Coconut Abroad

This is just a blog for some travel mutterings and photos from trips we take. Mainly here for friends, but may be of interest or use to others. Enjoy

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Day 6 - our final sunrise on the beach, and a goodbye to the little drift house on the beach which had become our home for this week. Finishing a clean up and pack, grabbing breakfast as we stuck final glances at the beach, we loaded up the van and made our way to the airport. All of us felt sad and reluctant to leave what had been a great stay in Cairns, but leave we must. Checkin and boarding was a lot let hassle on the way back. The flight itself was straight forward, though we were all a bit subdued. Some nice views from the plane, and Elijah kept us entertained through the trip. Farewell Cairns and Holloway beach.

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Day 5 found us all a bit down as this would be our last night here. Deciding on a very chilled out day, we lazed around the house and on the beach. Today Elijah was 6 months old and we were able to get some nice photos on the beach for him. We had a BBQ for lunch, walks on the beach and meal at the local bar - Straights on the beach. Today exemplified why we came here and why Holloway beach was such a great place for us.

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Day 4 found us heading to Port Douglas. This is little coastal town about 45 mins up the coast from Cairns. The drive is very scenic along coastal roads and small beachside towns. We stopped off at Palm Cove first, and had a walk along the pier and took some photos. Back in the car with music playing May loved the windy roads along cliff edges as we made our way to Port Douglas. Arriving at Port Douglas we had a wander and explored the picture postcard church with a view through to the sea. Walking back through the main street we tried to keep the ladies walking and not stop off at each and every quaint and quirky shop we passed.

At the other end of the street near 4 mile beach we found a seafood restaurant to have our lunch. The food was excellent with fresh seafood and a yummy desert to finish. Feeling quite full after we made our way to the beach and spent a while just lying on the beach watching the waves and keeping one eye open for crocs !

After a nice lazy afternoon we started our drive back to Holloway beach. Along the way we stopped for some photos along the route, picked mangoes from roadside mango trees and also found the beach - Ellis beach - where Catherine and David had stopped at all those years ago. On the route back we saw randomly spotted a little cafe near Holloway beach run by a gentleman from West Africa who made goat curry. Screeching of tyres and a quick turn found us sticking up on curry!

Back at our house we spent the evening relaxing having goat curry, watching the moon over the waters, and having a game of domino’s before bed.

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Day 3 - Holloway Beach:

Sarah joined me on the beach this morning to greet the sun. Watching the sunrise is always a lot more enjoyable and special sharing that view with your wife or loved one. We spent that sunrise just appreciating the view, and the feeling of sitting on the beach as the land awakens, talking about life and how easy it would be to move here and see in every morning like this.

The rest of the crew eventually woke, and we decided on a lazy day, everyone just wanted to chill out. After the morning swim in the ocean, Sarah and I left the others to enjoy a relaxing day on the beach and in the house - while we popped out to get a few things including fruits from the local farmer’s market (expensive), some billtong, spice rub, and sauce from the ‘Jerky and Nut’ shop on the outskirts of Cairns. If you do come that way you do have to check out this shop - with a number of flavoured Billtong or jerky, and hot sauces in various strengths from mild to “Ring stinger” and the eye watering “Rectum Ruiner”. We ended up buying a garlic and mustard “Willie’s Chillie” (guess why we bought that one) which was actually very good, and we even had Will having a taste.

The rest of the day was spent lazing about, listening to music, reading, some of us relaxing, some of us (not naming who MAY have not been able to relax) unable to stop themselves from sweeping and tidying up. We were just impressed that she lasted 2-3 days before she started to do things around the house.

With the sun setting we popped over to the local bar/cafe - Straights on the Beach. This popular local haunt, also serves as a shop and petrol station. Sitting at a beautifully carved table, we listened to a live ukulele band serenading the moon as we enjoyed the sea breeze and sipped our drinks.

We walked the 50m back to the house, and after a typical Johnston discussion eventually settled on Pizza, after another lengthy discussion the actual toppings were decided on, and then after another discussion on who would call, the pizza was eventually ordered. The local pizza shop (around the corner) provided a nice escape for David and I to pick up the food, and chat about life, politics, and the world at large. We brought the food back and after dinner we enjoyed a view of the moonlit ocean before heading to bed.

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Day 2 of our trip to Cairns found us waking to a lovely sunrise on the beach. A perfect place to sit on the sand, and watch the sun bathe the beach and ocean with its golden glow. Sitting on the beach at 6am you are greeted by the many passing walkers and a few friendly sniffs from dogs trotting after their owners. 

After enjoying the sunrise, we had a quick swim in the ocean - we had to stick to the safety area which is netted (to keep out jellyfish). It was refreshing and invigorating to have that morning swim in the sea before our breakfast. 

Following breaky, we drove to Cairns, which is the main urban hub for the area. Cairns is a tourist centre with lots of little shops, eateries, and bars/cafes. We parked up near the waterfront esplanade, and had a nice wander down past the public swimming pool, to the shops and cafes. After a quick browse, we stopped off at a restaurant to have lunch, with Elijah keen to try Sarah’s mango beer (don’t worry he didn’t have any alcoholic beverages). After washing the lunch down with bubble tea and ice cream we had a nice afternoon stroll before heading back via a ‘brief’ stop at Coles to grab some groceries and essentials for the house. 

Getting back to our rental house (which was quickly becoming home), we settled in for a nice lazy afternoon sitting out on the back porch watching the beach and relaxing. Will kept up with his reading on his tablet... May watched him. David had a beer and was working on his tan, embracing the Australian lifestyle. Later we all went for a swim and had a lovely dinner of barramundi and burgers prepared by the girls on the BBQ. We finished off the night sitting around the table, playing cards, and watching the moon slowly light up the sky and waves below, before retiring to our beds. 

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Morning just outside our rental house on Holloway beach, Cairns. Lovely to wake up to the sounds of the surf, the breeze on your face, and watch the sun come up and warm your face in that soft golden glow. 

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Day 1 afternoon - Holloway Beach:

Having secured our chariot, we made our journey to the holiday home. The rental was in Holloway Beach, only 12 mins from the airport along a fairly straight road framed by green fields and set to a backdrop of the mountains/hills around Cairns. The Drift House was an unassuming little house set right on the beachfront. Walking through the front garage entrance you emerge into a zen garden with Balinese statues and lovely greenery. As you walk in past the front cottage to the main house you get a glimpse of the sea and beach visible right through the middle of the house. 

We headed straight to the beach for the obligatory first photos. Then settled in and unpacked.

Not only was the drift house beachfront, it was also just 50m from the swim area and adjacent beach bar where we had a late lunch and chilled out, while gazing at the ocean and later watching the super moon rise! 

Overall an amazing start to our little holiday, set in a very beautiful setting and just the right vibe of beach chill out we needed. 

After a quick visit to the local shops and reassuring Catherine that the mango hanging off a mango tree wasn’t a lime! We then spent a nice night on the beach watching the moon and talking before our travel worn bods headed for bed. 

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Day 1 morning - Cairns trip :

November found us having some of the Johnston Clan visiting, and we had the pleasure of May, William, David and Catherine make the long trip over to Oz from Scotland. We decided instead of just making use of their babysitting service we’d all make a trip to Qld, show them a bit of that sun Australia is famous for. This - for anyone who knows May - involved not sharing the details of flight and trip to the last minute, so as not to let May get overwhelmed with the joy of another flight.

The trip to the airport was the usual chaos when travelling with a large group despite everything we tried to organize ahead of time. Suffice to say we were running to the gate with mins to spare!

On the plane that special organised chaos that a group, including 4 Johnston’s and a baby, managed to settle in for our flight of just over 3 hours. The baby was very good and slept most of the flight, which was great for our first flight with him. May spent the flight with that fixed smile on her face trying to hide her inner joy. We saw some lovely views out the windows as we traversed the red and came to the greens and blue of Cairns.

We all managed to get our gear and make our way off the plane to the relief of the crew and had a quick photo at welcome sign before getting to our hire car. We were finally on the car ride into Cairns, our holiday house and our holiday!

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Well all holidays must come to an end. Morning we sat had a coffee with our hosts and looked out over the great views from their house. Then on their suggestion popped to Princess Park in Launceston, saw the lively fountain, had a wander the made our way to Cataract gorge. We had breakfast at the Basin Cafe which had a nice breakfast with views over the gorge. Then went for a walk over the bridge and along the track. Very nice views and an idealic setting, there were also some peacocks wandering around showing off their colourful plumage. As this was our last stop we made our way to the airport with a sad heart, we were thinking of our trip and waited at the airport feeling sadness at leaving.. But we will be back!

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Onwards on the road and some stunning scenery and fun windy roads to drive towards Launceston. We actually took a longer scenic route out to the Lavender Farm in Bridestowe, where we got the obligatory purple teddy “Bobbie”. Then back on road to Launceston via the Batman bridge and beautiful views over Tamar Valley and river. We both thought if we move out of Melbourne this area in the Tamar Valley would be somewhere we would love to live. This was reinforced by the house we were staying at in Grindelwald (booked through Air B&B). Beautiful house with a stunning view to wake up to over the valley. The couple who hosted up Lynn and Norm were lovely and helpful and we enjoyed playing with their two dogs. They suggested dinner in a local tavern “Rosevears Tavern” - nice food and great views and very peaceful watching the sun go down over the river.

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To burn off our lunch we drove a little further (5km from the pub in paddock) to St. Columba falls. This was a milder walk then the Halls falls and about a 20min round walk. Again it was through some lush forest and out to a great view of the falls - well worth the trip out to it.

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From Halls falls we made a little detour to Pyengana which was in a beautiful green valley. Passing cows and fields we came to the Holy cow Cafe where we had some cheese tasting and then down the road to the historic “Pub in the Paddock” where we had a simple but very tasty and filling pub lunch.

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Our 3rd day in TAS saw us making our way up past St Helens to the Bay of Fires. This is a beautiful beach with sparkling white sand and nice green waters. Unfortunately bit too cold for a swim today but we enjoyed the views. From here back through St. Helen and through on our way to Launceston we found a few places to stop. First was the "Shop in the Bush" a random shop just off the highway in the middle of bush. This shop had a great selection of old books and antiques which had us browsing for an hour and after a few purchases we hit the road. From there our next stop was Halls Falls,which was on a side road off the main hwy. It's a 1.2km walk there about half hour round trip. Lovely walk through the forest and to the falls and rock pools.

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After our gruelling trek, yes yes I’m probably exaggerating but we were tired. We continued our trip up the East coast of Tasmania, stopping at Bicheno. Here we had some lunch at a lovely little Cafe that had some great Seafood chowder and Sarah had a good Vege pizza. Unfortunately as we’re coming to find as often the case around the state they were out of oysters. We then continued up the coast passing some cute towns and nice beaches to get to Beaumaris where we were staying the night at the Bel Air B&B. This was a lovely B&B just across the road from the sea and very neat and we’ll furnished rooms run by a very hospitable couple. They recommended a nice seafood restaurant in nearby St.Helens where we had a nice dinner overlooking the harbour.

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After Honeymoon Bay we made it to the main stop - Wineglass Bay. This was a small trail that takes you to the lookout point or down to the actual Bay. The trail was advertised as a 1hour to 1.5hour moderate track! - They lied! Maybe it was because we were unfit or more accurately I was unfit, Sarah had a better excuse. We were puffing away after 20mins and after 50mins when we got to the top were sweating and short of breath, but did enjoy some lovely views on route and the beautiful view of Wineglass Bay. Took some photos and then started the 45min trek back which is a bit hard on knees and ankles but did take a seat and saw some wildlife. Overall some nice views but would not be rushing back there. If you have any joint or back issues consider carefully about doing it, the walk to the actual Bay is about 3 hours if you want to make the trek. Remember to bring some water with you, you can refill at the start of the trail, also there is a pile of sticks people have used as walking sticks piled up on the end of the path down which is just left of the path up.

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After the trip to the snowy mountain we started our drive along the east coast. The scenery was beautiful with lakes, rivers, seas and green field and hills framing the road. Along the way we stopped at Kate’s Berry farm, here they sell fresh strawberries, jams, chocolates and a nice little Cafe with nice views. More importantly they also had a toilet :) From there we made our way through Coles Bay and to Freycinet national park. If you haven’t been please note you need to purchase a day pass at the information centre ($24)for the car. We made our first stop at Honeymoon Bay and took a couple of shots before rain drizzled down and also filled up our water bottles.

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Snow on Mount Wellington