Cairns

Wednesday, 27 June 2018

Worth the wait

Fish feeding (and is that a crocodile?)

Cheer, cheer, the red and the white ...

Harry Potter impersonation under the new shade

Mist and mud on the waterfront

We have been in Cairns for almost a week – how time flies!  The first couple of days were spent setting up the awning (plus sides), then adding the new shade extension to the front.  It was also necessary to find time for a visit to the doctor and a CT scan for Himself (results pending) and most importantly, a visit to Movenpick for that much anticipated ice cream!  It was sooooo good.  Of course, a trip to Bunnings was also essential for a pot plant and rain gauge (26 mls since we bought it on Saturday) and something else that we just had to have.  Throw in renewing our membership at Cazaley’s (and a small addition to the washing machine money J), some retail therapy, a massage and another ice cream and that about filled out time.  Himself’s favourite broom (well, only broom actually) decided it wanted a much shorter handle; it was amazing how many snickers he received walking out of the shopping centre riding his new broom!

Tuesday evening saw us venture back to Edgehill Bowls Club for our usual triples game and to renew acquaintanceships; we both came home with prizes, although I won the booby prize and Himself was in the winning team.  Profitable night all round.

The weather has been a bit iffy, being hot and humid and with some drizzly rain during a couple of days and a few heavier falls overnight.  This morning we even enjoyed some "free camping," with the power going off at some time during the night, it was necessary to light the gas, boil the kettle, grill the toast and wonder about the people who said only half their power was off - the lights were still working!  Perhaps the lights were operating off the 12 volt system???

Our daily walks along Freshwater Creek have revealed how much damage was done during the March floods – it is amazing how much debris still exists and how high it is!  There is still plenty of work for the local council to undertake but at least the vegetation grows very quickly.

Cairns at Last

Thursday, 21 June 2018

Morning mist

Kauri pine at Lake Barrine

Millaa Millaa Falls

Tea planation (part thereof)

Cuppa anyone?

Granulator

Drying machine

Woohoo

It was a very chilly start to Wednesday at Yungaburra, with the lake covered in mist and frost on exposed areas of ground.  Although very clear and sunny all day, the wind remained very cold.  We had been looking forward to a Devonshire tea at the Lake Barrine Teahouse and today was it!  The lake looked it usual beautiful self and although the verandah was in shade, it was sheltered from the wind and warm enough to sit outside (with our jackets on, of course!).  Unfortunately, the scones no longer lived up to their reputation were extremely crumbly and held together by the delicious plum jam and lashings of whipped cream.  More crumbs (and dark jam) made their way to my white trousers than actually into my mouth, which was rather annoying and extremely disappointing.  After a quick walk to check out the twin kauri pines, we decided on a drive to Millaa Millaa Falls, had a quick look at all the young bodies turning bright red in the sunshine and then stopped at the Nerada Tea Plantation.  We had a late lunch/early afternoon tea here, inspected the displays and viewed the drying room before returning to Yungaburra.

Thursday morning was time to hitch up again for the final leg into Cairns, only one and a half hours away.  Although a little warmer than the previous day, there was still a strong southerly wind.  The benefits of a good tail wind and flat countryside were soon apparent before we reached Mareeba – for the first time ever we were down to 13.5 litres per 100 kilometres while towing!  Traffic was quite heavy on the Kuranda Range and we were at the Big4 Crystal Cascades Caravan Park by 10.30am.

This caravan park was completely devastated by a flash flood in late March and only re-opened the caravan sites on the 1^st June, with the cabins still awaiting the approval of the insurance company.  Although it is possible to still see some of the damage, the park has recovered well and just waiting for some more tourists to arrive.

Setting up did take longer than normal, with a very friendly chap coming to visit and talk many times.  As we will be here for ten weeks, there is a little more to setting up than when on the road – the side and rear screens are now in place, the floor mat is down, the cupboard is up, the lighting works and what hasn’t been done today will happen tomorrow.

Yungabarra

Tuesday, 19 June 2018

Green Tablelands

Strawberries with sugar

Lake Tinaroo from our window

Still Lake Tinaroo

Sunrise

Waiting for the guests to say goodbye

Fresh tribute

Preparing ...

Yungaburra flowers

Not having unhitched the car from the caravan during our stay at Undara, it didn’t take too long to be on the road early on Monday morning, heading for our final stop at Yungaburra, before reaching Cairns.  Although clear and sunny, the southerly wind was very brisk and created a decent headwind for the first part of our journey; once we turned north, we then enjoyed the benefits of a tail wind.  Once again, the road climbed gradually until Innot Springs, then it was a fairly sharp climb to 1050 metres at Ravenshoe.  After passing the wind farm, the countryside continued to be hilly and windy as we started the descent to the Atherton Tableland.  What a change in the country today – savannah to rain forest to the lush, green hills and Friesian cows!  And sugar cane!!!

We are spending three nights at the Lakeside Caravan Park at Yungaburra, on the banks of the very full Lake Tinaroo and directly opposite the Afghanistan Avenue of Honour.  We have a site which looks straight down the lake – very pleasant aspect and especially beautiful in the early dawn light.

Unfortunately, there are a large number of dogs in the park and no one seems concerned about enforcing the regulations – dogs are allowed roam and we have a particularly nasty specimen in the caravan next to us which Mummy allows to run free and do as he likes.

We had a quick trip to Atherton after lunch for fuel, stopping at a roadside stand advertising avocadoes, only to find they were all gone.  So we consoled ourselves with a stop at Shaylee Strawberry Farm and had one of their home made ice creams each instead.

Tuesday was spent waiting for the only washing machine in this section of the park to be available and then discovering only a couple of lines were free on the clothes line – not good when it was sheets and towels day as well.  A line was tied under our awning and the clothes horse resurrected from under the bed.  The stiff southerly breeze (freezing cold, southerly breeze actually) helped with the drying.

We visited the Gallo Dairyland, with its very distinctive 300 cow odour, for lunch (fortunately the smell doesn’t intrude indoors) and felt it would be very rude to leave without purchasing some of their home made chocolates.  Following a drive around some of the back rounds, we enjoyed a walk around the pretty Yungaburra village, with its gorgeous hanging baskets and preparations for Pink Ribbon Day in full swing.

Undara

Sunday, 17 June 2018

Steers on the move

Breakfast on the patio

Volcanic rocks

Getting there ...

Staying in touch

Local flora

Contemplating Iron Pot Creek

View from the Lookout

Made it!

Dining Room

Our final morning in Charters Towers was spent checking out the medical facilities at the local hospital.  Himself wasn’t himself after getting out of bed and when his condition had improved after a couple of hours, it was off to the hospital for an expert opinion.  It would appear that kidney stones were the problem, all was well by lunchtime and we returned home with a referral to the imaging service in Cairns for a CT scan on our arrival.  Easy to make an appointment?  No!  The young lady refused to make an appointment because the referring doctor wasn’t on their list of doctors and she also refused to accept a referral from another hospital.  After twenty minutes of robust discussion, Himself now has an appointment to see a GP in Cairns to obtain another referral!!  The afternoon was spent with one resting comfortably in the shade and the other “doing” the shops and supermarket in preparation for our two nights at Undara.  The days finished enjoying dinner with Denise and Barry.

Saturday morning was time to say goodbye to our friends, as well as Charters Towers, and head north once again.  The road was excellent for the first 90 kms and after passing Fletcher Creek, the traffic virtually disappeared.  We only had two sections of one bitumen lane (less than 20 kms in total) during the 385 km journey and apart from a few sections of older bitumen, it was very easy driving, although once again it was a long uphill climb – 750 metres, in fact.  Not much wildlife, apart from a very ugly black pig which didn’t seem at all keen on moving from the side of the road, an eagle which I frightened as I rounded a corner and plenty of very happy looking cattle.  We had a stop for lunch on the side of the road with some very camera shy steers keeping a close eye on us and arrived at the Undara Caravan Park shortly before 2.00 pm.  This is a lovely bush caravan park attached to the resort – we have full use of the facilities – and it is very quiet and very dark.  Once again, no television.

Sunday morning was quite overcast and chilly, with a fresh southerly breeze (something to do with all the freezing weather affecting the southern states perhaps).  We decided to delay our walk until after lunch, when the temperature may have increased.  We treated ourselves to lunch at the resort dining room, which is surrounded by the signature train carriages, and both enjoyed some very nice barramundi with a macadamia nut topping, accompanied by some very comforting chips!  With the sun now shining, we set out for Atkinson’s Lookout, supposedly a one hour return walk (one hour twenty five minutes was actually pretty good!) which climbed a couple of small ridges behind the resort, crossed a waterless creek and ended up on a large rock slab looking out over the countryside to the south (or somewhere in that direction).  Himself insisted that I take the lead on the single file track – I’m sure it had nothing to do with snakes!!!  Surprisingly, despite the large amount of rocks, we didn’t see one.

Charters Towers & Texas Longhorns

Thursday, 14 June 2018

Saving Dolly

Our safari transport

Amigo and friend

Specially constructed race

Bison

Making friends with Lefty

Plenty to eat this year!

What else would you find on a longhorn property in the tropics?  A heeland coo (highland cow for the non-Scots)!

No snakes up here

J.R.

Buffalo (top of the pecking order)

Photo with J.R.

Lefty back again

Burdekin Weir

On Towers Hill

World War II bunker

Wednesday was our longest day on the road – 481 kms from Emerald to Charters Towns took us six and three quarters hours.  The road was good with some traffic between Emerald and Clermont, where we topped up the fuel tank.  The traffic thinned out considerably after the turn-off to Mackay and unfortunately, the standard of the roadway deteriorated.  Large sections between Clermont and Belyanda Crossing were very bumpy, forcing the speed down to 60 km/h at times.  It would appear that this speed was a bit too slow for a few drivers towing caravans, who had to hurry past.  No doubt, they also had to spend time on arrival cleaning up the mess in their caravans!  We stopped at Belyanda Crossing for lunch before changing drivers once again for the final leg to Charters Towers.  Somehow, Himself always manages to select the best parts of the highways, leaving the bumpy sections to improve my driving ability!!!

There wasn’t much wildlife to be seen today, apart from a few emus, a large flock of brolgas and a few dead kangaroos.  Apart from the coal mine/s near Clermont, we drove through cultivated farm lands – arables and seed sorghum – for quite some time, as well as numerous cattle stations.

We are staying at the Big4 Aussie Oasis Holiday Park at Charters Towers; it has certainly changed since we stayed here previously.  The extra large sites are now much smaller, and there are more sites naturally.  There appears to be entertainment or food at the campfire on most nights – tonight we had a paramedic give CPR instruction (complete with his little dolls) and advice on treating snake bite.  After his finished, a singer (complete with loud music) took over.

We were in for another hot, clear day as we set off early this morning for our Texas Longhorn Safari at Leahton Park, north of Charters Towers.  This 1100 acre property has 110 head of stock (the going rate is 1 animal per 10 acres in this area) and is home to the largest herd of full blood Texas Longhorns in Australia, including J.R. with his 3 metre wingspan!  We were given seats on All-Terrain Polaris Rangers (we had the back seat, facing backwards!) and proceeded a few metres through the first gate before stopping, disembarking, entering The Love Shack and learning the art of artificial insemination.  None of the cows on the property have ever actually met a bull.  Back on board and we were met by two American Bison, before further gates and meeting the remainder of the herd, including Lefty – he liked being the centre of attention and followed us practically the whole way.  We stopped a number of times for information and photo opportunities and we allowed alight from the vehicles except when near the water buffalo (can’t be trusted!).  J.R. was very obliging and wandered away from the buffaloes so we could have a photo with him in the background.  The morning finished with a very pleasant morning tea, complete with home made biscuits and slices.

This afternoon we had a drive to the Burdekin Weir and then back into town and up Towers Hill, with its World War II bunkers and tremendous views across the town and beyond.

Late this afternoon we were pleasantly surprised when our friends, Denise and Barry, arrived unexpectedly and pulled into a site only one away from us.  Might be a long happy hour!