Last Journeys in our Sweet 1979 Toyota Hiace

Along our alternate route we made a few quick stops to take in a couple popular tourist sights. One of these must-sees included the views of the emerald green waters at Mossman Gorge. After whipping up lunch at the Gorge we continued onto Cairns where we made a quick stop. From there we traveled inland through the countryside until we arrived at the infamous Cathedral Fig Tree. Fig trees are found all over Australia but this one in particular is more than 500 years old and is a monster of a plant. The tree stands 48 meters tall and it would take more than 24 people linking arms to span its girth. Standing next to it you feel like a teeny tiny, insignificant creature in the rainforest. After ogling the tree for a while we moved on to the Millaa Millaa lookout for sunset. This spot is surrounded by miles of rolling green hills and on a clear day you can see all the way to the ocean. After a peaceful night camping in Millaa Millaa, we carried on to Crawford’s Lookout which towers over the rainforest at 2000 meters above the forest floor. There was a walking track which extended from the lookout so we figured we would venture on a little trek. The first section of the trail led us to a grassy area overlooking the mouth of 3 rivers as well as the forest below. We had the place to ourselves for hours and relaxed allowing the rainforest to come alive around us. From here we decided to do some further exploring so we walked down to the river’s edge. After taking in some more of Mother Nature’s wonder, we started back up the track to the car. The route down was an easy going descent but we were completely exhausted by the time we climbed back up to the parking area. We were sweaty and our bodies were like rubber. We deserved a healthy fill of food and after refueling our bodies we were back on the trail towards the Babinda Boulders. We planned to camp the night at this impressive gorge but unfortunately the camping area was full so after a quick stop, we looped back and traveled the short distance back to Cairns. Lucky for us we were able to bump up our reservation and checked into the accommodations which we had booked starting the following night. This gave us the opportunity to take our time moving out of Fran and into the apartment accommodations where we would spend the following week. We drove into town the following day around noon and met up with Amy and Ewan to make the final hand off. Quick and easy, cash for keys, we made our exchange and away we went on foot. Our next stop that afternoon was at the mall for a little free spending. We picked up a couple CDs and a few articles of clothing and wrapped up our day with a date night at the movies.