Little Crystal Creek

Along a winding, single-laned, frightening road up a steep, rocky mountain is Little Crystal Creek.  It has several waterfalls, waterholes suitable for swimming, and features a huge Roman Arch bridge which was constructed in the 1930s entirely by hand under the "Unemployment Relief Scheme" during the great Depression.

Well worth the scary drive up that darned hill on that bloody road....

Camping at Paluma

Paluma Range National Park is a lovely, bushy, quiet, and warm pocket of country that lies north of Townsville, amongst tropical rainforest, waterfalls and waterholes; and is perfect for a short getaway if you love the great outdoors.

Jase cooks over the coal bbq Lee & Maria gave us for Christmas

Nothing but the best.  Jase cooks us prawn vol au vents for lunch.

A blast from the past; Jason and Keryn, and kids Max and Jason Jnr came along to join us for the weekend in their new camper trailer and we spent our time swimming in the Paradise Waterhole, eating copious amounts of beef (breakfast, lunch and tea, thank you very much), sitting around a campfire with a beer or three, and watching Max and his dad play cricket amongst tall spindly gum trees.

The waterhole was a highlight - dark green (but clear) water, as fresh as any you can imagine, trickles gently across rocks which lie upstream, into deep pools which are home to little fish, turtles and eels.

Flanking the water is a series of tall smooth rocks which children (and big children) delight in leaping off into the water in "bombs" or as part of silly games, such as the frisbee game (your friend throws a frisbee across the water, you leap off the rocks and try to catch it before hitting the water), and the underwater swimming game (leap off the rocks foot-first, then push off the bottom and swim as far froward as you can before coming to the surface).  There was a group of indigenous kids who were experts at the underwater game, and gave Max and Jase a run for their money!  

Once Upon a Time......

Once upon a time...

In 1913, José arrived in Northern Queensland from Spain to plan a splendid life for his betrothed, Matilda.  He worked hard for 11 years, building wealth by farming sugar cane.  During his time working he discovered a beautiful piece of land next to a tall waterfall which he thought would be perfect for creating his dream.

When José returned to Spain he realised that Matilda was no longer waiting for him and in fact had married another man!  So José turned to her younger sister, Margarita, and proposed marriage to her.  Margarita accepted and together they came to Australia, to live at the land he named Paronella Park, and where José began to build the dream he held so dearly for so long.

Inspired by Catalonian castles, José and his work crew built a huge staircase from the bottom of the waterfall to the top of the ill.  José also built a lovely stone cottage where Margarita could live happily.  They also planted over 7,000 trees so their garden was like a magical wonderland.  Then José and his crew set about building a magnificent castle, including a movie theatre and a huge ballroom, compete with Australia’s first-ever mirror ball, which hung proudly from the ceiling and which reflected dazzling pinks and blues across the walls and floor of the ballroom.

Soon José and Margarita started to invite people to stay at Paronella and guests were awe-inspired by the beautiful castle, tennis courts made with crushed termite mounds, pavilions, balconies, gravity-fed fountains, a lovers lane, an avenue of towering kauri trees, and even a museum.

José used to take guests out on his little boat to glide across the pond at the bottom of the waterfall, and even frightened ladies by taking the boat right under the waterfall to a lovely cave behind, but not before giving the ladies an umbrella first!  

The waterfall became extremely important as it fuelled the hydro-electric plant for the property, and Paronella Park was the fist property in the region to have real electricity. Margarita even made ice cream for her guests – something that was very rare in Northern Queensland!

Now, José and Margarita have passed away, and although their children cared for Paronella Park for many years thereafter, cyclones and fire destroyed many sections of the park, and it lay quietly in the forest for 17 years, allowing nature to reclaim the land.  That was, until Mark and Judy, who bought the property in 1993, rediscovered the remaining castle and its surrounds and could easily envisage what must have been a truly remarkable park.  They quickly contacted Teresa, José and Margarita’s daughter, and together they discussed what Paronella looked like in its heyday.

Mark and Judy believe it is important to keep Paronella Park as close to its original state as possible, and not to cover it up with new building materials.  They have focused on ensuring its state of decay is forever stalled, and have opened it once again to people who wish to enjoy its beauty and splendour.

Cape York - videos

Please enjoy a couple of videos that were taken during our recent trip to Cape York.

We L-O-V-E Bramston Beach

It's hard to leave this place.

We will miss Bramston's beautiful palm-lined beach, which never fails to delight us with the perfect sunrise.

We will miss Bramston's cool clear water and plentiful fish.



These lads have landed a bautiful sailfish, which was returned safely to the water.

In the below filmclip, Jase lands himself a very nice mackerel.

 

And now for shark attack!!

Shark attack!!

We will miss Bramston's beautiful people.  Deena and Chris are special, gorgeous, kindhearted people whom we love dearly and will miss terribly.

Deena and Eve chilling out on Deena's & Chris's balcony, which overlooks their beautiful property.

I love their house!

Red wine + hoola hoops = fun

We will miss the canefields which stretch on forever in the valleys of the region.

We will miss the generosity of fellow campers who invited us on their boat several times, which enabled me to catch this beautiful 6kg/105cm spottie (mackerel).

I can;t believe my eyes!!!!!!!

Other campers take photos of me and my catch, and Jimmy does the official weigh-in for the fishing competition.  PS: I won the first prize for biggest Spottie!

See you next year!!!!!