Cardwell

The There & Back Again Tour to FNQ

Through no fault of its own, Cardwell won’t go down as one of the fondest memories.

The caravan park was a let down ... very,very dusty and vans parked close together. Part of our learning curve is finding out what “dog friendly” means in a caravan park. Flametree at Airlie Beach was perfect :they walked your dog for you when you went out for the day, dog owners were responsible, there were grassy areas for pets to roam. Cardwell was anything goes and there were doggy deposits here and there (yuk!) with no encouragement to clean up.

Cardwell is still very much showing the scars of Cyclone Yasi. Many shops were closed. Many houses being rebuilt but also many were empty shells. The waterfront park was awash with sand after the tidal surge. Trees were starting to show stubby regrowth after being stripped bare of leaves.

Another result of the Cyclone damage that never entered our heads ... so many people have told us how "lucky" we are to have been able to get into this dustbowl without a booking. It seems that winter is "high season" when all the Victorians head north for the warmer weather. This year, because of the cyclone damage, they have gone west ... and it seems that usually you have ti have an advance booking to get in to places like this.