We're back on the road, after a flying visit to the very chilly Sydney for Jen & John's wedding (what a wonderful night, congratulations again J & J!). Flew back to Cairns, and then headed up to Port Dougie on Thursday, with firm intentions to visit the reef. Unfortunately the snorkelling gods have had other plans - Lee got a nasty cold while in Sydney which has laid him low, and it is blowing a gale out on the water. Oh well, we'll just have to come bac...

We've been having theme days the last few days, namely Waterfall Day, Lake Day, and Big Tree Day. Upon leaving Innot, we spent the day checking out waterfalls in the area, and I tell you, we didn't even tick half of them off the list. Our favourite was Millaa Millaa, a massive drop into a pool that you could swim in. If you were crazy. The water was freezing, and you actually get a certificate if you dare take a dip. The next day was Lake Day, where we visited ...

We left Chillagoe, very impressed with the place. So much to do for such a small town. Spent a night in Atherton as we thought we should visit the Tablelands' namesake. Timely visit, being in a place with TV, as we got to watch the Wallabies beat New Zealand (finally) in the Bledisloe Cup at the local pub. Hoorah! God bless Stirling Mortlock. Checked out the historic Chinatown the next day - during the gold rush, and afterwards, there was a large Chinese popula...

After getting completely caffeinated in Mareeba, we hit the road out to an old mining town called Chillagoe, home to some rather spectacular limestone caves. Spent a couple of days out here touring the caves, learning about astronomy (the owner of the place we camped at had an observatory in the back yard, as you do), checking out the abandoned copper smelter, and chatting to an amazing old guy called Tom, who owns a rather impressive collection of old Fords. ...

Time for our Atherton Tablelands adventure - first stop Mareeba, the home of coffee in Australia. Did a fantastic tour of the Skybury coffee plantation, which took us through the coffee growing and harvesting process, up to the "green bean" stage. It is the largest plantation in Oz, oh my goodness the coffee was great! Had our free cup after the tour, then stayed for lunch and had another. Walked away with a new coffee plunger, some of their freshly-gr...