We’re in Bowen, in the Whitsunday Region of the Queensland coast, on an inlet of the Coral Sea. We got up early for another sunrise adventure!

The sunrise looking towards the Whitsunday islands, about midway along the Great Barrier Reef.

An interesting stump of a tree along the hike to the sunrise viewpoint.

After our breakfast we went for a drive to Airlie Beach where the ferry to the Whitsunday Islands is. The town was way too crowded and touristy for us, so we headed to a quieter, more remote town at Dingo Beach. No dingos, but a great beachside bar & motel and a pristine tropical beach!

The white sand beach with a “stinger net” that was not effective anymore!’

The reason for a ‘stinger net’ is the seasonal influx of deadly jellyfish (of course they’re deadly, it’s Australia!). It is recommended that if you decide to enter the water from November to May you should be completely covered in a wet suit to avoid the deadly stings of jellyfish!

I decided to risk it all and walk barefoot in the surf up to my ankles! Thank goodness, no jellyfish today!

Our new home for 3 days is an apartment in Bowen just a block from a small beach. We got up before dawn and walked to the beach with our morning coffee.

The sun came up in the dip between the two hills in the distance.

We walked back to the apartment, had breakfast and went for a longer stroll on the Bowen Coastal walkway, weaving along beaches and residential areas.

We heard and then spotted a family of kookaburras along the walkway. I wanted to video them to get their unique calls, but they shut up as soon as they knew we were watching them!

After lunch we drove to the further reaches of the walkway and found a rocky headland we explored.

The wind picked up and waves were splashing on the windward side but the sun was warm.

We got up before dawn and drove 20 minutes to the closest beach, Etty Bay Beach, to watch the sunrise.

We arrived in time to see the sun briefly before it was swallowed up by the ominous clouds on the horizon.

We spent a few minutes walking on the beach and watching the muted sun light up the forest at the edges of the beach. We have a long day ahead, packing up and driving about 6 hours south to our next destination. But we had a fantastic surprise as we drove out from the beach through a strip of forest!

A wild cassowary casually walking along the road, his throat wattle swinging with the rhythm of his long-legged stride!

For a video of the surprise encounter click HERE! We were astonished again just down the road as a 2nd smaller cassowary was ambling along the other side of the road! For a video of the 2nd bird click HERE! We got back to the B&B, had breakfast, packed and started our drive south.

Sugarcane is not the only agricultural staple of this area of Queensland, apparently bananas grow here very well also! It looks like the banana bunches are bagged while still on the ‘tree’, maybe to protect them?

Part of our drive took us along the coast, past this iconic ‘tropical’ image!

We went looking for waterfalls today, a short drive from our B&B, past the Ma:mu Skywalk. Driving through rain we thought we might just have taken a drive, but the skies cleared after we arrived at Henrietta campground where the trail to Nandroya Falls begins.

We followed Henrietta Creek past Silver Falls and deep into the Wet Tropics jungle!

About 3km into the rainforest we approached the 2-tiered Nandroya Falls.

As we reached the main waterfall we realized how big it is! For reference you can see the 3 people wading into the pool to swim! We opted not to swim, we didn’t bring any towels, and we heard there are leeches in the water!

For a video of the falls click HERE.

We headed back to the trailhead via the less used trail, following Douglas Creek as it flows away from the falls. We encountered many waterfalls along the track, but they were mostly hidden in the jungle brush.

One picturesque falls spilled into a small pool that we had to cross via slippery rocks!

After a lunch break we headed out to another park for the afternoon. Paronella Park, a short distance in the opposite direction from our rainforest adventure this morning, is a private park built in the 1930’s by José Paronella and his family. Mr. Paronella emigrated to Australia from Catalonia, Spain in 1913 and worked laboriously in the sugarcane fields until he could purchase, improve and resell sugarcane farms, amassing a fortune. He returned to Spain in 1924 and married, traveling throughout Europe for a honeymoon before heading back to Australia. He purchased 13 acres on Mena Creek, next to Mena Creek Falls to build his dream castle, pleasure gardens and reception center for the public to enjoy.

The pool below the falls is no longer protected from crocodiles, so swimming is not allowed! However, there are turtles, fish and eels that can be fed.

Opening in 1935 the park became a hub of entertainment for the region, having a ballroom with a stage for entertainment and a glittering ‘disco’ ball scattering multicolored light over the diners and dancers. On Saturdays the ballroom turned into a theater to show the latest movies. Picnic tables lined the creek shore and boats could be hired to paddle on the water. Nets kept crocodiles out so visitors could swim and frolic in the pool below the falls. During WW2 American soldiers relaxed and rejuvenated at the park with the locals. Mr. Paronella installed the first hydro-electric generating station in North Queensland in 1933 which was restored in 2009 and now generates the parks electricity!

The park circa 1933.

In 1946 a devastating cyclone hit the park and destroyed many of the structures in the lower reaches of the park. José and family rebuilt what they could and carried on. José died in 1948 and the family continued running the park until the 1970’s when it was sold to a succession of entrepreneurs. Several cyclones and a fire were challenges and the park was eventually abandoned until the current owners bought it in 1993. Their goal is to maintain and preserve the park, not to restore it completely to its previous condition. The ‘pleasure gardens’ have been resurrected from the rainforest jungle that was engulfing the site and are a pleasure to explore.

The bamboo garden is mirrored in the kauri lane. Over 7000 trees were planted by Mr. Paronella, including these Queensland kauri trees that he knew he would never see reach maturity. He planted them for future generations to enjoy.

The ‘Lower Refreshment Rooms’ with the fountain surrounded by the cast concrete fence. There were tennis courts behind me, now used as seating for the colorful nighttime experience.

We decided to have dinner at the nearby Mena Hotel and return at dusk for the Evening Experience!

The castle is lit up with colorful lights with a rousing soundtrack including lightning and thunder to evoke the many cyclones the park has weathered!