Last day in Port Douglas

No photos today.

This morning, after a hot and restless night, I was awake early. Suspecting that this would occur, I had made provision to have breakfast with little noise as my neighbours are quite close.

After breakfast, I went for a nice cycle tour around the town and its extended boundary. I found an industrial area and where to get discount fuel. I was out for over an hour and dripping with perspiration when I arrived back at the Karavan. So I did a few things around the Karavan as I cooled down before a shower.

Once I was showered and hung out the ride clothes to dry after a wash, I went into the CBD to Java Blue again for coffee and raison toast followedby another coffee. While there I read up on places I should visit on my way to Cooktown by the coastal route, Bloomfield Road, from Port Douglas via Cape Tribulation. Apparently, I am in for some stunning scenery.

Then returned to the Caravan Park where  I sat and read a book I am reading, Peter FitzSimons "A Simpler Life". It is a memoir of his life. Peter has the dubious honour of being the only Wallaby Rugby player sent off playing against the New Zealand All Blacks. It has been highly commended in numerous magazines and I have almost finished it and thoroughly enjoyed it. It is very easy to read.

So that happened a bit today, along with a little snooze after lunch. Then to town again for a coffee and then to the Shell Service Station on the highway where the price is discounted. I refuelled and up to date the Bravo has averaged 16.46 litres per 100 kms. It has been consistent around this usage. It will be interesting to see where it is by the time I get back to Cairns in mid August.

I hooked up the Bravo to the Karavan to run it for a while and charge the Karavan batteries up a little to ensure I have no problem watching the Wallabies play the All Balcks in Melbourne to night. I have some Rugby fans from New Zealand right next to me. Chris and Sharon who are from farming backgrounds. Both have lost partners over the past 10 years and have 3 sons each. Chris has retired from farming and only one son in agriculture while Sharon has sons still in it. They plan to watch the game with me.

The next post will be from Cooktown.

Around Port Douglas

This morning, as usual, I was awake quite early. The night had been only down to about 22.5 degrees. So I slept a bit fitfully and may have to get used to it as I go further north. It is nicer than waking to the cold which a few people are currently in way down south in the snow.

About 6.50, I set off to cycle around Port Douglas. It is not a big town but it is really nice and easy to get around. There are a few old buildings especially in close proximity to the CBD.

My track from the Caravan Park took me towards the Captain Cook Highway that I came in on yesterday and went to Mossman Gorge on. There are some lovely homes along the way and not very old. All the while I was passing by various resorts and two Golf courses that were very well maintained and the layouts look incredible.

Some of this area developed due the late and infamous Christopher Skase. His vision was certainly correct but as we know his manner of doing so was not at all ethical. Any way the town has gone on without him and his damaged investors have continued on the best they could.

All the streets are leafy and cool looking and the building blocks appear to be of a reasonable size. There are a lot of flats, apartments, motels and camping areas. To complement all this there are so many shops of almost anything imaginable.

On my way around, I found where Susanne and Rocky were married last year. It was not hard to find and is a beautiful location.

After the ride, I returned to the Karavan dripping with perspiration so I had to do some stretches and cool down. Lots of water and time and soon I was able to have a shower.

Now it was time to visit the town and have a muggacino at Java Blue where I did yesterday. I took it slowly reading up on my future travels north. The street was busy as it was about 1030.

As my back is till causing me problems I went to the Natural Therapy Day Spa Centre and had a 1 hour remedial massage from a young Japanese lady. She did a good job and I felt she knew what she was doing. I have felt a bit of relief again. Thankfully, my back does not worry me cycling. I think I may have caused problems doing the stabiliser legs on the Karavan.

By now it was lunch time so I returned to the Caravan Park and had a light lunch. During the part of the afternoon after lunch, I did a tidy up and then sat and read a book, until I had a little snooze in the chair.

Then back to Marina Mirage for an afternoon coffee and a relax watching the yachts and boats returning to the Marina after trips off shore. Then I went to get some photos of Four Mile Beach in the later afternoon. I might even go for a swim tomorrow after my bike ride to cool down. There is permanent Lifeguard presence to save tourists from harm.

So I will have an early evening and some reading. Another day in Paradise!

To and Around Port Douglas

As the Willie Nelson song went “On the road again”. Today was only a very short trip to the resort town of Port Douglas.

The trip along was on a very windy and not too wide road but the scenery was stunning nonetheless. I stopped several times to get some photos. Quite a lot of traffic uses this road.

Soon I was in Port Douglas and was very lucky that the site I booked was free. I was very early to get in, 0930. So by about 1030 I was all set up and it was time for a drive around the town.

On the way around I saw Marina Mirage, Rydges and numerous other up market destinations along with the magnificent golf courses I passed by. This is a real resort town and I believe some of the others I have passed through are only pretenders. I am sure they would not appreciate that. It is very up market and appeals to me.

I went to the Tourist Information Centre and received some great information not only for here but also for the days ahead. Most helpful and even pointed me to a very nice Cafe, Java Blue. Muggacino and raison toast which has not happened a lot so far.

After that, I set off for Mossman Gorge. A visit there is very worthwhile and I am sure that half Australia was there by the crowd but I think it was more the fine and hot day that brought everyone out. There a fantastic rapids there and a heck of a lot of water passing by. Some people were even swimming but said the water was a little cool.

Soon it was time to return to Mossman and do a drive around the sugar service town with a big sugar mill. Then a short drive back to the Caravan Park and a late lunch.

After having the new battery fitted yesterday, a warning light was on all the time. After a chat to my service man in Ballina, I had a good look and found two wires were not on the right terminals. So a quick change over and test and all is good again. While I was in the service mood, I also fixed up a slightly warn Anderson plug terminal that put power into the Karavan while hooked up to the Bravo. Those little items took about an hour to sort out.

Then down to the shops to get a stock up on groceries and the prices seem to be the same as most places. I am building up the supplies before I go to the top. While in the CBD I had a coffee at the Coffee Club which was fine, too.

Then back to the Caravan Park and a bit of quiet time and sorting the groceries.

So ends another day in Far North Queensland.

Last day around Cairns

This morning I actually went for a short but intense and hilly ride on my bike. I travelled to the Barron Gorge Power Station some kilometres from the Caravan Park. I passed a few people walking and running and also cycling. It is obviously a popular track. The hills were short and steep and brought up my heart rate. It was good to get out but I discovered that a pedal bearing was on the wane and would require replacement.

It seems it is time for replacements. I noticed yesterday that the auxiliary battery was not keeping the freezer on the back of the Bravo going for all day or more. One of my first destinations this morning was to Battery World to get a deep cycle battery. The fellow there checked the existing battery and I even saw that it was down considerably. It was a start type battery that was 3 years old and was not holding as much as half its capacity. So I decided to change it to a deep cycle battery that is more suited to running a fridge/freezer. A few cables were relocated and a small modification made to the battery tray and the battery was fitted safely.

While attending to the battery, Ian and Kay turned up and went shopping nearby for some items they needed. As soon as I was finished, we travelled to the Marina Car park in Cairns near the CBD. We found a lovely and pleasant cafe and sat and chatted for several hours. During this time, we consumed morning tea and later we had a simple lunch of toasted sandwiches along with more coffees.

Finally, it was time to say farewell to Ian and Kay as we all had things to do. They set off on the return to Tinaroo. Meanwhile I went to a bike shop to purchase a set of new cleated pedals to replace the ones on the Giant mountain bike. On the way, I had to get a prescription filled at a Chemist. Eventually, I was finished with the collecting of items and returned to the Lake Placid Caravan Park.

Once back in the Caravan Park, I did some washing and drying of clothes. It has been quite humid and up to about 33 degrees in the Karavan. So there is a need for regular washing. It may become a little more slack going up the Cape but will either do it as soon as possible or as conditions allow.

As tonight is my final night here, I have commenced packing some items away to allow an orderly departure tomorrow. During all this I have chatted with various fellow travellers that are parked near me.

So has ended a much warmer and somewhat humid day in Cairns. Maybe it will be different in some way in about 3 weeks when I may return. I will view more of the city and its tourist locations when I return about election time.

Trip to and from Kuranda

Today arrived after a considerable amount of rain during the night. I had suspected that we may have another wet day but it turned into a dry but overcast day.

At around 0830, I set off for Skyrail Cairns which was only about 10 minutes from the Caravan Park. I had booked a trip to go up on the Skyrail cable car system and return on the Kuranda Scenic Railway.

After arriving at the Skyrail terminal and parking for the day, I made my way to the check in counter. As I had paid for the trip on the Internet, all I was required to produce was a booking number. Then I had a muggacino in the cafe while waiting to hop into one of the cable cars.

What an absolutely magnificent view as it took me up to the first stop over point, Red Peak. There I joined in with a group that the ranger, an aboriginal named Milton, was explaining the various trees, shrubs and other plants. All the while he was explaining what his ancestors had used some of them for. Very interesting and he was quite humorous as well.

Then I hopped into another cable car to go on to the next station, Barron Falls. Here there was no ranger but a well signed walking track. The highlight here was the Barron Falls that were visible. Incredible and a fair bit of water going over the, There is a small dam above that diverts water to a twin turbine power station much lower down in the gorge.

Then onto the cable car again for the final segment into Kuranda. The whole trip was really spectacular seemingly floating over the rainforest below. It was possible to see and identify plants, trees and shrubs especially as the guide was quite descriptive. Also, it was possible to see numerous butterflies below along with various birds and in particular, sulphur crested cockatoos. These birds are just as destructive here as they are elsewhere. The ranger, Milton, told us they cleaned out all the Kauri pine nuts out earlier in the year after some time without any nuts due to the dry times they have had.

After a trip of almost 2 hours, I reached Kuranda. I disembarked and set out on foot to walk around the markets that the village is known for. There were a lot of people wandering around. Among them I met another couple of Kimberley Karavan owners from Adelaide, Phil and Pam. They were interested in how the KK Owners Group (KKOG) weekend had gone.

There is so much to see and look at with Art Galleries of all imaginable types, clothing, jewellery and food not to mention coffee. The clothing and jewellery ranged from really inexpensive quality to first class products. There were a lot of Opals for sale. I noted a lot of the stalls and shops had Japanese writing on them and the Japanese were in quite large numbers wandering around. Some of the lesser quality clothing and jewellery reminded me of a recent visit to the infamous Nimbin however there was not the unusual aroma that one associates with Nimbin. Similarly, the people around were not like the ones you might see around Nimbin and Byron Bay. 

As my back was really causing some grief, I decided I really needed to have a massage. I had noticed a young Asian couple doing it so I felt I should chance it. I did not realise how sore my back was until he worked on it. He remarked how tight I was. He used some acupressure and some special Ginseng Gold patches. It was not particularly inexpensive but so far I have had some relief. May it stay that way for a while but I suspect I will need more of the same.

After the massage treatment, I had a nice chicken burger and another cappuccino. It was nice to just sit and relax for a while. So I spent about an hour relaxing before it was time to stroll to the Kuranda Scenic Railway station. It is very much an authentic station with 2 platforms and real engines to tow the train.

I had chosen to go Gold Class which meant I had a really nice individual seat in a very luxurious carriage along with about 15 other people. Before we even moved, IC the attendant brought out refresh towels for everyone. Soon after he brought us all a packet of macadamia nuts. While delivering the nuts he asked everyone what they might like to drink. The range was from juice to champagne to beer. Then the nibbles came out which included the choice of several different local cheeses, dried tomato, olives, and dried fruits and so on.

We had started to move by now and as we progressed we were told of the history of the railway especially the building of it in the late 1890s. It has tunnels and bridges which were built without the aid of the machines of today.

Slowly we descended the line stopping at Barron Gorge to view the falls from a different angle to the cable car. As we travelled further, we could see the amazing trestle type bridge built all those years ago. The curves were amazing with several having a radius of only 80 metres. We passed by Stoney Creek falls and crossed it on the trestle bridge.

Quite soon we were down and at Freshwater Station where I alighted and hopped onto the supplied bus to return a lot of us to the Skyrail Terminal where our vehicles were parked.

So that ended a most interesting and very scenic as well as spectacular day. That trip is one I would recommend to anyone visiting the Cairns area.

Lake Tinaroo to Cairns

This morning it was farewell to the remaining Kimberley Karavan owners who had stayed for Sunday night at Lake Tinaroo, Bill and Bev, Peter and Judy, and Mike and Debra. Trev and Di had moved into Tinaroo along with Ian and Kay who had not camped at the Lake. Mike and Joan and John and Jo had returned the previous night to Cairns

The morning arrived and it was not even showering, initially. By the time most of us were packed up it was back to normal, showering. Thankfully it was not cold as it could have been down south in NSW or Victoria.

I was the first to depart from Lake Tinaroo. There was a sense of sadness saying farewell to the remaining KK owners. We are all such a friendly bunch and it is because we have a common interest in our Karavans.

I made it up to the Tinaroo Caravan Park where I knew there may have been a good cappuccino available. It was very nice and not at all expensive compared to some places I have been. As it was only about 0900, I knew it was too early for the overworked Trev and Di, so I left them alone. Ian and Kay had already gone to Atherton for some maintenance!

I proceeded to the Kennedy Highway and passed through the small town of Tolga. It was part of the region that was home to between 100,000 and 300,000 troops, between 1943 to 1945 and host to the 140 different units including the one my Father was in. In a few weeks I will check all this area out more thoroughly.

I reached the outskirts of Mareeba and turned to the right for Cairns. What a drive down the mountain to Cairns! However, it was nothing like some other descents that the Bravo and Karavan have made. It will be a good climb back up in a few weeks. 

Shortly after reaching the bottom of the mountain, I was pleased to see the GPS directing me towards the Lake Placid Tourist Park. Within a few minutes of leaving the Kennedy Highway I was entering the Park. We are stacked in and I am among predominately Victorian visitors.

As usual, it does not take long to set up and for a change I have hooked the water directly into the Karavan rather than using the tanks. It all works well when you turn the correct valves on and off!

After lunch, which was only a minestrone soup, I decided to do the sheets and clothes that had built up. I will do more before I leave. After the washing was done, it was into the dryer. Luckily, I found a hot dryer that really did dry everything. Once finished it was all put away.

It was now time to go into Cairns CBD and have a look about. There are numerous high rise hotels like Sebel and Rydges and many others. I inevitably found a reasonable coffee shop and sat and watched the world go by. There are a lot of Japanese, Chinese and Korean travellers here and many shops to cater for them. Cairns is like any bit tourist destination with a big International Airport and all these accommodation facilities of varying standard. It is very obvious that there are large numbers of back packers here. Sorry, Kel I haven’t taken any photos for you yet. Stay calm!

On return to the Caravan Park it was almost time for the Asian Dinner put on by the Park. It was a wonderful Thai red curry all for $10.00! Really nice and beats anything I would have concocted. 

I sat opposite a couple from Newcastle who are a fly in couple, by that I mean they flew from Newcastle to here and met up with her sister and brother in law and they are travelling around the area for a while. They are foster parents to children from an unfortunate background in one way or another. They were very dedicated to what they do and I admire them for that. They were having a break from foster caring. Another couple from Lakes Entrance joined us and he was a retired RAAF engineer. 

So another day has basically finished and I feel happy about getting washing done and dry. I have now been away from home for 3 weeks! Seems like yesterday that I left but when I think about it, I have covered a lot and seen plenty.

Last day at Lake Tinaroo

A quiet start to a Sunday morning at Lake Tinaroo except for an intoxicated moron walking around asking "Is any one there?" He was bogged and was after a tow rope. Unluckily for him I only have snatch straps so he was told no. Some one else told him it was Sunday and not to bother people at this hour. Apparently, he ran off the road and as we learned later, put a hole in his car sump and being so stupid drove it until it seized from lack of oil. Takes all types.

We had other entertainment when another unrelated camper managed to jack knife his Toyota Hilux and boat trailer after trying to turn up a greasy damp slope. He had to be winched straight by one of our group as he had no recovery gear.

Most of the day was chatting under cover with various Kimberley Karavan owners. A lovely group of people and we all have our Karavans in common. Sadly, some had to leave to return home to Cairns while some others were moving onto another destination.

So our get together is winding down and all going on their various ways tomorrow. There are still four of us here. So further chats have followed after dark. 

If you ever have the opportunity, I suggest you visit this lovely area on Lake Tinaroo.

Tomoorow I move onto Cairns for part of the week and where I will meet up with some other KK owners who are also bound for Cape York.

At Lake Tinaroo

No photos today.

This morning started by me sleeping on a rare occasion. It was quite overcast and misty so I guess that was the reason.

Later in the morning, KK people started to appear. A cuppa was one of the first things on everyone's mind. Plenty of chatting  taking place and also KK keeping, like house keeping!

Most of the day was sharing items on or around our KKs or vehicles. It is amazing some of the things that have been done.

Later in the day, another couple arrived minus their KK. They are Trevor and Jan from Terrigal. That makes 3 Trevors for the weekend. Chatting to Trevor, I discovered he grew up in Gunnedah and the amazing thing is that his late brother, Neville, was SES Division Controller for Namoi Division of SES and wrote a reference for me to get into my last job. Trevor also was in the same class as my first cousin, Susan Lee.

It was a very relaxing day and the plan is to watch  the Wallabiies play the Springboks in Brisbane on the laptop. Hopefully, we can gloat to our South African friends about our win. That is my wish!

So that was it for a very relaxing day.

Hey, I would enjoy hearing from you to learn if you are enjoying what I am writing.

On the way to Lake Tinaroo

Today was a moving day again with the final destination to be Lake Tinaroo on the Atherton Tablelands to join with fellow Kimberley Karavan owners.

Packing up was, as usual, quite fast and with no rain around made it even better. At least everything was not wet.

My first stop was in Innisfail only about 40 kms north of where I had been staying. After locating a good area to park, I went for a walk to discover some of the old buildings. Among the buildings was the wonderful looking Catholic Church. Other interesting buildings included the Shire Hall. One particular building was the Chinese Joss House.

The Joss house is very old and well maintained by the Chinese community. It was used to not only worship in but at the rear were rooms that less fortunate Chinese men could live.

While in Innisfail, I found Oliveri’s Deli’ that had been recommended to me as a great place for a cappuccino. This was correct. This Deli’ has been run by the same family for more than 100 years and they obviously have a very busy business.

As I left Innisfail, I refuelled the Bravo and decided to see how much diesel I had used for the stove. Since leaving home and using the stove each day it had only consume 1 litre. I found that to be excellent.

As I made my way, I marvelled at the beautiful farm land and scenery that was passing by. It is so lush and green and also looks very fertile although there must be fertiliser used to help. By the way the misty and foggy atmosphere was apparent, it is no wonder it is so green. I remember my Father saying how much he enjoyed the area when he returned from the Middle East and was retraining before going to New Guinea and Borneo during the Second World War. I have noticed various signs indicating a particular military branch was there. My plan is to return to this area later in August for a thorough look around up here.

On the way, I stopped at the Mungalli Creek Dairy. It has not only great coffee but also nice cheeses produced in their own facility. It is a very busy location even being on a short off road drive. It is a bio dynamic run farm and also uses milk from similar farms nearby.

I continued on my drive, after some steep climbs and descents, eventually passing through the town of Atherton. It looks like a service town for the area. A variety of agricultural pursuits are evident in the area. Soon I arrived at the location beside the dam. It has a lovely outlook. 

I was greeted by familiar faces, Kay and Ian as well as Trevor and Di, along with the organisers, Mike and Joan. There are people and 9 KKs here from as far away as Western Australia and a large number from this area. There were also several couples without their KKs as either they were only doing a quick visit or were awaiting the arrival of their KK.

We had a great afternoon and evening of chat and getting to know each other. Some have only been names on the KK Owners Group website but are now familiar. Sadly, the day has been misty showers but so light one has to look hard to see it. A wonderful friendly day.

Around the Kurrimine Beach area

During last night, I woke and heard light rain on and off. I did wake very early but then finally went off to sleep again and actually slept in for the first time for many years. It would be nice to do it more often. Possibly, due to be very overcast and even at 7 am it was still quite dull.

There was not a great hurry to do anything due to the light rain. So I read for a while. A little later, I had a long chat to a fellow, John, next door. He and his wife Amanda are from Port Lonsdale in Victoria and he is an architect there. They regularly travel up this way to avoid some of the southern winter. They have two lovely and very quiet Old English Sheepdogs. 

Later in the morning, I decided to go for a drive and my first stop off was the Murdering Point Winery, which is on the road into Kurrimine Beach.  It has an interesting story about the name. Their wines are delicious and are made from tropical fruits. Among the well known fruits used are mango, lychee and passionfruit. While the lesser known ingredients include the largely unknown bush tucker fruit, Lemon Aspen, Davidson Plum and Jaboticaba. 

I purchased a bottle of Murdering Point Winery’s “Supherb” which is a formula of jaboticaba, ginger and ginseng. It must be medicinal! Also, I purchased a bottle of “White Devil Port” which reminds me of Baileys and as is described, is heavenly. 

After leaving the winery, I drove through Silkwood and took the Innisfail Road, which used to be the old Bruce Highway. I am pleased the road is in a new location as it is very windy and narrow. It passed through a variety of farm land bounded by very steep hill on both sides. It is obviously very fertile country by the types of produce grown in there like mangos, bananas and sugar cane along with cattle. It is all closely settled and I imagine the farms are not very big. However, there are a lot of very nice and new homes along the road.

On the way, I passed the Paronella Park complex which looks amazing but as there were so many people there I decided I did not wish to put up with the crowd. 

Eventually, I entered the village of South Johnstone where there is a very large sugar mill. This was also where I managed to get back onto the Bruce Highway to return to Kurrimine Beach. Before I did return, I went back into the village of Silkwood to get a photo of the smallest NAB Bank building in the country. It is not an operating bank now but is a museum.

Returning to Kurrimine Beach, I found the King Reef Cafe and it has really good coffee and a great hamburger. In fact, I had two cappuccinos made by a young fellow that grew up near Belfast in Northern Ireland and is now a local resident.

The latter part of the afternoon was taken up with preparing the Karavan for departure in the morning. I filled the water tanks as I will be away from power and water for the long weekend which also happens to be the holiday show weekend in Cairns. This caravan Park has been inundated by Cairns people getting away for a long weekend.

The rest of the time has been chatting to people in the park. So, my few days in this nice quiet location are coming to an end. It is a place to return to mainly due to its quaint simplicity.

A trip to Mission Beach

After waking up at some unreasonable hour, due to my back feeling uncomfortable, I listened to radio while lying flat and doing some stretches to attempt to work my back better. Not a lot of improvement. 

After breakfast, I decided I would attempt a bike ride. My bike riding has been lacking since I left home and felt it was time to go for a ride. Thankfully, the ride did not aggravate my back or for that matter improve it. I rode from the Caravan Park towards the Bruce Highway and across it to the village of Silkwood. The ride was not dissimilar to a Wardell ride in that it was flat and the wind seemed to get me both ways. My round trip was 30 kms and I am pleased to skite that I managed to average 27 km/hr. 

On return it was time for a shower and hang out some washing. Soon this was all done and I prepared to go for a drive to Mission Beach and its surrounding communities.

I had to go there by way of a short stretch of the Bruce Highway. I drove along through the cane fields initially. Closer to the coast there is quite a bit of National Park. It is home to cassowaries and I was fortunate to see one as I passed by. It is quite a colourful bird with its colour mainly around its neck.

I drove through Mission Beach village and observed numerous lovely homes and some small resorts. It is a fairly laid back area. Everything is easy going but tidy. I did a large circuit driving in a northerly area towards Bingil Bay. After the developing areas the road weaves its way through agricultural land that has bananas and pineapples growing along with some beef cattle grazing. Eventually, I returned back into Mission Beach and found a nice coffees shop where I had a reasonable cappuccino.

Afterwards, I then drove in a southerly direction passing through Wongaling Beach and finishing at South Mission Beach. On the way I passed by where the water taxi takes people across to Dunk Island. I opted not to go as the weather was miserable due to light rain and some breeze. It was enough to have the windscreen wipers on most of the time. On the way back towards Mission Beach, I stopped at the shopping centre to pick up some bread and a magazine.

Then I returned to the Caravan Park. It was becoming quite wet and an umbrella was required to move around. Later, after lunch, I went to the Hotel to have a coffee but it was a shocker. It had the slightly burnt coffee taste. I did have a very good one there last night but it was a different operator.

During the afternoon, as it was so wet, I organised my parking spots up until about August 10. Some parks are booked out and one I have to opt for an unpowered site. There are full parks everywhere but I am hearing as we go up to the Cape that it is a bit quieter.

So that was it for today and I hope the rain goes elsewhere so I can ride again tomorrow.

To Kurrimine Beach

This morning was a move on morning so it was farewell to the lovely sugar town of Ingham.

After packing up the Karavan, I drove the short distance into the Ingham CBD for a cappuccino and raisin toast at JK’s Deli. I returned there as I had a lovely coffee there yesterday. While there I discovered that one of the ladies working there had come from Goondiwindi and knew a few of Andrew’s work colleagues at Landmark there.

I left the town and set off to drive to Halifax which is a small village on the way to Lucinda. Lucinda has the record of having the longest, 6 kms, sugar loading facility in Australia. It really does look a long way out to the berth where very large ships can load with sugar. The loading facility has been built to withstand the cyclones that occasionally visit.

Once I had walked around and taken a few photos, I returned through Halifax and then onto the Bruce Highway proceeding to Cardwell. Before getting there, there was a short and quite steep climb over a mountain. A top view at the top of the climb.

At Cardwell, I checked out the Coral Sea War Memorial in the park. Many former military groups have had input in its construction along with numerous residents. It really was not all that far from the battles in the Coral Sea. There were some aircraft crashes in the area during that time with loss of life.

My next stop was Tully which is reputed to be the wettest town in Australia. The town regularly exceeds 4.4 metres of rain and the highest was 7.90 metres. That is one large amount! There is the Giant Golden Boot complete with Green Frog on the side that the top indicates the height of the record 1950 flood in the town of 7.9 metres. It is another sugar town. One gets very used to driving through sugar cane after a while.

From Tully, I did a diversion off the Bruce Highway to have a quick look at Mission Beach and the immediate area. I will return there during the next several days.

Finally, I arrived at the King Reef Resort, which is named after the reef off shore, in Kurrimine Beach. It is not all that flash but it is clean and quite shady. It has over 60 powered sites and it forms part of the Hotel complex.

The town is very small but there are many nice homes in the streets and the beach front is well managed. It is mainly a fishing location but is nice and quiet especially after the previous 2 parks have been quite noisy. Luckily, I can sleep through most noise.

Somehow, I have managed to strain my back and it is painful. I have no idea how I have managed to cause this but I need a Cath massage to sort it. Not much chance of that around here but maybe at Mission Beach soon. 

Tonight I had dinner in the hotel. I splashed out and had a 3 course baked dinner for a massive price of only $20.00 plus a bottle of nice red! Also had anothe cappacino. Ended chatting to a lady from the CCMA village at Casino that knows Bill and Noelle quite well. Her husband is in hospital in Innisfail very unwell and hoping to have him transferred to Townsville.

Ingham area

Today I left Townsville behind. I have enjoyed my visit not only because I have met up with people I know but also because I really enjoyed the time in the city. It has grabbed my heart.

After packing up the Karavan, I returned the keys to the Park operators and received my refund. It was 0844 so traffic was building up on the roads. Peak hour Townsville style which apparently lasts only a short time but is hectic while on. As I was heading roughly to the north, I missed most of it except the first roundabout on the highway where I had to cross the city bound traffic.

Eventually, I had made my way out of the city and past the turn off to Baf and Sharon’s home at Bushland Beach. The further I went the less the traffic volume until by about Rollingstone it was very normal Bruce Highway traffic.

As time progressed, I passed by various turn offs to such locations as Balgal Beach and Toomulla Beach. After about one hour, I reach my first planned stop for the day, “Frosty Mango”. It had great coffee for a start and as I felt as though I had been behaving with food it was time for something different. So I had mango yoghurt in a cone topped with lovely mint yoghurt. While there, I purchased a bottle of Mango and Chilli sauce. I used some for dinner tonight.

After arriving at the Palm Tree Caravan Park just outside of Ingham, I quickly booked in and unhitched the Karavan.

My destination that I really wanted to get to. was the Wallaman Falls. They are about 50 kms west of Ingham. They are reputed to be Australia’s longest sheer drop waterfall that spills about 305 metres into a sparkling natural pool. They are stunningly beautiful and are well presented. The road to the Falls is mostly sealed although there was about 6 kms of gravel. It is a very popular destination. I had a lunch snack there.

While there I spoke to a couple, Gary and Kate who were delightful, from Sydney who was on their way to Cairns after visiting Adele’s Grove at Lawn Hill. They were enthusiastic about that area and that is where the Kimberley Karavan Owners Group is having the National gathering in early September. 

I returned to Ingham and had a look around the town which is mainly a service centre for the predominately sugar area but also cattle in the higher areas. It has a strong Italian link with many businesses named accordingly and lots of residents have Italian heritage. This is quite evident with the names of shops and other businesses.

While driving around I decided to refuel and while doing so bumped into Arthur and Felicity from Grafton. I had a lot to do with Arthur when I was working and saw then both only a few weeks ago in Ballina at Arthur's sister's Pelican 181. I wonder who is to be the next unexpected person I will bump into, especially after Mal and Cathy at Airlie Beach?

It also means there is nice coffee served. I had to have another cappuccino which was really nice. It was made in a deli’. As I was finishing, Gary and Kate caught up with me for more of a chat with information on the Atherton Tablelands and suggested places to visit.

A visit to the Tyto Wetlands Information Centre for more information and a quick look at their display. It is very well done and describes what has been done by the community.

I returned to the Caravan Park to find the owners had been farmers in the Clermont District of Central Queensland. Craig and I found that we had both owned the same type of planter, Rogro. We both agreed we were better off away from the farming and have a more relaxed lifestyle compared to the worry of lack of income from farming. 

So, all that was left was to cook up a storm for dinner. No, quite simple using some nice vegetable that I bought in Townsville and some ham. 

So that completed my second week on the road and about 1755 kms.