The McCookie Travels: December 2014

Hi All

Hope you are all keeping well. A few people have commented that we’ve gone a bit quiet recently and I think we are all in denial about our wonderful trip coming to an end! We are all looking forward to getting back home and seeing everyone again but sad the trip is almost over!

Anyway, travelling down the Queensland coast we really have entered the realms of cheap diesel, delicious mango’s, fresh pineapples and swimming, swimming and more swimming (with lots of tarzan swings!!)

Leaving the Atherton Tablelands we headed south to the Upper Murray Falls where we enjoyed a dip in the refreshing waters and the girls played on tarzan swings! Our next stop was a little place called Crystal Creek with beautiful swimming holes and rock slides…it was a gorgeous spot which was a welcome relief from the heat and humidity!

We then moved to Airlie Beach and that was our base for a wonderful trip out to the Barrier Reef with some friends. We went snorkelling off Hook Island and saw some amazing coral (fish we more plentiful and colourful at Exmouth, WA !!). Then a relaxing afternoon at Whitehaven beach and sailing through some of the Whitsunday Islands on the way back to Airlie….beautiful! That said, we left Airlie the day before Schoolies started ….we were fairly sure it was about to transform itself from the peaceful haven we found it to be, so it was time to move on!

Then onto lovely Bunderburg where we watched turtles come up onto the beach at night to lay their eggs. It was amazing! As the eggs tend to get washed away with the high tides, the Rangers now relocate the 100+ eggs laid by each turtle to a spot higher on the beach and the girls loved carrying the eggs to their new home! They felt like squishy ping pong balls!

We celebrated Megan’s 5^th birthday at Airlie Beach and Rosies 8th Rosie’s birthday at Australia Zoo – both girls had a ball! We will now head slowly to Brisbane, where we have a housesit near Nerang over Christmas. We’re looking forward to catching up with Steve’s sister Jane and family over the Christmas period and will then head back to Newport! There is still so much to see in NSW but that will have to wait to another time!

It really has been a truly wonderful year and one we will always treasure. Now we look forward to settling back home, catching up with you all and starting our next chapter.

Till next time

xxx