15th August – Saturday
Thank goodness the weather has settled down at last – another BEAUTIFUL day and 29 degrees.
A long day planned as we were off to the Atherton Tablelands to visit some new places, to us at least. Our first stop after passing through Mareeba was at a roadside stall to stock up on avocadoes and red paw paw - $2 for 7 avocadoes! Then it was through Atherton and on towards Millaa Millaa. We stopped at the Gallo Cheese and Chocolate Factory (kept both of us happy!), bought some chocolates and cheese but didn’t bother watching the cows being milked.
Lunch was a picnic at the Millaa Millaa Falls – what a magnificent waterfall. It is really a perfect waterfall, it is almost as though it was constructed for a film set. It was just magic to sit on the grass beside the pool, have lunch and even watch the Ulysses butterfly flitting about above our heads. Even Cat was blown away! Unfortunately, the water contains bacteria and is dangerous if swallowed – a number of European tourists obviously couldn’t understand the warning signs and were swimming regardless.
We decided to check out another couple of waterfalls we haven’t seen before and this meant driving on a tourist route unsuitable for caravans. It didn’t take long to realise why! It was just like an English road – very narrow, windy and with the vegetation growing ride to the edge of the road. We couldn’t find the first waterfall, but the second was actually signposted and right beside the road. However, we happened to be at the top of the waterfall (rather loses the effect, somehow). There was a track leading to the bottom of the fall, but one look at the long, dry grass (taipans and brown snakes), the very narrow track through the jungle (pythons) and the very deep leaf litter (death adders) on the track and we both decided after half a second of thought that we didn’t want to risk the walk as we were wearing sandals and had bare legs. It was a nice drive though. This tourist road ended virtually in a wind farm.
We returned to Yungaburra for a wander before heading to the nearby boat ramp for our sunset cruise on Lake Tinaroo. It was a very personal cruise (we were the only passengers) and we were taken across the lake to some small feeder creeks to look for wildlife. The first “special” bird we saw was a jabiru – such a glorious coloured stork. Kingfishers became quite common once we were drifting through the creeks, the barramundi were “rolling” beside the boat, a water dragon was resting on a branch overhanging the water and we even saw a snake swimming in front of the boat. Lots of egrets and water birds, of course. As we were returning towards the boat ramp, the watch a fantastic sunset – there were a couple of bushfires on the Tablelands and the smoke was hanging low to the horizon. The sun was such a deep red as it sank through the smoke and reflected across the water. Just magic! As we returned, the sarus cranes arrived in droves and the kangaroos were starting to appear. It was a wonderful experience to have such a personal tour - the champagne and nibbles didn't go astray, either.
We completed the day with another picnic (in the car, this time) on the edge of the lake, watching the sky darken and with some thick knees running around the car.
Thank goodness the weather has settled down at last – another BEAUTIFUL day and 29 degrees.
A long day planned as we were off to the Atherton Tablelands to visit some new places, to us at least. Our first stop after passing through Mareeba was at a roadside stall to stock up on avocadoes and red paw paw - $2 for 7 avocadoes! Then it was through Atherton and on towards Millaa Millaa. We stopped at the Gallo Cheese and Chocolate Factory (kept both of us happy!), bought some chocolates and cheese but didn’t bother watching the cows being milked.
Lunch was a picnic at the Millaa Millaa Falls – what a magnificent waterfall. It is really a perfect waterfall, it is almost as though it was constructed for a film set. It was just magic to sit on the grass beside the pool, have lunch and even watch the Ulysses butterfly flitting about above our heads. Even Cat was blown away! Unfortunately, the water contains bacteria and is dangerous if swallowed – a number of European tourists obviously couldn’t understand the warning signs and were swimming regardless.
We decided to check out another couple of waterfalls we haven’t seen before and this meant driving on a tourist route unsuitable for caravans. It didn’t take long to realise why! It was just like an English road – very narrow, windy and with the vegetation growing ride to the edge of the road. We couldn’t find the first waterfall, but the second was actually signposted and right beside the road. However, we happened to be at the top of the waterfall (rather loses the effect, somehow). There was a track leading to the bottom of the fall, but one look at the long, dry grass (taipans and brown snakes), the very narrow track through the jungle (pythons) and the very deep leaf litter (death adders) on the track and we both decided after half a second of thought that we didn’t want to risk the walk as we were wearing sandals and had bare legs. It was a nice drive though. This tourist road ended virtually in a wind farm.
We returned to Yungaburra for a wander before heading to the nearby boat ramp for our sunset cruise on Lake Tinaroo. It was a very personal cruise (we were the only passengers) and we were taken across the lake to some small feeder creeks to look for wildlife. The first “special” bird we saw was a jabiru – such a glorious coloured stork. Kingfishers became quite common once we were drifting through the creeks, the barramundi were “rolling” beside the boat, a water dragon was resting on a branch overhanging the water and we even saw a snake swimming in front of the boat. Lots of egrets and water birds, of course. As we were returning towards the boat ramp, the watch a fantastic sunset – there were a couple of bushfires on the Tablelands and the smoke was hanging low to the horizon. The sun was such a deep red as it sank through the smoke and reflected across the water. Just magic! As we returned, the sarus cranes arrived in droves and the kangaroos were starting to appear. It was a wonderful experience to have such a personal tour - the champagne and nibbles didn't go astray, either.
We completed the day with another picnic (in the car, this time) on the edge of the lake, watching the sky darken and with some thick knees running around the car.
We discovered when we arrived home that blue cheese doesn't keep very well all day in a hot car! The chocolates didn't survive lunch.
1 comment:
What a fabulous day! I love the sunset photo :)
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