31 August – Sunday
Travelled to Coolum Beach today to meet up with John and Brenda. Very little improvement in the road condition until we reach Gympie, the road to Cooktown was much better than this area. Lots of traffic on the road today, which may have been because we are getting closer to Brisbane or because the Gympie Muster concluded today. There were some good roadside stalls though, with very cheap avocadoes, tomatoes and bananas. The frig is full again.
The Sunshine Coast has certainly grown during the past 25 years, with lots of high rise units, shopping centres and development along the coast. We are staying in the caravan park at Coolum Beach – it is right on the beach front, good sized sites but the amenities could do with some refurbishment. Thank goodness for our own shower, it would have to be the best thing since sliced bread. We are still having toilet problems and will have to contact Jayco tomorrow, just a pity it has to be Brisbane Jayco. We think it is the cassette leaking, so hopefully it will only mean a new cassette and nothing major.
This afternoon, John and Brenda took us for a drive around the area, we found the caravan park where we will stay with Diane and family (looked very nice, right on the Maroochy River) and then settled down for happy hour, which did extend for nearly three hours.
There are mosquitoes here too! No crocodiles though. We are also talking about football this week.
Sunday, 31 August 2008
Saturday, 30 August 2008
Bargara
30 August – Saturday
A very foggy start to the day, but the fog had dissipated before we reached Rockhampton. Nothing very exciting to report today, as we travelled south to Bundaberg and Bargara. We turned off the main highway at Miriam Vale to head into Bundaberg and although we probably saved 20 minutes in time, it is doubtful if the rough road made it worthwhile. The bitumen even had corrugations at times. Lunch stop was at a small place called Rosedale – one shop, one hotel, one school, one police house/station and half a dozen houses.
We decided to stay in Bargara instead of Bundaberg. Bargara is a nice, small seaside village which is fast becoming very touristy, with lots of development happening. We are staying at a large caravan park directly opposite the Surf Club. I think this is the only big of sand along the black rocky shoreline for quite a distance.
This afternoon we had a drive around Bundaberg and looked at the local sights – the rum distillery seems to be the main attraction. Probably accounts for all the sugar cane growing in the region! Also lots of macadamia nuts, strawberries and tomatoes grown, with strawberries being offered very cheaply on roadside stalls. After Bundaberg, we drove to Elliott Heads, a very small seaside village, with a very large estuary that is all sand and fishermen when the tide is out.
This morning we were having visions of having to have further dealings with Jayco in Brisbane – thank goodness I didn’t write to Jayco head office complaining about their service last time we were in Brisbane – as the toilet had leaked a bit more fluid onto the ensuite floor by our first stop. However, the cassette hatch was dry and there was no further leakage during the day, so hopefully it was just a bit of leftover liquid under the actual toilet. Will see how it travels tomorrow. I think I must have the cleanest bathroom in the caravan park!
A very foggy start to the day, but the fog had dissipated before we reached Rockhampton. Nothing very exciting to report today, as we travelled south to Bundaberg and Bargara. We turned off the main highway at Miriam Vale to head into Bundaberg and although we probably saved 20 minutes in time, it is doubtful if the rough road made it worthwhile. The bitumen even had corrugations at times. Lunch stop was at a small place called Rosedale – one shop, one hotel, one school, one police house/station and half a dozen houses.
We decided to stay in Bargara instead of Bundaberg. Bargara is a nice, small seaside village which is fast becoming very touristy, with lots of development happening. We are staying at a large caravan park directly opposite the Surf Club. I think this is the only big of sand along the black rocky shoreline for quite a distance.
This afternoon we had a drive around Bundaberg and looked at the local sights – the rum distillery seems to be the main attraction. Probably accounts for all the sugar cane growing in the region! Also lots of macadamia nuts, strawberries and tomatoes grown, with strawberries being offered very cheaply on roadside stalls. After Bundaberg, we drove to Elliott Heads, a very small seaside village, with a very large estuary that is all sand and fishermen when the tide is out.
This morning we were having visions of having to have further dealings with Jayco in Brisbane – thank goodness I didn’t write to Jayco head office complaining about their service last time we were in Brisbane – as the toilet had leaked a bit more fluid onto the ensuite floor by our first stop. However, the cassette hatch was dry and there was no further leakage during the day, so hopefully it was just a bit of leftover liquid under the actual toilet. Will see how it travels tomorrow. I think I must have the cleanest bathroom in the caravan park!
Friday, 29 August 2008
Yeppoon
29 August – Friday
If only winter in Tasmania was like winter in Queensland! We have very nice sandal marks on our feet, which will have hopefully faded by the time I visit the dermatologist at the end of October.
Today we went for a short drive into Yeppoon and also to the Rydges Resort just to the north. I think this was the resort built by the Japanese in the early 1980’s and looks to be a very comfortable place to stay, the style of resort one sees on Getaway. Yeppoon itself is a nice town with a nice feel to it – quite touristy, which would be the main industry. There are some lovely big beaches, although the tide does go out a long way, as well as a large marina. The Keppel Islands are just off shore.
This afternoon we headed in the opposite direction (our caravan park is virtually in the middle of the Capricorn Coast beach strip) towards Emu Park, and this is definitely the poorer end of the coast, even the roads were no where near the standard of the Yeppoon area. The feature of Emu Park is the Singing Ship memorial to Captain Cook, a large structure which looks like a sail and actually hums in the breeze.
This really is a very nice caravan park, with lots of bird life – there are two tawny frogmouths living in a tree near our van – and there are even other Tasmanians here. The mosquitoes are the down side.
If only winter in Tasmania was like winter in Queensland! We have very nice sandal marks on our feet, which will have hopefully faded by the time I visit the dermatologist at the end of October.
Today we went for a short drive into Yeppoon and also to the Rydges Resort just to the north. I think this was the resort built by the Japanese in the early 1980’s and looks to be a very comfortable place to stay, the style of resort one sees on Getaway. Yeppoon itself is a nice town with a nice feel to it – quite touristy, which would be the main industry. There are some lovely big beaches, although the tide does go out a long way, as well as a large marina. The Keppel Islands are just off shore.
This afternoon we headed in the opposite direction (our caravan park is virtually in the middle of the Capricorn Coast beach strip) towards Emu Park, and this is definitely the poorer end of the coast, even the roads were no where near the standard of the Yeppoon area. The feature of Emu Park is the Singing Ship memorial to Captain Cook, a large structure which looks like a sail and actually hums in the breeze.
This really is a very nice caravan park, with lots of bird life – there are two tawny frogmouths living in a tree near our van – and there are even other Tasmanians here. The mosquitoes are the down side.
Thursday, 28 August 2008
Toilet Training
28 August – Thursday
We had an early start this morning (8.00am) as someone didn’t have his usual sleep in. Headed to Rockhampton and Yeppoon and although the road was still very straight, there were small hills to relieve the boredom. We also left the two way radio on today, as there were a lot of road trains and cattle trucks on the road. We had only gone a few kilometres when a women started to become rather agitated with “Caravan” – worked out quickly she was referring to us – and telling us to move over off the road. We thought she was behind us and trying to pass and said we couldn’t pull over yet – no where to pull off. She was rather upset with us by this stage and then we spotted a wide load appear over the hill, travelling towards us. If she had only said there was a wide load approaching … Anyway, this was the first of many, the widest took up the full width of road and had three police cars escorting it. Fortunately, a road led off to the left as we met the first police car and were able to tell him we would head for that. They were all very nice and polite. We only had one occasion when the radio traffic was a little bit “off.” Because our hand held radios only have a range of about 5 km, we do know what we hear is fairly close.
We passed a lot of coal mines between Emerald and Rockhampton – the six mines at Blackwater supply 26% of Queensland coal. The road trains might be long in this region, but the trains are longer – 2 km long is normal for a coal train – and there were certainly plenty of them.
Our drama for today involved the caravan toilet. This actually started on Tuesday, with the very bumpy road between Charters Towers and Emerald. The toilet roll didn’t jump off the holder, but did unravel itself into a very neat pile on the floor, looking just like continuous computer paper. Of course, it never rolls back up the same! There was also a bit of a toilet chemical smell and I thought the bit of liquid on the floor was simply splashes from the hand basin or shower. Good clean and the smell was gone. Today at our first stop after about an hour’s travelling, opened the caravan door to be met by a very definite toilet smell and very smelly liquid all over the bathroom floor. Toilet leak (pardon the pun!). Cleaned up, checked again half an hour later and found more fluid. Les removed the cassette and replaced it, hoping that it just hadn’t clicked into place last time it was emptied and had shaken itself loose. Needless to say, it was a BIG clean of the bathroom when we arrived at the caravan park. We are staying in a very nice park about 10 km south of Yeppoon.
We had an early start this morning (8.00am) as someone didn’t have his usual sleep in. Headed to Rockhampton and Yeppoon and although the road was still very straight, there were small hills to relieve the boredom. We also left the two way radio on today, as there were a lot of road trains and cattle trucks on the road. We had only gone a few kilometres when a women started to become rather agitated with “Caravan” – worked out quickly she was referring to us – and telling us to move over off the road. We thought she was behind us and trying to pass and said we couldn’t pull over yet – no where to pull off. She was rather upset with us by this stage and then we spotted a wide load appear over the hill, travelling towards us. If she had only said there was a wide load approaching … Anyway, this was the first of many, the widest took up the full width of road and had three police cars escorting it. Fortunately, a road led off to the left as we met the first police car and were able to tell him we would head for that. They were all very nice and polite. We only had one occasion when the radio traffic was a little bit “off.” Because our hand held radios only have a range of about 5 km, we do know what we hear is fairly close.
We passed a lot of coal mines between Emerald and Rockhampton – the six mines at Blackwater supply 26% of Queensland coal. The road trains might be long in this region, but the trains are longer – 2 km long is normal for a coal train – and there were certainly plenty of them.
Our drama for today involved the caravan toilet. This actually started on Tuesday, with the very bumpy road between Charters Towers and Emerald. The toilet roll didn’t jump off the holder, but did unravel itself into a very neat pile on the floor, looking just like continuous computer paper. Of course, it never rolls back up the same! There was also a bit of a toilet chemical smell and I thought the bit of liquid on the floor was simply splashes from the hand basin or shower. Good clean and the smell was gone. Today at our first stop after about an hour’s travelling, opened the caravan door to be met by a very definite toilet smell and very smelly liquid all over the bathroom floor. Toilet leak (pardon the pun!). Cleaned up, checked again half an hour later and found more fluid. Les removed the cassette and replaced it, hoping that it just hadn’t clicked into place last time it was emptied and had shaken itself loose. Needless to say, it was a BIG clean of the bathroom when we arrived at the caravan park. We are staying in a very nice park about 10 km south of Yeppoon.
Wednesday, 27 August 2008
Sapphires
27 August – Wednesday
Another beautiful day in Queensland – 28 degrees, clear and no wind. We started the day with a look around Emerald and their park which features a copy of Van Gogh’s Sunflowers. Evidently the district used to be known for its sunflower industry, before a disease wiped them out a few years ago.
Then it was off to Sapphire and Rubyvale for a spot of sapphire fossicking. Both these towns seem to be made up of fossickers who also have a tin shed/shop to sell their gems. Some of the jewellery was quite beautiful (I could have really enjoyed myself if given the chance) and we never realised there were so many different coloured sapphires. Evidently there are over 300 shades of blue.
If one wants to do a spot of fossicking for oneself, then one can either buy a license and equipment and do it the hard way, or buy a bucket of dirt at a fossicking park and do it the easy way. We did it the easy way. We bought a bag each and I found a sapphire immediately in mine – already cut and in a plastic bag! After this big find, it was wash and sort the gravel ourselves, keeping what we thought were sapphires to be inspected by the store owner. We both ended up with a nice little bag of gems, I had quite a few green ones, including a blue/green parti which was big enough to have cut.
We finished the afternoon with a game of bingo at the caravan park – our first ever effort – and ended up making a donation to Angel Flight.
Another beautiful day in Queensland – 28 degrees, clear and no wind. We started the day with a look around Emerald and their park which features a copy of Van Gogh’s Sunflowers. Evidently the district used to be known for its sunflower industry, before a disease wiped them out a few years ago.
Then it was off to Sapphire and Rubyvale for a spot of sapphire fossicking. Both these towns seem to be made up of fossickers who also have a tin shed/shop to sell their gems. Some of the jewellery was quite beautiful (I could have really enjoyed myself if given the chance) and we never realised there were so many different coloured sapphires. Evidently there are over 300 shades of blue.
If one wants to do a spot of fossicking for oneself, then one can either buy a license and equipment and do it the hard way, or buy a bucket of dirt at a fossicking park and do it the easy way. We did it the easy way. We bought a bag each and I found a sapphire immediately in mine – already cut and in a plastic bag! After this big find, it was wash and sort the gravel ourselves, keeping what we thought were sapphires to be inspected by the store owner. We both ended up with a nice little bag of gems, I had quite a few green ones, including a blue/green parti which was big enough to have cut.
We finished the afternoon with a game of bingo at the caravan park – our first ever effort – and ended up making a donation to Angel Flight.
Tuesday, 26 August 2008
Dingo
26 August – Tuesday
Less than four months to Christmas – thought you might like to know that.
Early departure this morning for the 500 km drive to Emerald. Discovered last night that the caravan park is home to all the galahs and lorikeets in Charters Towers! The cloud cover soon cleared to a fine, clear and hot day, 27 degrees. The road was long, straight, bumpy and fairly flat all day. The longest straight without a bend was 15 km. We had about 50 km when the road reduced in size to one lane of bitumen, but fortunately there wasn’t much traffic headed north. Today we turned the two way radio on for the full day and did use it a couple of times.
We were lucky enough to spot a dingo crossing the road early in the morning – first time we have seen one in the wild. There were also plenty of kangaroos on the side of the road, being part of the food chain. We also saw a few bustards, which are very large birds who think no one can see them if they stand still. They are wrong!
Just before our lunch stop at Clermont, we passed a couple of large open-cut coal mines – Blair Athol and Clermont Coal Mine. Clermont isn’t exactly a large town (two hotels) but it did have a nice park with a lagoon and plenty of parking for vehicles towing caravans. The lagoon was home to lots of very friendly geese and ducks and someone managed to bring an extremely large goose poo into the caravan on his shoe and then track it over the floor.
The country was mainly cattle stations until we reached Clermont and we even saw some stockmen mustering a large mob of cattle next to the road. Stockmen are now hi-tech – helicopters instead of horses! There is also a large sorghum growing industry in the area and the paddocks are measured in square kilometres, not hectares. We followed one paddock for five km, and that was only one side of it.
We haven’t had much of a look at Emerald yet – that is tomorrow’s plan – as the caravan park is about 20 km out of town on the shore of Lake Maraboon. Lots of lovely birds here, including some very friendly rainbow lorikeets who hand around for a biscuit. The owners, Andy and Geoff, are also very friendly – one really the type of couple one expects to find in an outback caravan park! We did miss the singalong last night but have been assured that bingo will go ahead tomorrow afternoon.
Less than four months to Christmas – thought you might like to know that.
Early departure this morning for the 500 km drive to Emerald. Discovered last night that the caravan park is home to all the galahs and lorikeets in Charters Towers! The cloud cover soon cleared to a fine, clear and hot day, 27 degrees. The road was long, straight, bumpy and fairly flat all day. The longest straight without a bend was 15 km. We had about 50 km when the road reduced in size to one lane of bitumen, but fortunately there wasn’t much traffic headed north. Today we turned the two way radio on for the full day and did use it a couple of times.
We were lucky enough to spot a dingo crossing the road early in the morning – first time we have seen one in the wild. There were also plenty of kangaroos on the side of the road, being part of the food chain. We also saw a few bustards, which are very large birds who think no one can see them if they stand still. They are wrong!
Just before our lunch stop at Clermont, we passed a couple of large open-cut coal mines – Blair Athol and Clermont Coal Mine. Clermont isn’t exactly a large town (two hotels) but it did have a nice park with a lagoon and plenty of parking for vehicles towing caravans. The lagoon was home to lots of very friendly geese and ducks and someone managed to bring an extremely large goose poo into the caravan on his shoe and then track it over the floor.
The country was mainly cattle stations until we reached Clermont and we even saw some stockmen mustering a large mob of cattle next to the road. Stockmen are now hi-tech – helicopters instead of horses! There is also a large sorghum growing industry in the area and the paddocks are measured in square kilometres, not hectares. We followed one paddock for five km, and that was only one side of it.
We haven’t had much of a look at Emerald yet – that is tomorrow’s plan – as the caravan park is about 20 km out of town on the shore of Lake Maraboon. Lots of lovely birds here, including some very friendly rainbow lorikeets who hand around for a biscuit. The owners, Andy and Geoff, are also very friendly – one really the type of couple one expects to find in an outback caravan park! We did miss the singalong last night but have been assured that bingo will go ahead tomorrow afternoon.
Monday, 25 August 2008
Gold!
25 August – Monday 
Overcast when we left Townsville for the drive to Charters Towers. The road was good, mainly flat with long straights. This was also our first real experience with proper road trains – four trailers and 50 metres long! The Burdekin River was absolutely amazing – very wide, sandy and very little water, about 15 metres below bridge level and the flood markers were 5 metres above the ROAD level!
The Aussie Outback Oasis Caravan Park would have to have the largest sites we have seen. Drive through, with a very large and level concrete slab, enough room both behind and in front to park the car and a large grassed area between caravans. It was built about ten years ago and definitely designed for the future caravan travellers.
Charters Towers is a gold mining town which also services cattle stations in the district. Apart from gold, which is still being mined underneath the town, boarding schools make up the other industry. A town which has done well to maintain its heritage and a lot of the shops still retain their original facades. It obviously rains very heavily, given the size of the gutters.
The highlight of the day would have been the visit to the Miner’s Cottage. This is where we met, for the first time, a group of school children who seemed to follow us around all day. We were able to try our hand at gold panning and could buy a bag of gravel for $11 (virtually guaranteeing a find) or just pan the leftovers. Being of Scottish descent, I opted for the leftovers – and struck gold! I was lucky enough to find five flakes in the bottom of my pan.
A drive to the lookout on Towers Hill gave us a great view of the surrounding countryside, as well as the fire department fighting a fair-sized grass fire at the bottom of the hill. Towers Hill is covered with abandoned mine shafts and ammunition bunkers (World War 2 ammunition dump), lots of rocks, supposedly rock wallabies and probably snakes.
When we arrived at 11.00am, we thought the caravan park was virtually empty. It has filled up in the last hour – incredible.
Overcast when we left Townsville for the drive to Charters Towers. The road was good, mainly flat with long straights. This was also our first real experience with proper road trains – four trailers and 50 metres long! The Burdekin River was absolutely amazing – very wide, sandy and very little water, about 15 metres below bridge level and the flood markers were 5 metres above the ROAD level!
The Aussie Outback Oasis Caravan Park would have to have the largest sites we have seen. Drive through, with a very large and level concrete slab, enough room both behind and in front to park the car and a large grassed area between caravans. It was built about ten years ago and definitely designed for the future caravan travellers.
Charters Towers is a gold mining town which also services cattle stations in the district. Apart from gold, which is still being mined underneath the town, boarding schools make up the other industry. A town which has done well to maintain its heritage and a lot of the shops still retain their original facades. It obviously rains very heavily, given the size of the gutters.The highlight of the day would have been the visit to the Miner’s Cottage. This is where we met, for the first time, a group of school children who seemed to follow us around all day. We were able to try our hand at gold panning and could buy a bag of gravel for $11 (virtually guaranteeing a find) or just pan the leftovers. Being of Scottish descent, I opted for the leftovers – and struck gold! I was lucky enough to find five flakes in the bottom of my pan.
A drive to the lookout on Towers Hill gave us a great view of the surrounding countryside, as well as the fire department fighting a fair-sized grass fire at the bottom of the hill. Towers Hill is covered with abandoned mine shafts and ammunition bunkers (World War 2 ammunition dump), lots of rocks, supposedly rock wallabies and probably snakes.
When we arrived at 11.00am, we thought the caravan park was virtually empty. It has filled up in the last hour – incredible.
Sunday, 24 August 2008
Townsville Market
24 August – Sunday
Not discussing football today!!! Another beautiful day in the tropics, although with a bit of high cloud, the temperature only reached about 25.
This morning we headed for the much publicised Sunday market in the Flinders Mall. Lots and lots of jewellery – bead earrings, necklaces and bracelets mostly – handmade soaps, crafts, fruit and vegetables. Unfortunately, most of the produce was sold out by 10.00am but we did manage to get some avocadoes and tomatoes. How were are going to miss the avocadoes when we head south – the local ones are just delicious, much creamier and a completely different flavour to supermarket fruit. Red paw paw has become another favourite, although much harder to find than the normal yellow.
The Olympics finish today and while the coverage has been rather drawn out with station promos and advertisements, there have been some wonderful moments In the last couple of days, the gold medals for the pole vault and diving were definite highlights.
Not discussing football today!!! Another beautiful day in the tropics, although with a bit of high cloud, the temperature only reached about 25.
This morning we headed for the much publicised Sunday market in the Flinders Mall. Lots and lots of jewellery – bead earrings, necklaces and bracelets mostly – handmade soaps, crafts, fruit and vegetables. Unfortunately, most of the produce was sold out by 10.00am but we did manage to get some avocadoes and tomatoes. How were are going to miss the avocadoes when we head south – the local ones are just delicious, much creamier and a completely different flavour to supermarket fruit. Red paw paw has become another favourite, although much harder to find than the normal yellow.
The Olympics finish today and while the coverage has been rather drawn out with station promos and advertisements, there have been some wonderful moments In the last couple of days, the gold medals for the pole vault and diving were definite highlights.
Saturday, 23 August 2008
Boats
23 August – Saturday
Today we undertook a sea voyage to Magnetic Island. Fortunately, it only took about 20 minutes and the big cat handled the smooth conditions without trouble. We then took the local bus from the ferry terminal to Horseshoe Bay. Magnetic Island is just beautiful, with fabulous rock formations and stunning sandy (real sand!) beaches. Horseshoe Bay is very sheltered, with lots of yachts anchored close to the beach. (We talked to one yachtie who spends 6 months of the year on his boat at Magnetic Island, then sails it to Gladstone and returns to Melbourne for the other 6 months.
There are lots of watercraft for hire – catamarans, sea kayaks, skidoos, peddle boats, even rides in big rings towed behind a boat. After much thought and discussion, we finally settled on a ride in a peddle boat. The nice man told us we might see some turtles, but he completely forgot to mention the large number of green ants residing in the craft! Evidently crocodiles aren’t a problem here, only stingers, and the surf club had the stinger net out so tourists could have a swim in safety. Even though the weather was sunny and hot, I did consider a water temperature of 21 to be a little too cool.
We did consider walking to Balding Bay, but the track was about 2 kms of beach sand and extremely hot, so sat on some rocks and talked to a young Swiss lady for half an hour. I think Les probably enjoyed this more than he would have the walk.
The return journey to the ferry terminal took us through some of the local houses at Arcadia. It is surprising just how many people live on Magnetic. I’m sure Captain Cook was impressed too.
Today we undertook a sea voyage to Magnetic Island. Fortunately, it only took about 20 minutes and the big cat handled the smooth conditions without trouble. We then took the local bus from the ferry terminal to Horseshoe Bay. Magnetic Island is just beautiful, with fabulous rock formations and stunning sandy (real sand!) beaches. Horseshoe Bay is very sheltered, with lots of yachts anchored close to the beach. (We talked to one yachtie who spends 6 months of the year on his boat at Magnetic Island, then sails it to Gladstone and returns to Melbourne for the other 6 months.
There are lots of watercraft for hire – catamarans, sea kayaks, skidoos, peddle boats, even rides in big rings towed behind a boat. After much thought and discussion, we finally settled on a ride in a peddle boat. The nice man told us we might see some turtles, but he completely forgot to mention the large number of green ants residing in the craft! Evidently crocodiles aren’t a problem here, only stingers, and the surf club had the stinger net out so tourists could have a swim in safety. Even though the weather was sunny and hot, I did consider a water temperature of 21 to be a little too cool.
We did consider walking to Balding Bay, but the track was about 2 kms of beach sand and extremely hot, so sat on some rocks and talked to a young Swiss lady for half an hour. I think Les probably enjoyed this more than he would have the walk.
The return journey to the ferry terminal took us through some of the local houses at Arcadia. It is surprising just how many people live on Magnetic. I’m sure Captain Cook was impressed too.
Friday, 22 August 2008
Townsville Revisited
22 August – Friday
Left the dog capital of Australia early this morning – Kurrimine Beach is also the place where everyone owns an old, red, rusty Massey Ferguson tractor as well as a car – and headed south for Townsville. Very warm, humid and cloudy when we left.
Tully to Ingham would have to be the bumpiest section of highway we have travelled on, and it hasn’t improved in the last five weeks either! Lots of traffic on the road, including hundreds of motor bikes heading north. Perhaps there is a motor bike convention in Cairns this weekend.
We decided not to stay in the caravan park at the end of the Townsville Airport’s runway and opted for a park on the outskirts. The Big 4 Woodlands Caravan Park would appear to be okay from our first impressions, although it is close to the main highway and railway. Most of the caravan sites have ensuites, but as we have our own, we have an open, grassy site with little shade. It was 34 degrees in the shade under our awning after lunch – a bit hot. We have actually turned the air conditioner on this afternoon! There are a couple of monstrous American style motor homes next to us, both towing large 4WD vehicles.
The flies followed us.
Left the dog capital of Australia early this morning – Kurrimine Beach is also the place where everyone owns an old, red, rusty Massey Ferguson tractor as well as a car – and headed south for Townsville. Very warm, humid and cloudy when we left.
Tully to Ingham would have to be the bumpiest section of highway we have travelled on, and it hasn’t improved in the last five weeks either! Lots of traffic on the road, including hundreds of motor bikes heading north. Perhaps there is a motor bike convention in Cairns this weekend.
We decided not to stay in the caravan park at the end of the Townsville Airport’s runway and opted for a park on the outskirts. The Big 4 Woodlands Caravan Park would appear to be okay from our first impressions, although it is close to the main highway and railway. Most of the caravan sites have ensuites, but as we have our own, we have an open, grassy site with little shade. It was 34 degrees in the shade under our awning after lunch – a bit hot. We have actually turned the air conditioner on this afternoon! There are a couple of monstrous American style motor homes next to us, both towing large 4WD vehicles.
The flies followed us.
Thursday, 21 August 2008
Flies
21 August – Thursday
A rest day at Kurrimine Beach today. At last the wind has dropped but it is cloudy and VERY humid. Of course, being close to the beach and humid, there are also FLIES! They hide under the door step and just wait for the door to be opened – then in they come in droves. They are also immune to fly spray.
Apart from chase flies, we haven’t really done very much today. A long walk along the beach was the morning’s activity and the afternoon was spent catching up on reading – and chasing flies!
I think we must be the only people in this caravan park without a dog (perhaps crocodiles are a big problem here???). Even though they are only little ones, there are an awful lot of them. Meg, from next door, will creep under the caravan for a visit if you owners aren’t about, but Molly, across the road, is kept in her playpen.
Off to Townsville tomorrow – the pace a Kurrimine Beach is too much for Les.
A rest day at Kurrimine Beach today. At last the wind has dropped but it is cloudy and VERY humid. Of course, being close to the beach and humid, there are also FLIES! They hide under the door step and just wait for the door to be opened – then in they come in droves. They are also immune to fly spray.
Apart from chase flies, we haven’t really done very much today. A long walk along the beach was the morning’s activity and the afternoon was spent catching up on reading – and chasing flies!
I think we must be the only people in this caravan park without a dog (perhaps crocodiles are a big problem here???). Even though they are only little ones, there are an awful lot of them. Meg, from next door, will creep under the caravan for a visit if you owners aren’t about, but Molly, across the road, is kept in her playpen.
Off to Townsville tomorrow – the pace a Kurrimine Beach is too much for Les.
Wednesday, 20 August 2008
Gumboots
20 August – Wednesday
Two months since we left home. The weather today is a bit iffy, cloudy, breezy and a bit cooler, about 23 degrees.
We had a drive to Mission Beach this morning – a fair amount of development going on in the area, complete with a big, new Woolworths and service station (diesel $1.61). We thought South Mission Beach was nicer, with the street running along the beachfront and some very nice houses in this area. Although there were no shops at South Mission Beach, apart from the small one at the caravan park, it wasn’t very far to the supermarket.
Mission Beach is famous for cassowaries and there were plenty of roadside warning signs. Unfortunately, their rainforest habitat is fast disappearing because of all the development.
We continued to Tully, climbed up the big gumboot and looked at the sugar mill, which is in full swing at the moment. The gumboot is the height of the rainfall Tully received in 1950 – 7.90 metres!
We made a detour into Silkwood on our return. Not much happens in Silkwood – there is a pub and police station.
Two months since we left home. The weather today is a bit iffy, cloudy, breezy and a bit cooler, about 23 degrees.
We had a drive to Mission Beach this morning – a fair amount of development going on in the area, complete with a big, new Woolworths and service station (diesel $1.61). We thought South Mission Beach was nicer, with the street running along the beachfront and some very nice houses in this area. Although there were no shops at South Mission Beach, apart from the small one at the caravan park, it wasn’t very far to the supermarket.
Mission Beach is famous for cassowaries and there were plenty of roadside warning signs. Unfortunately, their rainforest habitat is fast disappearing because of all the development.
We continued to Tully, climbed up the big gumboot and looked at the sugar mill, which is in full swing at the moment. The gumboot is the height of the rainfall Tully received in 1950 – 7.90 metres!
We made a detour into Silkwood on our return. Not much happens in Silkwood – there is a pub and police station.
Tuesday, 19 August 2008
Kurrimine Beach
19 August – Tuesday
We left cold Atherton behind this morning and headed down the big hill to Kurrimine Beach. The 14 degrees of Atherton very quickly increased to 24 degrees as we came down the hill (nearly 900 metres). We had a quick stop at Malanda to look at another waterfall. This one was right on the edge of town, wasn’t very high, but the pool at the bottom had been developed into a proper swimming pool, complete with a sandy beach entry. Although no one seemed to be very interested in swimming this morning, I’m sure it is a very popular sight in summer. We also had another short stop to look at the Johnstone River (famous for white water rafting, and freshwater crocodiles) through the rainforest. We also drove through an area of forest inhabited by tree kangaroos – very privileged tree kangaroos as they had about six rope bridges across the road between the trees.
We are now at Kurrimine Beach for three nights before heading to Townsville. Kurrimine is just north of Mission Beach and no where near as commercialised. In fact, it is a small village with a pub and a service station, and two small caravan parks. We are only one block from the beach, which does give us a bit of protection from the wind. The beach is very long and we probably wont manage to walk the length of it. No swimming of course, - stingers and crocodiles.
Getting the caravan onto the site was rather interesting as the area for the caravan was quite narrow, with palm trees on one side and a raised concrete slab on the other. We had given up and were going to look for another site when a bloke ambled up and said he would go and get the tractor and put the caravan in for us. The back of the caravan is in the bushes and the door is only just over the concrete. It was a little bit stressful.
We left cold Atherton behind this morning and headed down the big hill to Kurrimine Beach. The 14 degrees of Atherton very quickly increased to 24 degrees as we came down the hill (nearly 900 metres). We had a quick stop at Malanda to look at another waterfall. This one was right on the edge of town, wasn’t very high, but the pool at the bottom had been developed into a proper swimming pool, complete with a sandy beach entry. Although no one seemed to be very interested in swimming this morning, I’m sure it is a very popular sight in summer. We also had another short stop to look at the Johnstone River (famous for white water rafting, and freshwater crocodiles) through the rainforest. We also drove through an area of forest inhabited by tree kangaroos – very privileged tree kangaroos as they had about six rope bridges across the road between the trees.
We are now at Kurrimine Beach for three nights before heading to Townsville. Kurrimine is just north of Mission Beach and no where near as commercialised. In fact, it is a small village with a pub and a service station, and two small caravan parks. We are only one block from the beach, which does give us a bit of protection from the wind. The beach is very long and we probably wont manage to walk the length of it. No swimming of course, - stingers and crocodiles.
Getting the caravan onto the site was rather interesting as the area for the caravan was quite narrow, with palm trees on one side and a raised concrete slab on the other. We had given up and were going to look for another site when a bloke ambled up and said he would go and get the tractor and put the caravan in for us. The back of the caravan is in the bushes and the door is only just over the concrete. It was a little bit stressful.
Monday, 18 August 2008
Granite Gorge
18 August – Monday
Yesterday evening we partook of a spot of birdwatching – again – at Hastie Swamp, just down the road. This lagoon has been well set up with a large hide and pictures of birds which may be seen. We spotted quite a few, along with some very large mosquitoes. However, the Bushman’s worked fabulously! We were lucky enough to have a kingfisher working directly in front of the hide – what a beautiful blue these birds are. The bonus of the evening would certainly have been the platypus swimming around the edge of the water near the hide.
Maintenance morning today – hairdresser and housework. This afternoon we made the trip to Granite Gorge, believing the glossy brochure. It was a nice drive across the Tablelands but the Gorge was a little different to the photos. The area was dry bushland with huge rocks sticking out of the ground, and no doubt, lots of snakes just waiting for unsuspecting tourists. All the people there were dressed in full bushwalking gear and boots and as we were only wearing light footwear, decided to give the rocks a miss.
The journey home did produce a roadside banana stall selling bags of 8 bananas for $2.
Yesterday evening we partook of a spot of birdwatching – again – at Hastie Swamp, just down the road. This lagoon has been well set up with a large hide and pictures of birds which may be seen. We spotted quite a few, along with some very large mosquitoes. However, the Bushman’s worked fabulously! We were lucky enough to have a kingfisher working directly in front of the hide – what a beautiful blue these birds are. The bonus of the evening would certainly have been the platypus swimming around the edge of the water near the hide.
Maintenance morning today – hairdresser and housework. This afternoon we made the trip to Granite Gorge, believing the glossy brochure. It was a nice drive across the Tablelands but the Gorge was a little different to the photos. The area was dry bushland with huge rocks sticking out of the ground, and no doubt, lots of snakes just waiting for unsuspecting tourists. All the people there were dressed in full bushwalking gear and boots and as we were only wearing light footwear, decided to give the rocks a miss.
The journey home did produce a roadside banana stall selling bags of 8 bananas for $2.
I wish Tasmania would keep its southerly winds and not send them to Queensland! Very cold here today - only reached 20 degrees.
The photo is Lake Eacham.
Sunday, 17 August 2008
Lakes
17 August – Sunday
A beautiful sunny and clear day, but a little cooler at about 22-23 degrees.
This afternoon we headed to Yungaburra and the Curtain Fig Tree was our first stop. This tree just keeps getting bigger and bigger. The raised walkway helps keep tourists from touching (or breaking bits off) the strangler fig, and also keeps the snakes on the ground well away.
Lake Barrine, with its tea house, made us think of life in the 1920’s and 1930’s, with Devonshire teas on the lawn for the residents of Cairns who escape to the Tablelands during the summer. A short walk through the rainforest (with a male leading!) took us to two giant kauri pines which had managed to survive the loggers of years ago.
The next lake was Lake Eacham, another crater lake, but completely different. No tea house here, but lovely barbecue areas and steps into the lake for those brave (or silly) enough to swim in the cold waters. We didn’t do the 4 km walk around the lake, but did make it to the turtle bay. The saw edged turtle is rather unique in that not only does it breath through its mouth, it can actually breath through its bottom! Don’t ask how, just believe me.
A beautiful sunny and clear day, but a little cooler at about 22-23 degrees.
This afternoon we headed to Yungaburra and the Curtain Fig Tree was our first stop. This tree just keeps getting bigger and bigger. The raised walkway helps keep tourists from touching (or breaking bits off) the strangler fig, and also keeps the snakes on the ground well away.
Lake Barrine, with its tea house, made us think of life in the 1920’s and 1930’s, with Devonshire teas on the lawn for the residents of Cairns who escape to the Tablelands during the summer. A short walk through the rainforest (with a male leading!) took us to two giant kauri pines which had managed to survive the loggers of years ago.
The next lake was Lake Eacham, another crater lake, but completely different. No tea house here, but lovely barbecue areas and steps into the lake for those brave (or silly) enough to swim in the cold waters. We didn’t do the 4 km walk around the lake, but did make it to the turtle bay. The saw edged turtle is rather unique in that not only does it breath through its mouth, it can actually breath through its bottom! Don’t ask how, just believe me.
Saturday, 16 August 2008
Waterfalls
16 August – Saturday
Another big day being tourists. We started before we even drove out of the caravan park by taking a walk to the site of the 19th Century Chinese camp. All that remains of the camp is the temple and lots of archaeological remains.
Then it was off to Malanda for our first stop at their monthly market and stocked up on lettuce, avocadoes, red paw paw and a few books. The weather was absolutely beautiful, warm and clear. After Malanda, we called into the Nerada Tea Plantation, which was a little bit different to the coffee plantation of the previous day. The countryside on the Atherton Tableland is very similar to the north west coast of Tasmania – very deep, red soil, a large farming area – dairy and beef herds, sugar, potatoes, peanuts, some citrus and mangoes.
Lunch stop was at Millaa Millaa, a much smaller place than the big dot on the map would have us believe, before we headed off on the waterfall circuit. The Millaa Millaa Falls were the first of three and were just amazing – picture postcard perfect, apart from two female backpackers who made sure they put themselves in everyones’ photos. We could only walk into the top of the second falls, but the third lot required a hike down a very steep hill to view them from the bottom. Very nice falls, but a loooong climb back up the hill.
After the falls we headed to Mt Hypipama National Park and a crater formed by gas during a volcanic explosion a long time ago. Of course, there was another waterfall to see here too, at the bottom of an even steeper hill and a narrow, twisty, stony, rooty path without any guard rail. Not only did I have to worry about the usual jungle snakes but there was a big warning sign about cassowaries in the area (these can be very dangerous too). I was in the lead on the track (big mistake) when someone suddenly grabbed me and said, “STAND STILL!” Obviously, there must have been a big snake in front of me, so I did my best to climb on the back of the nearest person, who wasn’t very happy. Turned out there was a little mouse on the track and someone was worried that I might have scared it! Discussion ensued.
After all that walking up and down hills, the caravan and nibbles were a welcome sight.
Another big day being tourists. We started before we even drove out of the caravan park by taking a walk to the site of the 19th Century Chinese camp. All that remains of the camp is the temple and lots of archaeological remains.
Then it was off to Malanda for our first stop at their monthly market and stocked up on lettuce, avocadoes, red paw paw and a few books. The weather was absolutely beautiful, warm and clear. After Malanda, we called into the Nerada Tea Plantation, which was a little bit different to the coffee plantation of the previous day. The countryside on the Atherton Tableland is very similar to the north west coast of Tasmania – very deep, red soil, a large farming area – dairy and beef herds, sugar, potatoes, peanuts, some citrus and mangoes.
Lunch stop was at Millaa Millaa, a much smaller place than the big dot on the map would have us believe, before we headed off on the waterfall circuit. The Millaa Millaa Falls were the first of three and were just amazing – picture postcard perfect, apart from two female backpackers who made sure they put themselves in everyones’ photos. We could only walk into the top of the second falls, but the third lot required a hike down a very steep hill to view them from the bottom. Very nice falls, but a loooong climb back up the hill.
After the falls we headed to Mt Hypipama National Park and a crater formed by gas during a volcanic explosion a long time ago. Of course, there was another waterfall to see here too, at the bottom of an even steeper hill and a narrow, twisty, stony, rooty path without any guard rail. Not only did I have to worry about the usual jungle snakes but there was a big warning sign about cassowaries in the area (these can be very dangerous too). I was in the lead on the track (big mistake) when someone suddenly grabbed me and said, “STAND STILL!” Obviously, there must have been a big snake in front of me, so I did my best to climb on the back of the nearest person, who wasn’t very happy. Turned out there was a little mouse on the track and someone was worried that I might have scared it! Discussion ensued.
After all that walking up and down hills, the caravan and nibbles were a welcome sight.
Friday, 15 August 2008
Coffee
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.
Thursday, 14 August 2008
The Lion's Den
14 August – Thursday
Barefoot bowls at Cooktown was definitely an experience. Twenty people turned up to play and I think we were the only two people who played without a beer and cigarette in our hands. It was also quite challenging playing in gale force winds – or just a breeze, as we were told. Anyway, our team did well and won the lucky draw of winning teams – we won free entry for next week! Les won a stubby holder for getting his bowl (bowled backwards through his legs) closest to the crocodile. Everyone was very hospitable, and laid back, and we enjoyed our evening.
Today we left the wind behind and headed south for Atherton. We had travelled this road on the way to Cooktown but did make a 4 km detour to the Lion’s Den Hotel, on the Bloomfield Track. This means we can now truthfully say we have driven on the Bloomfield. At 9.00am, the hotel was open for business, although we were the only ones there and didn’t buy anything. The hotel is well known, is a tin shed and decorated inside by customers. Quite fascinating.
We stopped at Mareeba for lunch and a visit to the information centre, before heading to the Big 4 Caravan Park at Atherton. This is a nice caravan park, with lots of bush and birds, no crocodiles, but I’m sure there must be snakes about. There is also free wifi internet, which is fast and works well.
Question to ponder: How many termites are there in Australia? There must be millions of termite mounds, both great big ones and little, pointy ones.
Barefoot bowls at Cooktown was definitely an experience. Twenty people turned up to play and I think we were the only two people who played without a beer and cigarette in our hands. It was also quite challenging playing in gale force winds – or just a breeze, as we were told. Anyway, our team did well and won the lucky draw of winning teams – we won free entry for next week! Les won a stubby holder for getting his bowl (bowled backwards through his legs) closest to the crocodile. Everyone was very hospitable, and laid back, and we enjoyed our evening.
Today we left the wind behind and headed south for Atherton. We had travelled this road on the way to Cooktown but did make a 4 km detour to the Lion’s Den Hotel, on the Bloomfield Track. This means we can now truthfully say we have driven on the Bloomfield. At 9.00am, the hotel was open for business, although we were the only ones there and didn’t buy anything. The hotel is well known, is a tin shed and decorated inside by customers. Quite fascinating.
We stopped at Mareeba for lunch and a visit to the information centre, before heading to the Big 4 Caravan Park at Atherton. This is a nice caravan park, with lots of bush and birds, no crocodiles, but I’m sure there must be snakes about. There is also free wifi internet, which is fast and works well.
Question to ponder: How many termites are there in Australia? There must be millions of termite mounds, both great big ones and little, pointy ones.
Wednesday, 13 August 2008
A Proper Crocodile
13 August – Wednesday
Another fine and extremely windy day – we will be glad to leave the wind behind.
This morning we set up to travel even further north towards Cape York (well, about 50 kms) and were very surprised at the countryside. No savannah and the jungle had been cleared to make proper farming land. What we considered to be lots of feed in the paddocks, a local lady informed us was insufficient for the 57 beef cattle they ran on their property and were hand feeding hay! I think our Tasmanian cows would have been very happy.
The big excitement of the day happened quite early – WE SAW A PROPER CROCODILE IN THE WILD!!! We stopped in the middle of a bridge over the Endeavour River (not much traffic around) and I spotted a crocodile sunning itself on a log – not a little crocodile either. It was so exciting. I also made the mistake of leaning against the bridge railings – my white t-shirt now has lovely ochre stripes across the front.
We stopped at Endeavour Falls (notice the theme in names in this area???) and had a short walk through more leaf litter to get to the river bank. The sign did assure us there more no crocodiles, sandflies or mosquitoes – it was wrong about the mossies.
We continued towards Isabella Falls and hit our first red dust – and it is definitely red. To get to the falls we had to drive through the river across the top of the falls. Some discussion ensured about walking the track through the water and I stated quite categorically that if someone wanted the track walked, he could walk it himself! The three place car parking area was completely occupied by one vehicle parked right across the area. There were four “backpackers,” complete with dreadlocks, standing around but as one of the blokes was holding a very large cane knife, we didn’t mutter about lack of consideration or give them dirty looks. However, when one of the blokes said they were going for a swim, I quietly told him to watch out for crocs. I didn’t tell him that from a hygiene point of view, the swim was an excellent idea! Leslie thought it would be nice to have a photo of him driving through the ford, so while I stood in the middle of the falls (on a rock), he drove backwards and forwards so I could get a photo.
This afternoon we headed south, with the first stop at Keating’s Lagoon. The wild pigs had made rather a mess of one end, but the clear water in the centre contained lots of waterlilies and looked very pretty. There was the usual warning sign about crocodiles, of course. What with the track cleared right beside the swampy section of the lagoon, there was plenty to worry about on the walk to the bird hide. Crocodiles, wild pigs, snakes, death adders in the leaf litter on the path and the mossies had to be seen to be believed. As soon as I stepped out of the car, word went out that lunch had arrived! When we finally arrived at the hide, after meeting a little boy who was very excited at just seeing a snake, there was only one little duck to be seen.
We continued on to Archer Point, about 10 kms off the main road and on the coast. Very wild area, and weather. A bit more practise at 4WD for Les as we climbed the hill to the lighthouse for some pretty spectacular views. The beaches in this area were more like grey sand/mud, with plenty of mangroves – and crocodiles, of course. The wind was so strong we struggled to stand up.
Tonight we are off to barefoot bowls, which should be interesting.
Another fine and extremely windy day – we will be glad to leave the wind behind.
This morning we set up to travel even further north towards Cape York (well, about 50 kms) and were very surprised at the countryside. No savannah and the jungle had been cleared to make proper farming land. What we considered to be lots of feed in the paddocks, a local lady informed us was insufficient for the 57 beef cattle they ran on their property and were hand feeding hay! I think our Tasmanian cows would have been very happy.
The big excitement of the day happened quite early – WE SAW A PROPER CROCODILE IN THE WILD!!! We stopped in the middle of a bridge over the Endeavour River (not much traffic around) and I spotted a crocodile sunning itself on a log – not a little crocodile either. It was so exciting. I also made the mistake of leaning against the bridge railings – my white t-shirt now has lovely ochre stripes across the front.
We stopped at Endeavour Falls (notice the theme in names in this area???) and had a short walk through more leaf litter to get to the river bank. The sign did assure us there more no crocodiles, sandflies or mosquitoes – it was wrong about the mossies.
We continued towards Isabella Falls and hit our first red dust – and it is definitely red. To get to the falls we had to drive through the river across the top of the falls. Some discussion ensured about walking the track through the water and I stated quite categorically that if someone wanted the track walked, he could walk it himself! The three place car parking area was completely occupied by one vehicle parked right across the area. There were four “backpackers,” complete with dreadlocks, standing around but as one of the blokes was holding a very large cane knife, we didn’t mutter about lack of consideration or give them dirty looks. However, when one of the blokes said they were going for a swim, I quietly told him to watch out for crocs. I didn’t tell him that from a hygiene point of view, the swim was an excellent idea! Leslie thought it would be nice to have a photo of him driving through the ford, so while I stood in the middle of the falls (on a rock), he drove backwards and forwards so I could get a photo.
This afternoon we headed south, with the first stop at Keating’s Lagoon. The wild pigs had made rather a mess of one end, but the clear water in the centre contained lots of waterlilies and looked very pretty. There was the usual warning sign about crocodiles, of course. What with the track cleared right beside the swampy section of the lagoon, there was plenty to worry about on the walk to the bird hide. Crocodiles, wild pigs, snakes, death adders in the leaf litter on the path and the mossies had to be seen to be believed. As soon as I stepped out of the car, word went out that lunch had arrived! When we finally arrived at the hide, after meeting a little boy who was very excited at just seeing a snake, there was only one little duck to be seen.
We continued on to Archer Point, about 10 kms off the main road and on the coast. Very wild area, and weather. A bit more practise at 4WD for Les as we climbed the hill to the lighthouse for some pretty spectacular views. The beaches in this area were more like grey sand/mud, with plenty of mangroves – and crocodiles, of course. The wind was so strong we struggled to stand up.
Tonight we are off to barefoot bowls, which should be interesting.
Tuesday, 12 August 2008
Captain Cook
12 August – Tuesday
In case any of you have been wondering, it is windy for six months of the year in Cooktown. For the other six months, it is wet and windy. It just blows a gale the whole day, day and night – no sea breezes that start about lunch time and settle at dusk! Even Captain Cook mentioned the incessant wind in his journal.
Cooktown is a small country town, with one bakery, newsagent, small supermarket, school, coffee shop, a couple of souvenir shops and restaurants, about twelve streets, many motels and Captain Cook. Our first port of call this morning was
Grassy Hill, which overlooks the mouth of the Endeavour River and the Great Barrier Reef, just off-shore. Cook also visited this spot a number of times to try to find a way through the reef. It was very windy. The track up the hill started out okay, rapidly gave way to gravel, then rocky – we ended up in 4WD. The views were certainly worth the effort.
After returning to the CBD of Cooktown (little joke there!), we did a wharfie (popular pastime with the locals evidently), parked and walked the Captain Cook trail. The landing site of the “Endeavour” is marked with a cairn, there is also the obligatory statue of Cook, plus a memorial. Also along the esplanade was a statue of a miner to represent the mining history of the district, and a wonderful musical boat. Leslie had a lovely time playing in this, banging all the various percussion instruments!
Of course, the main attraction is the Captain Cook Museum (surprise, surprise), which is housed in an old convent. The museum had a large section on Cook and contained a cannon and anchor from the “Endeavour” which were jettisoned after the ship struck the reef. The history of Cooktown was covered with displays featuring the indigenous people, the Chinese, the gold rush, local identities and, of course, the history of the convent itself.
After lunch, we discovered a white lipped green tree frog having an afternoon nap on the arm of a chair in the small barbecue area next to our caravan. Following a quick chat, which took nearly two hours, with our next door neighbours, we set out for the Botanical Gardens. These were established about 1880, not only to give the locals a nice place to have afternoon tea on their way to Finch Bay, but also a way to get rid of the Chinese market gardens. After this, no doubt the locals paid a fortune for vegetables to be shipped in! The gardens were rather interesting, with a combination of natural bush and cultivated plantings. A few scrub turkeys kept the ground cultivated and a mob of wallabies kept the grass under control. Unfortunately, the paths were covered with leaf litter, which meant having to worry about death adders as well as all the other snakes!!!
After leaving the gardens we drove to Finch Bay, braved the crocodile warnings to walk to the beach and were greeted by a couple of very friendly cane farmers from southern Queensland. While we learnt all about cane farming and subsequent problems, I was nearly in need of a blood transfusion after being discovered by the sandflies. We eventually made it to the beach, which was a beautiful bay complete with mangrove river (and crocodiles), and felt much safer as there was a lady with two dogs there as well. (Crocodiles eat dogs before people, in case you were wondering.)
The weather has been most unpleasant today, apart from the wind. Whilst it has only been about 26 degrees and not humid, we both found the day to be very draining. At least it isn’t frosty or snowing!
In case any of you have been wondering, it is windy for six months of the year in Cooktown. For the other six months, it is wet and windy. It just blows a gale the whole day, day and night – no sea breezes that start about lunch time and settle at dusk! Even Captain Cook mentioned the incessant wind in his journal.
Cooktown is a small country town, with one bakery, newsagent, small supermarket, school, coffee shop, a couple of souvenir shops and restaurants, about twelve streets, many motels and Captain Cook. Our first port of call this morning was
Grassy Hill, which overlooks the mouth of the Endeavour River and the Great Barrier Reef, just off-shore. Cook also visited this spot a number of times to try to find a way through the reef. It was very windy. The track up the hill started out okay, rapidly gave way to gravel, then rocky – we ended up in 4WD. The views were certainly worth the effort.After returning to the CBD of Cooktown (little joke there!), we did a wharfie (popular pastime with the locals evidently), parked and walked the Captain Cook trail. The landing site of the “Endeavour” is marked with a cairn, there is also the obligatory statue of Cook, plus a memorial. Also along the esplanade was a statue of a miner to represent the mining history of the district, and a wonderful musical boat. Leslie had a lovely time playing in this, banging all the various percussion instruments!
Of course, the main attraction is the Captain Cook Museum (surprise, surprise), which is housed in an old convent. The museum had a large section on Cook and contained a cannon and anchor from the “Endeavour” which were jettisoned after the ship struck the reef. The history of Cooktown was covered with displays featuring the indigenous people, the Chinese, the gold rush, local identities and, of course, the history of the convent itself.
After lunch, we discovered a white lipped green tree frog having an afternoon nap on the arm of a chair in the small barbecue area next to our caravan. Following a quick chat, which took nearly two hours, with our next door neighbours, we set out for the Botanical Gardens. These were established about 1880, not only to give the locals a nice place to have afternoon tea on their way to Finch Bay, but also a way to get rid of the Chinese market gardens. After this, no doubt the locals paid a fortune for vegetables to be shipped in! The gardens were rather interesting, with a combination of natural bush and cultivated plantings. A few scrub turkeys kept the ground cultivated and a mob of wallabies kept the grass under control. Unfortunately, the paths were covered with leaf litter, which meant having to worry about death adders as well as all the other snakes!!!
After leaving the gardens we drove to Finch Bay, braved the crocodile warnings to walk to the beach and were greeted by a couple of very friendly cane farmers from southern Queensland. While we learnt all about cane farming and subsequent problems, I was nearly in need of a blood transfusion after being discovered by the sandflies. We eventually made it to the beach, which was a beautiful bay complete with mangrove river (and crocodiles), and felt much safer as there was a lady with two dogs there as well. (Crocodiles eat dogs before people, in case you were wondering.)
The weather has been most unpleasant today, apart from the wind. Whilst it has only been about 26 degrees and not humid, we both found the day to be very draining. At least it isn’t frosty or snowing!
Monday, 11 August 2008
Off to Cooktown
11 August – Monday
Yesterday evening saw the bocce championships held to determine who would have the bottle of wine won at the trivia night. It took nearly two hours of oohs, aahs and laughter to finally come up with the winning couple – US! The wine cellar now contains three bottles.
This morning saw us pack up with regret at leaving Cairns. The road to Cooktown travels along the coast past Port Douglas and turns inland shortly before Mossman. This is a very twisty and bumpy section (don’t know why the resorts at Port Douglas haven’t complained about it!) and with the caravan bouncing behind, the car quickly developed a pitching motion. This, combined with the windy road, didn’t make for very pleasant travelling, and I think someone else was quite pleased when I called for a halt before we reached the Port Douglas turnoff. After a rest, walk around and a bickie to settle the tummies, we headed inland towards Mt Molloy – entirely new country for us.
The road climbed fairly quickly, with some pretty good views over Mossman, before flattening out and travelling through rainforest before we came to Mt Carbine, an old wolfram mine. After this, it was tropical savannah – exactly what we imagine the bush/outback to be, red hills, low trees and reddish grass. Fabulous scenery, so different to what we have seen so far. The road was great, wide, good service and fairly flat most of the time – someone was noticed driving without using his feet at times! Given the large number of gullies, the size of them, plus the enormous culverts under the road, the rain must really bucket down during the wet. Of course, there is no water in the creeks, but one river did have a few water holes.
We passed a lot of cattle and a number of horses – no fences to keep them in. One cow had obviously had a meeting with a vehicle and was now keeping a large population of crows very happy. We stopped at a beautiful waterhole, complete with water lilies, and braved the local snake population to get a closer look.
Shortly before reaching Cooktown was the Black Mountain National Park. This mountain is very aptly named, being large granite boulders which look black because of an algae growing on them. Over the years, the clay which was between the boulders has washed away, and the rocks are now just sitting there. Very spectacular and definitely off limits.
Cooktown looks like it will be an interesting little town to wander about, with more than enough sightseeing to keep us amused for the next two days. The Cooktown Holiday Park is also very nice, with large grassy sites – we even have a couple of banana trees (complete with bananas) on our site. The amenities block is something different to what we have seen so far – no ladies’ and men’s sections, just individual bathrooms with shower, toilet and vanity.
The weather today – hot and clear, but a bit on the windy side at Cooktown.
Yesterday evening saw the bocce championships held to determine who would have the bottle of wine won at the trivia night. It took nearly two hours of oohs, aahs and laughter to finally come up with the winning couple – US! The wine cellar now contains three bottles.
This morning saw us pack up with regret at leaving Cairns. The road to Cooktown travels along the coast past Port Douglas and turns inland shortly before Mossman. This is a very twisty and bumpy section (don’t know why the resorts at Port Douglas haven’t complained about it!) and with the caravan bouncing behind, the car quickly developed a pitching motion. This, combined with the windy road, didn’t make for very pleasant travelling, and I think someone else was quite pleased when I called for a halt before we reached the Port Douglas turnoff. After a rest, walk around and a bickie to settle the tummies, we headed inland towards Mt Molloy – entirely new country for us.
The road climbed fairly quickly, with some pretty good views over Mossman, before flattening out and travelling through rainforest before we came to Mt Carbine, an old wolfram mine. After this, it was tropical savannah – exactly what we imagine the bush/outback to be, red hills, low trees and reddish grass. Fabulous scenery, so different to what we have seen so far. The road was great, wide, good service and fairly flat most of the time – someone was noticed driving without using his feet at times! Given the large number of gullies, the size of them, plus the enormous culverts under the road, the rain must really bucket down during the wet. Of course, there is no water in the creeks, but one river did have a few water holes.
We passed a lot of cattle and a number of horses – no fences to keep them in. One cow had obviously had a meeting with a vehicle and was now keeping a large population of crows very happy. We stopped at a beautiful waterhole, complete with water lilies, and braved the local snake population to get a closer look.
Shortly before reaching Cooktown was the Black Mountain National Park. This mountain is very aptly named, being large granite boulders which look black because of an algae growing on them. Over the years, the clay which was between the boulders has washed away, and the rocks are now just sitting there. Very spectacular and definitely off limits.
Cooktown looks like it will be an interesting little town to wander about, with more than enough sightseeing to keep us amused for the next two days. The Cooktown Holiday Park is also very nice, with large grassy sites – we even have a couple of banana trees (complete with bananas) on our site. The amenities block is something different to what we have seen so far – no ladies’ and men’s sections, just individual bathrooms with shower, toilet and vanity.
The weather today – hot and clear, but a bit on the windy side at Cooktown.
Sunday, 10 August 2008
Night Market
10 July – Sunday
Last night we finally made it to the Night Markets – it only took as three weeks to get there! How to describe them? Well, if one is a tourist, then one should be able to find a souvenir or t-shirt without too much trouble. Bling would also seem to be very popular, given the large number of sparkly jewellery on offer. The highlight of the markets would be runny the gauntlet of Chinese massagers – one young lady in particular tried to be extremely persuasive, but we did resist the urge. I much prefer my massages to be in private, not fully clothed in the middle of an extremely busy market.
The Swans seem determined to have some nail-biting finishes – it was rather a relief probably that their match wasn’t televised.
Very hot and still today but not at all humid, thank goodness. Another visit to Rusty’s Market this morning to stock up on fruit and vegetables for the week but, unfortunately, couldn’t find a book I wanted to read. Hopefully, we might find another market this week with secondhand books.
The remainder of the day was spent thinking about preparing for tomorrow’s move to Cooktown and, of course, watching the Olympics.
The photo is of Les holding a cassowary plum. This extremely hard, large, bright blue fruit is swallowed whole by cassowaries – evidently necessary for the seed to germinate.
Last night we finally made it to the Night Markets – it only took as three weeks to get there! How to describe them? Well, if one is a tourist, then one should be able to find a souvenir or t-shirt without too much trouble. Bling would also seem to be very popular, given the large number of sparkly jewellery on offer. The highlight of the markets would be runny the gauntlet of Chinese massagers – one young lady in particular tried to be extremely persuasive, but we did resist the urge. I much prefer my massages to be in private, not fully clothed in the middle of an extremely busy market.
The Swans seem determined to have some nail-biting finishes – it was rather a relief probably that their match wasn’t televised.
Very hot and still today but not at all humid, thank goodness. Another visit to Rusty’s Market this morning to stock up on fruit and vegetables for the week but, unfortunately, couldn’t find a book I wanted to read. Hopefully, we might find another market this week with secondhand books.
The remainder of the day was spent thinking about preparing for tomorrow’s move to Cooktown and, of course, watching the Olympics.
The photo is of Les holding a cassowary plum. This extremely hard, large, bright blue fruit is swallowed whole by cassowaries – evidently necessary for the seed to germinate.
Saturday, 9 August 2008
Hand Grenades
9 August – Saturday
We had a dinner party last night (well, a barbecue and apple crumble actually) as Jenny and Brian had arrived back from Cape York and were staying in Cairns for the night on their way back to Brisbane. Lots of stories were told and I think Jenny was glad to see a proper shower and bed.
After they left, we settled down to watch the opening ceremony of the Olympics but managed to fall asleep before the athletes entered the stadium. However, we did catch up with the highlights early this morning.
It was a bit cloudy and breezy first thing this morning, so decided to check out the 4WD and Camping Show at the Cairns Showgrounds. The showgrounds were very lacking in signage, so we parked at one corner and walked all the way down to the next corner where we could see people coming and going. Discovered we had joined a Jehovah’s Witness convention! Decided to leave. Retraced our steps back to the car and walked to the corner in the opposite direction (certainly had our day’s exercise) before finding the correct entrance. Lots of camping equipment, tents and camping trailers on display, including a rather futuristic looking Ultimate camper. There were also a couple of locally made campervans and fifth wheelers, featuring solid Tasmanian oak timber. We didn’t feel the urge to trade-in the Jayco Sterling. The young soldier at the Army display was very generous (or bored) and gave us a carry bag, drink bottles, pens, Frisbee and a stress ball that looks like a hand grenade! Just the thing to leave on the car seat when parking. Radical Reptiles also had a display and snake show, with the usual highly venomous snakes crawling around the handler’s feet. One could have a photo taken with a crocodile for $20, however, the one year old crocodile (with mouth taped shut) was very aggressive and no one in the crowd was very interested in a photo opportunity.
By this time, the sky had cleared and it was rather hot. Will probably spend the remainder of the day with an eye on the Olympics.
We had a dinner party last night (well, a barbecue and apple crumble actually) as Jenny and Brian had arrived back from Cape York and were staying in Cairns for the night on their way back to Brisbane. Lots of stories were told and I think Jenny was glad to see a proper shower and bed.
After they left, we settled down to watch the opening ceremony of the Olympics but managed to fall asleep before the athletes entered the stadium. However, we did catch up with the highlights early this morning.
It was a bit cloudy and breezy first thing this morning, so decided to check out the 4WD and Camping Show at the Cairns Showgrounds. The showgrounds were very lacking in signage, so we parked at one corner and walked all the way down to the next corner where we could see people coming and going. Discovered we had joined a Jehovah’s Witness convention! Decided to leave. Retraced our steps back to the car and walked to the corner in the opposite direction (certainly had our day’s exercise) before finding the correct entrance. Lots of camping equipment, tents and camping trailers on display, including a rather futuristic looking Ultimate camper. There were also a couple of locally made campervans and fifth wheelers, featuring solid Tasmanian oak timber. We didn’t feel the urge to trade-in the Jayco Sterling. The young soldier at the Army display was very generous (or bored) and gave us a carry bag, drink bottles, pens, Frisbee and a stress ball that looks like a hand grenade! Just the thing to leave on the car seat when parking. Radical Reptiles also had a display and snake show, with the usual highly venomous snakes crawling around the handler’s feet. One could have a photo taken with a crocodile for $20, however, the one year old crocodile (with mouth taped shut) was very aggressive and no one in the crowd was very interested in a photo opportunity.
By this time, the sky had cleared and it was rather hot. Will probably spend the remainder of the day with an eye on the Olympics.
Friday, 8 August 2008
Tanks
8 August – Friday
Another beautiful morning, clear and warm. First up today was a visit to the bank for that necessary evil – paying the credit card.
We then proceeded to what is known as The Tanks, near the Botanical Gardens. The Tanks were originally five fuel tanks built during the Second World War and have now been turned into an arts complex, with an art gallery, a couple of theatres and offices. An art exhibition is currently being held in one of the tanks, and it was surprising just how big they are. One would certainly keep the Pajero going for a while!
Talking of fuel, the price of petrol has dropped today to $1.49 and diesel $1.66. It would be nice to see it come down some more yet, but is certainly better than $1.91, which was the most expensive we paid.
After visiting The Tanks, we crossed the road for a wander through the Centenary Lakes gardens (scene of our birdwatching experience). The light in the rainforest section was just amazing, my camera certainly doesn’t do it justice. There were also a few biting insects in this swampy area as well. Despite plenty of warning signs in the mangrove and lakes areas, we didn’t see any, although there were plenty of fish about – and "no fishing" signs.
I wouldn’t mind having in my bank the value of all the cars and caravans in this park. Even one row would do! I could total $500,000 on two sites without any trouble, the caravans are a good mix of full size and pop tops, most of them not too old, and the vast majority of vehicles are 4 wheel drives – Toyota Prados and Landcruisers, Mitsubishi Pajeros, Nissan Patrols and the odd Range Rover and Land Rover.
It may be a late night tonight, as we watch the opening ceremony of the Olympics.
Another beautiful morning, clear and warm. First up today was a visit to the bank for that necessary evil – paying the credit card.
We then proceeded to what is known as The Tanks, near the Botanical Gardens. The Tanks were originally five fuel tanks built during the Second World War and have now been turned into an arts complex, with an art gallery, a couple of theatres and offices. An art exhibition is currently being held in one of the tanks, and it was surprising just how big they are. One would certainly keep the Pajero going for a while!
Talking of fuel, the price of petrol has dropped today to $1.49 and diesel $1.66. It would be nice to see it come down some more yet, but is certainly better than $1.91, which was the most expensive we paid.
After visiting The Tanks, we crossed the road for a wander through the Centenary Lakes gardens (scene of our birdwatching experience). The light in the rainforest section was just amazing, my camera certainly doesn’t do it justice. There were also a few biting insects in this swampy area as well. Despite plenty of warning signs in the mangrove and lakes areas, we didn’t see any, although there were plenty of fish about – and "no fishing" signs.
I wouldn’t mind having in my bank the value of all the cars and caravans in this park. Even one row would do! I could total $500,000 on two sites without any trouble, the caravans are a good mix of full size and pop tops, most of them not too old, and the vast majority of vehicles are 4 wheel drives – Toyota Prados and Landcruisers, Mitsubishi Pajeros, Nissan Patrols and the odd Range Rover and Land Rover.
It may be a late night tonight, as we watch the opening ceremony of the Olympics.
Thursday, 7 August 2008
Quiet Day
7 August – Thursday
A boring day today, especially after yesterday’s effort. We haven’t been anywhere, just done the necessary jobs like washing, ironing, cooking, washing the car, etc. Therefore, I have decided to give you a couple of photos from yesterday to look at – one of the Mossman Gorge and the other at Cape Tribulation (the sand really is a grey/white colour).
I know you will all sympathise, but today has been a little bit cloudy and a little bit windy – but still about 26 degrees though.
A boring day today, especially after yesterday’s effort. We haven’t been anywhere, just done the necessary jobs like washing, ironing, cooking, washing the car, etc. Therefore, I have decided to give you a couple of photos from yesterday to look at – one of the Mossman Gorge and the other at Cape Tribulation (the sand really is a grey/white colour).
I know you will all sympathise, but today has been a little bit cloudy and a little bit windy – but still about 26 degrees though.
Daintree
6 August – Wednesday
Well, the trivia night was a bit of a disaster, but it was the first time for all of us and we didn’t really know what to expect. We were given three sheets, one of anagrams (pop stars, films, television shows and the like), one of parts of movie posts which had to be named, and one of the Chinese Olympic symbols. Then there were five rounds of questions to be answered, some general knowledge and some specialised fields. We did struggle a bit with naming the rock songs and their performers – the tunes were played as lullabies on a xylophone! However, the good news was that our group of ten did win a door prize and came away with a bottle of wine to share. All we needed was ten straws, or a medicine glass each.
Today we left bright and early and headed to the Mossman Gorge before the hordes o tourists took over. A truly beautiful area (no crocodiles either) in the rainforest, even if it was nearly 10 am before the sun actually shone into the gorge. Some of the English tourists need to learn that it is not the done thing to bounce on a swinging bridge when there are people in the middle of it!
As the sugar cane cutting season is in full swing and the Mossman Mill was working, thought it would be a good idea to take a mill tour. The morning tour was fully booked and we didn’t want to hang about until the afternoon, so had a look at the display on the sugar history and the large poster of North Queensland snakes. Someone decided that the snake he had met a couple of days earlier bore a remarkable similarity to a taipan!!!
After leaving Mossman, we called into the seaside village of Wonga Beach, which seems to be a favourite destination of a lot of caravanners. Really not much there apart from a small school, some houses and a caravan park. Beautiful beach though, but of course, no swimming because of all the usual bities. While we were sitting on the beach, communing with nature, a Toyota Landcruiser towing a boat drove onto the beach, backed into the sea, unloaded the boat and unhitched the trailer. The driver then attempted to drive back up the beach by revving the engine madly and spinning the back wheels until they had dug very deep holes and the sea was probably half way up the wheels (we couldn’t work out why he didn’t put the car into 4 wheel drive!). He did this a couple of times and then had a mild panic attack as the car was sinking deeper and the tide was coming in. Left the car and tore off into the scrub, eventually returning with a couple of blokes, one of them calmly changed the drive to 4 wheel and the car was rocked out of its sandy holes and up onto the beach. While all this was happening, the boat was floating about on its own and the proceedings were carefully watched by a pelican paddling around.
Continued north through the cane fields to the Daintree Village, on the banks of the Daintree River, noted for it crocodiles. There must be plenty of them in the river, given the large number of crocodile spotting boat tours on offer. Weren’t too keen on the caravan park here as it was very close to the river.
We decided to cross the Daintree River on the car ferry and when we joined the queue, the charge was $18. Before taking fares from this group of waiting vehicles, the price was changed to $19! We thought this was a bit rude. The road to Cape Tribulation was only about 40 km long, but very windy and quite narrow – the rainforest was just magnificent, as were the views and beaches on the way. The road had quite a number of traffic calming humps, these were about 2-3 metres wide and studded with VERY large rocks. Definitely slowed the traffic. We stopped at a local ice cream factory and were told that this is what you will have – a cup containing a scoop each of wattle seed, jack fruit, mango and raspberry. The wattle seed had a very coffee-like flavour to it, but was quite nice. It was a very pleasant break to sit in the beautiful gardens and enjoy our treat. Apart from a number of retreats, resorts and spas (not sure what the difference is), there seems to be quite a large permanent population in the area, given the large number of gravel tracks/driveways leading off the main road. There were a few brave tourists having a swim at Cape Tribulation, despite the warning signs and the mangrove swamps.
We called into Port Douglas on our return journey, but as it was getting late, we only stayed for about an hour or so. This place exists for tourists staying at large, expensive resorts – I don’t think I have seen so many in one small area. Because the resorts are built right along the beachfront, it is virtually impossible to actually get onto the beach.
It was quite dark by the time we arrived home, although still quite warm after another beautiful day.
Well, the trivia night was a bit of a disaster, but it was the first time for all of us and we didn’t really know what to expect. We were given three sheets, one of anagrams (pop stars, films, television shows and the like), one of parts of movie posts which had to be named, and one of the Chinese Olympic symbols. Then there were five rounds of questions to be answered, some general knowledge and some specialised fields. We did struggle a bit with naming the rock songs and their performers – the tunes were played as lullabies on a xylophone! However, the good news was that our group of ten did win a door prize and came away with a bottle of wine to share. All we needed was ten straws, or a medicine glass each.
Today we left bright and early and headed to the Mossman Gorge before the hordes o tourists took over. A truly beautiful area (no crocodiles either) in the rainforest, even if it was nearly 10 am before the sun actually shone into the gorge. Some of the English tourists need to learn that it is not the done thing to bounce on a swinging bridge when there are people in the middle of it!
As the sugar cane cutting season is in full swing and the Mossman Mill was working, thought it would be a good idea to take a mill tour. The morning tour was fully booked and we didn’t want to hang about until the afternoon, so had a look at the display on the sugar history and the large poster of North Queensland snakes. Someone decided that the snake he had met a couple of days earlier bore a remarkable similarity to a taipan!!!
After leaving Mossman, we called into the seaside village of Wonga Beach, which seems to be a favourite destination of a lot of caravanners. Really not much there apart from a small school, some houses and a caravan park. Beautiful beach though, but of course, no swimming because of all the usual bities. While we were sitting on the beach, communing with nature, a Toyota Landcruiser towing a boat drove onto the beach, backed into the sea, unloaded the boat and unhitched the trailer. The driver then attempted to drive back up the beach by revving the engine madly and spinning the back wheels until they had dug very deep holes and the sea was probably half way up the wheels (we couldn’t work out why he didn’t put the car into 4 wheel drive!). He did this a couple of times and then had a mild panic attack as the car was sinking deeper and the tide was coming in. Left the car and tore off into the scrub, eventually returning with a couple of blokes, one of them calmly changed the drive to 4 wheel and the car was rocked out of its sandy holes and up onto the beach. While all this was happening, the boat was floating about on its own and the proceedings were carefully watched by a pelican paddling around.
Continued north through the cane fields to the Daintree Village, on the banks of the Daintree River, noted for it crocodiles. There must be plenty of them in the river, given the large number of crocodile spotting boat tours on offer. Weren’t too keen on the caravan park here as it was very close to the river.
We decided to cross the Daintree River on the car ferry and when we joined the queue, the charge was $18. Before taking fares from this group of waiting vehicles, the price was changed to $19! We thought this was a bit rude. The road to Cape Tribulation was only about 40 km long, but very windy and quite narrow – the rainforest was just magnificent, as were the views and beaches on the way. The road had quite a number of traffic calming humps, these were about 2-3 metres wide and studded with VERY large rocks. Definitely slowed the traffic. We stopped at a local ice cream factory and were told that this is what you will have – a cup containing a scoop each of wattle seed, jack fruit, mango and raspberry. The wattle seed had a very coffee-like flavour to it, but was quite nice. It was a very pleasant break to sit in the beautiful gardens and enjoy our treat. Apart from a number of retreats, resorts and spas (not sure what the difference is), there seems to be quite a large permanent population in the area, given the large number of gravel tracks/driveways leading off the main road. There were a few brave tourists having a swim at Cape Tribulation, despite the warning signs and the mangrove swamps.
We called into Port Douglas on our return journey, but as it was getting late, we only stayed for about an hour or so. This place exists for tourists staying at large, expensive resorts – I don’t think I have seen so many in one small area. Because the resorts are built right along the beachfront, it is virtually impossible to actually get onto the beach.
It was quite dark by the time we arrived home, although still quite warm after another beautiful day.
Tuesday, 5 August 2008
Snake Stories
5 August – Tuesday
Happy hour last night ended up with 12 people and resulted in us all going to a trivia night tonight at the local bowls club and arrangements were made for bare foot bowls on Friday night. Some wonderful snake stories also evolved. Someone happened to mention that he came across a snake during his birdwatching walk – forgot to mention it to me! Then one of the men said he had nearly run over one on his bike, a lady had seen a snake behind one of the washing machines in the laundry and another lady had seen one returning from a 2.30am visit to the amenities block. Thank goodness for caravans with showers and toilets!
Very hot today. First item on the agenda was to move the caravan to another site, so we can stay until next Monday. Once the caravan left from the site we had to go on to, it was a simple matter of hooking up and having Phillip direct us on. I think we are way down the line of people who want to take Phillip with them when they leave.
After settling in, Les finally decided that he should check out the Cairns medical facilities and his cough was directed to the Cairns 24 Hour Medical Centre. This place was just like a factory, operating for tourists and members of the local indigenous community. After his allocated five minutes, Leslie left clutching an inhaler and prescription for antibiotics. Hopefully these will make life more pleasant for those in his immediate vicinity.
Happy hour last night ended up with 12 people and resulted in us all going to a trivia night tonight at the local bowls club and arrangements were made for bare foot bowls on Friday night. Some wonderful snake stories also evolved. Someone happened to mention that he came across a snake during his birdwatching walk – forgot to mention it to me! Then one of the men said he had nearly run over one on his bike, a lady had seen a snake behind one of the washing machines in the laundry and another lady had seen one returning from a 2.30am visit to the amenities block. Thank goodness for caravans with showers and toilets!
Very hot today. First item on the agenda was to move the caravan to another site, so we can stay until next Monday. Once the caravan left from the site we had to go on to, it was a simple matter of hooking up and having Phillip direct us on. I think we are way down the line of people who want to take Phillip with them when they leave.
After settling in, Les finally decided that he should check out the Cairns medical facilities and his cough was directed to the Cairns 24 Hour Medical Centre. This place was just like a factory, operating for tourists and members of the local indigenous community. After his allocated five minutes, Leslie left clutching an inhaler and prescription for antibiotics. Hopefully these will make life more pleasant for those in his immediate vicinity.
Monday, 4 August 2008
Nothing Happening
4 August – Monday
Hard to believe it must be about six weeks since we left home.
We haven’t done much today, in fact it took us all morning to do nothing. Originally we thought we would have to move the caravan to another site today, but were then told we wouldn’t need to until tomorrow morning. I decided to go into town for a wander but wanted to finish my book first (only about 10 pages to go!). Lady next door decided to come and sit for a while and we attempted to solve the world’s problems. Made another effort to finish my book when the lady and her husband arrived and invited us for a coffee. Someone has to do these things! Decided after all this to just give up on the book and head to town while Les took the binoculars and headed to the rainforest for a spot of birdwatching – or so he said.
Happy hour is at our place tonight.
Hard to believe it must be about six weeks since we left home.
We haven’t done much today, in fact it took us all morning to do nothing. Originally we thought we would have to move the caravan to another site today, but were then told we wouldn’t need to until tomorrow morning. I decided to go into town for a wander but wanted to finish my book first (only about 10 pages to go!). Lady next door decided to come and sit for a while and we attempted to solve the world’s problems. Made another effort to finish my book when the lady and her husband arrived and invited us for a coffee. Someone has to do these things! Decided after all this to just give up on the book and head to town while Les took the binoculars and headed to the rainforest for a spot of birdwatching – or so he said.
Happy hour is at our place tonight.
Sunday, 3 August 2008
Sunday Breakfast
3 August – Sunday
We enjoyed Ranjit’s concert last night, especially after the dismal effort made by the Wallabies! Ranjit is an Indian, probably about 60, who lives in Bendigo and sings in clubs and caravan parks. His repertoire was very 50s and 60s based, very easy listening.
We decided yesterday that we would have breakfast on the patio this morning, so someone had to get up a bit earlier to set up the barbecue for the bacon and eggs, while I cooked the pancakes in the electric frypan. Along with juice, freshly brewed coffee, toast and some strawberries, it was a very pleasant start to the day. Unfortunately, we were so full that we didn’t do much for the remainder of the day!
I did manage to get to the fruit and vegetable markets to stock up for the week – avocadoes were 6 for $2.
The weather just seems to get even better.
We enjoyed Ranjit’s concert last night, especially after the dismal effort made by the Wallabies! Ranjit is an Indian, probably about 60, who lives in Bendigo and sings in clubs and caravan parks. His repertoire was very 50s and 60s based, very easy listening.
We decided yesterday that we would have breakfast on the patio this morning, so someone had to get up a bit earlier to set up the barbecue for the bacon and eggs, while I cooked the pancakes in the electric frypan. Along with juice, freshly brewed coffee, toast and some strawberries, it was a very pleasant start to the day. Unfortunately, we were so full that we didn’t do much for the remainder of the day!
I did manage to get to the fruit and vegetable markets to stock up for the week – avocadoes were 6 for $2.
The weather just seems to get even better.
Saturday, 2 August 2008
Helicopters
2 August – Saturday
The Scouts in the Cairns region celebrated 100 years of Scouting with some displays and activities along the Esplanade this morning. We visited them for a while and spent some time talking to the Regional Commissioner.
Following this, we walked along the foreshore to the market and I managed to upset one of the stallholders. When I asked if she would knock $3 off the price if I bought two pairs of earrings for $40, I was told in no uncertain terms that I was being insulting. Needless to say, she missed out on a sale. On the walk back to our car, we watched the emergency helicopter, which was on the helipad opposite the hospital, load a patient and take-off. There was no effort made to keep the immdiate area clear of onlookers and the helicopter took off right above our heads.
This afternoon we finally made it to Lake Morris and Copperlode Dam, the water supply for Cairns. The 16km road was cut into the side of a mountain, was very narrow and twisty and rose over 500 metres. It didn’t even have the psychological security of a barrier fence. Coming back wasn’t as bad, as I was driving on the side of the road against the hill. The actual lake was very beautiful, set among the mountains and rainforest.
An interesting feature of this particular jungle was the electricity pylons, which were built 75 metres above the ground, so that the wires hung above the canopy. In order for the towers to have minimal impact on the environment, if they weren’t accessible by foot then a helipad was constructed on top of the tower. I don’t think I would like to be either the pilot of, or the passenger in, a helicopter attempting to land on a small area on top of a high voltage tower 75 metres above the ground!
Tonight Ranjit is coming to entertain us in the caravan park – as the camp kitchen is the venue, we will be entertained whether we want to be or not. Given the average of the campers here, I’m not really worried about Ranjit being a head-banging rock band.
Nearly forgot the weather report – hot (2), dry and clear.
The Scouts in the Cairns region celebrated 100 years of Scouting with some displays and activities along the Esplanade this morning. We visited them for a while and spent some time talking to the Regional Commissioner.
Following this, we walked along the foreshore to the market and I managed to upset one of the stallholders. When I asked if she would knock $3 off the price if I bought two pairs of earrings for $40, I was told in no uncertain terms that I was being insulting. Needless to say, she missed out on a sale. On the walk back to our car, we watched the emergency helicopter, which was on the helipad opposite the hospital, load a patient and take-off. There was no effort made to keep the immdiate area clear of onlookers and the helicopter took off right above our heads.
This afternoon we finally made it to Lake Morris and Copperlode Dam, the water supply for Cairns. The 16km road was cut into the side of a mountain, was very narrow and twisty and rose over 500 metres. It didn’t even have the psychological security of a barrier fence. Coming back wasn’t as bad, as I was driving on the side of the road against the hill. The actual lake was very beautiful, set among the mountains and rainforest.
An interesting feature of this particular jungle was the electricity pylons, which were built 75 metres above the ground, so that the wires hung above the canopy. In order for the towers to have minimal impact on the environment, if they weren’t accessible by foot then a helipad was constructed on top of the tower. I don’t think I would like to be either the pilot of, or the passenger in, a helicopter attempting to land on a small area on top of a high voltage tower 75 metres above the ground!
Tonight Ranjit is coming to entertain us in the caravan park – as the camp kitchen is the venue, we will be entertained whether we want to be or not. Given the average of the campers here, I’m not really worried about Ranjit being a head-banging rock band.
Nearly forgot the weather report – hot (2), dry and clear.
Friday, 1 August 2008
Connell Relations
1 August – Friday
A quiet morning enjoying the sun and morning coffee with our new next door neighbours. Then off for a walk around the rural estate behind the caravan park. This time we followed the road further and discovered a rather pleasant housing estate further on from the horsey houses. Gorgeous one acre blocks with well cared for houses and beautifully landscaped grounds. We even found a nice place for sale – 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 2 living areas, double garage, swimming pool, landscaped grounds – all for $729,000. We would probably need a rich relation (which we don’t seem to have!) to die and leave us a million dollars!
This afternoon we met Janice, her mother, Francie, and their travelling companion, Fred. It turned out that Fred lived four houses away from where we lived in Ulverstone. We spent a couple of hours catching up on their adventures during the last four weeks – they have certainly travelled a long way and seemed to have been having a wonderful time. Fred has to be admired.
A quiet morning enjoying the sun and morning coffee with our new next door neighbours. Then off for a walk around the rural estate behind the caravan park. This time we followed the road further and discovered a rather pleasant housing estate further on from the horsey houses. Gorgeous one acre blocks with well cared for houses and beautifully landscaped grounds. We even found a nice place for sale – 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 2 living areas, double garage, swimming pool, landscaped grounds – all for $729,000. We would probably need a rich relation (which we don’t seem to have!) to die and leave us a million dollars!
This afternoon we met Janice, her mother, Francie, and their travelling companion, Fred. It turned out that Fred lived four houses away from where we lived in Ulverstone. We spent a couple of hours catching up on their adventures during the last four weeks – they have certainly travelled a long way and seemed to have been having a wonderful time. Fred has to be admired.
Nearly, forgot - only 28 here today.
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