14 Day Alaska Road Trip

Preliminary Itinerary

Saturday June 22

Arrive in Anchorage 7pm (10pm home time) Springhill Suites

Get rental car, find hotel, crash

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Sunday June 23  Drive time:  6-7 hours Overnight: Riley Campground

Hit Walmart for Camping supplies.  Drive to Denali

Alternative 1: Talkeetna Flightseeing tour ($400 pp)

Booked 12/28/2023.  100% cancellation up to 24 hours in advance

Depart Anchorage: 9:30am Arrive Talkeetna: 12:30pm (2 hour google drive plus added time for construction).  Talkeetna taco food truck, if open and time. Packed sandwiches if not.

Check in with Talkeetna Air Taxi by 12:45 for 1:30pm Southside Explorer with Glacier Landing Tour  

Depart Talkeetna: 3:30pm Arrive: Denali NP: 6:30pm (2 hr 40min google drive). 

Alternative 2: Later start with no flightseeing

If weather is not good and flight is cancelled, slow drive to Riley Campground with possible stops along the way.  Include Wasilla stops, Sock-eye Burn and then skip on June 26th.  

Depart Anchorage: 10am Arrive Denali: 5pm

Drive 34 min for 1 mile hike at Thunderbird Falls or Reflections Lake Trail. Possible stops: Iditarod headquarters, Reindeer Farm, Musk Ox Farm, Denali viewing. 

Stop in Willow to visit Sock-eye Burn  an area of boreal forest which was ravaged by fire a few years ago and the aftermath has provided good habitat for Black Backed woodpecker and Three Toed woodpecker

Arrive Denali one hour before visitor center closes.  Pick up transit pass, sign up for Disco hike. Eat dinner and set up camp.

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Monday, June 24 Drive Time: 0 Overnight: Riley Campground

Morning

Purchase mid-afternoon East Fork Transit Pass ($34 pp) BOOK for 4.5 hour shuttle ride through park. If able to sign up for a Discovery Tour, exchange for Disco pass

Thinking best time to purchase a pass is 3pm.  That would give most flexibility for day. Morning options could include sleeping in and hanging around camp, going for a morning discovery hike, visiting nature center, morning ranger led hike, etc. Meet up for late lunch. Pack dinner to take on bus. Arrive back to camp somewhere between 7:45pm (no stops) and 9:15pm. Thinking evening bus may be less packed, closer to sunset, and if we are tired at the end of the day, we just sit and relax while watching scenery.

Morning Choices

Visit Denali Visitor Center: Open 8am - 6pm

Sled Dog Demonstration: 9:20am, 1:20pm, 3:20pm.  30 minute presentation, free bus leaves from Denali Visitor Center

Horseshoe Lake Trail: Horseshoe Lake Trail: 2 miles, 2 hours  Access via Mile 1 of Denali park Road, or across Park Road from third upper parking lot

10am and 2pm: 2 hour ranger led hikes from visitor center  

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Tuesday, June 25  Drive Time: 2 hrs Overnight: K'esugi Ken Cabin

Morning Options and early afternoon: 

Discovery Tour, if available.

East Fork Transit, if Disco tour previous day

Sled Dog Demonstrations (if didn't make previous day): 9:20am, 1:20pm, 

Savage Creek Hike: Either take free shuttle or drive 1.7 miles, 1 hour hike

Mount Healy Overlook: 6 miles, 4 hour hike.  Accessible from Visitors Center. This would be the only thing we’d really do this day.

Late Afternoon: Depart Denali 4pm: Arrive K'esurgi Ken: 6pm

Break camp in late afternoon and head south.  Check into cabin then eat dinner at McKinley View Lodge, open until 8pm.

Possible evening hike at Moose Flats Interpretive Trail .6 mile easy trail

 

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Wednesday, June 26 Drive Time: 2 hrs Overnight: Camping Finger Lake Campground

Today's itinerary will depend on whether we were able to get on the flightseeing tour on Sunday.  If we were not, we will have to decide how early we want to leave K'esurgi Ken, and therefore how much time we want to have to explore Hatcher Pass and Wasilla.  This doesn't need to be decided until we are in Alaska.

Alternative 1: Talkeetna Flightseeing Tour - Early start

If didn't make on Day 1.  Leave cabin early at 6:45am to drive 1 hour to Talkeetna.  Check in 7:45am for 8:30am tour.  

Depart Talkeetna 10:30am.  Arrive Hatcher Pass 12:30pm.  45-min tour Independence Mine State park. ($15 pp) Visit whatever wasn't seen on way up: Iditarod, Musk Ox and/or Reindeer Farm.

Possible sightings of white-tailed ptarmigan and smith's longspur at Hatcher Pass

Alternative 2: Talkeetna Flightseeing Tour - Later start, less time Hatcher Pass

Leave cabin at 9:15am to drive 1 hour to Talkeetna.  Check in 10:15am for 11am tour.  

Depart Talkeetna: 1pm.  Arrive Hatcher Pass: 3pm Tour Independence Mine State park. Plan for Wasilla attractions following morning.

Alternative 3: Already took Talkeetna Flightseeing tour

Stop in Willow to see Sock-eye Burn Drive time 1hr 15 min

Arrive Hatcher Pass: 12pm. Set up camp if available. Visit Independence Mine

2-3pm Iditarod headquarters, Reindeer Farm, maybe Musk Ox Farm. Could possibly hit these the next morning before 2pm glacier hike

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Thursday, June 27 Drive Time: 2hr 30 min Overnight: Tolsona Campground

Alternative 1: Matanuska Glacier Hike ($150 pp)

Leisurely start. Visit any Wasilla attractions missed previously

 

or  Hike Lion's Head trail 2 hour hike.  

Depart Wasilla: 9am Arrive Lion's Head: 10:30am

Hike for 2 hours then lunch. Lion's Head Trail: 2.1 miles out and back, 2 hours hike, difficulty: hard. Trailhead in on private property, park near AT&T tower near mile 106 on Glenn Highway.

Arrive Matanuska: 1:30pm for 2pm 2-hour Glacier Hike, if available.  Confirmation delivered via text at 907-232-9046

 Depart Matanuska 4pm: Arrive: 5:15pm Tolsona Campground and set up camp.  Fish at river, hike to Mud Vocano or bird Tolsona Lake.  Horned (or Slavonian) Grebe, and Surf and White-winged Scoters on their breeding grounds.

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Friday, June 28 Drive Time: 2 hr 32 min Overnight:  Blueberry Lake Camp

Wrangell St Elias NP Visitor Center

1pm  Copper Center Discovery Tour ($120pp) This 4-hour tour gets really good reviews and gives a in-depth look at Alaska's flora and fauna. Only a short hike, but it seems interesting.  Kind of expensive, but could be a fun geek-out kind of tour. Booked 

5pm: Dinner in Copper Center than head to Blueberry Lake to set up camp

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Saturday, June 29 Drive Time: 30 min Overnight: Bear Paw RV Camp

 Explore Valdez

Hike the Thompson pass trail: 2.4 mile out and back. Generally considered a moderately challenging route. This trail is great for birding and hiking 

Visit Worthington Glacier and short .3 mile loop trail. Might also be a lower trail that is nice. Do not take higher trail!

Old Railroad Tunnel  

Visit Crooked Creek info center and Duck Flats Hike: Milepost .9 Richardson Highway, 2 minutes from downtown.  Staffed by guides, short path to waterfall, across from Highway is the intertidal wetlands of Valdez "Duck Flats" a 1000 acre salt marsh.  Harlequin duck, artic tern, and red necked grebe

Solomon Gulch Hatchery   The facility is permitted to incubate, rear and release 270 million pink salmon, and 2 million Coho salmon annually. This production capacity provides for an impressive release of 250 million pink salmon fry and 1.8 million Coho salmon smolts each year

Hike Homestead Trail: 1.2 miles Follows Mineral Creek to a salmon-viewing area. Along with the fish, you may see the bears that come to feast on them. On the way, expect to see lots of birds and summertime wildflowers, as well as some fantastic ocean views.

Valdez Museum 

Valdez Glacier Lake 

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Sunday, June 30 Drive Time: 0 min Overnight: Bear Paw RV Camp Booked

Wait to book trip until after ferry schedule is published.  If ferry is not on Tuesday, book for Saturday

Anaydyr Sea Kayak Columbia Glacier Tour ($340 pp)  25% deposit pd 1/20/2024

8am - 6pm   10 hour trip. 2.5 hour boat ride, 1.5 hour paddle, lunch break, 1.5 hour paddle, 2 hour return boat trip

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Monday, July 1 Drive Time: 0 min Overnight: Bear Paw RV Camp 

Anything we did not get to do already in Valdez, or sign up for a fishing trip

Salmon Fishing tour with Valdez Water Taxi ($325 pp) 

6:30am - 1:00pm 6-7 hours. Plus whatever we haven't already done in the afternoon Booked

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Tuesday, July 2 Drive Time: 0 Ferry Time: 5 hours Overnight: Anchor Inn Hotel Suite

Tough morning, we will have to break camp and get to the ferry by 5:30am.  At least it won't be dark!

Whitter Ferry - 5 hour trip ($450 total) BOOKING #  1943660
Check in at 5:30am Depart 7:00am  Arrive: 12:45pm

Visit Whittier Bay campground and Whittier Parking and Camping or Williwaw Campground on other side of tunnel for possible over nights

Prince William Sound Museum - inside the Anchor Inn in downtown Whittier where a small but fascinating museum gives a glimpse of Whittier's incredible history

Possible Portage Pass hike:  After cresting Portage Pass, the trail drops through glacial scrub before popping out on the wide gravel shores of Portage Lake, directly across from the snout of gorgeous Portage Glacier

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Wednesday, July 3 Drive Time: 2 hrs Overnight: Sourdough Sue's Yurts

Morning Options

Whittier Tunnel  - one way tunnel shared by cars and train.  See schedule, but looks like on the hour to leave Whittier.  Arrive 10 minutes before scheduled opening

Begich, Boggs Visitor Center - learn about the Chugach National Forest, America's farthest north national forest. Award-winning exhibits, educational presentations, the film Retreat and Renewal: Stories from Alaska's Chugach National Forest,

Turnagain Arm - Beluga point.  Too early for Belugas, but a pretty place to stop

 Bear Creek Weir to see salmon

Afternoon Options

 Exit Glacier Hike for 2:30pm ranger guided tour

Alaska Sea life Center:($40 pp plus $100 pp encounter) Toursaver has buy 1 get 1 discount for entrance Puffin Encounter at 2:30pm or Marine Mammal Excursion at 1:45pm

Explore Lowell Pointe:  Tonsina creek trail:  3 miles, 2 hours to hike.  Gorgeous temperate rainforest hike.  Go at high tide to catch sight of marine mammals and shorebirds. Return at lower stages or minus tides to view intertidal life

Evening Options

4th of July Parade begins on July 3rd at 11:00pm, followed by fireworks at midnight. 

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Thursday, July 4 Drive Time: 0 hrs Overnight: Sourdough Sue's Yurts

Seward likely to be packed today. We can choose to try the festivities, or explore some of the area hikes. 

Harding Ice Field Hike: 6 - 8 hour hike. This spectacular 8.2 mile trail begins on the valley floor and then winds through cottonwood and alder forests, heather filled meadows, and climbs  

Explore Lowell Pointe:  Tonsina creek trail:  3 miles, 2 hours to hike.  Gorgeous temperate rainforest hike.  Go at high tide to catch sight of marine mammals and shorebirds. Return at lower stages or minus tides to view intertidal life

Alaska Sea life Center: Puffin Encounter at 2:30pm or Marine Mammal Excursion at 1:45pm

Seavey's Idiatarod Center 

Fishing guide  

https://www.atthewagon.com/

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Friday, July 5 Drive Time: 0 hrs Overnight: Sourdough Sue's Yurts

Major Marine Northwestern Fjord Cruise ($289pp) 8:30am 8.5 hours. Smaller boat with 60 passengers.  Goes farther into Kenai Fjords NP. SAVE10 promo code for early booking.  $200, so book soon.  Can cancel up to 72 hours prior to cruise. minus a 3% credit card BOOK

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Saturday, July 6 Drive Time: 2 hrs 30 min Overnight: Flight home

Spend morning in Seward doing anything missed, then drive 2 hours to Potter marsh, possibly stopping at Alyseka Tram. Explore Anchorage

Short Itinerary

Day 1: Arrive Anchorage late pick up rental, head to hotel and crash

Day 2: Depart Anchorage by 9am.  Drive to Telkeetna for Flightseeing tour check in by 12:45. Arrive late to Denali, set up camp.

Day 3: Morning options: Denali Visitor center, Sled dog demo at 9:20am, 10 am ranger-led hike, Horseshoe Lake trail hike. Afternoon: 2pm East Fork Transit bus - bring light dinner, jump out somewhere pretty, catch next bus back

Day 4: Morning and early afternoon options: 7am East For Transit tour (if available), Discovery hike, Mount Healy overlook hike (4 hours), anything missed on previous day.  Late afternoon: head to K’esurgi Ken Campground

Day 5: Morning options: Stop at Sock Eye burn for woodpeckers, Hatcher Pass and Independence Mine, Afternoon options: More Hatcher Pass, set up camp at Finger Lake campground, Idiatarod HQ, Musk Ox Farm or Reindeer Farm, as time permits

Day 6: Morning options: Anything missed previous day or Lion's Head trail hike (2 hour hike).  Afternoon: Matanuska Glacier at 2 pm Overnight: Tolsona Campground

Day 7: Morning options: Fishing or Mud Volcano hike at Tolsona, Wrangell-St Elias Visitor Center. Afternoon: 1pm Copper Canyon Discovery tour. Evening: Late night camp setup at Blueberry Lake Campground

Day 8: Day options: Thompson Pass, Valdez Glacier Lake, Crooked Creek Info Center, Homestead Trail Hike, Solomon Gulch Hatchery, Valdez Museum

Day 9: Columbia Glacier Kayak tour (10 hours)

Day 10: Morning: Fishing with Valdez Water Taxi Afternoon: Anything not already done in Valdez

Day 11: Morning: Ferry trip - pack up camp at 4am to catch Tuesday ferry (!!). Afternoon: Check in to Anchor Inn, Whittier Historic Walking Tour

Day 12: Morning Options: Portage Pass hike, Begich, Boggs Visitor Center, Beluga pointe, other stops, Afternoon options: Check in to Air B&B. Exit Glacier Hike, Tosina Creek Trail, Alaska Sea Life Center, Evening: Independence Day Fireworks at 11pm (!!)

Day 13: All Day options Options: Harding Ice Field Trek, July 4th celebrations, Alaska Sea Life Center or Tosina Creek Trail

Day 14: 8.5 hour Major Marine Glacier tour

Day 15: Head back to Anchorage for red eye home

North Queensland in 10 days

We planned to spend 10 days in North Queensland.  Three days were on a dive boat, and the other 7 days were taking a roadtrip through the highlights of North Queensland. We saw the Daintree Rainforest, visited a bat hospital, saw multiple playtpus, saw a Cassowary and then saw wild Koalas on Magnetic Island. It was an incredible trip.  Overall, if we had our itinerary to change, the only thing we would have done differently was to spend more time. We stayed at incredibly unique places, saw wonderful things, and had a fantastic time.

Day 1: Arrive in Cairns 

Flight Time:  30 hours  Overnight: Shangri-La

We arrived in Cairns 30 hours after leaving home, exhausted and bleary-eyed. Our original plan had us arrive in Cairns around 1pm, but Qantas had a three-hour delay in Sydney, bringing us into North Queensland closer to 4pm. We checked into our hotel, Shangri-La.  Of all the places we would stay in the next two-and-a-half weeks, this was by far the nicest.  And the one in which we spent the least total awake time. Dave figured we would want a nice, clean and quiet place to recover from our flight... and it was *really* nice.

After dropping off our suitcases, we stumbled to the dive shop to check in for our three-day liveaboard dive trip. Along the way, we looked into the trees to see our first exotic birds, the Rainbow Lorikeets. They were everywhere! Living in Texas, we are blessed with the gorgeous Painted Bunting.  Rainbow Lorikeets are like Painted Buntings, in their random and glorious color... just much larger.

After checking in at the dive shop, we headed back toward the hotel to find something to eat before crashing for an early night.  The dive shop would be picking us up at 6am the next morning, and we knew an early bedtime wouldn't be a problem for any us...

Dave had fortunately picked out a place to eat earlier as none of us had the brain capacity to pick a place now.  So after the dive shop, we trudged toward Dundees on the Waterfront, a seafood restaurant.  We sat down, ordered some food, and then pretty much just stared off into the distance, in a fog. But after a few minutes, we saw some large "birds" flying overhead. Curious, Dylan and I left the table to examine them closer, and realized they were bats! Then more came.  And more.  And more. Thousands of bats flying over.  

Our jaws literally dropped in amazement. It was the first of innumerable moments of incredible beauty in Australia!

After dinner, we stumbled back to our hotel, to catch some zzzs, already thrilled with our journey.  

Day 2 - 3: ProDive Liveaboard

Again, thinking ahead, Dave had paid for a nice breakfast at the luxury hotel; but the restaurant didn't open until 6am, and ProDive said they would pick us up at 6:10am. So we arrived right at 6am to enjoy the huge buffet of pastries, breads, cheeses, miso soup, eggs, sausage and, to our delight, a huge bucket of nutella. We sat down to scarf down our food, in view of the hotel driveway, only to see the ProDive van pull through the driveway, pause and then leave.  Oh no!!! It was early! We ran after it, waving our arms, but it was already gone.  We quickly finished our breakfast, and used the hotel lobby to try and call ProDive to let them know, "Wait, we're still here".  Fortunately, before we could even complete the call, the van pulled again into the driveway.  It must have been making rounds.

So, we arrived at the dive shop, checked in and very soon after, were dropped off at the boat.  Our home on the water for the next two nights.

The boat left pretty promptly.  The crew gave us a short orientation, gave us our room numbers, and left us to unpack and chill.

The next three days were literally dive, eat, sleep. It turns out, this is a good way to quickly adjust to a new time zone. Being winter, with slightly cool temperatures, and since I easily get seasick, I spent almost all of my time on the top deck. Life was chunked into small portions of time.  Crew would come to the top deck to give a dive briefing. We would all go below to gear up. We'd dive.  Come up, dry off in the sun of the top deck, take a nap, eat a meal or snack.  Then repeat.  It was wonderful!

We saw turtles, a sting ray, numerous sharks, lots and lots of gorgeous corals, and even more fish that looked vaguely familiar, but also distinctly different from Caribbean fish.

The divers were split into two groups.  About half were getting their open-water certification, and the other half of us were not.  During the dive briefing, they went around the room and asked each diver to say how many dives they had. Almost all had under twenty or so dives.  

Dylan, Kyle and I were some of the most experienced divers.  And Dave, with his 1,000+ dives was by far the most experienced.  Other than the very first dive, DivePro does not lead dives for the non-certification divers.  So, after the first dive, we were on our own; a young Swedish woman Alberta and her dive buddy, a young German man, approached us, and explained that they were inexperienced, and uncomfortable diving on their own. Dave quickly invited them to join our group, and we soon became a dive group of six.  

We enjoyed getting to know them. In fact, on the whole boat, there was only one other American man. All others were from different countries. It was fun talking to everyone, comparing politic and cultural notes. And ultimately realizing we all had more in common then we had different.

Day 4: Disembark 

Drive Time: 0  Overnight: Comfort Inn Cairns

After a day of diving, the boat dropped us off around 4pm. Kyle was having some ear trouble after his last dive, so he and Dave made a quick stop at the doctor's office while Dylan and I took our gear to the Comfort Inn.  This was a very basic hotel, but it had enough beds, and was comfortable enough for an evening. After regrouping with Kyle and Dave, we all sought out some dinner.  The dive boat crew was meeting later, but we were hungry, so we picked up some Indian at Bombay Kitchen, ate it at the outside tables and it was fantastic. We then met up with the dive crew, had a drink, said goodbye, and crashed back at our hotel.

Day 5 Cairns to Daintree

Drive Time: 3 hours Overnight: Daintree Crocodylus

Cairns Botanical Garden

Kyle wanted to sleep in, but the rest of us were ready to explore. One of the things Dylan wanted to do was visit the Cairns Botanical Garden, and it turned out the Gardens had a 8am guided bird walk! Score. We grabbed our binos, took a taxi as we had not yet picked up our rental car and headed out. We spent around two hours touring the gardens and marveling at the birds.

We caught our first site of the Kookaburra sitting, literally, in an old gum tree. 

We also got our first of two viewing of the Papuan frogmouth.

Knowing we had a long drive ahead of us, we left the group a bit early, and headed back to the hotel to collect Kyle and our rental vehicle:  Nannycar, a very uncomfortable, very verbal, Kia mini van. She was to remain with us for the next week.

Unsuccessful search for Flying Foxes

From Dave's first trip, he remembered there being a colony of the large Flying Foxes , and he really wanted for us to see them.  After picking up our rental car, we drove to the place he remembered first seeing them.  

No bats, but we did get a good look at the Esplanade.  Cairns is such a beautiful place.  

We then tried another place only to be told that the city had been trying to get rid of the bats, and they were no longer there. So we went to another place.  Finally, we heard there were some bats north of town, so we went there only to learn they had just recently left that location. But we did have a nice walk in the park, guided by a park employee who was willing to take the time to show us where the bats used to be. By this time, it was getting late, so we headed north toward the Daintree.

Skyrail Rainforest Cableway

Due to the later than expected start, we were not sure whether we should stop at the skyrail. It was a 2 1/2 hour roundtrip, and we still have quite a drive ahead of us. We decided to go ahead and managed to catch one of the last carts to the top, and were very glad we took the time. It was a great introduction to the rainforest. The narrated app was wonderful to understand the basics of the rainforest. 

We got out at Red Peak and participated in the ranger guided tour and enjoyed the informative panels by the station.

We spent more time at Barron Falls, exploring the boardwalk.  

But as time was getting short, and the line to return to the bottom was pretty long, we didn't explore Kuranda at all. It seemed pretty commercial, and we knew we needed to get on the road.

Daintree Beach stop

The road to the Daintree is truly beautiful. It was already getting late, but we made a quick stop at some random beach on the way...

where we saw this fun sign. We had already been joking about everything in Australia being able to kill you, and this sign made us laugh. Yes, even the trees will kill you.

Daintree Crocodylus

We arrived in the dark to our hotel. After I had made the reservation here, we received a somewhat stern email informing us this was not a luxury resort, and if we wanted that, we shouldn't stay here. 

Well, we'd had our one luxury resort. We were looking for adventure, and this place was *perfect*. We wandered into the headquarters, found our key, and then found our home for the next two days. It was wonderful. 

The first night, the surrounding area was filled with sounds of the jungle. It was so dark, I literally could not see my hand in front of my face. I seriously wondered if I had gone blind (maybe one of those crazy Australian creatures only blinds and doesn't kill?? LOL) 

In our spare time (not much admittedly) we took some hikes in the nearby rainforest or just sat on the porch to enjoy the sights, sounds and smells of the rainforest.

We *loved* Daintree Ccrocodylus!

Day 6 Daintree  Drive Time: 0 hour Overnight: Daintree Crocodylus

Daintree River Cruise

We had one full day in the Daintree, and it started early with a Daintree River Cruise.

Our river guide was, honestly, not the greatest. I think maybe he'd been doing it for too long, or maybe just had a bad night. But he was somewhat short-tempered and impatient. But he knew the river very well, and knew where to take us to see the creatures. In all, we were glad we went as it was still a really great trip to see crocodiles, some birds and snakes.

One funny story from our trip.  We were all agog at the incredibly colorful birds.  Yes, there were Rainbow Lorikeets everywhere, but they were new to us.  As were honeyeaters and bee eaters.  Dave was busy trying to get photos of as much as he could.  During the boat trip, we also saw some Barred Cuckooshrike, an uncommon bird,  I guess. (from Wikipedeia: "Despite their large range throughout Australia, they are an uncommon species, thinly distributed and probably nomadic, which can make it hard to predict their location and where they can be expected to be seen."

Our guide was super excited to see them.  He told Dave to take a photo of them, which he did. And then Dave went on to get a photo of the amazing bird below, (found just about everywhere, I guess) only to be told by the guide, "No, take pictures of the Shrike, not that bird." Well, we thought he was pretty cute. Lol

Camp Tribulation

After our river tour, we headed north to see Cape Tribulation, which was beautiful. We loved exploring the beach, and the small trail beside the beach. We also stopped off at some of the boardwalks along the way.

We had a fun lunch at Mason's cafe. The meal was wonderful.

But the walk down to Mason's Swimming Hole was amazing. It wasn't warm enough for us to get in the water, but it was really pretty.

One the way back we stopped at Daintree Ice Cream, which was a perfect ending to a really great day.

Night Hike

We had signed up for the night hike at Daintree Crocodylus. We were all pretty exhausted, and there was not a lot to see, but one of the highlights was luminescent fungus!

Day 7 Daintree to Yungaburra

Drive Time: 2hrs 30 min Overnight: On the Wallaby

The next morning, we left Daintree via the ferry to head toward Yungaburra. 

Mossman Gorge

Our first stop was Mossman Gorge, where we hiked among the incredible verdant beauty. We took 45 minutes to hike the Rainforest Circuit Track.

A quick photo of Dave doing what he does best :)

During the Mossman stop, we got separated from Dylan. Since Dave was the only one with a working phone, we all had to search around until we could reconnect.  Once we did, we got back on the road to head toward Yungaburra, where we had a 3pm reservation to see the Bat Hospital.  

Tolga Bat Hospital

Of all are stops, this might have been both the strangest, and most interesting. The founder basically runs this hospital out of her house.  She brought us in, and we watched a short video about the flying foxes. She also had a number of educational displays.

The highlight was when she allowed us to tour her rehabilitation center.

Many of the bats are taken in during the spring and then released when they are healed. But there are also a large number of bats that can no longer live in the wild. Some are blind, some have broken wings. And this incredible place takes care of them all.

The hospital buys fruit in bulk (1000kg of apples and 350kgs of bananas).  

After leaving the Tolga Bat Hospital, it was getting toward dusk, which I had read was the perfect time for a chance spotting of the elusive platypus.

Platypus Viewing Station in Yungaburra

I had read that frequently people visited and were unable to spot a platypus. I know these creatures are extremely rare. In fact, we met Australians at the Viewing station who stopped by while we were waiting. They told us they had never before seen a platypus. Then they left, disappointed. We waited around for at least 45 minutes. We were about to give up, when Dave got into a conversation with another photographer.  With not much to do while he chatted, we kept our eyes on the river. And right at dusk, Boom, we saw the little guy show up.  The photos were terrible due to the light, but we got to see one.  (Photo below is from the next day) 

On the Wallaby

That night, we had some pizza at the restaurant near the viewing station and checked into On the Wallaby.

I picked this place knowing it would be unusual. It was a hostel. Our rooms didn't even have a bathroom.  But it looked fun.

When we arrived, our "room" was honestly a little one room utility trailer in the driveway with a bed, a chair and an AC unit and the front of the trailer has a glass sliding door with a curtain.  Our family is not high on expectations on where we stay. We much prefer to spend our money and our time out doing stuff. So this place was pretty funny.  

But the grounds and location, it was amazing!  I seriously highly recommend staying here if you enjoy the cool and unusual. The staff were super friendly, and there was fresh fruit that you could pick and eat. For breakfast, we had fresh oranges and passion fruit. They had a fountain to fill your water bottles with rain water, and I swear it was the best tasting water I have *ever* had.

Day 8 Yungaburra to Ingham

Dave's photo of the platypus from the night before was pretty awful. It was dark, and the mammal only popped up for a short bit. So he wanted to try again in the morning. Since dawn and dusk are the best time to see the little guys, we got up early and hurried over, to be rewarded with another look at the creature after just 5 minutes of waiting.  We were pumped.

There was a sign at the Platypus Platform directing us to the Peterson Creek Wildlife Botanical Track. Interested, we went ahead and took a quick hike there... only to see TWO MORE PLATYPUS.  We were totally stoked.  

We also saw a wallaby while hiking, the first wild one since we arrived

And then we stumbled onto Flying Fox Colony. Finally we got to see (and hear) one!

After our short, yet amazing, hike, we headed to the nearby Banyon tree. It was on my list of possible stops, so we thought we'd check it out.

Words cannot truly do justice to explain the awesomeness of this tree. The informational signs here also helped us to understand the uniqueness of this vine/tree.

Waterfall Circuit

We then started the waterfall circuit on our way to our final destination of Ingham. The waterfalls were pretty, and on a warm day, I am sure it would have been wonderful to take a quick swim. But the cold was cold and gray, so most of these were just a quick stop to snap a photo, and then we were on our way.

Mount Hypipamee Crater

Probably the highlight of today's Waterfall Circuit was not the waterfalls, but the Mount Hypipamee Crater. This was a volcanic pipe and creates this incredible vista. We could not resist finding a large rock to throw into the crater, but there were no rocks to be found (I guess everyone else had already done this), so we found some large branches and threw them in. It was fun watching the green part for the thrown item, and then slowly fill back in.

Millaa Millaa Falls

Etty Bay

So, the one frustration to date was that we were unable to see a Cassowary in the Daintree. Being birders, this was definitely a goal for us. But every time we would ask, someone would say, "Oh, they were just here a few hours ago." But never to be found by us.

While in the Daintree, we heard a rumor that Cassowarys were a sure bet at the beach of Etty Bay. We were driving quite close to Etty Bay when going from Yungaburra to Ingham, so we decided to change the plan a bit, to see if we could catch a Cassowary.  

Etty Bay was beautiful, the beach was pretty, there were rocks to climb and even some small trails.  But we waited there for a couple of hours, and no sign of the Cassowaries. Again, people at the beach kept telling us that they were always here. But no sign.

Finally, a bit discouraged, we realized we can't win them all. So we packed up to head on to our final stop for the night, Ingham.

And then, when driving out from the Bay, there on the side of the road was a big ol' Cassowary, slowly shambling his way down to the beach.  We were soooo excited. And seriously, these birds are amazing. I am so grateful we got a chance to see one.

We grabbed a quick dinner along the beach and then made it to Motel Ingham, our home for the night. 

Day 8 Ingham to Ayr

I had picked Ingham because it was right across from TYTO wetlands. I figured Dave and I could spend a few hours in the early dawn looking at birds and let the guys sleep in.

Tyto Wetlands

I was experiencing some pretty hefty backpain this trip, and this morning was pretty bad, so Dave started the morning, but I soon joined him. This was about the only time that we made birding our main focus of the trip.  We saw 28 species, and many of them were lifers.

Wallaman Falls

Around 10 am, we collected the guys up and decided to head to Wallaman Falls. From Ingham, it is a harrowing drive out to the falls, and then an hour back. I was unsure whether it would be worth it, but it is Australia's highest permanent drop waterfall. We pulled up to observe the tops of the falls, and they were pretty incredible. 

But I had read that there was a long hike to the bottom of the falls called Djyinda. It is a 228 meter decent, and is around a two and a half hour round trip hike.

My back was still giving me trouble, but Kyle was super sweet and helped me down the falls.

And oh my!  was it worth it!!!  Seriously breathtaking.

The trip back up was, at least for more, easier than the trip down. And we were all super glad that we made the trek.

Ayr

So, we had planned to spend the night in Ayr, in hopes that the dive trip to Yongala would make, and the guys could get to see it (I had already decided with my back and sea-sickness, I was going to pass). So we drove to spend the night in Ayr.  

We were hungry, so made a stop at the literally worst (and most expensive) Chinese buffet we have ever eaten at, lol.  

And then, unfortunately, when we arrived, there was no key available to get into our place. We wound up having to figure out how to get a hold of the owner. When we finally did, he told us the dive the next day was cancelled, and he had figured we wouldn't be coming.  No one had told us it had been cancelled.

So it was a bit frustrating to drive the hour to Ayr, and then back for a cancelled trip. But, in terms of an amazing trip, this was a minor inconvenience.

Day 9 Ayr to Magnetic Island

Since the dive was cancelled, we spent a little time hanging around Ayr in the morning.  And while Ayr was not really a place we planned to spend much time, since we were there, we took some time in the morning to walk to the beach, and wound up finding some pretty cool birds!

We then packed up to head to Magnetic Island. I had spent months planning this vacation. I had a binder with hard  copies of all our stays and outings. I had soft copies of all our plans. I had checked everything twice. 

But the one thing I had not done we pre-reserved our ferry.  I knew there was a good chance that the Yongala dive would be cancelled, and that would dramatically change when we'd be arriving to Magnetic Island. So I figured we'd just buy our tickets day of.

Except, when I went to purchase them online on the drive to Magnetic Island, the online site said the return trip on Day 11; the one we needed first thing in the morning so we could catch our flight to Sydney, was full. Waaaaaahh!  

This led to some pretty tense driving, as we tried to figure out how we would get to our flight on time.

Fortunately, when we arrived at the Ferry and explained the situation, they looked a bit confused.  Nope, the ferry wasn't sold out.

Phew.

Crisis averted.

We were going to hang in Townsville for a bit and catch a later ferry, but after all the angst about whether the ferry would be available, we decided to catch the one that was leaving right then. Pretty glad we did, because Magnetic Island was awesome!!!

Near our hotel was a Butterfly garden. It was a really pretty walk, and did have some nice looking butterflies. It also had another of the flying fox colonies, which we just loved.

Rock Wallabies

After checking in to our hotel for the next two nights, we headed in to town. I had heard that you could feed the Rock Wallabies, and had some directions on where to find them. We stopped at a small grocery before going and purchased some apples and fruit to feed them. 

This was seriously one of the highlights of an incredible trip. We all enjoyed feeding these adorable little guys!! 

They were very used to being fed, and would approach if you dropped food. And some would even take the food from your hand. Seriously adorable!

We went into town and ate at an Amazing Italian Restaurant this evening.

Day 10 Magnetic Island

We had the whole day to spend on Magnetic Island. 

The Fort

We woke up very early hoping to find some Koalas while doing The Fort hike. The hotel we were staying at actually had a hike that began at 5am, that walked for the most part in the dark. We weren't ready to get up that early, so we went at first light. Which was soooo amazing because we caught this gorgeous view.

We also did find two different Koalas sleeping in the trees. It is hard to explain how amazing it is to see these very familiar looking creatures out in the wild. They really do look like stuffed animals.

The hike was beautiful and the koalas were amazing. I would highly recommend this hike!

Horseshoe Bay Lagoon Conservation Hike

Near to our hotel, we then took a short hike at the Lagoon. It was fun walking along the boardwalks, and we got to see some pretty cool wildlife

Koala Park

We had reserved tickets to see the show at the hotel. 

Probably the hit of the show was the incredible wombat. 

We then grabbed a quick lunch at the hotel, to find a Kookaburra staring at us, waiting for us to feed him

Arthur Bay

Dave, Dylan and I then decided to spend the afternoon at Arthur Bay. On the way, we passed a soccer field full of wallabies and kangaroos. We had to stop to get some photos. There must have been 30 or so of them.

A mom with her joey

Just a little head peeking out

To get to Arthur Bay, we had to go down a very bumpy un-paved road. We then parked, walked a short way, and came upon one of the most incredible beaches we have ever seen. And there were only one or two other people there.

The water was too rough to go snorkeling (and it was cold), but we enjoyed just sitting in the sun to soak in the beauty.

Dylan is a pretty easy-going guy, and he loves to travel. But something about Australia really spoke to him. He was truly in his zen place!

That night, the hotel was having its weekly hamburger night. $20 got you a burger, fries and a beer. Something apparently all the locals from the island came to partake in. It was fun seeing the locals enjoy themselves.
We got up early the next morning to catch our flight to Sydney, for the second leg of our trip.