An Undara Experience

Bedroom

Dining Room

Breakfast room



Pale headed parrot


Tuesday was a quiet day, catching up on laundry and housework. Fortunately, the very hot day had cooled down somewhat by the time we played bowls in the evening; Himself and his team played well, winning themselves $10 each.

Wednesday morning we were up bright and early for our long drive to the Undara Lava Tubes and an overnight stay in a converted railway carriage. For the third time in ten days, we made the slow, windy climb up the Kuranda Range and then headed to Yungaburra again. As we had missed seeing the Avenue of Honour last Saturday, this was our first priority – and well worth the detour. This memorial to the defence service personnel who have served in Afghanistan, and in particular those who sacrificed their lives, was only opened a few weeks ago. It was also touching to see a memorial in honour of the service dogs which were killed in action.

The rich chocolate/red soil, lush farmlands and rain forest pockets of the Atherton Tablelands soon gave way to the dry savannah typical of the inland and far north Queensland. The bush was quite beautiful in its own way, with orange and yellow grevilleas and some wattle in flower. We stopped for lunch at Ravenshoe, the highest town in Queensland, eating in an old café which looked like it dated from the 1920/30s, and still had many of the original fittings.

Our arrival at Undara for our “Undara Experience” quickly became just that – an experience! I had booked by telephone a couple of weeks ago, agreeing that Wednesday, 31st July, would suit us. I also rang back to confirm and make tour and meal reservations and, unfortunately, didn’t read the confirmation email carefully enough. When we attempted to check in, we discovered that our reservation had been entered into the computer for the 1st, not the 31st. Much angst! Fortunately, there was one room with en-suite (a must have) still available. We have a quarter of a railway carriage, with a bed, a carriage seat, overhead luggage racks and a small ensuite. Cat wasn’t exactly thrilled at the thought he may have to sleep in the rack. Nor do we have a key to our room, as “they” found that sometimes the keys became stuck in locks, so now the doors are left unlocked. Which means that valuable have to be taken to the car each time we go out – or carry them with us, which isn’t exactly convenient. We have been assured that the expensive “bush breakfast” half a kilometre away in the bush is well worth it.

Crystal Cascades

Monday, 29th July

The rain has stopped, the sun is shining, the birds are tweeting …

Sunday was a beautiful morning, so it was time to open the barber shop – only had one client, though, who didn’t pay much! Following a trip to the supermarket, I decided to attempt some biscuits in the turbo/convection oven and was quite pleased with the result, considering I had to guess the weight of the butter. The biscuits have been disappearing, so they must have been okay.

Himself surprised us all this morning!!! After thinking about washing the car for a few hours, he made the momentous decision to actually move it to the car washing area – and turn on the hose. We now have a nice white Pajero again.

Early afternoon saw us taking the air (very humid air, actually) as we strolled the path to the Crystal Cascades, along with a number of other locals and tourists. The Cairns Council are upgrading the area and the path has been resealed since our last visit. There was more water than normal (to us, anyway) cascading over the rocks, with plenty of black bream to be seen in the water, but no turtles. There was also plenty of water running over the track in places, probably due to the recent heavy rain. By the time we returned to the car, I was beginning to feel a blood transfusion may be necessary owing to the large amount of midgies.

The highlight of the afternoon was listening to a concert by Shan Deng on ABC Classical Live – an hour of beautiful music by a talented pianist.

We have had new neighbours move in behind us and, unfortunately, they did not seem to read the paragraph in the park rules which states there will be no noise after 10.00 pm. After listening to them and their visitors talking loudly all evening, at 10.45 pm it was too much for me and they were politely asked to keep their noise down and remember what time it was! Monday morning, I was thanked by a number of others who had also been disturbed.

Monday dawned to a beautiful, clear and warm day – typical of what we expect at Cairns. After complaining for a few days about the drain smell emanating from the wash basin and shower plug holes, a large bottle of bleach was purchased and the sullage hose sealed off. The result, after flushing, was neither pretty nor pleasant smelling! Our sinks now drain much faster, too.

It being such a gorgeous day, we headed into Cairns central after lunch, our main excuse being replacement bathroom scales. After supposedly gaining 3 kg in 3 days, I felt the scales must be faulty; this has been proved by the new ones (phew!). With the US Navy in town this week, the usual backpacker numbers around the Lagoon had increased dramatically.

Soggy Tablelands

Saturday, 27th July

Trinity Inlet with water and sand - and crocodile warning

Sleepy spoonbills

Wide awake pelican

The Navy is back in town (not that they really left!)

Misty Lake Barrine

Morning tea

A walk in the jungle

Kauri canopy

Johnstone River

Muddy Nerada tea

I had a rude awakening early yesterday morning when Himself “was being attacked by a bird” and kicked out hard – only it wasn’t a feathered bird that he connected with; the bruise is definite proof! I’m not sure whether to invest in a new caravan with single beds or a roll of duct tape.

After another “mothering” attempt, we headed for the boys’ toy shop, Masters, and their heater specials. With panel heaters on sale for $39, the opportunity to replace the broken panel heater at home was too good to refuse (plenty of room under the bed as we don’t have to carry novels this year, thanks to Kindle). The poor salesman couldn’t understand why we would want to buy a heater in Cairns (probably why they were on sale) and it was just too much for him when we said we were taking it home to Tasmania.

Next stop was Rusty’s Market to stock up on fresh fruit and vegetables for the coming week, before heading to the Esplanade for a stroll – not forgetting the ice cream! As we passed the RSL, we noticed that their renovations had been completed so decided to treat ourselves to lunch. The stroll back to our vehicle was at a much slower pace! We even stopped for a while and watched the HMAS Choule as it sailed into the harbour.  The Cairns Council have been bringing in sand and forming a small beach along the edge of the mudflats – it looks very nice when the tides is in! Crocodile footprints will probably be more easily seen, too.

The rain returned overnight! We had arranged some days ago that we would take James and Maureen with us to the Yungaburra Market, which is only held once a month. Thinking (hoping!!!) that the weather would be better on the Atherton Tableland, we set off nice and early and quickly climbed into thick cloud. The cloud turned into rain once we reached Kuranda and continued on and off – mainly on – until we reached Yungaburra. There were lots of people and lots of stalls, lots of mud and lots of puddles. We huddled under our umbrellas underneath a tree for ten minutes, took a democratic vote, which was passed unanimously, returned to the vehicle and headed to the tea rooms at Lake Barrine for a late morning Devonshire tea. During a break in the weather, we had a quick walk to the kauri trees, dodged the muddy puddles and returned to the car. We were lucky to have a Ulysses butterfly fluttering around the car for some time while we tried to decide where to visit next. Such a pity they wont fly slowly or sit still with their wings open – it would be lovely to actually get a photo. Our next stop was at the Nerada Tea Plantation for a quick tour of their information centre and gift shop; the rain continued. As James had been wingeing all day about wanting an ice cream from a new place new Mareeba, we finally gave in and stopped on our way back to Cairns. Although the ice cream was reasonable, we all agreed that it wasn’t a rival for our favourite Movenpick. As we were returning to Cairns, we suddenly realised we had forgotten to visit the Avenue of Honour, which had just been opened at Yungaburra! We all blamed the weather.

Leisurely Cairns

Thursday, 25th July

Tuesday was a quiet day – we simply enjoyed the lovely weather after a walk along the creek and feeding the fish. Of course, like the rest of the world, we were waiting, waiting, waiting for that important announcement from Buckingham Palace. We again played bowls during the evening and this week is was Les’ turn to win $10. It is very pleasant playing under lights, with micro bats flitting about catching insects and the temperature still warm enough to only need t-shirts and shorts. The enormous grasshoppers playing on the green do present a bit of a hazard, though.

Wednesday morning was spent helping improve the economy of Cairns – Himself has added to his shirt collection! The weather continued warm and sunny, and the Ulysses butterfly population seems to be increasing, with these beautiful butterflies making a number of appearances over the last few days.

After a quick trip to the supermarket early this morning, the remainder of the morning was spent attempting to read the newspaper and a book; we spent a lovely hour talking with Eraine (an old school friend of Les’) and trying to avoid a neighbour whose main aim in life seems to be mothering us. This afternoon, Himself was left to guard the caravan and think about washing the car again, while I joined the ladies at the Edgewater Bowls Club and discovered ladies bowls clubs seem to be the same wherever they are! It was a good afternoon – and game – and my team won. The $15 prize money we each received certainly increased the enjoyment!

Credit Card Fraud

Monday, 22nd July

Northern Tablelands

Dimbulah

A couple of famous performers in Dimbulah

Dimbulah Railway Station

Hitching a ride on the Wheelbarrow Way

Looking over the Mareeba valley

Thinking ...

Looking towards Cairns

Sunday was a quiet day – very hot and sunny all day. We partook of some exercise with a walk along Freshwater Creek before lunch, after enjoying a cup of coffee with our next door neighbours. Himself even wiped the condensation off the inside of the roof of the awning - and then realised he had forgotten to think about it first!  A couple of hours in the late afternoon were spent listening to the football; Cheer, cheer the red and the white …


Today, with the weather still continue dry and warm, and the coffee supply running low, we decided a trip to Mareeba was called for. On the way, we called into the Termite Shop for some chilli chutney (as requested by offspring) and then received a rather unsettling telephone call from our daughter. Evidently the NAB had been attempting to contact me as they believe my bank account (ie credit card) had been fraudulently accessed. First stop at Mareeba was at the local NAB branch and a call to the bank’s fraud department. Two attempts had been made to access my credit card (which I haven’t used as it is an “emergency” card), the first attempt was for $8.60, which was allowed. However, the next attempt was for $2,800 and this set off alarm bells and my account was suspended immediately. My credit card has to now be re-issued with new numbers and the $8.60 will be covered by the bank. After talking with the lady in the fraud department, this is a common occurrence, with computers generating random numbers and if a small amount is allowed, the large request follows.

Feeling much better after this, we continued to the NQ Gold Coffee Plantation for our coffee supplies, as well as a chat with Maria and Bruno, and a cup of their lovely coffee. This family farm may not have all the bells and whistles of the larger touristy coffee places, but the coffee is much cheaper and the place has character.

We continued along the Wheelbarrow Way, which runs from Mareeba to Normanton, as far as Dimbulah – the first time we have visited this outback Queensland town. On the way, we passed mango plantations, coffee plantations, mango plantations, sugar farms, mango plantations, citrus (mandarins?) groves and mango plantations. The land that wasn’t under cultivation was just the dry savannah vegetation, with plenty of termite mounds. Dimbulah was a typical, small town with wide streets and little traffic, a few shops, a pub, railway station, bowling and soccer clubs, as well as a small caravan park.

On our return journey to Cairns, we stopped at the Skybury Coffee Centre – more for comfort than coffee. The coffee shop and restaurant were in a lovely modern building overlooking the valley towards Mareeba. The toilets were also VERY impressive, with an indoor waterfall and lily pond running between the ladies and gents. The running water probably also was a help to those needing some assistance …  We also encountered road works which involved newly laid tar and metal - this is going to involve more thinking now.

Important Day

Thursday, 18th July

A very special day – my birthday!


Yesterday, we had a special ring to collect from a jewellery store in Cairns, as Himself’s wedding ring has “shrunk” over the years and was in grave danger of cutting circulation to his finger. We also managed to fit in a walk along the Esplanade (as well as an ice cream, of course) before the rain clouds once again started to move across the bay. We were also fortunate in seeing a jabiru, standing quite close to shore – the first time we have seen this stork in Cairns. The afternoon was spent watching the washing and the weather, but fortunately the rained stayed out of the Redlynch valley for a change.

Today, I had music (Patsy Biscoe singing a certain song!) at breakfast time, as well as receiving a beautiful gold filigree pendant. Skype calls from my daughter, sister and grandchildren while I was in the shower had someone confused as my laptop screen does not respond to touch! Maureen and James invited us to morning tea and Maureen had made a chocolate cake for the occasion. Instead of a trip to the supermarket for supplies, we decided to have lunch at the Botanical Gardens coffee shop followed by a stroll through the gardens. More messages from my son and a friend filled in the time waiting for our food (which was very nice, actually). The rain did hold off as we wandered among the trees and plants, even finding some specimens we hadn’t seen in flower before. I have to confess that the snake, although very alive and 2.83 metres long) was actually behind glass.

As my sandals have started to part company with their soles, I agreed on a visit to Masters (his heart rate and breathing increased dramatically in anticipation), but couldn’t really understand why we had to look among all the power tools for a tube of glue!

Tonight, James and Maureen are joining us for a celebratory dinner.