15 August – Friday
Returned to Mareeba this morning for the coffee experience in the morning and some birdwatching in the afternoon. Those who enjoy their coffee, or those who are a little squeamish, should perhaps not read the next paragraph.
We decided to visit NQ Gold Coffee Plantation, a small, family run affair – Bruno, his wife and daughter. We parked in the back yard among lots of chooks and the washing, Bruno (70+ years) met us and showed us the coffee harvester. Harvesting has just started and the harvester had been misbehaving. Then we were directed through the chooks and dozens of cats to the drying/roasting shed, to be met by Mama and the daughter. The smell of cat pee outside the shed door was quite overpowering, however, we ventured inside to find even more cats roaming about and being chased by Mama. The daughter was making very nice smelling coffee (also very cheap) for another group, so we waited. More people arrived, the chaos in the shed moved up a level, Mama and daughter started having words and the cats started walking on top of the opened bags of coffee beans. We watched in wonder as one of the cats started scratching in the beans and then sat still with a blank look on its face, then commenced to scratch again. You guessed it – cat poo in the coffee beans waiting to be roasted!!!
After many arguments with Mama and Bruno, the daughter eventually explained the coffee growing and roasting process, assuring us that their coffee was completely organic and not sprayed with any chemicals. If only she knew! Anyway, after the beans are cleaned, they are put through a colour sorter, imported from the USA, to remove any unsuitable beans (and hopefully, other stuff). Their coffee was very cheap - $21 kg – so we bought lots of coffee for presents!
Following the coffee experience, we travelled to the Mareeba Wetlands for a spot of birdwatching. It was very hot here and very dusty, but we did enjoy an electric boat ride around the lagoon, with a local guide who did seem to know his birds. A beautiful azure blue, little kingfisher kept us amused while we waited for the tour to start.
Back to Atherton for a nice cup of coffee.
Returned to Mareeba this morning for the coffee experience in the morning and some birdwatching in the afternoon. Those who enjoy their coffee, or those who are a little squeamish, should perhaps not read the next paragraph.
We decided to visit NQ Gold Coffee Plantation, a small, family run affair – Bruno, his wife and daughter. We parked in the back yard among lots of chooks and the washing, Bruno (70+ years) met us and showed us the coffee harvester. Harvesting has just started and the harvester had been misbehaving. Then we were directed through the chooks and dozens of cats to the drying/roasting shed, to be met by Mama and the daughter. The smell of cat pee outside the shed door was quite overpowering, however, we ventured inside to find even more cats roaming about and being chased by Mama. The daughter was making very nice smelling coffee (also very cheap) for another group, so we waited. More people arrived, the chaos in the shed moved up a level, Mama and daughter started having words and the cats started walking on top of the opened bags of coffee beans. We watched in wonder as one of the cats started scratching in the beans and then sat still with a blank look on its face, then commenced to scratch again. You guessed it – cat poo in the coffee beans waiting to be roasted!!!
After many arguments with Mama and Bruno, the daughter eventually explained the coffee growing and roasting process, assuring us that their coffee was completely organic and not sprayed with any chemicals. If only she knew! Anyway, after the beans are cleaned, they are put through a colour sorter, imported from the USA, to remove any unsuitable beans (and hopefully, other stuff). Their coffee was very cheap - $21 kg – so we bought lots of coffee for presents!
Following the coffee experience, we travelled to the Mareeba Wetlands for a spot of birdwatching. It was very hot here and very dusty, but we did enjoy an electric boat ride around the lagoon, with a local guide who did seem to know his birds. A beautiful azure blue, little kingfisher kept us amused while we waited for the tour to start.
Back to Atherton for a nice cup of coffee.
2 comments:
it's a good thing Dave and I don't drink coffee! Jack has been behaving beautifully lately. I was a bit worried the terible two would go on forever, but he hasn't sat in the naughty corner for almost two weeks. I'm sure he can't wait to see you guys in Brisbane. Shan
Oh boy am I glad I don't drink coffee...
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