We take a few minutes this morning to climb the bluff above Coffs Harbor and take in the seaside view. We attempted to do this yesterday but our Australian GPS, Lillypenny (Lilly for short), sent us to a dead end. We do a little research and have better luck today. We take in the view plus a story along the trail of the creation story as told by one of the aboriginal tribes. It is a lovely walk, view, and it is always interesting to hear the cultural stories.
On we go. The route is pretty much M1/A1 to Sydney. We take a short detour to check out Nambucca Head, a shoreline vacation destination with beautiful rugged shoreline. We lounge at the overlook enjoying delicious sweet treats from the local bakery – passionfruit/coconut bar, a blueberry croissant, and pecan pie. View and baked goods are both fantastic.
We are approached by a local, to only with 1.5 meters of course. He is quite animated about the plight of Australia with the coronavirus and is a stanch supporter of NY Governor Cuomo with the self-isolation policies. In a nutshell he says, “Australia’s government is missing the mark and the military needs to move in to manage the situation. Citizens just don’t follow the social distancing rules and the virus is being carried across the country by the hordes of backpackers that are trapesing north for the winter.” Wow. We wish him well and continue on our way.
We settle in at Seal Rocks for our last two nights in the campervan. It is a remote campground with lots of beach and rocky shore views. It is beautiful AND it is easy to practice social distancing in this sort of place. Folks in larger towns are noticeably more nervous about close encounters and new rules are coming out every day limiting people’s activities. Looks like we will still get a couple days to wander the streets in Sydney to sightsee then it is probably good we are heading home. We are thankful to be healthy and actually enjoy the National Park trails and beach scene anyway. Perhaps we are natural social distancers?

The primary attraction at Coffs Harbor is a pelagic seabird rookery. Thousands of wedgetail shearwaters dig shallow borrows in the banks of Muttonbird island. They leave the young during the day as they feed at sea and return in mass in the evenings to feed the little ones with a great flurry of activity and lots of noise. We must be a bit late in the season and most of the young have already fledged. All we see is one little fellow hunkering in his nest watching for mom or dad to show up with supper. Still, it is worth the walk for the view of the shoreline from the island.
We try fish and chips from The Fisherman’s Coop. It is the place “they” say has the best on the coast. Not sure if it’s the best but it is delicious, Spanish mackerel and whiting. Restaurants are all take away only now but that is ok. It makes lunch even better as we perch on boulders of the breakwater and watch the waves crash in.
Camp is filled with birdsong as we settle in for the night and we wake to the now anticipated raucous call of the laughing kookaburra.

As you might expect, the primary focus of this venture is to immortalize and celebrate the life and achievements of Steve Irwin. Secondary is the education of the public about unique Australian animals to build a love for and desire to protect those critters. So, they have lots of them here. By far the cutest are the Koalas. No surprise here. They have adorable faces and seem to be able to balance to nap in virtually any position. The attendant points out that the Koala has a saucer-shaped boney plate in its bum that helps them comfortably perch among tree limbs for hours, up to 20hrs a day napping. We visit kangaroos– we actually walk among them-they are very chill, echidnas – never see them in the wild – they look lots like a porcupine and love to hide in hollow logs during the day, emus-they make a low rumbling sound-very non-birdlike, wombats, dingos – sleeping in the sun just like a pet dog, Tasmanian devils – scampering around a bit but no whirling dervishes, cassowaries – look just like the ones in the wild, large wading birds-weirdest are the Jabirus, a Brolga crane- it dances just like sand hills, rainforest dwellers with fantastic color, snakes and lizards everywhere – in the enclosures and outside of them, and lots of crocodiles and alligators –they are all named of course. Interesting inhabitants of Asia and Africa also make appearances. Mostly I enjoy seeing the more elusive locals. Throughout the day they have animals out with handlers so we can get a close up look. Overall, it is a fun stop. Coronavirus restrictions cause them to stop “photos with Koalas” – typically people actually get to hold one and have their picture taken. More circus-like than zoo or conservationist but I expect a pretty big draw. Workers get some new directive as we sit eating our ice cream (more accurately our non-dairy berry) treat. They have to gather up all seating around food venders so people won’t congregate. The entire place is placarded with signs admonishing all who come there to practice social distancing. Here that means 1.5 meters. They even reduced seating in the crocoseum so as to allow for more personal space. I suspect it won’t be long until the zoo is required to close.
We head on south toward Sydney at least to the New South Wales border (we are still in Queensland) since states are rapidly closing borders and we don’t need the complication as we head for the airport. The drive is slower than anticipated as there is much roadwork on A1/M1 as they transition this whole section to controlled access, divided highway. It is dark as we roll into camp in Coffs Harbor but we safely settle in for the night.

Camp last night is just a bit too close to A1. This is a main north south corridor so heavy truck traffic is nearly 24/7. Sometime in the night things calm down and we grab a nice night’s sleep. Our alarm is birdsong this morning. It is a sweet, clear-tone melody that floats through the air from high in the treetops. It starts as just a few sweet notes then with some experimenting and arranging grows into a lovely melody. It is mostly a solitary songster with only occasional replies from afar. If I have to get up anyway this is a wonderful alarm! I later discover that that bird is called the pied butcherbird. Not a very pretty name for the maker of such a beautiful song.
We hit the road pretty early and stop just short of Brisbane in Beerwah. Kent is pretty happy with the quality of M1, a newly built, divided, limited access motorway vs A1, a two lane, bumpy route that passes through lots of little towns.
Beerwah is our stop because I want to visit the Australian Zoo, founded by Steve Irwin to make sure we see more of the quintessential Australian animals that we are even less likely to see in the wild since we are here a week shorter. Besides, it sounds like fun.
When we stop for fuel enroute we come upon an ice cream shop specializing in lyche based flavors. Kent goes for unadulterated lyche flavor. I try lyche/ginger. Both are quite good  .We have time this afternoon to check out the Glass Mountains NP Lookout. I am to find that the visitor centers are closed, Novel Coronavirus stuff, so no maps or trail information. It is pretty hot anyway, 34C, making hiking not sound very attractive in the heat of the day any way. We find a nice camper park for the night. Pasta with pesto make for a tasty dinner and we are in for a quiet evening.

The annoying serenade of Kent’s cell phone alarm alerts us, it is 5AM. It is still dark of course but we haul ourselves out of bed. Locals report that there will be Kangaroos on the beach at 5:30 and we a just a short walk across camp. Red headlamped we emerge onto the sand and spot 14 hoppers picking through vegetation left on shore as the tide retreated. A ranger fills in on the details. We are looking at 12 wallabies (they have a light stripe on their hip) and 2 young eastern grey kangaroos. This one of just 4 places on the continent where kangaroos routinely come to the beach to feed. They are looking for sprouted mangrove seed pods that have some mineral that is otherwise missing from this areas diet of grasses. They are pretty tolerant of people so we get to watch for nearly an hour. One wallaby baby (he’s a Joey too) is just peeking out of mom’s pouch checking out all that is around him as Mom nearly drags his little nose along the beach. It all unfolds against a lovely sunrise over the ocean. A nice way to start the day.
That is our fun for the day. Since our stay has been shortened, we need to cover some ground. To make it even more fun, this stretch of road between Mackay and Rockhampton is universally described as the worst, most uninteresting, boring drive of the entire coast. We stay optimistic but it is pretty tedious. Cane fields give way to rolling pastureland as far as one can see, to sparse eucalyptus forest, to scrub land then back to pasture land. Queensland transportation even acknowledges the challenge of the drive with burmashave type signs and a trivia question or two. It is a long drive but we safely arrive at Star Roadhouse and Caravan Park in Gladstone. They serve up some interesting pizza .Nearly every one listed includes pineapple and capsicum but none include red or tomato sauce. We go for their Police Piggy special and it is a fun experiment. We eat it all so isn’t too bad. We are in for the night.

I chatted with the host at TYTO wetlands in Ingham yesterday. It sounds like a great place to try and find some more unique Australian birds so we carve out a couple hours early this morning to see what we can find.
The wetland park is named for a grassland’s owl, The Tyto owl. We don’t see him but find quite a few others we have not yet seen. I am amazed to be greeted by kangaroos in this soggy area. I always thought of them as arid land critters. Not all subspecies apparently since these just take off splish splashing across the swamp when startled. Weird. It is a nice stop but really warming up by 9 in the morning.
So, we drive on. We will push mileage a bit today to get a good start on our drive south to Sydney. Can’t skip one stop though, The Frosty Mango. It has been recommended by everyone within 200 km as a can’t miss stop. Turns out it is a tropical fruit orchard that has even made it onto official maps—tells you how many attractions are along this stretch. It is a breakfast stop for us and well worth it: pancakes with mango ice cream and mango puree syrup. I enjoy the flavors more than any other time I tried them – maybe perfectly ripe? Check out their mascot, Frosty Mango.
Tonight’s stop, Cape Hillsborough Nature tourist Park that is right against the National park. Kangaroos and wallabies come out on the beach every morning – I just have to see it!
A few of them are wandering around camp this evening.

The friendly neighborhood cassowary is out to greet us as we pack up to move on. It is a nice start to a great day of spontaneous stops fueled by enthusiastic staff at information centers in Tully and Ingham. The talks are almost as fun as the actual outings.
In Tully, we climb the 7.9-meter-high Golden Gum Boot. Tully claims the wettest town in Australia. There is a treefrog on the boot! Next is lunch along the lovely beach park in Caldwell, just a quiet little seaside town.
From Ingham we are directed to Wallaman Waterfalls. The tallest, single drop, continuously flowing falls in Australia. We are admonished to follow signs carefully as we will zigzag through cane paddocks, maybe dodge cows along the way, and watch out for cassowary in the highlands. The drive is as promised but no cassowaries even along the curvy mountain climb.
The view from the top is impressive but we can’t resist a walk to the bottom – looking-up views of falls are always so much more dramatic. We nearly regret the decision as we round the final switchback absolutely dripping with sweat, it is still hot and humid here. All at once a cool sprinkle of rain and a bright beautiful rainbow arching across the gorge. What an end for a walk!
The adventuresome drive back into town takes us till dark so we stay the night. It gives us a good chance to check out a great sounding wetland birding area in the morning. Camp is at the Ingham Caravan Park, great people, nice facilities but a bit noisy nestled between A1 and the railroad tracks.
I have book marked one stop for tomorrow recommended by both hosts, the Frosty Mango.

We make a quick stop at The Tanks Arts Center in Cairns. Nothing is open but I still wander the ground a bit to check out four retied fuel tanks that have been converted to suites for the arts: a gallery, a performance venue, studios and art itself. Independent artists designed and created gates, sculptures and murals. The curator claims performance acoustics are phenomenal. I wonder?
Stop one for the day, Babinda Boulders. A creek that tumbles through a wild boulder strewn gorge. It is a lovely morning walk. Well, we actually stop at the Babinda bakery on our way. It is a small storefront right downtown with a bit of outdoor seating and every delicious treats: a peach blossom with cream and an apple turnover with blueberries. I can’t resist a loaf of fresh bread. It tastes just like freshly homemade.
It is raining so we keep moving with just one more stop at the Coles grocery in Ingham. Wo, we are astounded to see that the shelves are really picked over. Looks like folks are doing a bit of panic buying here over the virus scare.
Tonight, we wander a bit off path to Etty Bay where the Cassowaries make regular appearances. One greets us on the way in and another is sitting guard near the check in. We even get to see one run when a couple vie for the best spot around camp. What a strut! We see a giant Cassowary poop, freshly made. Wow, no wonder the seeds they poop out nearly always grow. Through the evening the birds wander around sometimes quite close but never threatening. When I see those giant feet and toenails, I give them plenty of space!
We get our first look at the stinger nets we keep hearing about at Australian beaches. They use a cable and winch mechanism to manage a weighted net suspended on buoys to filter out the floating stingers/jellyfish. A number of people go swimming but we just watch the waves. It is pretty rough tonight.

An historic train ride up and sky lift back down is definitely as easier way to see the Tablelands. Our destination Karanda, a little tourist town on the edge between tablelands and the rainforest. The highlight is actually the getting to and from. Narrow gage rail passes through more than a dozen tunnels and around tight turns as we wind our way up. The sky lift soars above the rainforest canopy for a great bird’s eye view. We join a very rainy ranger led walk along the boardwalk about half way down. She does a great job even though she is talking above the thunder of rain on our umbrellas. We shop a bit in town and have a delicious lunch and the almost obligatory mango smoothie. It makes for a nice day even though we dodge rain showers in the afternoon. As the locals say, it is a rainforest after all.
In the bummers category
Our groceries were stolen out of the communal kitchen. My chocolates and my special cheeses. Very bummed.
And
Air New Zealand (our carrier back to the US) is suspending service the end of March. Our current reservations are for April 7. Not going to happen. Customer service numbers are all busy so we will be spending some time on the phone the next few days getting things rearranged. More on that later.

I am awake at 5:45. Our ride to the reef trip doesn’t pick us up until 7:05 but I guess I am anxious; plus, there are many birds in camp and they all get up happy! We are on the bus by just after seven to begin this much awaited trip. As we board, we are each handed flippers, snorkel and mask, and a very “attractive” bright blue stinger suit. I can’t wait to model that! It is a bit choppy with higher winds forecast by afternoon so we are glad for the largish catamaran that rides very smoothly as we head about 30 miles off shore. The boat comes to a stop and we and probably another 80 people patiently sit through safety and promotional talks then we are off.
Snorkel 1: Hastings Reef – it is considered one of the closer-in reefs. We don our gear and head for the platform. The reef is beautiful and there are lots of brightly colored fish. Seas are quite calm and we both wore lifejackets so it’s a lazy swim and float just to watch it all below us for over an hour. Awesome.
Snorkel 2: Saxon Reef – we move to an outer reef area. It is less frequently visited and claimed more

pristine as a result. We suit up and slide into the water again. It is significantly rougher and we ride the swells as we move over to the shallow reef. There are not quite as many fish but the coral is definitely

more perfectly shaped and more colorful. How amazing!
Besides all the great snorkeling I go for the glass bottom boat ride out on the reef. Snorkeling is better but that is pretty cool too. Plus, we have a wonderful lunch and wine and cheese as we head back in. We had a great day with Reef Experience.
We are home and to bed early after a full day of sea and sun. No sunburn we are happy to say.

So that is what sounds like monkeys (there are no monkeys here)
It is a laughing kookaburra bird. He visited us in camp and I got a pic, well sort of. He is a tree-kingfisher. They call him a perch and pounce hunter that takes small rodents and whatnot on the ground but he looks a lot like our kingfishers that actually catch fish. It is a different place.