Cookin' in Cooktown: February 2010

Week 35 in Cooktown

More pictures from around Christmas last year. We went to Shadows for a going away dinner. There are quite a few good restaurants for a small town. They cater to our gluten free needs

The kids got kites for Christmas. We went to Finch Bay to test them out.

Maverick posing with Fireball Flowers in our yard.

The week before the boys were to go back to school we decided to take one last trip. We chose the Gold Coast which is south of Brisbane and reminds me of a Miami Beach or some other spring break location. The plane tickets were reasonable, and we knew the kids would have fun.
We stayed in a little place squeezed in between high rise hotels on the beach. The waves were great for boogey boarding.

White Water World theme park was loads of fun.

The ride in back of the boys was like being flushed down a giant toilet!

Dream World is a theme park that's a lot like Disneyworld - just a bit smaller and not as crowded. We did stand in line almost an hour to ride the roller coaster that had seats like a racing motorcycle.

Unfortunately, Ty was stung by a blue bottle jelly fish. Quite painful but at least not deadly like the ones up in Cooktown!!

Our new additions: Spot and Chocolate. Paul takes very good care of them daily.

Week 36-37 in Cooktown

Here in the Southern Hemisphere, we have our summer vacation in December-January. We took this opportunity to travel to the Atherton Tablelands. It's a region that's higher in elevation with rolling hills of green pastures. The climate is also a bit cooler compared to rest of the Far North Queensland.

On the way there, we stopped by Mt Malloy Cafe for their burgers. They claimed they are the largest burgers in Australia. It is very common to have egg, beetroot and salad on the burger. No ketchup but instead a bbq type sauce.

Mmmm.....

Once in the town of Atherton, we stopped at the Crystal Cave.

Worlds biggest Amethyst Geode - The Empress of Uruguay:

Kids got to crack their own geodes:

Another attraction in Atherton Tablelands are their picturesque waterfalls.
Millaa Millaa Water fall:

Zillie Falls:

Ellinjaa Falls:

Malanda Falls:

Little Mungalli Falls:

We also stopped to check out this huge Curtain Fig Tree:

We stayed at this historic Falls Teahouse. It's an old farm house that serves morning and afternoon tea. We were the only tenants at the time. Three guest rooms with antique furniture sitting on the top of the hill. The owner has a 73 Datsun 510 with RB26 turbo engine.

Just down the road, we stopped in at a local dairy farm. We were surprised to be motioned down into where the cows are hooked up. No joke - the cows were going to the bathroom - diarrhea style - as we were standing under them. We were covered in SHi__! What an experience.