We left the "V8 Super Car" town and decided to travel on an inland "Developmental Road" to Mount Surprise thereby skipping the busy coastal highway through Cairns and onto Atherton. We checked with Queensland Roads and were assured that the road was good despite some (VERY HEAVY) roadworks taking place! Well, yes the road was good, but a SINGLE lane highway! Quite hairy if one is not used to pulling over into the dirt when a road train is coming towards you with no intention of slowing down.
We eventually made it to Mt Surprise in one piece, after stopping for coffee at Bluewater Springs, and stayed in the well known Bedrock Caravan Park in the tiny town. The owners have done a huge amount of work developing the park. We bought the most delicious bread rolls from the onsite bakery which were the best we had tasted for years. It's also very unusual for a caravan park to have its own onsite bakery. They also run tours to the nearby, ancient "lava tubes" formed by the Undara volcano which erupted 190,000 years ago. (That was why we stopped in Mt Surprise). In fact, all 6(?) businesses in Mount Surprise need to have a range of services on offer for the passing tourists. I loved "Planet Earth" with its weird lounge, museum and kitchen all contained in one big, old shed with German backpackers as staff.
Walking through the tubes was quite scary because the various patterned rocks (manganese, calcium and basalt) above our heads seemed very unstable. The only way to see these tubes are on a guided tour. I have a feeling that in the years to come it will probably become too dangerous to keep walking through the lava tubes as they could collapse at any time.
After our morning of walking through the tubes we headed on to Atherton, our first stop in rain forest country - something I have been really looking forward to. We couldn't get over the contrast between the outback of the Queensland bush to the lush, green fields and hills around Atherton. I have a feeling that I will get some beautiful photos of the sights coming our way. I didn't manage today as the mist around the hills and on the road was so thick we had no place to safely stop and take in the views that were on both sides of the narrow, winding road. Chris was so relieved to arrive safely at our new caravan park after pulling the caravan through all that mist. Me too!!
