Start of Savannah Way

Intended to stay one night in Ravenshoe and ended up being there four nights. A costly day in Atherton on Monday as I decided it was time to get my necessary prescriptions seen to. We don't know now well off we are in NZ. The doctor's fee for typing out a prescription was $68. The there was the cost as the pharmacy - $47.75. The up side is, that I won't need to go back to a Dr for 400 days, apart from seeing to an annual check next May. Australia doesn't have Eltroxin so I am now on Thyroxin, which needs to be kept under refrigeration. I queried this and was told the tablets would go to powder if not kept at the correct temperature so we now have my med in the car fridge as we seem to be good at freezing things in the caravan fridge, or we have the setting too low and the goods in the freezer compartment don't freeze.
Wednesday moved a short distance down the road to another free camp at Archer Creek. Parked the van there then went back towards Ravenshoe to view the Millstream Falls - Australia's widest waterfall


The 340m to the falls viewing platform had a rather steep gradient


The falls are in a National Park. And this is where troops were trained during the second world war





Hopefully you can enlarge the photo and read all about it.

Set off again on Thursday and called in to Undara (www.undara.com.au) and took a tour of a part of the lava tubes there. Originally the lava tube was 100km long but as the outer layer cooled there were roof collapses and now there are 72 tubes with a total length of only 1.5km (unless I am remembering incorrectly). It is, on average, only every 20 years that there is water in the tubes. We were lucky enough to see water. In fact we couldn't go to the end of the boardwalk in the first tube we entered as the water has. It receded enough yet


Notice the reflection on the water in the bottom of the tube.
Next photo shows a part of the roof that didn't collapse, but the vegetation growing on the other side


In the final tube that we were shown into, were markings on the walls that resembled drawings (but weren't)





From the lava tubes proceeded to Mt Surprise where we stayed for the night. The proprietor was away for a day and the sign at the gate said if no one there, just find a place to camp and catch up later. If still not there when you leave, just put money in the honesty bucket - which I eventually found chained to a post. Sincerely hope he, and not someone else, got our money.

Then on to Georgetown where we met up with fellow travelers, Brian and Cheryl, whom we had met previously at Mareeba. Stayed that night at a free camp on the site of historic Cumberland mine. The landmark left is the chimney


Cheryl got me a little interested in the birds there, in particular, the red tailed black cockatoo





Saturday we continued to 24 km SE of Normonton and booked in to Leichhardt Lagoon camp area. Wow! They had a three course meal at the homestead at the incredible rate of $5 per head.
What a lovely setting





The food was great too.