Planning a road trip Cairns-Noosa - Comments/Suggestions please
Dec 30th, 2010, 02:20 AM
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Planning a road trip Cairns-Noosa - Comments/Suggestions please
I am a fairly regular poster on the Fodors Europe board and rarely make an appearance here but we are planning now a 3 week Queensland trip for late May 2011 and would welcome some local advice.
I should say that we are Australians, from Melbourne, and have travelled to southern Queensland many times but have never been further north than the Sunshine Coast. We plan to redress this by flying to Cairns and spending a week, probably in Port Douglas, to visit the Daintree, the GBR, and Kuranda, as well as spend some time around a nice pool. We will rent a car at Cairns airport.
We then plan to spend one night somewhere around Ravenshoe, followed by an overnight stay at the Undara lava tubes, in the railway carriage accomodation. From there we expect to return to the coast , probably around Mission Beach, then make our way south, taking say 10 days to reach the Sunshine Coast where we would stay 3-4 days before flying back to Melbourne.
Obviously we are not going to get an in depth look at 1500 kms of coastline in 2 weeks but hopefully we will get a feel for the region and may then be able to return another time.
At the moment we have a draft itinerary based on what I think we can manage without being in the car all day every day, and spending a couple of days at some places to give us a break. Proposed stops are generally not based on specific attractions and most could easily be moved 100km either way if there was a more attractive place to stopover.
What I am hoping for are some hints from people who know at least parts of the route about what places may be worth a stop, or a detour. We are looking for reasonably up-market accomodation in Port Douglas & Noosa but otherwise basic clean motels will be fine.
The itinerary is currently:
Port Douglas 7 nights
Ravenshoe/Atherton 1 night
Undara 1 night
Mission Beach 2 nights
Townsville 2 nights
Airlie Beach
Rockhampton 2 nights
Hervey bay 2 nights
Noosa 4 nights
Looking forward to some suggestions, Greg
I should say that we are Australians, from Melbourne, and have travelled to southern Queensland many times but have never been further north than the Sunshine Coast. We plan to redress this by flying to Cairns and spending a week, probably in Port Douglas, to visit the Daintree, the GBR, and Kuranda, as well as spend some time around a nice pool. We will rent a car at Cairns airport.
We then plan to spend one night somewhere around Ravenshoe, followed by an overnight stay at the Undara lava tubes, in the railway carriage accomodation. From there we expect to return to the coast , probably around Mission Beach, then make our way south, taking say 10 days to reach the Sunshine Coast where we would stay 3-4 days before flying back to Melbourne.
Obviously we are not going to get an in depth look at 1500 kms of coastline in 2 weeks but hopefully we will get a feel for the region and may then be able to return another time.
At the moment we have a draft itinerary based on what I think we can manage without being in the car all day every day, and spending a couple of days at some places to give us a break. Proposed stops are generally not based on specific attractions and most could easily be moved 100km either way if there was a more attractive place to stopover.
What I am hoping for are some hints from people who know at least parts of the route about what places may be worth a stop, or a detour. We are looking for reasonably up-market accomodation in Port Douglas & Noosa but otherwise basic clean motels will be fine.
The itinerary is currently:
Port Douglas 7 nights
Ravenshoe/Atherton 1 night
Undara 1 night
Mission Beach 2 nights
Townsville 2 nights
Airlie Beach
Rockhampton 2 nights
Hervey bay 2 nights
Noosa 4 nights
Looking forward to some suggestions, Greg
Dec 30th, 2010, 02:51 AM
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Looks good to me Greg, but would shave a bit off Port Douglas and use it for longer stay in Atherton Tableland and Cape Tribulation and Daintree areas. A good spot to stay at Ravenshoe which will give a break in travel time to Undara is the Pond Cottage - has platypus on site. Have a look at www.bnbnq.com.au
You haven't allocated any time to Airlie Beach, which is really just a jump off spot for Whitsunday Islands, perhaps you could use one Townsville night and one Rockhampton night for Whitsundays. Unless, of course you're planning to visit Magnetic Island from Townsville, in which case you could use at least a night on Maggie.
Assume your Hervey Bay two nights will include a trip to Fraser Island, I think I'd be inclined to prune a bit off 4 nights in Noosa and use it for Fraser Island. But that's just me.
You haven't allocated any time to Airlie Beach, which is really just a jump off spot for Whitsunday Islands, perhaps you could use one Townsville night and one Rockhampton night for Whitsundays. Unless, of course you're planning to visit Magnetic Island from Townsville, in which case you could use at least a night on Maggie.
Assume your Hervey Bay two nights will include a trip to Fraser Island, I think I'd be inclined to prune a bit off 4 nights in Noosa and use it for Fraser Island. But that's just me.
Dec 30th, 2010, 11:08 AM
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Having just spent the last month or so doing a similiar trip I would have to agree with Pat on all her suggestions and I would go as far as to suggest that you skip Rockhampton completely as there is absolutely nothing interesting at all about the place.
We stayed at a B&B at a zoo in Daintree which was called Daintree Wild on the recommendation from people here on Fodors and I think that would be the highlight of my trip really. Google it and see what you think because 2 nights there would be fantastic.
I would also be inclined, if possible, to take the Rockhampton road out to Emerald and down to Carnarvon Gorge as that is beautiful and so very interesting. People generally skip that area but both the gem fields and the Gorge are very interesting as are the "cow country" towns of Roma and Injune. But if your sights are on Fraser Island then that would not be very practical anyway.
I would take off Townsville and add those nights to the Whitsundays and also add another there as well. The Whitsundays are some of the most beautiful islands in the World in my book. Whatever you do, have a great time.
We stayed at a B&B at a zoo in Daintree which was called Daintree Wild on the recommendation from people here on Fodors and I think that would be the highlight of my trip really. Google it and see what you think because 2 nights there would be fantastic.
I would also be inclined, if possible, to take the Rockhampton road out to Emerald and down to Carnarvon Gorge as that is beautiful and so very interesting. People generally skip that area but both the gem fields and the Gorge are very interesting as are the "cow country" towns of Roma and Injune. But if your sights are on Fraser Island then that would not be very practical anyway.
I would take off Townsville and add those nights to the Whitsundays and also add another there as well. The Whitsundays are some of the most beautiful islands in the World in my book. Whatever you do, have a great time.
Dec 30th, 2010, 06:08 PM
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GregY2,
You have not listed your interests or what time of year which make it a little tricky but I would go with Pat's advice about shaving a bit off that time at Port Douglas and adding some to the Atherton Tablelands. At Undara the sunset tour is well worth doing.
Get back with some of your ideas on what you want to do and we can make more useful suggestions.
You have not listed your interests or what time of year which make it a little tricky but I would go with Pat's advice about shaving a bit off that time at Port Douglas and adding some to the Atherton Tablelands. At Undara the sunset tour is well worth doing.
Get back with some of your ideas on what you want to do and we can make more useful suggestions.
Dec 31st, 2010, 02:11 AM
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Thanks Pat, Mary & Alan for your responses.
Pat, you are right, we are planning on visiting Magnetic Island from Townsville and I also thought that the Museum of Tropical Queensland may be worth a look. Your suggestion of taking a day off Noosa to give us more time to look at Fraser Island is a good one and we'll probably do that. We did want to start and finish a fairly lengthy drive with a few days relaxing around a nice pool but 2 days would be fine and Fraser Island looks well worth the extra time.
Mary we weren't expecting to spend much time in Rockhampton itself, our stay there was really just to give us a day off from driving - although the guide books do say that the Art Gallery is good and there is some historical architecture. I'd be happy to hear of alternative places to break the journey not too far north or south of Rockhampton.
I took a look at the Daintree Wild site and it looked very good but I think that we will probably just visit the area from Port Douglas. Is that feasible? We would also love to visit Carnavon Gorge and originally tried to fit it in but it just seemed too much with the time that we have. We'd hope to get a chance to get back there another day. I don't think we'll be actually visiting the Whitsunday Islands hence just the stop over at Airlie Beach.
Alan, I did actually say that we were looking at May but agree that I didn't say much about our interests. Normally our travel interests include galleries, museums, historical buildings etc but I suspect that that type of opportunity may be limited for this trip - although Aboriginal cave art would definitely be of interest. We enjoy scenery and manageable walking - say 1/2 day walks rather than full day or overnight - and wildlife. As an example I believe that there is a turtle hatchery near Bundaberg - that would be really interesting but I suspect we will be there at the wrong time of year.
We plan to book the overnight Undara Experience which I think includes the sunset tour and that looks very good.
If we were to extend our time on the Atherton Tableland, I'd be interested to hear what we might see & do in the area.
Thanks again for your interest.
Pat, you are right, we are planning on visiting Magnetic Island from Townsville and I also thought that the Museum of Tropical Queensland may be worth a look. Your suggestion of taking a day off Noosa to give us more time to look at Fraser Island is a good one and we'll probably do that. We did want to start and finish a fairly lengthy drive with a few days relaxing around a nice pool but 2 days would be fine and Fraser Island looks well worth the extra time.
Mary we weren't expecting to spend much time in Rockhampton itself, our stay there was really just to give us a day off from driving - although the guide books do say that the Art Gallery is good and there is some historical architecture. I'd be happy to hear of alternative places to break the journey not too far north or south of Rockhampton.
I took a look at the Daintree Wild site and it looked very good but I think that we will probably just visit the area from Port Douglas. Is that feasible? We would also love to visit Carnavon Gorge and originally tried to fit it in but it just seemed too much with the time that we have. We'd hope to get a chance to get back there another day. I don't think we'll be actually visiting the Whitsunday Islands hence just the stop over at Airlie Beach.
Alan, I did actually say that we were looking at May but agree that I didn't say much about our interests. Normally our travel interests include galleries, museums, historical buildings etc but I suspect that that type of opportunity may be limited for this trip - although Aboriginal cave art would definitely be of interest. We enjoy scenery and manageable walking - say 1/2 day walks rather than full day or overnight - and wildlife. As an example I believe that there is a turtle hatchery near Bundaberg - that would be really interesting but I suspect we will be there at the wrong time of year.
We plan to book the overnight Undara Experience which I think includes the sunset tour and that looks very good.
If we were to extend our time on the Atherton Tableland, I'd be interested to hear what we might see & do in the area.
Thanks again for your interest.
Dec 31st, 2010, 12:44 PM
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Definately extend your time on the Atherton Tablelands but I will leave it to Alan to tell you about that seeing he lives there and is the expert on it.
Seeing you are driving you could perhaps think of a side trip from Rockhampton to Mount Morgan which is the old gold mine town OR go to Yepoon and take a trip out to Great Kepple Island or drive further down to Gladstone and go out from there to Heron Island which is a true coral Cay but remember it will be colder there and perhaps the water won't be warm enough for you.
You will see what I mean about Rockhampton when you drive through it as its main claim to fame is a very big bull structure in the middle of the road going into town from the south together with a train line which runs down the middle of the street. Other than that it is most forgetable as is Gladstone. There are some interesting caves on the north side of Rockhampton which are worth a visit and of course the nightlife which resembles any cow town anywhere with too many pubs.
Seeing you are driving you could perhaps think of a side trip from Rockhampton to Mount Morgan which is the old gold mine town OR go to Yepoon and take a trip out to Great Kepple Island or drive further down to Gladstone and go out from there to Heron Island which is a true coral Cay but remember it will be colder there and perhaps the water won't be warm enough for you.
You will see what I mean about Rockhampton when you drive through it as its main claim to fame is a very big bull structure in the middle of the road going into town from the south together with a train line which runs down the middle of the street. Other than that it is most forgetable as is Gladstone. There are some interesting caves on the north side of Rockhampton which are worth a visit and of course the nightlife which resembles any cow town anywhere with too many pubs.
Dec 31st, 2010, 02:20 PM
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Sorry, illiterate ex-teacher here missed the 'May' bit!
On the Atherton Tablelands I would suggest you visit the information centre in Mareeba which has a heritage museum attached. Granite Gorge for the Mareeba Rock Wallabies and walks.
At Atherton the lookout from Hallorans Hill will give you a good overview of the Tablelands. Yungaburra is a good place to stay as it is close to the Curtain Fig and the Crater Lakes National Park. There are walks along Petersen Creek in Yungaburra and around the lakes but there are shorter walks there too. Tarzali Lakes fish farm is a great place to see Platypus if you miss them at Petersen Creek.
The Malanda information centre with its wonderful displays will probably not be rebuilt by then.
Herberton has a mining museum and a privately owned photographic museum and a Heritage Village of restored buildings kitted out with paraphernalia fitting their old uses.
At Millaa Millaa there is a little museum created by the Eacham Historical Society which produces excellent little books about various aspects of life in the area. The Falls circuit is worth doing and there are short walks there.
At Mt Hypipamee there is a short walk to a huge hole in the ground. I tell high school kids who are too cool to be interested in geology that this is where the earth farted.
In Ravenshoe the visitor centre has a wonderful display of the culture of the local rainforest Aborigines.
On the Atherton Tablelands I would suggest you visit the information centre in Mareeba which has a heritage museum attached. Granite Gorge for the Mareeba Rock Wallabies and walks.
At Atherton the lookout from Hallorans Hill will give you a good overview of the Tablelands. Yungaburra is a good place to stay as it is close to the Curtain Fig and the Crater Lakes National Park. There are walks along Petersen Creek in Yungaburra and around the lakes but there are shorter walks there too. Tarzali Lakes fish farm is a great place to see Platypus if you miss them at Petersen Creek.
The Malanda information centre with its wonderful displays will probably not be rebuilt by then.
Herberton has a mining museum and a privately owned photographic museum and a Heritage Village of restored buildings kitted out with paraphernalia fitting their old uses.
At Millaa Millaa there is a little museum created by the Eacham Historical Society which produces excellent little books about various aspects of life in the area. The Falls circuit is worth doing and there are short walks there.
At Mt Hypipamee there is a short walk to a huge hole in the ground. I tell high school kids who are too cool to be interested in geology that this is where the earth farted.
In Ravenshoe the visitor centre has a wonderful display of the culture of the local rainforest Aborigines.
Jan 2nd, 2011, 08:57 PM
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Thanks again Mary & Alan.
We have advanced somewhat in our planning and have made some changes based on your feedback and our own further research.
We will probably stick with the full week in Cairns, and plan to book 1 night at Kookaburra Lodge in Yungaburra, followed by a night at Undara.
We will stay 2 nights at each of Mission Beach and Townsville but will switch one of the planned nights at Rockhampton to Airlie Beach, to give us 2 nights there. We'll then have 2 fairly full driving days through to Hervey Bay, with an overnight stop in Rockhampton.
After a night at Hervey Bay we now plan to spend 2 nights on Fraser Island before heading down to Noosa for 3 nights.
Alan, thanks for your detailed suggestions for the Atherton Tablelands. We won't have time to see them all but we hope to leave Port Douglas early to give us some time.
While this is getting fairly firm now - we have bought air tickets - we'll be happy to hear any more comments.
Cheers, Greg
We have advanced somewhat in our planning and have made some changes based on your feedback and our own further research.
We will probably stick with the full week in Cairns, and plan to book 1 night at Kookaburra Lodge in Yungaburra, followed by a night at Undara.
We will stay 2 nights at each of Mission Beach and Townsville but will switch one of the planned nights at Rockhampton to Airlie Beach, to give us 2 nights there. We'll then have 2 fairly full driving days through to Hervey Bay, with an overnight stop in Rockhampton.
After a night at Hervey Bay we now plan to spend 2 nights on Fraser Island before heading down to Noosa for 3 nights.
Alan, thanks for your detailed suggestions for the Atherton Tablelands. We won't have time to see them all but we hope to leave Port Douglas early to give us some time.
While this is getting fairly firm now - we have bought air tickets - we'll be happy to hear any more comments.
Cheers, Greg
Jan 2nd, 2011, 09:44 PM
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Greg, it will probably take you about 5 hours driving time from Airlie Beach to Rockhampton, Airlie Beach being about 1.25 hours north of Mackay and Mackay about 4 hours from Rockh. Airlie Beach is no great shakes but is the gateway to the Whitsundays which are beautiful. You may even find that you can get a good rate on one of the islands there, do so if you can.
Also you might like to think about a detour to Eungalla National Park NW of Mackay which is beautiful. Anyway whatever you do now, have a great time.
Also you might like to think about a detour to Eungalla National Park NW of Mackay which is beautiful. Anyway whatever you do now, have a great time.
Jan 3rd, 2011, 10:41 PM
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Thanks Mary.
Actually I have a friend who lives on his boat in the Brisbane river and who has been talking about taking a trip up to the Whitsundays about this time. You never know, there could be a nice opportunity for a private cruise around some of the islands.
Eungalla looks great but as we will be passing on our longest driving day I suspect that we won't get there - hopefully we'll be back.
We are now in the process of booking accomodation and getting quite excited about this trip.
Actually I have a friend who lives on his boat in the Brisbane river and who has been talking about taking a trip up to the Whitsundays about this time. You never know, there could be a nice opportunity for a private cruise around some of the islands.
Eungalla looks great but as we will be passing on our longest driving day I suspect that we won't get there - hopefully we'll be back.
We are now in the process of booking accomodation and getting quite excited about this trip.
Jan 4th, 2011, 02:33 PM
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Hi Greg,
This is a link to The Caves just north of Rockhampton. We visited there a couple of years ago. We actually stayed in the campground in our campertrailer but they do have cabins etc.
We actually had a lovely stay here and thought the caves were well worth a visit.
http://www.capricorncaves.com.au/index.html
Personally, I think every place has something to offer but sometimes it is more about its people than the place itself. So please do stay at Rockhampton and heaven knows come May you'd be made most welcome. Pulling into a servo to fill up the tank, a local corner store for some milk and bread all these little things help the economy of our country towns and cities.
A road trip is hard to beat! Hope it's a good one!
This is a link to The Caves just north of Rockhampton. We visited there a couple of years ago. We actually stayed in the campground in our campertrailer but they do have cabins etc.
We actually had a lovely stay here and thought the caves were well worth a visit.
http://www.capricorncaves.com.au/index.html
Personally, I think every place has something to offer but sometimes it is more about its people than the place itself. So please do stay at Rockhampton and heaven knows come May you'd be made most welcome. Pulling into a servo to fill up the tank, a local corner store for some milk and bread all these little things help the economy of our country towns and cities.
A road trip is hard to beat! Hope it's a good one!
Jan 4th, 2011, 11:11 PM
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Thanks Stormbird for the link. The caves look interesting and I'll put them on our list of possible visits. We will be stopping over in Rockhampton but just for the one night. If we have time I'd like to see the gallery and some of the heritage buildings - hopefully still intact after the current unpleasantness.
May 28th, 2011, 11:24 PM
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We are just back in Melbourne and we are feeling the cold after a great trip in Queensland. I am just about to post a trip report - thanks again everyone for your suggestions & comments
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