Botanic Gardens

Monday, 14 July 2014

 

Is that you, Barry?

Tiny fungi

A flower for Richmond supporters

Tasmanians to the left, Victorians to the right

Yesterday being another beautiful day, we decided to visit the Botanic Gardens.  The gardens are as nice as previous years and we certainly appreciated walking in the shade among the rain forest plants.  Some plants were in flower, others will be in the next two or three weeks – every visit will reveal something new.

We had dinner at the Edge Hill Bowls Club last night – Zelma’s suggestion – and were joined by Gladys, Graeme, Zelma, Brian and some friends of Zelma.  The Sunday night special is always roast beef or pork, with a large plateful of vegetables, together with a glass of wine for $13.  Very good value.

This morning we headed to Cairns Central Shopping Centre and then to Harvey Norman – our rice cooker decided last week that it had cooked its last lot of rice!  Cairns Central has expanded since last year but the K-Mart didn’t have what we were looking for, so it was on to Harvey Norman with three brands to select from.

The weather today is a little cloudy and breezy, but still about 25 degrees.

Cowboys and Bulls

Saturday, 12 July 2014

 

Going, going ...

Gone!

Might need to use some hair product next time.

The barrel race is faster on a horse.

Bulls for rent!

Just a lot of bull.

A couple of friendly firies

What else would you expect to see at a rodeo?

I am NOT getting up!!!

Ride 'em, cowboy

Ride 'em, cowgirl

More cowboys than calves

The mobile lockup?

Friday was another beautiful day, with the temperature hovering around the customary 27 degrees.

After visiting the doctor in the morning to have my sutures removed and receive the good news that no further treatment was necessary – I have something that has about 50 letters in its unpronounceable name – I decided that a celebratory ice cream was called for!  We also took the opportunity to visit Rusty’s Market and stock up for the week ahead.  If only we could take the Sebago potatoes home with us …

We had a day out today – at the Mareeba Rodeo.  We didn’t have cowboy hats or boots to wear, but still managed to blend into the crowd.  We really enjoyed the day, even though we had some rather numb bums by the middle of the afternoon.  We were surprised at how young some of the competitors were (probably only 4-5 years old) and how well, in the barrel races, the older children did compared to the adults.  No animals appeared to be injured, but unfortunately the same couldn’t be said for some of the competitors.  The ambulance was called at one stage for someone in the competitors’ area who was either injured or suffered a medical condition.  About 15 minutes later, a helicopter lifted off from the back of the arena and headed straight for Cairns.  The bull riders were aged from about 5 years to adults – the littlies were riding calves with very close adult contact/supervision, the older children were on steers and the teenagers were riding the same sized bulls as the men.

We don’t have any plans at this stage to follow the rodeo circuit.

Cattana Wetlands

Thursday, 10 July 2014

 

It is surprising how quickly the days pass, especially when we are so busy being on holiday.  The weather this week has been superb, with clear skies and daytime temperatures around the 26-27 degrees.  Unfortunately, clear skies at night also mean much lower night time temperatures, with Cairns having its lowest minimum this week since last August – 10 degrees.  We had to recover the heater from under the bed …

We have had a fairly quiet week; Queensland school holidays are still happening so we have avoided well known tourist spots.  Apart from a walk along the Esplanade and an ice cream, of course.  Other than that, it has been walks along Freshwater Creek and feeding the fish on occasion.

Yesterday was the big bocce tournament, with us taking on Gladys and Graeme, and Zelma and Brian.  Gladys and Graeme had the Rosny high fives happening on occasion, and Brian was a bit of a dark horse with the odd well placed shot, but the overall winners were … US!  We had great fun, keeping some of the tourists amused and then adjourned to a nice afternoon tea provided by Zelma.  Happy Hour yesterday was a Tasmanian get together with most of the Tasmanians in the park getting to know one another.

This morning we became fully paid up, card carrying members of the Cazaly Club – the local AFL club.  It cost us all of $2 each and the discounts on meals are much more than the $2 fee.  As it is my birthday this month, I also received a birthday present – a free meal and a free drink!

Late this afternoon we visited the Cattana Wetlands – a reclaimed swamp not too far away.  We were probably a hour too early to see a lot of birds, but did see some darters, ducks, swallows, honeyeaters, some scrub turkeys, an egret and jacana, but no snakes or crocodiles.  There were also numerous small winged insects!  The scenery was stunning around the two lakes, with paperbarks growing in the swampy areas and waterlilies on the lake.  We went suitably attired for the conditions – the very distinct odour of eau-de-Bushmans did drift along behind us.  This place was well worth a visit, especially very, very early in the morning or just before sunset.

Snags and Snakes

Friday, 4 July 2014

Another wet and humid day, just perfect for rest and relaxation. It was also a good day for our first visit this year to Rusty’s Market to stock up on fruit and vegetables– avocadoes (4 for $2) and Sebago potatoes being top of the list. We purchased a small roast of lamb and thoroughly enjoyed the lamb and roast potatoes; the fresh strawberries were also very tasty.

 

Saturday, 5 July 2014

 

 

Freshwater Creek

 

 

Freshwater Creek

 

 

Sing Australia

 

Looking for somewhere warm to hide

 

Are you sure it wont bite?

 

Graeme, Gladys, Les, Zelma and Brian

The rain disappeared overnight and the sun shone – and all the women in the caravan park made a beeline for the laundry!

This morning we decided to visit the weekly Cairns market near the Lagoon and decided it was very similar to previous years – plenty of jewellery (some very good, some of a lesser quality) and local craft works.  There was certainly a good variety of goods available to ponder over.  As we were wandering back to the car park, we came across a group of ukulele players giving an impromptu performance, getting in some practice before tonight’s attempt at the world record of the most ukuleles playing at once.

After lunch, we went for a walk along Freshwater Creek and took a few slices of stale bread just in case the fish were still under the bridge.  They were.  We were also amazed at the large number of Ulysses butterflies among the rainforest trees growing right to the creek’s edges and even had a few fly directly above our heads.

Tonight we were lucky to a free sausage sizzle in the camp kitchen, complete with entertainment.  The owners of the caravan park and their family cooked up sausages and onion to be served with coleslaw and cheese, with at least 150 people expected to eat.  Our entertainment was the Cairns chapter of Sing Australia – a chorus of people about our age who sang songs that we all recognised, knew the words to and could sing along.  During the first round of entertainment, an unexpected guest or two arrived – a black headed python that just wanted to hide somewhere warm and a very unhappy young saltwater crocodile.  Himself was very, very brave and actually touched the snake!

Sunday, 6 July 2014

Hoppy waiting for breakfast

 

 

Fish watching

 

Fluffy pink flower

 

Ditto the weather – another beautiful day with the temperature around the 27-28 degrees; we are definitely looking for the shade.

We were very happy to see that the crippled bush curlew that was in the caravan park last year is still here – he now comes and sits outside the caravan at breakfast time and waits for a serving of chicken.  His parents are also still in the park and should start nesting in the next few weeks.

Today we drove to the Smithfield Shopping Centre, mainly to stock up on some chicken products from Lenards, now that we have a bit of space in the freezer.  This afternoon, we simply had a short walk to the creek to feed the fish (and mozzies) before the football telecast.  Fingers crossed …