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Hi fellow travelers!
I finally got myself organised and finished off part 2 of our North QLD travel itinerary. The drive home was probably the highlight, we had less spots on our list to visit which made for a more relaxed vibe. We experienced some really special places on our drive home and ended our holiday in beautiful Carnarvon Gorge - I hope this travel guide helps you plan your own adventures and gives you some great spots to visit while travelling North QLD.
Enjoy!
I have been so excited to share our travels of sunny North Queensland with you!
It was such a HUGE trip that I had to break it up into two parts. I have made it a downloadable PDF so that you can read this itinerary while you’re offline and hopefully find it easier to navigate. This travel itinerary is designed to be downloaded to your device as opposed to printing, if printing please make sure it is scaled to fit. By reducing our paper use we can reduce our support for this generally non-renewable industry.
I would love to hear what you think, and if you will be using it to help plan your own adventure! As I stated above, this is only Part 1 of the itinerary, it will take you from the Brisbane area to the southern tip of the Daintree, Mossman Gorge. The next instalment will be all of the magical places we visited on our way home. I have spent many hours making this beautiful little travel guide for you to enjoy and I hope you love it and find it inspiring!
Please share this guide with anyone you know that would love to travel this beautiful area, below the image is an icon so that you can share to your Facebook community if you’d like to. I have created this itinerary as a free downloadable but do have a request for those who do use and love this travel guide! I ask that if you’re able to, please make a donation to - OPERATION SMILE - this charity is close to my heart, you can read more about their mission on their website.
Please click on the image below to start your download.
Much Love, Mia
After camping most of our way through Kauai and Oahu I wanted to share with you all about our trip! Camping was definitely an amazing way to see the islands, it was also a heck of a lot cheaper than staying in Air BnB’s or hotels!
We chose to stay in Kauai Palms Hotel on the first and last night in Kauai, after such a long flight to get there with no sleep it was so great to reset. The last night it was great to have a proper hot shower and do some laundry! They have a laundry room on site that costs approx $1 for a wash and use of the dryer was free.
From my understanding you can camp in a privately owned campground, a State Park campground or a County campground. The County campgrounds are the cheapest option and seem to have the worst reviews when it comes to safety. We chose to stay in a State Park campground in Kauai and a privately managed campground in Oahu. To book a State Park campground you need to do so through their online portal, we wanted to camp at Polihale beach campground or Koke’e, we ended up choosing Koke’e because it was right where all of the hikes were. But if you’re looking to do more beach camping, look into Polihale! We drove out to the campsites to see what they were like and it was an absolutely beautiful spot, just keep in mind that there are no shops nearby!
WHERE WE STAYED -
Koke’e State Park is a beautiful lush forest with access to roughly 72kms of the areas best hiking trails. There is a museum and lodge right next to the campgrounds, so if camping isn’t your thing but you’d like to be close to all of the hikes, I’d look into renting one of the cabins. The museum sells detailed maps which we found so handy to navigate around the whole island. The Lodge is so great to have close by, its situated right next to the museum and is open from 9am until 4pm. We would wake up early to do a hike and then head to the Lodge mid morning to have breakfast and a coffee (their coffee was AMAZING!) then head off on another hike or into town. The campgrounds are very basic, there is no power but there is running water that is safe to drink. The toilet block has a flushing toilet and a shower which only has cold water, and because you’re so high up in the mountains it is FREEZING cold water! We ended up showering at some of the beach showers before we went back up the mountain, even though they’re cold water too, it’s not icy cold! To book these campgrounds you can click on this link or to book cabins click here - the cabins did look super cute but they book out quickly!
Side note - there is no phone reception up in the State Park nor anywhere that has WiFi. If you head back down the mountain into Waimea there is a visitors information centre, they have free WiFi and the woman working there is really helpful.
WHERE WE ATE -
Island Taco - The BEST shrimp tacos ever!!
Jo-Jo’s Shave Ice - These were amazing! All homemade syrups and cream and also the most delish macadamia nut ice cream! All of their profits go towards funding free camping for Hawaiian youth.
Wranglers Steak House - We had dinner here once and it was so good! We each had a flame grill steak with all you can eat salad and soups, the unsweetened ice tea is great here too!
There’s also a fruit shop on the main street in Waimea that is painted yellow, there’s buckets of coconuts out the front! Stop here for a chilled coconut to drink, you can also pay $1 for them to remove the coconut flesh after you’ve finished drinking.
Koke’e Lodge - They had a great assortment of meals to pick from, and a coffee and smoothie bar - perfect for breakfast or lunch when you’re staying up in the State Park!
WHAT WE DID -
Awa’awapuhi Trail - This is a continual downhill hike from the trail head to the beautiful clearing overlooking the coastline. It is approx 5kms each way that leads you through a rainforest for majority of the way, the outlook is absolutely breathtaking and worth the long walk through the forest! You can back track (we did) or take the Nualolo Cliff Trail Junction on your way out, it will add 8kms to your trip and you will have to walk a fair way on the road to get back to your car. We heard that it was a worthwhile detour but we had been on a boat tour the day before and were pretty sore and tired - and it’s a big uphill hike on the way back!
Waipo’o Falls - This waterfall is stunning and you’re able to see it from across the valley at a lot of lookouts, the hike to the top of the waterfall will not disappoint! You begin hiking through a bit of forest until you hit the canyons rim, this was one of my favourite parts, everything seems so large and the views of the canyon are spectacular! The trail continues until you reach the top of the first waterfall (approx 250 metres high!) You can stand underneath the falls and cool off a bit. If you continue around the bend you will find another small waterfall which is the perfect spot for a swim.
Pihea Trail Head - This was one of my absolute favourite hikes. It begins at the Pu’u o Kila overlook (the end of highway 550) it is best to start this hike early as clouds can cover a lot of your views, we were very lucky and had a beautiful clear day! The entire hike gives you views of the Kalalau valley below and coastline, I can’ t begin to explain how beautiful this hike was so i’ll let the photos do the talking!
Blue Ocean Adventure Tour - This tour was the whole reason we travelled to Kauai to begin with! I had spotted their beautiful photographs of the Na Pali coastline and that’s why I started researching what to do on the island. I didn’t book our tour until the day we flew out, because it was a little exxy ($500 Australian) I umm’ed and ahh’ed over it and I am SO GLAD we did it! It was the absolute highlight of the entire trip and so worth the money! You meet at the small boat harbour in Waimea and take off in an RIB, an inflatable boat commonly used by Navy Seals. We did the afternoon tour, if you wanted to see more marine life I would do the morning tour. We wanted to watch the sunset and also have time in the morning to find the boat harbour - if I was to go again I would probably go in the morning to hopefully spot some dolphins, also the sea is a lot calmer. It was crazy rough when we went but being us (adrenaline junkies) we absolutely loved it! You have to hold on to ropes as you’re sitting on the side of the boat and the other people on the tour were loving the crazy boat ride too. The team (Jonny & Ross) were absolutely hilarious and made the trip so much fun, we felt completely at ease - these guys are locals and were very experienced! The viewpoints you see on this tour are next level and can only be seen by boat, helicopter or if you hike for DAYS! It is so beautiful and one of the most special memories!
Polihale Beach - This beach is a little bit of a drive from town but so worth it! There are campgrounds here but we wanted to stay away from beach campsites after reading scary reviews - after visiting though it felt quite safe, we also met some Swedish girls that had camped there before coming to Koke’e and they had no dramas. We decided to spend an afternoon down here and it was amazing, the view of the cliffs from the beach make you feel absolutely tiny - we also spotted heaps of mountain goats in crazy positions all through the cliffs! We went for a swim and also had a shower in the camp showers before heading back up into Koke’e.
Waimea Canyon - also known as the Grand Canyon of the Pacific, is beautiful and HUGE, approx 1000 metres deep! We would drive up the Canyon to get to our campsite and would stop every day on the side of the road to look at the panoramic views. There are plenty of spots to pull over and go for a little walk to see different things - deep gorges, waterfalls and beautiful valleys. We never got sick of driving through this beautiful area every day!
Wailua Falls - These falls are located very close to the Kauai Palms Hotel, it was the first thing we did when we arrived in Kauai! There is a fence surrounding the trail that leads down to the falls, you need to jump it and take a muddy path down to the bottom, it’s a very short walk down. You can get behind the falls and it’s also a great spot for a swim - remember to take togs so you don’t have to swim in your undies like me haha!
Hanalei Bay - This area is very touristy, we didn’t love it because of how busy it was, but did stop in for lunch. We drove around the North Shore but a lot of the area was closed because of landslides. We ended up finding some quieter beaches in the area and relaxed there instead of the main beach.
Secret Beach - This beach was such a find! It seemed like more of a local beach and we had a little area all to ourselves. On the day we went there were volunteers from Surfrider cleaning up the far end of the beach, so after a few hours of swimming and relaxing under the coconut trees we helped bring heaps of rope off the beach.
We absolutely LOVED Kauai and its laidback beachy vibes! Highlights were the Blue Ocean boat tour, Pihea Trail head and Waipo’o Falls. My favorite place to eat would have to be Island Taco, I ordered shrimp tacos with Cajun seasoning and will dream about these tacos until the day I die! Also Jo Jo’s shave ice was a life saver on hot days, and so delish! Other than the freezing cold showers, I am super happy with our decision to camp in Koke’e, there were plenty of other tourists camping there and we felt very safe, having the Lodge nearby for food and coffee was also a major bonus!
Let me know if you have any questions about our trip!
Happy + safe travels + lots of Aloha!
When my beautiful friend Connie asked if we could plan a family holiday together, I knew we had to show them Reflections at Brunswick Heads! So on Easter Monday we packed up the kids and the caravan and made our way down the coast.
Our days were filled with relaxing in the river by the caravan park and exploring the nearby areas. Here’s a little rundown of what we got up to!
Our amazing spot right on the river! Perfect for the kids, they spent most of their time splashing around in the water.
This gorgeous little town is one of our favorites to visit, there are two Reflections caravan parks in Brunswick, we have only ever stayed at Terrace Reserve and LOVE it! Once you’ve set up camp you’ve got the option to stroll around town checking out all of the eclectic little shops, there’s vintage finds galore in this town! Also, don’t skip the coffee spots, there are so many great ones! Some of our favorites were - Footbridge, Old Maids, Jones & Co and Table View!
The park itself is situated right on a river, if you’re lucky enough to score a waterfront site, you’ll enjoy cruisy afternoons watching the tide and wildlife. The kids had plenty of fun whether the tide was high or low, low meant they could get muddy and run around through the shallows and get their paddle boards out when the tide was high. There’s also a park right near the footbridge and while it’s school holidays there are plenty of activities in the caravan park - we enjoyed a disco and movie night and also a jumping castle while we were there!
Exploring the hinterland is a must when the kids need to get rid of some energy, so we drove out about 40minutes to get to Minyon Falls. The little ones wouldn’t have been able to do the whole track so we found a detour that led to the top of a waterfall instead. We spent a few hours up there, eating lunch and exploring the rock pools. If your kids are a little older definitely do the whole trek! We have always wanted to do a parents only getaway to this spot so that we can FINALLY finish the hike haha!
Brunswick Heads is also very close to Byron Bay, we spent one day in Byron so we could catch the famous solar train which was a fun adventure for the kids! On the way back home we decided to stop into “The Farm” for a BBQ lunch and stroll around the grounds to check out all of the animals - this is always such a great spot for the whole family to enjoy!
We spent six nights in this awesome caravan park and could have easily spent another six! There’s so many places to explore and things to do without it feeling too busy and crowded. And if you’re not into camping they have some gorgeous little cabins right on the river as well! Thank you Brunswick Heads and Reflections Terrace Reserve, we can’t wait to visit again!
Happy Travels!
After having a few months at home, we were itching to get back on the road again! Keen to try somewhere new, we randomly picked Mt Nimmel Campground because it was close to Springbrook & Lamington National Park. It’s always a treat staying close to a National Park as there’s always lots to explore!
If you haven’t already, do yourself a favour and buy the WikiCamps app, it’s so great to find new camp spots and it gives you all the information you need before you go - like photos, reviews and star ratings. It’s where we find the majority of our camp spots.
On day one we arrived just after lunch, which gave us enough time to set up camp and head up to Springbrook. It was freezing and very windy (thank you Cyclone Oma, seriously you were much tamer than the weather report predicted!) We checked out “Best of All Lookout” which gives amazing views of the Tweed Valley including Mt Warning, Byron Bay and The Cougals. The walking track to get to the lookout is super easy and short - perfect for little ones! We then stopped in to show the kids Purling Brook Falls lookout, it was too late in the day to do the full hike but we have done it before with the kids and it is a beautiful view of the falls when you get to the bottom.
The following day we decided to drive an hour and a half up to Lamington National Park - the reason the drive is so long is because there are very windy roads leading up the mountain (make sure to pack ginger gummies for motion sickness!) We took the walking track signed “Moran’s Falls Lookout” which has two lookouts and is approx 4.4k return. The walk is quite easy and our kids managed it without fuss, the first lookout is a stunning view of the falls. The second lookout you’re mainly looking out across the valley, we took a little side track and ended up at the top of the waterfall with breathtaking views. We set up for lunch on one of the larger boulders and had the place to ourselves!
After that big walk we treated ourselves to coffee and a late lunch at O’Reilly’s Rainforest Retreat, from the cafe you can take a short walk to the Tree Top Walk, this was a big hit with the kids! It’s a suspended walkway up to 16 metres above ground through the rainforest, entry is free of charge. We definitely recommend climbing the 30 meter fig tree, it has ladders built around it so the kids can safely get to the top. There are other great walks around here that we didn’t have time to do - if you’re looking at going you might want to check out The Wishing Tree, Mick’s Tower or the Centenary Track.
We finished off our last night with board games and a yummy stir fry cooked in the caravan. The campground itself allow fires (there was a fire ban while we were there) there is also a toilet/shower block and a communal camp kitchen. Drinkable water is only available in the camp kitchen but you can request power for certain sites, if you’re not a camper there were little cabins also available. The caretaker was lovely and gave us some great tips on the area, overall we were really happy with the camp ground and would stay again next time we’re in the area.
Happy Travels! Mia xo
Our beautiful villa
Evans Head is a gorgeous little town about an hour drive South of Byron Bay. We had never stayed in the area before, so decided to try something completely new and leave our beloved 1971 caravan behind to stay in the beautiful architecturally designed villas at Reflections Holiday Park.
We spent two nights in villa number 30 and oh my goodness - I can definitely recommend requesting this one! It’s one of the waterfront villas with beautiful views of Evans River right from the stunning timber deck. Staying in a luxury villa is a little different from camping out in good old Sadie, the kids particularly loved the fact that we had a bathroom inside the villa as opposed to having to head to a communal area in the middle of the night!
How about those views!
Kids room - Plenty of room for activities, and building cubby houses.
Master Bedroom - all of the bedrooms have stunning timber details that create a warm & calming space.
Evans has a laid back coastal vibe, definitely less busy than Byron and surrounding areas - which we loved! Even though it seems sleepy there is PLENTY to do, we will have to plan a return trip because we couldn’t fit it all in! On the weekend we stayed it was overcast and quite rainy, which never stops us - as long as we’ve packed the raincoats we are keen for any adventure.
On the afternoon that we arrived we drove up to Razorback Lookout, which has stunning 180-degree views of the ocean, coast and hinterland. It also has a cool old anchor circa 1900 that the kids loved to climb all over. We then drove on to Chinaman’s Beach to explore the rocky coastline and let the kids stretch their legs.
Razorback Lookout
Chinaman’s Beach
The next morning we woke up to the sound of rain, we decided to have a lazy morning until the rain eased and the kids enjoyed building a cubby in their room, Jon slept and I enjoyed a caffeine hit from the Nespresso coffee machine - HECK YES! Once the sun was out we hopped on our SUP and paddled around the river, which is crystal clear and also a great depth for toddlers. If you’re going to come stay in this park I would definitely recommend bringing a SUP, canoes or even some boogie boards for the kids - you could spend hours just paddling around the river. We cooked up a late breakfast on the deck, which has a sink, BBQ and dining area, and watched the tide go out.
A birds eye view of our villa and Evans River
Taking full advantage of the outdoor kitchen!
Our next port of call was just around the corner at Shark Bay, which has gorgeous cliffs and some pretty hectic surf on the day! The kids loved watching the surfers head out into the massive swell & we all explored the rocky area.
“Sharkies”
One of my personal favourites of the trip wasn’t planned at all; I had just noticed a little sandy footpath and wanted to find out where it led. We started on the path and found out it was called Dirawong Reserve. It’s a beautiful reserve that has six walking tracks - we made it to Half Tide Rock and Joggly Point and then the kids started to complain that they were thirsty. Which is probably the only down side to spontaneously going hiking in a reserve haha! So I’ve made the mistake for you - pack water and snacks if you’ve got kids and let me know how the other 4 walking tracks are!
Half Tide Rock
Dirawong Reserve coastal walk
Joggly Point
All in all we had a lovely, relaxing getaway- I know it sounds like we packed a lot in but the weather helped us to slow down and relax in the mornings. The villas are absolutely amazing and we will definitely be back - it’s the perfect (luxe) little break from van life. We cooked quite a bit in the villa, because you really don’t want to leave! But we did stop in to JapXican for some delish calamari tacos, Muzza’s Milkbar for some retro milkshakes and the local pub for a steak on our last night - all of these spots were absolute winners!
Muzza’s Milkbar
Hopefully this gives you a little insight into this beautiful part of the world, Northern NSW would have to be one of our most favourite destinations. Evans Head is laid back, family friendly and is surrounded by beautiful National Parks and beaches - you really can’t go wrong with a family holiday here - especially if it’s in these villas - click HERE to check them out for yourself !
Happy Travels! Mia x
What a dream! SIX whole days on the beach soaking up the sunshine! Our little fam was in need of a bit of down time, and the ocean was calling our name. We packed the caravan up and headed North to Rainbow Beach, and can I just say springtime is the best time, the wildflowers made the drive extra special!
We stayed at Rainbow Beach Holiday Village which is located right in town and almost on the beach. We opted for a smaller waterfront site which requires a tractor backing you in - total hit with the kids! The caravan park is very central and within walking distance to the main street which has a number of cafes and restaurants - perfect for an early morning coffee run! A permit is needed to 4WD on the beach and can be purchased from the local National Parks Office. That was basically the entirety of our plan - try to fit in as much beach driving, surfing, swimming and relaxing as humanly possible.
Mornings were spent having pancakes and going for walks along the beach, afternoons we climbed the sand dunes to watch the sunset with a lot of lazing on the beach to fill in the daytime hours. We met some really lovely people in the caravan park, two families were actually living full time on the road and homeschooling their kids - GOALS!
Most days we drove up to Double Island Point and enjoyed the small waves there, you can also do a 2.2km return walk to the lighthouse which has amazing views! Depending on the tide you can drive from Rainbow beach to Double Island with no problems, if it’s high tide there are some sections that are impassable, although there is an inland track which we had to use one afternoon that will take you safely back to the Rainbow township.
An evening at Carlo Sand Blow is an absolute must, the views from the natural sand blow are stunning and sunrise or sunset up here is epic. There are plenty of other places to explore in the area and a few lakes that we didn’t get to that will be on the to do list for next time!
SO HOW MUCH DOES IT COST? - In comparison to a holiday home, we thought it was super thrifty at $45 per night at the caravan park. We also made 95% of our meals in the van or on our Weber at the beach. We can recommend the Surf Life Saving Club for amazing views + a good feed and Rainbow Fruit for epic acai bowls! If you’re looking for a relaxed beach vibe check Rainbow Beach out for your next holiday!
♡
Ever thought it would be fun to wake up at 3:30am, climb a 8.8km return mountain and be the first in Australia to see the sunrise? Mt Warning is reputed to be the first place in mainland Australia to see the sunrise in Winter, so we camped at the base of the mountain, set our alarms to 3am and woke up to a FREEZING cold July morning.
My phone told me it was around 2 degrees, so we started the climb very rugged up - slowly having to undress as it became more and more strenuous. As with everything, I had extreme FOMO and basically ran the entire hour uphill with poor Jon following. I was very surprised at the amount of people climbing in the middle of winter and so early in the morning, so be warned - the path can get very crowded and if you’re keen to get to the top in a hurry you might have to do a few polite “excuse me’s!”
It was worth the extra effort to get to the top first, the platform at summit is quite small in comparison to the amount of people climbing and it gets very crowded, very quickly! We discovered a few people once we reached summit who had slept up there - they were so cold they polished off a whole bottle of vodka trying to warm up and ended up missing most of the sunrise! The views were absolutely breathtaking, we were very lucky to have a beautiful clear day with just a little fog.
The climb down was even more beautiful than watching the sunrise, as when you’re climbing up it’s pitch black (don’t forget to bring a head torch!) and you have no idea what your surroundings are. Once you start descending all of the birds start singing and you get the most amazing views, so we took our time climbing down (about 2 hours) to really soak it all in!
We camped at Mt Warning Rainforest Park in their “Wilderness Area” which was a powered site and had a beautiful rainforest setting. You are also able to have camp fires here which is a huge bonus for us! Just down the road are two incredible restaurants - “Mavis’s Kitchen” and “Rainforest” - we had dinner at Mavis’s and lunch at Rainforest and absolutely loved them both.
I had organised the trip as a birthday present for us both and had the kids looked after, I know some people take their children up but ours were too young and waking them in the freezing cold didn’t seem like the best idea. We would love to take the kids camping here though, being able to have a camp fire and be so close to little rainforest walks and creeks would be something they would really enjoy. There are also a lot of gorgeous little towns to visit and Springbrook or Lamington National Park are only a short drive away.
Let me know if you decide to give this mountain a go for sunrise! I’ve had people tell me they absolutely loved it and some that say they were underwhelmed, personally it was one of the most beautiful places we’ve ever stayed and the sunrise climb gave me all the feels. We took the photo below right after finishing the climb, I think it sums it up!
Mt Barney. We were not prepared for that mountain at all! I had wanted to camp somewhere different and climb a mountain I’d never climbed before, which was all made possible when my parents offered to take the kids away for two nights.
As most parents know, this is a pretty rare occurrence and when something like this happens you’ve got to make sure you spend that time doing things you love - things that aren’t possible with kids. For many this may mean going out for dinner and drinks, having a sleep in and generally relaxing - but for me it means camping with no power and hiking a 1,354m high mountain.
We stayed at Mt Barney Lodge, which was such an amazing campground and we highly recommend it if you’re wanting to climb this mountain or stay in the area. We scored a beautiful spot with views of Mt Barney and after looking at this huge mountain decided we had to climb it. We had not actually planned to hike Mt Barney, from all reports I had read online it is a very intense climb and many people have been injured or lost on the mountain - not to mention you need to allow 8 - 12 hours to complete the climb. I had originally planned to hike nearby Mt Maroon but after seeing how beautiful the mountain was we felt we were up for the challenge, when would we have 8 - 12 hours kid free again!?
First tip is to start early! We started around 8:30am and I basically ran up that bloody mountain because I was petrified of getting stuck up there at night (which thankfully didn’t happen.) We ascended up South East Ridge which has some pretty amazing view points along the way - the first half of this route is through a gumtree rainforest, the other half is rock scrambling all the way to summit! The mountain also likes to trick you into thinking you’ve reached summit only to discover that you have a long way to go yet.
The views from the top are incredible, we were able to see Mt Maroon, Mt Ernest, Mt Lindesay and Maroon Dam. We had packed a light lunch and sat down to rest and soak it all in, but not for long! It was so tempting to have a big rest at the top - after all we had been hiking for a solid 3 hours and 15 minutes to reach the summit, but I really didn’t want to be hiking in the dark. We chose to go down the South summit route which is quite challenging to begin with as the track isn’t clearly marked and it’s very easy to get lost. After re-tracing our steps we came across some ribbons tied to branches and were able to climb down to the Rum Jungle.
Once you pass through the jungle it is easier to find markings showing you the way down, the descent from this route is a little easier as it’s not steep exposed rocks like South East route but a much more level path. The views aren’t as great, so make sure to appreciate those on your way up! The climb down took us another 3 hours so we completed the whole hike in about 6 hours.
I absolutely loved this hike, our only mistake was that we didn’t pack enough water. I had only come with one backpack as we were planning on hiking the much smaller Mt Maroon, so we could only carry 2 bottles of water. We are much better prepared now with a 3L Oztrail Hydration Pack, and I would recommend any one attempting to climb this mountain to invest in one of these as I ended up getting dehydrated and a bit sick after the climb!
Our last night there was spent cooking on our campfire after a hot shower to soothe our aching legs! The campgrounds are around $16 per person per night and include an amenities block, fire wood for sale, drinking water and some pretty spectacular views! I also loved the fact that they are aiming to be 100% plastic water bottle free which they’ve made easy to do with all of the drinking taps available around the property.
If you’re keen to give this mountain a go make sure you’re prepared with a sufficient amount of water, snacks, a head torch and preferably a hiking buddy - it can be very easy to get lost and two heads are better than one. Other than that make sure you’re fit enough for such a strenuous climb - it can be a little intense at times!
♡
One of our very first trips was to Fingal Head NSW, we stayed at Tweed Coast Holiday Parks for 2 nights. The caravan park was very much how we like them - not too many awesome kid facilities so that they want to actually leave the park and explore! The park has a small playground for the kids, BBQ areas, toilets, showers and a laundry - if you don’t have a little home on wheels there are also cabins and glamping tents.
It did rain while we were there which worked in our favour, a double rainbow appeared and we spent most of the first afternoon running around beneath it. There is an amazing little lighthouse on the headland and the short walk to it is through a gorgeous coastal rainforest, perfect for little ones! The size of the lighthouse definitely won the kids over and they were running around checking out all of the tracks surrounding it.
The tracks lead off the main trail to either Dreamtime Beach or back to Letitia Spit, you could spend hours exploring the amazing basalt rock formations that were formed by nearby extinct Mt Warning (which is an AMAZING mountain climb!) after exploring the headland and rock pools we walked on to Dreamtime Beach. Dreamtime is absolutely stunning and feels very secluded, despite the freezing cold weather we all had to have a little swim in the crystal clear water.
Fingal is definitely a sleepy little town, but that’s something we love. Because of the weather and short stay we didn’t get to explore the town much, so a second trip is in order to find some awesome coffee and lunch spots! If you’re looking for somewhere to unwind, do a little beach exploring, swimming and maybe a surf without all the crowds - this is your place!
♡
