QSO & Mareeba Coffee

Thursday, 31 July 2014

Last Sunday saw us playing bowls in the rain; we had been invited to join the Edge Hill bowlers at a no charge special “Lotto” day.  We had had heavy rain overnight and when we arrived, one of the men had the super sopper out on the green, thank goodness, otherwise we would have needed waders instead of bowls shoes.  We played in mizzle until the last end, when the mizzle became a tropical downpour.  I have to say the wet t-shirt look isn’t the best on the mature-aged population!  A sausage sizzle followed, along with fellowship, and then we were surprised when each team was called up and we each selected an envelope – and they all contained money!!!  We both came away with $10 each; not bad for a freebie bowl.

Monday was washing day and it just poured and poured all day.  The washing ended up under the awning but with such high humidity, was no drier the next morning.  Fortunately, the same came out on Tuesday.  Unfortunately, the slide up and down bit on the shower rail decided it didn’t want to stay up any more so we had a legitimate excuse for visiting the big boys’ toy shop.  Somehow, we had to wander up and down all the aisles, even though we found a new shower rail almost immediately.

We played bowls again on Tuesday night, taking a couple of visiting Tasmanians with us.  Eddie had his bowls with him and certainly surprised the locals with his skill.  He and Christine did very well, with both taking home winnings.  We have are looking forward to next week’s game.

Wednesday was a fairly quiet day – Himself no longer is thinking about washing the caravan and vehicle; both are looking much cleaner now.  Although it meant missing the free sausage sizzle, we did have a very enjoyable evening listening to the Queensland Symphony Orchestra’s performance in Cairns.  The programme included Mendelssohn’s Overture to A Midsummer Night’s Dream; Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons, Summer; Mozart’s Concerto for Bassoon; a suite from Stravinsky’s Pulcinella and concluded with Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7.  The audience was very appreciative and the female conductor did apologise because there was only one prepared encore.  Hopefully they will return next year.

Today we travelled to Mareeba to replenish out stocks of NQ Gold coffee.  After a long chat with Maria and Bruno, we continued on to Skybury for lunch, only to find that only coffee and cake are now served.  We settled for scones and coffee, which were a bit expensive we thought, and although they tasted okay, the scones were so crumbly they had to be eaten with a spoon!  We also called into the Mareeba Heritage Centre on our return trip.  It has been quite hot and very humid the last couple of days.

We have been anxiously watching the news and weather reports of the conditions back home, hopefully family and friends will stay safe and not suffer any damage.

Fairs and Markets

Saturday, 26 July 2014

 

Thursday was the day to enjoy my birthday present – a “Sensory Journey” at the Serenity on the Avenue Day Spa.  After nearly being gassed with the lemon grass oil, a quick change of aroma meant a very enjoyable and relaxing morning.  How times flies when having fun!

We had some light rain during the night on Thursday, which meant that Friday was not only hot, but very humid.  We also had a couple of very heavy downpours during the morning; now we know why the park has such large drains!  With my birthday present from Cazaleys about to reach its expiry date, we decided to use all the vouchers and enjoy a nice lunch and glass of wine.  With barramundi being the “Catch of the Day,” how could we go wrong.  After collecting my $5 club money, we then used it to make a donation back to the club via the poker machines.  It doesn’t really take very long to spend $5 on $0.02 machines!!!

 Following lunch, we headed to the Cairns Indigenous Art Fair, being held at the ocean liner terminal.  Having seen a similar fair a couple of years ago, we were a little disappointed with the paintings; not many were traditional indigenous designs.  However, the sculptures were very good, and we enjoyed talking to the man who created a chainsaw cassowary.  Some dancers and singers also provided entertainment on the lawns outside, although I think there was a little confusion with various cultures.

 

Wall of Honour

Memorial

Lush farmland



Cathedral Fig Tree (lower part)

In the centre of the tree

Rainforest stream

Small crater lake

Lake Tinaroo and a camp ground

Tinaroo Dam outlet

The rain continued at times overnight and this morning was rather cloudy and drizzly very early.  We had decided earlier in the month to visit the Yungaburra Market today (its only held once a month) and were very undecided early as to whether to travel to the Atherton Tablelands or not, but with the clouds clearing and the sun shining, we made the big decision to go.  The weather stayed lovely until we were about 2 kms away from Yungaburra, then the rain started and continued until we had parked and walked to the market.  The sun reappeared and we started to stew in the humidity; the market was well worth the visit.

Our next stop was at the Avenue of Honour to our servicemen, and dogs, who had lost their lives in the Afghanistan War.  As with visits to all war memorials, a very moving experience.  We continued on to Lake Barrine and its tearooms for lunch, found a quiet table on the balcony, ordered our food and then watch the rain come towards us across the lake.  Lunch was enjoyed inside and we were subsequently soaked on the run back up the hill to the car.

After studying the map, we decided to take the tourist route around Lake Tinaroo and have a look at the cathedral fig tree.  We have never been on this road before and we wont be travelling on it again!!!  The road was sealed as far as the fig tree – definitely worth a look – with lovely farm land on one side of the road and rain forest on the other.  Once the bitumen finished, surrounded by rainforest, the road rapidly deteriorated, with a sign saying the road was unsuitable for caravans.  The gravel had become mud because of the rain, and the potholes had filled with water.  Of course, the driver did his utmost to make sure he drove through every pot hole and corrugation; one of us was feeling a touch of green (GREEN, not grey!) but the time we regained the bitumen.  I'm sure there were VW Beetles in some of the potholes.  This road just seemed to go forever and it wasn’t until we came across a couple of campgrounds on the shore of Lake Tinaroo and five kilometres before the end of the gravel, that we started to enjoy the drive.  It was even better when we reached Tinaroo!

When we returned to the caravan park, we were surprised to discover that the people who were beside us last year had returned today for a few weeks and will be beside James and Maureen when they arrive next weekend.

Herberton

Wednesday, 23 July 2014

 

Waiting for the teacher

A music chart - must mean something to someone!

Reminiscing

Enjoying the campfire

A "miner" bird

Anyone want to watch "Gone With the Wind?"

Funny place to park

One happy Cat

Obviously had to wait a long time for an appointment!

A restorer's delight

Sanitation Wagon - ie night cart

Might need longer legs

A Furphy

Grandpop had a black one, just like this

Cat Heaven

Put some effort into it!

1935/6 model

Sanitation wagon may be needed soon

Hasties' Swamp

We had a “Big Day Out” yesterday and drove all the way to Herberton, on the Atherton Tablelands.  The weather was superb, with clear, blue skies and no breeze; temperatures on the Tablelands are a little bit lower than Cairns, but still very pleasant.

Our main reason for going to Herberton was to visit the Historic Village; we spent a few hours here enjoying all the exhibits, which ranged from the typical businesses found in a small town in the early 20^th century, as well as many, many, many old tools and machinery.  A lot of the items on show were very much “boys’ toys.”  We enjoyed lunch at the tea rooms before crossing the suspension bridge to the camp and the John Deere display.  The village was beautifully maintained and well worth a visit.

Our next stop was the Spy and Camera Museum and what a wonderful experience this was and well worth the money.  The owner conducts individual tours, explaining out all the cameras on show – from the very first cameras, to miniatures, to spy cameras (even a camera which looks exactly like a button!) and many made during the first half of the 20^th Century.  We spent over an hour here, enjoying both the camera and the owner’s sense of humour.

There was a large fire burning in the bush behind the township, but there was no sense of panic in the town (the locals outside the local just seemed interested in all the smoke), so we assumed it was a controlled burn.

On the return to Cairns, we stopped at Hasties’ Swamp, near Atherton, not expecting to see much birdlife in the middle of the afternoon.  However, there were hundreds of magpie geese in residence, as well as plenty of wood ducks and moorhens.

We also had our first game of bowls yesterday evening, our first game since leaving home.  It did take a bit of adjustment, bowling on a green running at about 20 after the much slower grass greens.  We both did well, and Les came home with a $30 meat voucher.

First Snake for the Season

Monday, 21 July 2014

 

Saturday was a fairly quiet day, apart from a trip to Rusty’s for our fresh fruit and vegetable supplies.  Red paw-paw is now in plentiful supply – very nice and refreshing with lime juice squeezed over.  Himself spent the afternoon thinking about washing the caravan.

Sunday was also another day to catch up on some house work (the bathroom and floors do require occasional cleaning!) and to continue thinking about washing the caravan.  We have had a couple of very cool mornings, with the temperature dropping to 10 degrees, but up to 24 by 9.00 am.  This afternoon was “Sundaes on Sunday” near the caravan park swimming pool, with the owners providing the makings for ice cream sundaes.  Lots of happy faces, including a black and white one who fronted up for a serve.

Monday morning necessitated a trip to Edge Hill to arrange an appointment for a birthday gift from my son and his family – now looking forward to Thursday morning.  The caravan still hasn’t been washed.

Monday afternoon was time to feed the fish again in the creek beside the caravan park.  One of us walks up and down the bridge while the other just sits and tosses bread.  We had been there for a while, enjoying the tranquillity, when I spotted a snake in the water and loudly called out, “Snake!”  The one sitting down managed to get to his feet in half a second flat.  We watched the snake until it disappeared under a rock.  Research revealed the snake to be a slaty-grey snake, common around waterways in the Cairns region.  Needless to say, today was the first time I hadn’t taken the camera with me.

Birthday at Port Douglas

Friday, 18 July 2014

 

Local fauna

Came down in the last wet season

Jungle perch

New lookout

Tuesday, it rained, and then rained some more, but at least it was warm rain.  With little else to do, Himself decided to undertake some important shopping and talk to the Mitsubishi people about having the Pajero serviced.  They could do it that afternoon!  When he went out to collect the vehicle from the service yard, the reception girls had tied a large gold bow to the roof racks – and no, he didn’t take a photo!  While he was away, I took the opportunity to try out the new tray for my convection oven and made some biscuits, which the man opposite asked if he could quality control.

Wednesday, the sun came out again and the temperature shot up.  I needed to visit the Cairns Regional Council to sign a legal document from the Kingborough Council and despite all arrangements being made and Marion expecting me, the receptionist was very protective of Marion’s privacy and it took some persuasion before Marion was advised of my presence.  We farewelled a couple of neighbours this evening as well – the one’s opposite are headed to the Cape and the ones behind are headed south.

Thursday was probably our hottest day so far – a good day to sit in an air conditioned hairdressing salon.  The ladies even remembered me from last year.  We thought it would be cooler during the afternoon if we had a walk to the Crystal Cascades and while it was cooler under the trees, the humidity was much higher.  We were also treated to a number of Ulysses butterflies – we have seen so many this year!  The water level is also much higher than previous years.  Since our last visit, a viewing platform has been constructed at the end of the pathway, with views to the waterfall on the left and the creek on the right.  Being a student free day (school resumed last Monday and Friday is a public holiday owing to the Cairns Show), a number of teenage boys were showing a number of teenage girls how brave they were and jumping from the high cliffs into the water.

One of the park owners has told us that he was called back to the park after 11.00 pm a few nights ago when a Wicked camper came in very late and made the mistake of attempting to free camp beside the overnight caretaker.  He politely asked the Wicked people to leave, they refused, he rang the owner’s son who arrived and informed the Wicked people they had to leave.  The Wicked people again refused and rang the police to say they were being threatened.  I gather the police arrived and sorted out the sleeping arrangements, but probably not to Wicked’s liking.

Today is my birthday and despite not getting breakfast in bed, I did receive a lovely pair of gold earrings.

With the temperature again expected to reach 27 degrees and a cloudless sky, my decision was to have lunch at Port Douglas, together with a spot of retail therapy.  The drive along the coast was spectacular, with the air being so clear and the sea very calm and blue.  We joined the usual throng of tourists at the lookout on the way and took the obligatory photos.  The crocodile in the Mowbray River was hiding today, but the tide wasn’t very low so there wasn’t much mud for lounging thereon.  We had a lovely lunch, with a glass of wine, and enjoyed poking about among the many shops.  Some very nice resort wear was available, for a very nice price, but not really suitable for wearing at home.  We stopped at the lookout again on our return journey as there was a hang glider just hanging about waiting to be photographed.  It has been a very enjoyable day, with lots of telephone calls and well wishes via the internet.