We have had some amazing experiences in Australia of some of the obvious targets – Uluru, The Great Barrier Reef, Kangaroo Island, Tasmania and many more. What we were most pleasantly surprised by were the unexpected experiences, mostly the spur of the moment or accidental finds.
We passed Wallaman Falls on our drive to Townsville. For no particular reason, after settling in at Townsville we backtracked the following day to a secondary highway and drove an hour or so west from Ingham to Wallaman Falls. At over meters total height, it’s largest single drop of 268 meters makes it Australia’s tallest single drop waterfall. The approach area is at the top of the falls, across the valley from the falls itself. The temperature of the day was in the low 30’s and extremely humid. We naively thought we would just walk a few hundred meters to a lower viewing area and snap a couple of shots. The viewing area was not bad but quite a ways from the water. OK, let’s go a bit lower and see if we can get a bit closer. The trail is steep and consists of roughly placed rock steps, very occasional wooden steps and lots of steep rock and dirt trail. Eventually you get to a point of no return, when your mind convinces you that you’ve made it this far, you may as well go right to the bottom. The total elevation drop to the bottom is well over 1,000 feet. The trip is worth the hike. We stood for some time at the bottom enjoying the view, the accomplishment and the mist from the plummeting water. Then reality set in. What goes down must come back up. Since we hadn’t actually planned on making the whole trip, we had neglected to bring water! The climb back up was something we will remember for a long time, and we are not likely to forget to carry water on any future hike!
Wallaman Falls from near the bottom of the hike
A couple of retirees resting in the shade on the road to Wallaman Falls
Along our drive we were amazed at the amount of sugar cane being grown in very large fields. Our curiosity about sugar cane was building, so when we came to Sarina and saw the Sugar Shack, we had to stop and take the little guided tour of the Sugar Cane museum. We drank some fresh, raw juiced sugar squished from cane stocks and left with an encyclopedic knowledge of cane sugar and the industry in Australia. I bet you can’t wait to sit next to me at a party when the topic of sugar comes up!
Sugar cane in the background. My sweetie in front.
Near Bundaberg is the Cooberrie Park Wildlife Sanctuary. As many sanctuaries in Australia do, they gather animals and birds in distress and nurse them to health. Those that recover completely are released back into nature and those with permanent damage or simply the inability to survive in the wild live out their lives in comfort of a well managed facility. It was here I held a koala, on my ‘must-do’ list for the trip!
...with our new friend Callipso.
Just south of Bundaberg we stopped at Alloway for a coffee. Karla had read about a beach nearby so we guessed at a couple of turns and ended up at Coonarr Beach. The beach is pristine sand, somewhere around 10 or 15 kilometers in length, and on this beautiful hot day there were less than ten people on its entire length. Unlike the beaches to the north, there were no stinging jellyfish, so walking in the water is ok. We were told to maybe stay waist height or shallower because there did happen to be sharks in the deeper water. We stuck to ankle height just to be sure, and spent an hour or two in awe of the beauty and serenity of this secluded treasure.
Our new favorite beach at Coonarr
Of all life's best laid plans, the unplanned moments often win the day.
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