Exploring Cobbold Gorge & Undara Lava Tubes, The Savannah Way

coming up in this week's episode [Music] thank you [Music] look at that red how good is that I've got to show you the front as well so that's where it looks the best I reckon oh my gosh Cape York this is the trip of a lifetime okay two weeks now we've done our first week we've made it to the very top we've been over to Thursday island in the Torres Strait today absolutely stunning footage and some really great adventure as well so that's going to be coming up in the next few weeks three or four weeks in fact that two weeks of travel will probably be spread out over four or five weeks because there is just so much content there is so much to talk about this area up here of North Queensland it is absolutely stunning and it's worth everyone's time to put this on your bucket list to get up here but before we get on with it okay so stay tuned for that it's coming your way it's also everything including gunshot weeper Lockhart River Chile Beach some other highlights there's so many Bramwell station jarding River Ferry Crossing I mean even getting all the way up here to seisha or cecia as a local say it's just jam packed there's so much so you're gonna love that all right but I wanted to talk about the canopy because this has been awesome same with the van now the canopy is a mode 4x4 accessories as you know if you've been watching our show you would have seen the build and the guys at McCormack doing all of this in store for us with our MSA gear and the lighting and just making it just everything that we could dream of to have in the back of the canopy they've done such a great job but talking about the canopy I thought it's a probably good opportunity seeing that we've actually been using it in this environment like completely off-grid and off-road touring first of all made by Zone RV it is mode 4x4 accessories it is a composite fiberglass material with aluminum fitting so obviously they've nailed it with the Zone RVs taking all of that knowledge with the Composites into a lighter stronger canopy like this they have nailed it you would know with our previous canopy awesome canopy but we needed to drop weights we were definitely uh well overweight on our gvm and our GCM we dropped 200 kilograms pretty well the same kind of setup with all the drawer systems but just through its construction dropped 200 kilos in weight so that's a massive tick if you're touring in any format whether you're towing a van like us or full-time or you just your weights are a big issue we know that with your gvm and GCM stronger and that is really because again this composite material can manage heavy weights better than anything the aluminum toolboxes the saddle drawers down here and also the mud guards you know if you're going down gunshot if you're a gamer than I am I've got some footage of some crazy stuff that people did while we were there and you want to damage any of this it's interchangeable so you could just literally take the broken bits out and put new bits on absolutely fantastic and is it dust proof yes check this out you can see from the seals all the way around if you check here look at that I mean that you can see where the seals join and where the dust has been out and all your stuff then inside is kept nice and clean and dust free this is pretty cool actually this is something I picked up from Bunnings it's I think like a Gardener's knee protector but anyway if you're a caravanner and you get into the ripe old age of 50 or more like myself happy birthday to me uh that is a godsend for your knees but I also use it just in here and that way through those corrugations here that we've you know I'm not going to bring you all 50 000 of them in the episode but believe me there's a lot of them that's perfect then it protects it when it comes back against the door here I've just put that in there so that this wasn't banging against uh the the actual canopy door the wing there so anyway I just wanted to talk about that and just talk it up because it is absolutely 100 does exactly what it says it's going to do okay it's lighter stronger dust proof amazing so good one check out mode canopies if you want more information or you can go to our website as well and there'll be a link through there on not only an event but on the canopy as well all right get back on with the show stay tuned for the cape it is awesome we're going to go head off in a minute check the sunset out we're at loyalty Beach Caravan Park there's a fish and chip shop down there apparently that is the best of the cakes I'm looking forward to that [Music] thank you [Music] [Music] thank you [Music] thank you [Music] yeah okay we're in Georgetown which is in the far upper reaches of North Queensland Ka the middle of nowhere uh I think we must still be about 70 or 80 clicks from Cobalt Gorge which looks stunning we've got a tour booked in there at 10 A.M tomorrow morning so I will get in tonight we probably won't worry about cooking food but we can I've got a restaurant fingers crossed me yep Lazy Man's meal tonight so it will be lovely and then yeah tomorrow to uh we might stay tomorrow night we're not sure yet we also want to check out another place an Aboriginal LED uh Campground and hot springs called tell the room sounds fantastic so see if we can get a booking then and we'll we'll flip a coin and see what we're going to do okay price of diesel here in Georgetown it's 2.13. something I didn't mention there back at carumba is that the fuel surprised us it was diesel at 1.99.9 cents a liter yeah pip the two dollar Mark isn't that good I'm gonna get filling up and then we'll be back on the road hopefully be sunset because uh even though we've only got say whatever it is 70 or 80 clicks it's going to take us over an hour and a half to get there because the last 50 K's are debt right guided [Music] where is that Katie hello how you doing good it's unpacking are you a little bit bounced do you know I I actually thought that was pretty damn good that one little section okay there was one that was not overly enjoyable but in the main so true yeah do you know they have actually graded the last two kilometers so it's sort of like your reward after 43 kilometers of but anyways uh Tony I set up over there we have just got in just at the end of the sunset but that's all right yeah how are you mate bit cabin fevered yeah I think it was about 450 kilometers today so a decent uh Drive day uh but we have literally just pulled in set up not all sites are created equally are they Katie look at that we've got it chopped up and we've got the extra step just to give us a little bit of height I need like 6 branches on my legs to be able to get out we're level babe I'll link up because our episode's just gone live so that's pretty cool uh it's a little bit dark isn't it really the GoPro but look we're going to duck down to the main restaurant it looks stunning the pool area have some dinner have a glass of wine celebrate Kate getting the e-book done travel day snacks I don't know if you can see that but ice creams you know when you normally buy a four pack of drumsticks and uh our bullies or coals and because you're buying them like that they're kind of you know good value but then when you buy them individually at a server they're like five bucks 50. yeah yeah today like five hundred dollars they were good though anyways that's what happens hi what are you doing man [Music] all right let's get cracking guys let's do it [Music] what a great experience absolutely loving it we're here for two nights I wish we were here for a week oh I know well it's actually quite a surprise I mean considering the drive-in and you do have to take that into account it is a a decent Drive In on the corrugated Road some sections are really good some could use a little bit of a grade hey but once you get here what a surprise to see what they have on offer and then of course to be able to get out and do one of their famous Gorge Tours I mean that's the reason you're coming okay there is plenty to choose from as far as your accommodation options you've got powered and unpowered there is a new self-contained section which is where we are in we actually snagged at the very last site so bookings are essential yeah which is amazing considering how many sites there are like it's pretty decent pretty amazing now the amenities blocks have had an upgrade right so they're fantastic uh there's free gas barbecues and covered areas like sort of Camp kitchen style which is great and then they've got their main I guess Hub as far as entertainment area is most of it is actually covered however there's some open air seating which looks back out across a beautiful Billabong and the infinity pool it looks very inviting doesn't it you might have to try that out later yes we definitely will when we arrived in last night we were quite late because you have got about 70 kilometers there from Georgetown uh 40 odd kilometers of that is on that unsealed Road the last two kilometers is a real gift because that's actually been graded so yeah and then you you do check in at reception uh because we rocked in uh just after six o'clock we ended up checking in at the main bar area and then also booked in for dinner so you want to book in for dinner as well if you want to enjoy really restaurant quality food and a really great full menu full bar service and kids are welcome as well so it is a really great communal area you can meet some of your fellow Campers or talk about your adventures here in the in the gorge that you've already experienced now for us our first tour today was to actually do the Cobalt Gorge nature refuse tour it is about a three-hour tour you can either go in the morning or the afternoon look either way uh I mean it is winter but you're going to be the finishing and the height of the Sun or starting in the height of the Sun so really depends what you prefer it was absolutely stunning oh it sure was and it's a fully added to us so you jump aboard they're awesome big four-wheel drive buses and it's about a 15 minute drive from the main Reception Area out to where the gorge is located you get so much information from the guides which is just great all about the history of the area all about the history of the pioneers and then the family that own this property how the gorge was discovered and then you're off the bus for a great interpretive talk and we actually had three groups out there at the same time three bus loads of people not too many though because we all did different sections of this tour at the same time so it never felt crowded it's quite intimate really easy to have that personalized experience with your guide we started off on the boat tour that takes you all the way as far as the boat can go all the way up through that spectacular Gorge which really has only been found in very recent history so it's quite special to think that it's been here forming over millions of years and you know here we are able to sit on a flat bottom boat with 12 other humans and actually enjoy what a stunning location is [Music] thank you [Music] all right [Music] [Music] thank you [Music] the guide was Glenn his knowledge base was outstanding and after talking to our fellow campers all six of the guides that were working here have obviously done a lot of training I found a real passion in what they're talking about because they are exceptional well worth the money to get onto one of the tours again you need to make sure that you're booking because they do book out wow pretty cool this is a really cool area this is cool and what about the temperature that's pretty cool as well so here's the uh here's the tournament trick that I'm showing you or the tunnel so have a look on the surface and then it's up underneath here up to the left where you'll see the mound and if this one is active continue wow as we rocked in the next tour groups were all ready to get on the bus and do the afternoon tour the Flora the fauna geology the history geography I mean talk about having a lesson plan laid out for you if you've got kids do you think that looks like an ice cream cone yeah yeah pretty cool eh yeah but with this one the ice cream section that's the seeds and The Cone is the fruit yeah so it fruits outside of the seed pretty clever isn't it can you see all the pods in the pods if you're traveling with exactly with kids that should be at school well this is really your whole week's lesson in one tour it was it was outstanding yeah it was look and and getting the different perspective of the gorge as well so being down in it on the water in the boat being able to see the fresh water crocodiles wow you know the sports huge Crocs here yeah I mean they are fresh water so they don't necessarily want to eat you but I reckon they'd give you a nip if you let them have a go wouldn't it oh being able to see them basking in the sun on the banks and then also when we came back through you know doing what they do best in the water seeing all the different types of fish that call this Gorge home as well was just beautiful and then looking up and seeing you know the bird life soaring high above us and then to be able to do the short walk it's about one and a half kilometers quite easy although there are areas that are fairly Rocky and you sort of traversing up over the top of the Gorge to be able to then have that perspective of looking back down and I think the Highlight other than being on the boat and down on the water is the newly installed glass Bridge walkway that spans The Gorge and you know if you're brave you can go out there look down past your feet at the Gorge it gives you beautiful views of the gorge in either direction a great photo opportunity I love that we didn't feel rushed at any part of this tour because it's only really I think one and a half kilometer return this actual Circle and out onto the the glass bottom see-through Bridge there's moments probably every 50 to 100 meters where your guide is stopping and talking to you about Bush Tucker medicinal uses of it the history of the indigenous people and how they applied these different foods and fruits to help their culture survive for eons so we really love that part of it Jasper wasn't so keen on the glass bottom no I was really surprised he uh he was like okay this is beautiful I'm off and happy to get over the other side but he loved the hike and taking in all of that information I have to say Glenn was so inclusive Jasper was the only child on our tour but there were plenty of other children amongst the other tour groups as well Glenn making him feel so included in the conversation as we walked through that environment so just awesome and all in all about three hours they do advise you obviously sunscreen where you hack really good walking shoes take a bottle of water I thought it was great that they had water fill stations throughout the entire tour even on various parts of the walk you could stop and fill your water bottle it is a good tip actually if you have got kids or you know you like a little snack do take a couple of little muesli bars or some snacks for the kids or for yourself as well and as you say there's plenty of water that you can refill that so we love this experience we're probably going to have a pretty lazy afternoon we will head down to the infinity bar well it's the infinity pool and then hit the infinity Wars after that for maybe a couple of drinks a good night's sleep and then we'll be hitting the road again tomorrow on our way to andara Lava caves oh I'm so excited about this and we've heard great things about the tours there in andara I do want to just give a special mention to the ranger pool the guide who took some time to give some very special rocks to Jasper that he'd collected which was just beautiful some Agate so thank you Paul thank you and also his wife Carolyn for checking Us in just lovely to meet fellow Travelers during our our journey and it always makes it for us isn't it it's really about the people so all in all an awesome time awesome group of people here put it on your backup list yeah it's well worth that corrugated drive to get here foreign [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] North we are yeah I know surprised I know I guess we're kind of I don't know in we're tucked in somewhere in the gorgeous with the gorgeous wife it's a good start to the day tell you why she's gorgeous all right so we're heading to andara Lava caves tubes tubes they're caves okay well better things yeah that should be cool yeah the volcanic tubes everybody that we have run into here at Cobble Gorge has said to us if you're headed to andara you are going to just be blown away by how good that experience is are you looking forward to getting inside the tubes yep yeah and let your face know about it oh mate I know we just we just woke you up all right it is 7 30 uh we've said goodbye to Cobble the course yeah that was great it was a wonderful time yeah yeah really again that's the the staff there that make that place so special I think yeah definitely all right what else do we have to tell you something and I can't remember oh okay I don't know we're driving on bitumen no not on bitumen oh I know what it is yeah so we've got that um chaturas 44 45 50 kilometers whatever it is in a corrugation my favorite thing but this is really just getting us all geared up for it is yeah it is it's pretty funny rating this on the way in and he said you know between zero and ten he rates it as a 0.5 I was like I'm a bit nervous I don't think I want to ask him what he's rating the K-pop I reckon there were some sevens in there for about four or five kilometers it's a really bad stretch oh yeah well that's tiny what do you think so we're gonna we're gonna get the Drone up and get some beautiful shots uh and hopefully not run into other traffic because the sun can be very blinding leaving early or coming in late as we did yeah coming up over some of these crests just drive with your headlights on and no matter what time of the day when you're on this kind of you know bull dust it's it's really blinding so yeah it is all right okay do it let's do it on the road again I just can't wait to get on the road ah you like that Dad joke [Music] oh this is actually the best section made so enjoy this is the good section foreign pressures 25 psi in the van let's see we've got the dual axle back there and I've dropped the vehicle down to 30 PSI now obviously you'd have to check your your tires and the information for yourself but that's what we've done Jesus [Music] oh [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] thank you [Music] [Music] [Music] experience all right we're packing it in we're only here for the one night we're in the unpowered sites it's their drive through sites where we are which is fantastic yeah it's pretty good I didn't really know what to expect but um level we've stayed hitched which is awesome yes it's um it's got a caravan Park Vibe but in a beautiful Bush environment really lovely setting and that first tour we did wow it truly is well it's we haven't seen anything like it before have we we haven't and even the pictures that you see in the the brochures I don't think really do it justice for the experience that it is I mean it's phenomenal and you're gonna think this happened millions of years ago incredible uh in fact it is known as the the largest and longest lava tubes in the world they stretch over 160 kilometers yeah crazy and beautiful 100 of them are actually um I guess steel caves and you can walk through them or you you can walk through them with a guide certain ones so drawn out to a guy and he drove us out there on the bus uh very uh good character wasn't he and on our right hand side possibly Australia is called a swimming pool true Aussie character character it's good to note that you can't access the andara Volcanic National Park unless you are coming on a guided tour right either from here at andara experience which is a discovery Parks now or there are other tour operators that operate out of Mount supplies all right which is no surprise now we've got a couple of minutes for our next tour so we thought we'd stop here just to uh not interrupt the rest of them yes the tour itself we went to three different Cathedrals and caves uh the walking down through the boardwalks is really well managed so it's really moderate where the bus stops to where you actually go and walk through these Lava Tubes is a very short distance so any level of Fitness could actually do this yeah for sure Jasper you're a little bit unsure about the first one yeah what was it about it um the dark okay there you go scared the duck still needs Mom and Dad that's nice that's all right you can be scared of the dark for as long as you want what we're about to do now though is the sunset Wildlife tour okay and this looks awesome and we've had some other campers over it covered say to us it's amazing we're about to see thousands of bats flying out of the cave going to collect their insects for the night and while they're trying to do that we're hoping that we might see a lot of reptiles as well doing their thing hopefully they're getting a feed on bats yeah the circle of life can you hear it on Jesus singing in my head yeah and we and we have all those I believe awesome all right let's bring it on I think the rest of the group is waiting for us oh okay let's do it let's do it and then we're going to dinner [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] thank you thanks for watching please do like subscribe and share our Channel and if you'd like more information on full-time RV travel and living visit our website thefelgoodfamily.com there you'll find loads of free resources our weekly podcast Caravan cooking recipes our monthly go RV magazine articles and much more we look forward to seeing you next week take care of yourself and your family and happy trails [Music] thank you [Music] this is the same type of fake do you remember oh yeah so it is but he told us not to do with it okay what all right so before we go on the bridge we have to put some covers onto our shoes okay so how was that experience mate I did not like it you didn't like it what didn't you like about it yeah you don't trust this okay fair enough [Music] thank you [Music] [Music] thank you [Music] [Music] [Music]

Channel: The Feel Good Family - Lap Around Australia Series

Views: 12,282

Keywords: The Feel Good Family, family travel australia, exploring Cobbold Gorge & Undara Lava Tubes, The Savannah Way, undara lava tubes, cobbold gorge, cobbold gorge qld, savannah way highlights, lava tubes, savannah way, savannah way qld, Off Grid Australia Series, caravan family australia, caravaning australia, travel australia 2023, australian overlanding, outback queensland road trip, caravanning family, north queensland road trip, Bucket list ideas, Travel australia

Id: 61z65e3kTqQ

Length: 36min 52sec (2212 seconds)

Published: Sun Aug 27 2023