing and pushing the body really hard.  Got to say I love to trash the body in this way and it always feels good food for the soul.

So all in all, we probably spent 10 mins at the Western Peak, 15 minutes at the summit and 20 mins looking at Bobbin Bobbin Falls.  Soooo, setting off at 10:45 and arriving back at 5:30pm, (less the above) the climb took us 6 hours to complete.

My closing thoughts, certainly not the toughest or steepest climb…that belongs to Mt Bogong (Victoria’s highest peak), so where would I rate the challenge…probably the same as Cradle Mountain.  The downsides, the leaches and the condition of the track, the upsides the amazing (although) limited view from the summit.  Make sure you pick the right day and you will enjoy QLD’s highest peak.

What else can I say…I’am at the top…and you’re not…get out and give it a go!!!!!!!!!!

Bushman Bud…Enjoying Australia

We are at the end of a four day stay at the River & Rocks free camping area near Coles Bay and the Freycinet National Park.  If you have been following along you would know its a great base to explore the region surrounding and including the Freycinet National Park.  Also a good spot for some fishing and just plain relaxing.

The campsite is located 19 klm south of the turn off to Coles Bay from the Tasman Highway and is easily accessable for caravans, campers and those with cmper trailers or motor homes.  There is group camping available or nice secluded spots which have been well thought out and can easily accommodate a caravan or motorhome.  Onsite is a pit toilet and BBQ’s but you will need to bring your own water and firewood.

I looked at the camping spot in the national park (where fees apply) and for the sake of a 4 klm drive to the national park I would camp here anyday.  The national park costs you money, is boxed in and there still isn’t a view????

Use this one as a base if you are exploring the region around Coles Bay and the Freycinet National Park, it is free, open, easily accessable and secluded if that’s what you want.  Good spot as a base.

Bushman Bud…Enjoying Australia

Today we did a small tour to Freycinet National Park near Coles Bay in Tassie’s Sout East Coast.

We decided to take the following route.  Cape Toureville to Whitewater Wall to Bluestone Bay and finally to Sleepy Bay. 

 

 

The first stop was Cape Toureville and the beautiful walk that follows the headland.  The walk is boarded along the cliff face and you get great views out over Lemon Rock, Sleepy Bay and Wineglass Bay, not to mention a couple of other granite peaks.  There is a lighthouse at Cape Toureville but it is rather less spectacular than the scenery and really not worth a visit.  The Freycinet National Park is full of granite peaks that meet the ocean in places and beautiful beaches in numerous bays along the coastline…a very pretty place to visit.

Next was the 4WD track through to Whitewater Wall and Bluestone Bay, which is accessed 500m from the Capre Toureville parking area.  The track itself was relatively easy other than a few washouts that needed care.  The track itself is only a few klms long so the trip to the landmarks will not take you long.  Whitewater Wall was ordinary and Bluestone Bay was pretty but not awesome.  On the return trip we followed the 4WD track out on a different path which comes out close to the Sleepy Bay parking area.  It is slightly longer but a good alternative.

Sleepy Bay was our next stop and is a must see spot.  Your follow a walk trail for about 750m before you drop down to a beautiful bay which overlooks many granite peaks in both directions.  You can have some fun here rock hopping or just sat on a rock admiring natures beauty at its best.  Along the walk you get to look over pristine coloured water and beautiful granite rock formations from up above.  The coastal vegetation which covers this walk is also an assortment of pretty ferns and trees and is part of the glowing experience you take from visiting here. 

Have a look at the photos and make sure that your visit to Freycinet National Park includes Sleepy Bay and with more time Cape Toureville.

Cape Toureville is only a short walk and will only take you 15 mins, Sleepy Bay…well you could spend hours here with the family.

Bushman Bud…Enjoying Australia