Daintree

Monday, 31 July 2017

Into the jaws of death ...

Intrepid explorers

Brother/sister cuddle at the top of the tower

I'll save you!

Dinorsaurs

Giant echidna keeping an eye on the tourists

Green tree snake also keeping an eye on tourists

Cape Tribulation visitors

Forgot about green ants!!!

Exploring the mangroves

Cape Tribulation swamp

At the lookout

Friendship stones

First course

The party's over ...

Last Saturday, we headed north with Sally and Paul and spent a very enjoyable day at the Daintree.  With the tide low, we knew that the large crocodile in the Mowbray River would be resting on the mud flats, however, Sally wasn’t quite quick enough to spot him.  The clouds cleared as we approached the Daintree River ferry crossing but the temperature stayed at a very pleasant 26 degrees for most of the day.  We had a short wait for the ferry, which gave the visitors time to look inside a crocodile’s mouth and take some photos of the river (from a suitable distance!).  Our first stop after crossing the Daintree River was at the Alexander Lookout, with its views south along the coast.

Our next stop was at the Discovery Centre, with lunch taking precedence over the jungle tour.  Once refreshed, we set off through the treetops for the tower, with its views over the canopy, before returning to ground level and Sally’s search for the very elusive cassowary.  We didn’t find the bird, but Sally did discover a very large “python” above the entrance to the reptile house.  Our jungle tour concluded with a walk through the Jurassic Valley, with its many life-size, vocal and animated dinosaurs.

We continued on to the beach at Cape Tribulation, along with many other tourists, and enjoyed a walk along the white sands before venturing among the mangroves (with an eye out for large reptiles, of course).  We joined a number of other tourists at the lookout, availing ourselves of their help to take group photos.  On our return trip, we stopped at the Daintree Ice Cream place (along with all the tourists who had been at the beach, plus a few extra busloads) to sample their ice cream made with tropical fruits and seeds.

We didn’t have to wait very long for the return ferry crossing and we soon headed south, with a stop at Rex Lookout for a photo opportunity of the coastline and another stop at the “Friendship Rocks” which have once again appeared north of Ellis Beach.  Naturally, we had to add to the large number of piles, but certainly couldn’t match the stack over 5 feet high!

Sunday we spent at Rusty’s Market in the morning and relaxing in the afternoon – very sunny and hot again – before Sally and Paul returned from their day’s travels and we prepared our very own Dinner Under the Stars.  Caravanning certainly doesn’t have to be barbecues and salad – we made a very presentable roast dinner with the trimmings, brownies and fresh fruit for dessert, after dinner mints, coffee and some very nice wine.  A lovely finish to the weekend.

Cairns Continues

Thursday, 27 July 2017

Purple crab

The tide is nearly in!

At the marina

Oscar came to visit

Barron Gorge

Interesting rock formations

Waterfall in the rain

Togetherness under a brolly

Family group at Lake Placid

Siblings at the Lagoon

$595,000 view

Last Friday was a public holiday for the Cairns Show, with non-tourist businesses closed for the day.  With the weather continuing fine and hot, we decided on an early and long walk along the Esplanade to the end of the Marina and return.  There were a number of very nice boats moored alongside the jetty – our caravan would have fitted many times into the lounge area of some of them!  The weekend seemed to disappear with all the usual everyday living requirements and some long walks along the creek, with a very keen eye out for more snakes!

Tuesday night at bowls proved quite profitable, with Himself part of the winning team and receiving a $30 voucher.

Sally and Paul were due to arrive on Tuesday and, of course, we experienced a change in the weather and clouds started to roll in.  Wednesday saw a dramatic drop in the temperature, with a maximum of only 23, and frequent rain showers.  After spending the morning catching up on family and travel news, we gathered up all the umbrellas and set out for the Barron Gorge and Lake Placid.  The rainforest was quite stunning in the rain, with the mist rising and the leaves shining; the river gorge rocks were also quite beautiful and black in the wet.  Lake Placid has had some landscaping and development work since we were there last, however, the crocodile warnings have not been removed.  We drove into Cairns and were able to enjoy a walk along the boardwalk and around the Lagoon between showers, as well as enjoy an ice cream.

On our return to Redlynch, we made a detour to Park Ridge and The Peak, where, last Saturday we discovered a very nice level block for sale.  With views over the city and Trinity Inlet, as well as the Kuranda, I’m sure it was a steal at only $595,000 (negotiable).  Sally and Paul were very impressed with our choice and we only need to convince one (or both) of our children to buy it, build a holiday house which we would caretake for most of the year while they were working.

Birthday Celebrations in Cairns

Thursday, 20 July 2017

With Jack and Aidan

Our group (Aidan likes to make funny faces!)

Jack enjoyed the profiteroles

Sisters

With David

Family group

Enjoying the Lagoon

Photo opportunity

Aidan enjoying some time with his great aunty

Waiting for the crocodile cruise

Very exciting, holding a crocodile

Turtle's version of stress!

The weather continued fine, sunny and clear for a couple of big days this week.  First up, my birthday was celebrated on Tuesday and not only did I have a sister present, but my son and his family, together with his parents-in-law were expected as well.  They have been cruising the Queensland coast and but pure coincidence, happened to be in Cairns on Tuesday.

Although the ship arrived at 9.00 am off Yorkey’s Knob, it was 11.30 am before they were able to disembark, after queuing for two and a half hours.  We met them at the boat club and took the boys with us while the four adults caught the bus into the centre of Cairns.  We enjoyed lunch at Barnacle Bill’s, including a surprise “cake” of dessert profiteroles, complete with candle and singing.  This was the first time for many years that I have had a family birthday – so nice.  I was also very lucky in receiving some very nice presents, including a handmade bracelet and necklace from my grandsons.

With the cruise ship moving to Port Douglas overnight and David, Shan and Jack planning on a snorkelling tour of the Great Barrier Reef, we drove north to collect Aidan and Shan’s parents and spent the day at Hartley’s Crocodile Adventures.  Aidan was very keen to have his photo taken holding a crocodile (although he did think hard about the snake!) and to know who tall a cassowary was.  Unfortunately, the cassowary wasn't the least bit interested in getting to its feet.  The highlight of the day seemed to be the inland taipan doing a great big poo during the snake show!

This morning, with clear skies still and the temperature hovering about 28 degrees, we farewelled Kathryn as she returned home to -2 overnight temperatures.

Sunny Cairns

Monday, 17 July 2017

Fish feeding

CIAF fish

Looking for patterns

Photo bombed!!!

Stingray

Centenary Lake

Chinese Friendship Pavilion

Garden entrance

Beehive ginger flower

All the food groups represented

Noticed shopping

Plane wreck at Kuranda

Kuranda Markets

Termite mound - and Kathryn

Palm Cove

Old Sydney ferry Barrenjoey

It has been a busy few days following the arrival of sister, Kathryn, last Thursday afternoon.  Her heavy winter clothes were hardly appropriate for the Cairns’ climate!  We spent Friday morning catching up on important stuff like body maintenance before heading to the Cairns Indigenous Art Fair after lunch.  There were some very impressive art works on display, many of which would have looked very nice on my walls.  We completed the afternoon with a visit to the Chinese Friendship Garden at Centenary Lakes and a walk through the Botanic Gardens.

In order to use some winning vouchers, we opted for dinner on Friday night at Cazaly’s.  Our initial reaction was that Friday was not a good time to visit – many, many other people have the same idea.  We discovered it is the night when raffle tickets are handed out free when food/drink is purchased and there are many draws throughout the night.  We were only there for one draw and didn’t bring any meat home.  However, we did decide to donate $5 each to the poker machines – Himself very quickly won $50, Kathryn (who didn’t know what to do and just pressed a button) immediately won $100 and I ended up with $4.  The night didn’t turn out too bad after all.

Saturday was time to hit the market and shop, a foot massage, as well as support the ice cream shop for a very healthy lunch.  Sunday was also time for more markets, this time at Kuranda.  It didn’t really take too long to walk down the street, stopping when necessary, so we set out for Jacques Coffee Plantation and enjoyed their new film and some coffee.  The weather continued to be perfect.

This morning we headed to Palm Cove for a morning walk along the beach, which is exactly what one thinks of as a typical tropical beach.  There were plenty of tourists about, many of them taking advantage of the numerous eateries along the waterfront.  The afternoon was spent cruising Trinity Inlet, enjoying the weather and views and hoping for a sighting of a crocodile – no such luck!