Wet Tropics 2

12/8/2018 Sunday R & R woke shortly before 7:00am and RA wrote some of the diary she had not written, before even having breakfast.  R & R were pleasantly surprised by a couple of yellow birds with a red patch around their eyes.  Later they found out that these birds are called Fig Bird.  After breakfast R & R packed down and went with anticipation to the fruit vendor stall on the southern side of Innisfail.  It was a pleasant sunny morning though quite humid.  They were disappointed that, for some reason, the vendor, with whom they had spoken the day before, had not arrived as promised. Fortunately, there was a banana stall over the road with bananas for $1.50/kg.  They also spotted a monument which commemorates Scheu, a pioneer who blazed the first dray track circa. 1883 from Cardwell to Geraldton, which reminded them they had read, that originally Innisfail had been named Geraldton until … a boat had turned up in Geraldton WA.  So, Geraldton QLD was renamed Innisfail.  Rather than following the Bruce Highway south to Tully, RL opted to take a loop drive called the Cane Cutters Way, a road passing through several towns and settlements with a total distance of 52kms.  It was a lovely drive in that it was a road less travelled so RL could take it all in.  For the most part the hills were in the distance and everywhere sugar cane and bananas could be seen growing.  Railway lines were everywhere to support the sugar cane industry. There was one section which was steep and winding up and down round the edge of a hill before opening out again.  At Wangan, R & R saw a big building called Northern Iron and Brass Foundry.  The highlight at South Johnstone was the sugar mill with no less than 2 enormous chimneys and a half dozen smaller ones.  The air was sweet and the mill, noisy. Mena Creek and its falls feature as the backdrop for Paronella Park.  It was such a magical spot and R & R were grateful for the opportunity to cross the suspension bridge and glimpse some of the castle for free as they had neither the time nor inclination to go on an extended visit of the grounds. Jose Paronella, a Spanish man bought the land besides the falls in 1929 and built a castle, doing extensive work on the gardens with thousands of tropical plants.  It had been opened to the public since 1935.  It truly looked as if it had been designed for a fairy tale!  R & R were lucky enough to spot a cane cutter’s cottage in good condition and to stop and look.  The cottage, no longer in use, had a shared kitchen area at one end and several individual rooms for workers.  R & R stopped again in the township of Silkwood which had the smallest National Bank in Australia and a history rich in timber, butter, sausages and spaghetti.  Silkwood was only a kilometre to Bruce Highway where RL turned south for a short distance to the town of El Arish.  Its history is profoundly linked with returned servicemen after WWI and, in particular, with the Light Horsemen.  Somewhere along the way R & R noticed that several of the houses had their washing lines on their upper balconies.  It was a warm 27*C and the humidity had dropped somewhat when R & R arrived in Tully 16kms further south just after noon.  Tully has a golden gumboot tower, 7.9m tall, which was the amount of rainfall received in Tully in the year of 1950.  The view from the top, looking down on the Tully sugar mill and its monuments was a must do.  In the park RL noticed many unusual bird nests of a peculiar type.  The tree called Rain Tree was brought to the tropics from South America for shade by the early settlers. The nests are returned to every year by the metallic starling which migrates to and from New Guinea.  Although the starling appears black, its feathers actually shine iridescent with green, blue and purple.  R & R had read that the locals like to swim at Alligators Nest about 10 minutes from town.  Alligators Nest was a day use area in the Tully National Park and had a safe swimming area.  Since it was already 1:00pm, R & R had lunch in the Ute, breathed in the sweet smelling air and walked to take photos before having the most enjoyable dip.  The feeling of calm and of being revitalized must be a result of the pure fresh running water massaging the body in the idyllic setting of creek with rocks and rainforest trees.  R & R spotted the red-browed finches, watched a tiny turtle swimming and RL saw a brilliant blue Ulysses butterfly.  It was just delightful.  An hour later, RL headed back to Tully and then a further 22kms south on Bruce Highway to Bilyanna rest area where R & R set up the camper.  That section of the road was mostly low lying and swampy with evidence that the road had been built up to protect it from flooding.  Both sides of the road were framed with metal posts and rope.  After a cup of coffee, R & R had a rest as it was not too late, after which they studied maps for a while.  RL rang their daughter, H, briefly and RA sent a text to Z and B in Mongolia. R & R went for a walk around the camping area and along the railway line and chatted with fellow campers.  RA wrote some diary and K, RL’s sister, rang and chatted before dinner.  RL helped his wife cook dinner and then he read while she finished her diary. 

13/8/2018 Monday R & R were out of bed a little earlier than usual at 6:30am.  They had breakfast and headed for Murray Falls at 7:30am.  It was already a pleasant 14*C with a promise of 26*C and the humidity was only 56%.  The 20kms drive to Murray Falls was through sugar growing country with a few bananas and some cattle where it was a little steeper up the hills.  In between crossing the Murray River and the entrance to the Girramay National Park was the Jumbun Community which was an indigenous community with its own hall and medical centre.  The park featured Mt Wyruna at 946m.  R & R had coffee before walking around and taking pictures of the falls.  It was too early and still too cool for a swim.  At 9:00am, R & R headed back to the camper at Bilyanna rest area but they had seen a fruit stall at the Murray River Upper State School and were just about to purchase as the receptionist brought a fresh lettuce for sale.  They chatted to her about the stall and the children.  Their little school had a half/half Indigenous/caucasian ratio with a total just under 40 students and the stall was a lunchtime project which was supported by the community.  RL bought a fruit called a pomello which would be interesting as they had never tried it before.  After picking up the camper RL was driving to Cardwell, 20kms south when he saw a dead snake.  Significantly, they had been on the road about 6 months and it was only the second snake they had seen, and both were dead.  For the most part the road ran between the Edmund Kennedy National Park towards the coast and the Cardwell State Forest to the inland and much of it was swampy or wetland.    Cardwell sits along the sea with its main businesses and residential area in a narrow strip either side of Bruce Highway.  RL stopped when he saw an op shop and then again further down the main street to look out over the sea toward Hitchinbrook Island. By 11:15am, R & R were on their way south again briefly before turning off to the day use area at Five Mile Creek.  It was a dry warm spot, more woodland than forested, and the swimming hole had still water so R & R did not stay long, other than having a cup of coffee and their banana.  The area was, indeed, more dryland forest and it appeared that some of it was being revegetated with pine. The railway line ran close to the road and the hills, some up to 1000m, were not far from the road.  Girrigun National Park sat between the coast and the road.  Shortly before Ingham the road rose steeply at about 10% for one and a half kilometres with the Cardwell Range Lookout (also called the Hitchinbook Island Lookout) at the top (that was time for R & R to get out with the cameras again) and then descended in much the same fashion into lower flat cane growing again.  That section of the highway over the range was officially opened in 1987 and RA was impressed by the care that had been taken to make as little impact on the range as possible.  It had overpasses and underpasses for native animals and 1000s of plants were transplanted in the process. It was shortly after noon when R & R arrived in Ingham which is a big inland centre servicing the cane sugar industry and sits on the Herbert River.  It had several lights, all the big brand shops and fast food outlets and car and machinery sales and service as well as being a tourist and creative centre.  R & R popped into a couple of op shops and a secondhand shop before having lunch in the shade at the TYTO information centre. TYTO takes its name from the Eastern Grass Owl (tyto capensis) which is an endangered species. The information centre is surrounded on 1.1km sq. and is home to 240 species of birds which is about 27% of all Australian bird species.  Compare that to Kakadu which is 19,804km sq. with 280 species of bird about 32%.  So, although R & R had an agenda for the afternoon, they promised themselves that it would be on their list for the next day. It was about 2:30pm, when RL headed north east to Halifax via Macknade.  They enquired at the hotel about free camping and felt a little disappointed when they were allowed to camp and they would not be able to have fish and chips for dinner because the kitchen did not cook on Mondays.  Anyway, they left the camper set up there and headed a further 6kms north east to Lucinda, Patterson Parade, to be specific.  When they arrived at Lucinda about 3:30pm with the help of the Navigator, R & R enquired of a lady, who was crossing the street with her dog, if she knew F.  “Oh. Yes.” she said. “She lives in the little cottage behind the trees, just there.”  Shortly after, R & R were gonging at her front door.  F did not answer, as she was down the side getting ready to go out in her car.  Quite surprised to see R & R, she apologized that she was actually on her way out to pick up a friend who would be staying for a couple of nights. But on second thoughts, realizing that she was early enough, she invited R & R in briefly to plan to catch up for lunch the next day.  To clarify. F is a fellow camper who R & R met in Ivanhoe way back.  She was grateful of RL’s map and encouragement about her next stage of travel and, had extended an invitation to come and visit her at Lucinda, if R & R ever came that way.  Lunch arranged, at her place the following day, she left R & R to drive down to the beach, not for a swim, but to see the sugar handling facility and its 6km offshore jetty, the longest jetty in the southern hemisphere.  One of the locals told R & R that it was known a crocodile lived under the jetty!  On the foreshore there were monuments to sugar cane growers, information about the six different types of stingers and an impressive fig tree with curtains of aerial roots.  RL then made a quick trip to Dungeness which is a fishing spot at the mouth of the Herbert River only a couple of kilometres away.  By 5:00pm, R & R were back at the camper behind the Halifax Hotel ready for a quiet evening.  Before and after dinner, they read and wrote a while, as well as chatting with their daughter, S.  R & R were looking forward to the next day … with all those plans!

14/8/2018 Tuesday R & R were awake a little early, possibly with anticipation, at 6:30am to 16*C and 72% humidity.  Just after 8:00am, they were away to Ingham to walk around the reclaimed wetland site.  Armed with map, monocular and camera they set off looking for birds and enjoying the different varieties of plants.  Despite hearing lots of bird calls, it was difficult to work out which birds they were seeing, so many of them fliting and darting so quickly that they were hard to identify. Lapwing, willy wag tail, several different types of duck, a large white egret, a pied cormorant, white browed robin, a curlew and a bittern were seen as well as a baby turtle and some agile wallabies. RL filled the tank with water in the TYTO Car park and they had a cup of coffee before walking downtown to see the original Pub With No Beer, Lees Hotel.  In the summer of 1943, a fellow called Dan Sheahan was unable to buy a beer at the Day Dawn Hotel (since renamed the Lees Hotel) due to war time rationing.  He penned the poem “Pub Without Beer” and it was published in 1944 in the North Queensland register.  It was later, in 1956, revamped by Gordon Parsons, who had been given it as anonymous at the Taylors Arms Hotel in NSW.   The following year it was made a hit by Slim Dusty.  R & R also took in some of the public art like the historical mosaic in Mercer Lane and the Iconography mosaic on Lannercost St.  R & R were due to be at F’s house for lunch so about 11:00am they headed for Lucinda via Cordelia, the Victoria Sugar Mill, and Halifax.  This route took them close to a cemetery that they had been told was a must see.  It was only an extra 3kms in and then out.  When RL turned the corner and parked the Ute under the shade, RA was speechless.  The jaw had dropped in sheer amazement.  The marble and tile mausoleums built there by the Italian community need to be seen to be believed!  Many, many little ornate buildings, like chapels, filled with flowers, urns and statues, adorned with swirls, scrolls and crosses mark the final resting place of mainly Italian Catholic pioneers.  It was so fascinating that R & R were nearly late for lunch at F.  RL parked the Ute under the shade over the road near a children’s playground.  They were warmly greeted and introduced to two of F’s friends, who also just happened to be visiting at the same time.  RA popped some washing into F’s machine and everyone chatted happily until the appointed time to fetch the fish and chips.  R & R offered to go. RL turned the Ute from the firm grassed ground at the edge of the fence over the vacant block.  The Ute and camper just sunk!  RL tried all the usual tricks to no avail.  There was nothing to be done for it except to head inside and tell F she would have to fetch lunch while R & R thought about what to do.  Not only did F fetch lunch but she rang a friend to ask for assistance.  After much ado, B managed to drag RL, the Ute and camper, inch by inch and RL was able to join the ladies to finish lunch.  It was lovely to feel so at home with such a bunch of complete strangers.  R & R felt that someone like F would always draw lovely people together.  Eventually it was time to take leave, so R & R fetched the washing off the line and said good bye.  The Ute really struggled and shuddered to get going in first gear and the higher gear changes were really heavy.  It felt like the bogging episode had been the last straw for a clutch that had showed signs of fatigue on a couple of earlier occasions.  R & R had thought to free camp south of Ingham but it was clear that something should be done.  A quick Google search indicated that Ingham had a Holden dealer and gave its address, which RA popped into the Navigator and, in moments, RL was parked conveniently outside the Holden dealership.  It was already after 4:30pm but the guy there reckoned he could have a part up from Townsville the next day and would oblige by fitting the job in.  R & R, desperate to find somewhere to sleep overnight that was close, searched for caravan parks in Ingham.  Fortunately, there was one, only 2km down the road with vacancies and pull through bays.  The Ute would have struggled seriously, if it had been necessary to negotiate into a tight space.  Needless to say, RA was so grateful!  After setting up the camper, R & R had a cup and thought about dinner.  S, their daughter rang, then R & R showered before bed. It had been such a day … but RA was grateful to so many … and hopeful that all would be well.

15/8/2018 Wednesday  R & R were awake at 6:30am to a pleasant 16*C despite 86% humidity so all boded well for a day on their feet downtown Ingham while the Ute got its new clutch.  They had breakfast, showers and prepared lunch.  RL rang his brother-in-law, G, to wish him a happy birthday and then read while RA tried to catch up on a little diary.  She can get quite stressed if she gets behind.  It’s hard enough to remember what one did in a day let alone the day before.  Just before 9:00am R & R got ready to shudder their way back to the Holden dealership to leave the Ute.  Shortly before 10:00am, they left the Ute and walked from the southern end of the CBD to the northern end, popping into all the shops of interest and re-reading the panels about the mosaics in Mercer Lane.  RA was particularly interested to read the content about the Kanakas, islanders who were enlisted (some enforced) to work in the early days of the sugar industry. R & R stopped off at the Woolworths complex and had a cup and banana, from their backpacks, before wandering to the botanical gardens.  Part of the gardens was a shed which was only bricked, just over half its height, with fencing above it.  It had large open gates and housed a tropical hothouse for want of a better description.  It had ornaments and water courses and was quite delightful.  Nearby, there were covered picnic tables where R & R made themselves comfortable, rang their daughter, H, and had lunch.  Only when a bus load of students on an excursion arrived for their lunch did R & R make a move.  R & R went back to the TYTO centre and looked at all of the displays, pressed all the buttons on the interactive panels and watched the clips about conservation being undertaken by farmers and indigenous groups.  It housed an impressive collection of bird nests.  A highlight on the board walk over the wetlands was seeing many Kreffts Short Necked Turtles in the lilies below.  R & R climbed the tower and saw the sugar trail which was a comprehensive collection of machinery used in the sugar industry each with a description on a panel.  The gallery was open and R & R could not fail to be impressed with the work of the three artists on display: Louise Plint – Stitched Stories, Nina Dawson - Nature’s Colours (photos and plant dyed clothes and garments, and Mariangela Bison – hats and fascinators.  At 4:00pm, R & R walked back to the dealership to enquire about the Ute and the secretary assured them that it was on target to be finished by 5:00pm.  R & R walked some more and had a coffee in the shade on a park bench.  Just before 5:00pm, R & R were paying up for the work completed.  Despite the cost, $1500, RL was so happy with the ease of gear change. “This is great!”  R & R went back to the camper. As luck would have it, they chatted with the couple next door until dark by which time it was really late.  R & R prepared dinner quickly and spoke briefly with S as she was on her way out to dinner.  RA never did get to complete her overdue diary.  And the buy of the day after all that shopping … RL bought himself a soft toy for $2 … a blue healer pup wearing Driza-Bone!

16/8/2018 Thursday R & R woke at 6:30am again and although humidity was 92% and the sky was cloudy it pleasant at 15*C.  They breakfasted and showered and tidied up so that they could leave the camper temporarily, do a food shop downtown, return to the camper and pack it down to be away before exit time of 10:00am.  All went well and RL pulled out of the caravan park well before 10:00am.  They stopped just outside and had a cup of coffee before starting on their day’s journey.  RL headed south on Bruce Highway toward Townsville.  There was hardly a chance to get up speed for long as there were several sections of road works mostly at bridges.  As before, the road was flat with the hills at a distance and sugar cane growing on every available piece of land.  Where it was more low-lying and swampy, there were cattle.  The road veered around the end of the Paluma Range and National Park toward the coastline where it joined the train line again.  RL passed the Frosty Mango Icecreamery and orchard and at 10:30am, 55kms south of Ingham, turned off the Bruce Highway into Bushy Parker Park free camp site with a pretty little creek for swimming.  Having parked and taken a walk around, R & R agreed that they would be quite capable of filling the rest of the day at a place like that which also had reception.  After much deliberation, they chose a spot which they hoped would provide shade throughout the day and set up.  At 11:30am, R & R were having coffee.  RL read while RA sorted out the shopping and entered all the recent expenses into the ipad numbers chart.  RL put the Slim usb in the player for the afternoon and they had a total binge on its easy-going rhythms.  R & R had a cat nap before reading, studying maps and writing some diary.  About 4:00pm, R & R ventured down to the creek and had a swim before getting their camera and wandering around the park and along the creek.  When they returned to the camper, RL put 40 litres (2 jerry cans) in the tank, retied the trestles on the roof rack with the new ties that he had bought the day before and crushed the mixed nuts for their breakfast while RA checked out Mass times nearby for the coming weekend and wrote some more diary.  Fortunately, they had moved only a few kilometres and not really done much so there was not a great deal to enter.  After dinner they chatted with their son, J, who was thrilled with the work placements he had secured for 2019.  Then they both read a little before retiring.  It had been a great day … moving and doing so little!

Wet Tropics 1

8/8/2018 Wednesday R & R woke to a warm morning of 17*C at 7:00am and lower humidity of 56%.  Shortly after breakfast, RL’s sister, R, rang to return RL’s message from the day before.  She had plans for her birthday and they chatted a while.  So, it was about 9;15am before R & R had packed down and were on their way to Mossman 33km east.  The road reminded RL of Walpole where it was winding and hilly with tall trees on both sides of the road but not so dense as to block out the sunlight completely.  Where there was no forest or park, in flatter areas, sugar cane could be seen growing and in other higher places there were cattle and some sheep.  The road ran about 500m while some of the hills like Round Mountain 1000m and Mt Lewis 1250m where much higher. In the middle, there was about 8kms of steep incline in the Mowbray State Forest where R & R stopped at the Rex Lookout to take in the view over the Coral Sea and down towards Mossman and Port Douglas.  The monument states that the section of the road was finally sealed in 1982.  Then it was a shorter distance (4kms) of steep decline alongside the Cassowary Ranges where it opened up again to flatter sugar farming country.  R & R saw some sugar cane being harvested and noticed that the trucks dump their crates of sugar on rail flat beds.  The road from Mt Molloy came to a junction at the railway and RL turned north toward Mossman.  RL parked the Ute and RA booked the Sweet Farm Tour and then a space at a caravan park in Port Douglas.  That meant that there was plenty of time for them to drive through Mossman and over the Mossman River to Daintree Village 35kms further north.  The day was cloudy but not cold, about 24*C, by 10:00am as they followed the road and rail.  There were bananas but, for the most part, every flat space in between the sea, mountains and forests was used for sugar cane growing.  The road came to the sea at Dayman Point and drive ways with letter boxes indicated that people were living secluded somewhere up the hillsides above Wonga Beach where the sea looked grey and wavy.  While the road had been flat, it rose then fell somewhat and became winding for the last 5kms in the Dagmar Ranges at Humbug Reach with the Daintree River just to the east of the road and Thornton Peak at 1374m to the north east in the Daintree National Park.  RL arrived at Daintree Village about 11:00am.  R & R walked down to the river and saw some large fish just below the jetty and popped in and out of all the businesses there.  It really wasn’t for them because it was all about croc. tours and, having been on a couple of similar tours in Darwin, they did not intend to go again just yet.  About forty minutes later, they began the return journey toward Mossman, stopping at Dayman Point boat ramp where they had coffee.  Using the mono glass, RL was able to see a lighthouse on an island further out.  The rocks on the yellow sandy beach were black but the rocks that had been used as fill for the groin there were huge slabs of grey granite with wide veins of white quartz running through them.  They were absolutely remarkable.  RL took a detour towards the sugar farm to look at a WWII site of significance.  The monument recalled the Japanese air raid in July 1942 when 8 bombs were dropped around the Douglas Shire and a 2 ½ year old girl was wounded by shrapnel.  It was the only wounding of an Australian on the eastern mainland.  R & R knew that the Japanese had raided Darwin but, despite RL’s father being involved in new Britain in WWII, they had no previous knowledge of an attack on Queensland!  As it was still before 1:00pm with the sugar farm tour more than an hour away, RL pulled off the road near the Leonardi Di Palma Bridge so they could have lunch.  They had crossed the bridge which was shared with the sugar tram and noticed that it is smaller gauge than usual.  R & R enjoyed lunch and then RL emptied one 20lt can into the tank while RA tried to work out what the problem was with the email account.  They swapped their thongs for socks and shoes just in case and drove back over the bridge to the Puglisi sugar farm in good time to do the tour.  It was an education to learn all about the sugar growing and production cycle.  Other activities on the farm included growing a variety of specific gum trees as feed for koalas in captivity, growing cocoa and vanilla beans.  The vanilla is so labour intensive as the pollinating has a very short time frame and must be done by hand but, for them, it was essential to maintain the integrity of their very own Australian grown and processed chocolate brand.  R & R were treated with a taste of freshly squeezed sugar syrup and a sample of their chocolate.  RA was impressed how committed the enterprise was, to sustainability and environmental issues while maintaining quality and quantity.  It was a lovely spot with sugar cane growing at varying heights near the river lying at the bottom of High Falls Mountain.  They were reluctant to leave.  It was only about 10kms back into Mossman where they parked the Ute on a side street and went into a shopping centre for groceries and credit for the dongle.  Then RL drove 18kms to Port Douglas arriving at the caravan park shortly after 5:00pm.  R & R set up the camper in a tricky triangular bay and had coffee before walking round the park to orientate themselves.  RA kept RL company while he cooked a large packet of sausages, the plan being to keep some in the freezer just for a change.  Generally, they prefer mince.  Dinner was a little late.  After that RL read and RA had no choice but to participate in a full recovery of her email account with Microsoft and hope like mad that it wasn’t a scam.  The account seemed to recover and after a password change, she was able to receive emails on her laptop but not the phone.  RA was tired … and frustrated by it all.

9/8/2018 Thursday R & R woke at 7:00am.  It was already 21*C with 76% humidity.  The day promised to be fine, with no rain, but as usual there was quite a lot of cloud around on and off most of the day.  It seemed that is the way of the weather in the tropical part of Queensland where it is cloudy and looks, by all accounts, that it would rain but it doesn’t.  Having breakfasted and showered, R & R took the access track towards Four Mile Beach to walk along the beach, washing their feet in the sea water.  There were lots of families, locals and tourists with the same plan.  R & R had planned to stop in at the information centre, but RV friendly parking was limited to two bays so RL sat while RA popped in quickly to ask about access to Mowbray Falls. It was not really recommended for trailers or vans so they chose to stop in at a couple of the lookouts and beaches on the way south along the Captain Cook Highway to Cairns 70kms away.  The road followed the coastline closely with the sea to the east, hills and mountains to the west.  It was particularly winding with low suggested speeds, though not steep and provided for overtaking and slow vehicle turnouts.  At times the hills rose steeply upwards to 700-800m with deep drops to the seaward side, at other times the road was quite wooded on both sides, and again, at other times the road ran nearly level with the sea revealing the rocks or sand at the water’s edge.  About 10:00am RL pulled into Rex Lookout Point where they stopped for coffee and a photo.  The spot commemorates Mr Raymond Rex who was an early advocate (1955) for the Cook Highway which was eventually completed in 1999.  It was high and windy and the perfect spot for the hang gliding.  RL stopped again at Ellis Beach which had a surf lifesaving club, toilets and a hotel.  The last 30 or so kilometres towards Cairns became more built up as R & R passed the residential beach side communities of Palm Grove, Kewarra Beach and Halloways Beach before the airport and the CBD.  RA had set the Navigator to find the Stockland Plaza so that they could pop into a Yes Optus outlet to enquire about her email phone issue so it was not difficult to find the plaza.  Finding an RV friendly car bay was!  RL followed the RV Friendly sign which revealed a Winegabo in the only available space.  Eventually, near noon, having driven round the block again, they parked in a cul de sac in a residential street and walked to the plaza.  RA was relieved that the assistant suggested that, having reset her password elsewhere, it would require resetting on the phone.  Voila!  RA did wonder how long it might have taken her to work that one out as she had been so stressed about it.   R & R popped into a Vinnies that was next door and picked up some fruits on the way back through the plaza.  They ate lunch at the Ute before setting the Navigator to Babinda Rotary rest area 54kms south on Bruce Highway.  The road veered away from the coast and there appeared to be mountains all round.  It was flat and every square inch of the flat land between the hills on both sides of the road was sugar cane at varying stages of growth, from newly planted to full height with the blossom blowing at the top.  And blowing it was … the wind was quite strong almost as if the flat path through the ranges of hills was creating a tunnel for catching and channelling the wind.  The road was running at about 400m but mountains, like Walsh’s Pyramid at the Gordonvale junction was 922m and Mt Massey at 1285m covered in cloud and mist were a reminder to R & R why they are called Misty Mountains. Shortly before arriving at Babinda, RL passed Mt Bellenden Ker.  At 1561m it is Queensland 2nd highest mountain.  At 2:15pm, R & R had selected a spot in the already quite full rest area and were having a coffee and banana.  R & R noticed that the bananas tasted particularly delightful as their natural ripening process had not been altered for the purposes of extending life for transport across the country.  After 3:00pm, R & R walked down town to the information centre, into an op shop and up and down the main street before returning to the site on the Babinda Creek near the sugar train railway.  They found the town with its old buildings and the park quite delightful.  Babinda had been officially declared Australia’s wettest town with an average rainfall of over 4m a year. When they returned RL read and RA wrote the diary from the day before.  Their daughter, H, rang and RA prepared dinner while chatting.  After dinner RL read some more and RA wrote some more.  Although RA felt tired she was so relieved … that her email and phone were working properly again. 

10/8/2018 Friday R & R got out of bed just before 7:00am to a delightful 14*C with 89% humidity and a promise of a sunny day with a top of 24*C.  After breakfast, they looked through maps for places to see, places to stay overnight and Mass places and times to come up with a plan.  There was no hurry so they both had a lazy start to the day before checking a draft which took about an hour.  R & R had a cup of coffee shortly before 11:00am when they refuelled and set out for a day’s drive.  Leaving the camper, RL headed for Eubenangee Swamp National Park about 16km away.  R & R walked the 1.5km path through the forest with the last section up a cleared hill to a lookout.  From the top there were views all round of the low-lying swampy area that had water, lilies and birds.  It was cool and calm under the protection of the trees but warm and windy, with a south easterly, out in the open.  As R & R returned to the Ute, a sugar train was chugging on the rail bridge over the Alice River near the car park where they ran into and chatted with fellow campers from Babinda.  At 12:30pm, RL drove to Bramston Beach 11kms.  In sections, the road was quite winding and bending as well as up and down but not too much so, which meant it was a very pleasant drive.  As the land was no longer flat, there was no sugar cane growing and cattle could be seen.  R & R were surprised when they arrived at the beach as the water was quite brown.  Turns out, it is brown because of the sediment that come to the sea via the rivers that bring the soil down from the mountains and the land.  Out to sea, to the north, the Frankland Islands group, which is a popular tourist attraction for reef snorkelling, could be seen.  Besides the water looking unattractive, there were warnings about crocodiles and stingers so RA was not looking to going swimming.  At 1:00pm R & R drove just over 25kms to Josephine Falls.  At the falls they had lunch and a coffee before walking the 700m track to the lookouts.  The surfaced track wound its way through rainforest known as complex mesophyll vine forest, characterized by trees with large leaves and buttressed tree roots, woody vines, ferns and other non-parasitic plants growing up and in the trees. There were three lookouts at lower, middle and upper levels each with a different view.  Swimming was allowed at the bottom level but it was very rocky and really not much space; there were so many people there vying for wet spaces to swim or dry places to take photos.  Josephine Falls in part of the Wooroonooran National Park which includes the Misty Mountains and Tully Gorge which R & R had seen more than a week ago from the other side of the range.  The Park also includes Bellenden Ker (1593m) and Mount Bartle Frere (1622m) Queensland’s two tallest mountains.  Josephine Creek which begins high up Mt Bartle Frere tumbles and gushes over a series of huge granite boulders about 7.5 kms from the top. RA found it hard to conceive that such a quantity of water continues to pound its way down from upstream 24/7/52/forever.  It was spectacular!  A couple of hours later, RL headed back through Babinda towards Babinda Boulders about 16kms.  It was as if by magic, the best was saved for last.  Though not called a falls, the Babinda Creek meanders its way over rocks and boulders to where a section, not too rocky, deep or swiftly flowing is deemed safe for swimming.  R & R walked the 600m paved path to the two Devils Pool Lookouts.  There the water was not actually falling over the rocks but rather rushing around and through them.  The boulders were enormous and showed signs of wear which in the wetter part of the year would be hidden. The swirls and holes and the colours created over time were incredible. The Aboriginals have a legend about how the rocks formed.  It has the same plot as Running Bear and the legend of the Blue Willow Patterned Plate. On returning to the Ute, R & R donned their bathers and swam in the designated area.  They were amazed that though the water was not salty (like the sea) it was very buoyant.  It was lovely being in the shallow water in the dappled sunlight at 3:30pm.  Fellow swimmers pointed out a pair of saw shelled turtles sunning themselves on a log on the opposite bank which was worth going back to the Ute for the monocular and camera.  R & R noticed that there were a couple of monuments and couldn’t resist reading them.  They honoured the memory of seven men who lost their lives when their US bomber ran into bad weather returning to Charters Towers base from the Coral Sea in WWII.  Another war connection!  On the way back into Babinda R & R stopped to take some photos of the freshly ploughed ground and sugar cane crops of varying heights with the rainforest mountains in the background.  They stopped again down town to take a photo of the air raid shelter (another WWII connection) that had been restored as a public toilet block and the Babinda State Hotel, the only government built hotel, which was constructed in 1917.  It was 5:30pm when R & R returned to the camper.  For a while they studied maps and made plans before preparing dinner.  After dinner, they rang their son, S, and then RL’s brother, S.  RL read and RA wrote her diary.  Only 82kms visiting four very different and unique spots.  It had been just the best kind of day … and quite relaxing.

11/8/2018 Saturday RL slept particularly well which left him with a feeling of needing more and it had been raining.  Despite that, R & R were out of bed, as usual, about 7:00am to a warm 16*C.  Everything was damp and outside the rain cleared to a cloudy start of the day.  After breakfast RA published the post they had been working on and shortly after 8:00am they were packing down.  By 9:00am, R & R were heading south on Bruce highway for Innisfail about 30kms away.  First, RL was driving through the swampy and forested section of the road which was part of the Eubenangee Swamp they had visited the day before.  There were hills all round and where the road was not flat, with sugar cane farming or bananas, cattle were grazing.  The road and rail ran alongside each other.  As they drove into Innisfail, the welcome sign read “Green like you’ve never seen.”  Innisfail is a big centre for the area with traffic lights, both Coles and Woolworths, car yards and all the usual merchandise brands found in such centres.  After, R & R found the information centre they filled their gas bottle at BCF, for example.  They had noticed a rest area on their way into Innisfail and the ladies at the centre had said that it was a free camping spot, so at 11:00am, they took the camper to the driver reviver station at the Palmerston junction and set it up to leave for the day.  By 11:30am they were back down town ready, with the Town Walk map in hand, to take a look around.  Luckily, R & R were able to get the three op shops in before they closed and then proceeded to begin at number 1 on the brochure.  They took photos of everything that appealed: the wharf on the Jonstone River where a series of eight beautifully crafted tiles depict the history of the town, the cane cutter memorial which had inscriptions in English and Italian, all the beautifully painted art deco buildings (built after the 1918 cyclone which destroyed nearly every building on town), the magnificent Lady of Good Counsel Catholic Church (in which the legendary Fr Clancy is buried) and the Lit Sing Gung Chinese Temple which is still in use today.  The buildings really have to be seen to be believed; remnants of a time long gone.  They feature curved corners, facades with geometric shapes, lead light windows, portholes, wrought iron work and terrazzo flooring.  R & R picked up a few items of grocery on the way back to the Ute.  After all of that, R & R were ready for lunch and rang to chat with RL’s brother G.  About 2:30pm, R & R drove south of Innisfail ten minutes to Mourilyan and then 9kms towards the coast to Etty Bay.  Some of the journey was through country that swampy where cane was not growing and cattle could be seen but mostly it was built up with small pretty farmlets.  The last 3kms was winding and hilly up and then again down, with the beach at the bottom of the hills of Moresby Bay National Park.  Arriving at 3:00pm, R & R had a cup of coffee and walked along the beach, without seeing a cassowary at any of the spots marked with recent sightings signs.  Forty five minutes later, R & R were back in the Ute and heading on a really well surfaced road to Mourilyan Harbour and the boat ramp.  R & R watched a trawler and lots of little run-abouts around the harbor which is dominated by the sugar loading facility.  By 5:00pm R & R were back at the camper having a coffee and chatting first with RL’s brother J, and then with their daughter, S, before heading to 6:30pm Mass.  That meant a late dinner after which RA did not feel like doing the diary.  Instead they both read for a while before heading to bed.  The book RA was reading was about a young woman detective who took a transfer to Kurumba in the Gulf, which was quite exciting considering R & R had just been there.  It was a great day … only moving the camper about 30kms … before setting it up again.

Cooktown & Coral Sea

4/8/2018 Saturday.  R & R woke to 15*C about 7:00am with 90% humidity.  They were keen to be going north so they tidied up and packed the camper down before leaving it and driving quickly back into Tolga, 6kms, at 8:30am.  RL was keen to look at the Peanut Place, which turned out to have boutique prices, though there was lots of information posted around the wall.   On the Atherton Tablelands, there are 60 peanut growers who produce 10,000 tonnes of peanuts per year.  Tolga has massive silos where the peanuts are handled and processed but the final processing is done through the PCA in Kingaroy.  R & R also took photos of the first banana crop they had seen growing and bought a 1kg bag of lady fingers for $2 before returning to pick up the camper. As they drove they noticed that the driveways into the plantations have a dip/water bath to minimized the risk of infection.  They also noticed that one of the many turbines on the Mt Emerald (1122m) was being lifted by a crane, and wondered if it was a new installation, replacement or repair.  At 9:45am, RL was heading north to Mareeba about 20km on Kennedy Highway.  The highway was a good surface and relatively flat, with farming on both sides especially after Walkamin, but it was extremely busy both ways.  So it wasn’t long before R & R saw the welcome sign for Mareeba which read “300 Sunny Days a Year” and another which read “Where the Rainforest meets the Outback”. Mareeba sits between Barron River and Granite Creek. It was a big centre for supporting all the endeavours in the surrounding area including: power sub-station, aviation and military museum, sugar, banana, mangoes, other fruits like blueberries, brahman breeders (Slim sings a song about being in Mareeba to ride a brahman at its rodeo), distillery, icecreamery, coffee (about 70% of Australia’s coffee is grown near Mareeba) and tourism.  The first caravan park that R & R went to was fully booked.  That explained why they had not bothered to return RA’s call enquiring about availability!  But it was not long before RA had rung another and was given instructions how to get there.  By 11:00am, R & R had set up and were having coffee and banana.  Then they set about the usual activities of showering, washing, having lunch and hanging the washing.  They had a cat nap and read through maps before having a cup and chatting with their daughter, H, before fetching the washing in about 3:00pm.  About 4:00pm R & R went to the information centre and its museum.  The collection there was extensive so they had agreed to go around the inside that afternoon and look outside the following morning.  RA really enjoyed watching the visuals of birds and their calls in the rainforest section which housed a life size model of the endangered cassowary (since it was highly unlikely that R & R would ever see one) and the stories about goats.  Apparently, there were so many of them in the early 1900s that they created such a nuisance in everyday life, one such example being, that the head master demanded a fence as the goats were stealing the children’s lunches from their satchels.  Mareeba had a very rich history including coal mining.  Mt Mulligan is no longer the site of coal mining but it did have a long production run despite being the site of Australia’s third biggest mining disaster.  In 1921, 75 men were killed in an explosion that could be heard up to 60kms away.  It took five days to recover all but one of the bodies.  Shortly after 5:00pm, R & R returned to the camper, had a cup, chatted with RL’s brother, S and changed to be at 6:00pm Mass.  It was packed and the choir was impressive as they were having a special celebration to welcome a new priest.  Dinner was not a problem as R & R had prepared the burger patties the night before.  They rang and chatted first with S, their son and then with S, their daughter.  After that, RL read and RA published a post.  R & R were really tired … everywhere was so busy and unfamiliar.

5/8/2018 Sunday R & R slept well and woke as usual about 7:00am to a warm 15*C with high humidity at 95% so it was nice to get another shower in after breakfast.  RA paid a couple of accounts online before tidying up and packing down.  At 9:30am they were leaving the park, heading directly east, momentarily, as they wanted to go the Emerald Creek Falls and Emerald Creek the settlement (only a few kilometres away).  As it turned out the sign to Emerald Falls stated that it was not suitable for caravans so RL did not go there but they were in the right direction for fuel.  At 145.9c/lt including 4c/lt RAC discount, RL was keen to fill the three 20lt jerry cans.  That done they drove back into Mareeba and fortified themselves with coffee and a biscuit to go back into the heritage museum.  The display outside was as impressive as the one inside, with R & R taking more than an hour to get around everything.  The Rail Ambulance which was acquired in 1949 was last used on a mercy mission in 1983 and stood proudly as its first exhibit.  R & R were totally amazed by the section about the tobacco industry in the area.  Growing tobacco was labour intensive and required total commitment at every stage of the plant’s growth, harvesting and drying process. The tobacco industry began in the area in the 1920s and was heavily supported by government subsidies.  It transpired that the Tinaroo Dam, that R & R saw a few days ago, was built specifically to allow for the expansion of tobacco growing in the area.  Mareeba even had its own factory from 1948 which ran successfully for nearly 20 years.  However, in the 1980s, the first concerns about the impact of smoking on health caused so much pressure that government could no longer support it.  The rest, as they say, is history!  RA could not resist picking up a photocopy of rules that applied to women teachers in 1915. Here’s one.  You may not ride in a carriage or automobile with any man unless he is your father or brother.  By noon, R & R were driving downtown to post a letter and to look at the public art in the IGA complex.  The art work was one of the best that R & R had seen and the captions underneath informative while being concise, but they did not dare to photograph it since there was a sign which said No cameras, No skateboarding etc.  Shortly after, RL headed north on Mulligan Highway toward Biboohra.  The road was flat and crops grew on both sides of the road with mountains green to grey in the distance.  At Biboohra, RL turned west towards the Mareebra Wetlands and engaged 4X4 on the gravel track.  It was relatively good condition and along the way they commented on sugar being harvested now-a-days without burning as was done in the 60s.  They saw a large number of brahman and horses in a paddock feeding together.  It was only 5kms in so it wasn’t a big deal to find that the reserve had been closed for some reason.  Once back at the highway, RL headed north for about 30kms to Mt Molloy and its Riffle Creek Rest Area.  The road was still flat but had become more Savanah like and rather than the hills being further away they were closer.  At one point near Lake Mitchell, there was a low-lying section where the grass was green.  It was a unique sight, almost breathtaking, to glimpse the green and the massive lake with hills closer and others further away, but there was no provision for stopping.  The countryside began to undulate to 524m and rose up before falling again as RL drove through Mt Molloy and down to Rifle Creek.  So, it was, that just after 2:00pm, R & R were sitting inside the camper having lunch.  They took a walk round the park to orientate themselves before having a cat nap.  The rest area was possibly the best that R & R had come to in Queensland.  It was shady, with quite a lot of spaces, had a toilet with cold showers, within walking distance from the township, not too close to the road and requested a $2 fee per night per vehicle.  10/10!  Then again, Archer Creek near Ravenhoe had less shade but its running creek water was a treat.  They noticed that much of the traffic on the road nearby was trucks with meshed carriages going north with chopped sugar cane (~30cm lengths) in them or heading south empty.  After a cup, they walked into town about 1.5km to take a look around and to take a photo of the old boilers from the sawmill which now stand rusted and abandoned in their brick framework at the top of the hill at the town’s entrance.  On their way back their son, J, rang back in answer to their “Are you up for a chat?” message. After 4:00pm, R & R took turns at the showers.  RL flipped his way through a few Wanderer magazines while RA wrote her diary from the day before.  RL chatted to a fellow camper who was familiar with the sugar growing industry so he got the low down.  After dinner they read and wrote some more.  It was a wonderful to have a whole afternoon … and do so little. 

6/8/2018 Monday R & R woke at 6:30am with 97% humidity and were keen to get going so it was just before 8:00am as they were leaving Rifle Creek near Mt Molloy and heading north on Mulligan Highway.  The Great Dividing Range lay to the east with mist on top and all round there were mountains.  The road was undulating to hilly at about 500m, taking a lower path alongside the range with Lighthouse Mountain at 812m and the soil was a yellow grey. The journey between Mt Molloy and Mt Carbine was about 55kms and quite pretty with Savanah like flora, though R & R saw no wildlife.  There were cattle, some unfenced about 10kms south of Mt Carbine which lay on the flat with Mt Alto 765m to the west.  There R & R saw Mt Carbine tungsten mine, a hotel, caravan park, shop and quarry.  RA turned on “The Potato Factory” as she knew it would be a long drive and they listened while driving over the McLeod River bridge with some fast-flowing water. Then the road climbed steeply for a couple of kilometres at 10* followed by a similar decline with Mt Desailly 693m and Mt Elephant 1046 to the east. Shortly after 9:00am, RL stopped for a coffee and a break at the Maytown turnoff for fifteen minutes before continuing past Palmer River Roadhouse.  Where the road had been cut through the hills, it had exposed rocks.  They glistened silver grey in the sunlight.  Many of the gullies had sheets of rusted corrugated iron in an effort to keep stock from going through them.  About 10:00am, RL drove up a steep ascent and stopped at James Earl Lookout rest area, which had limited, meaning two, bays for overnight camping, to take in the view over the Byerstown Ranges.  It was an amazing view of the wooded hills in every direction and ideal for a half hour break.  The decent down again went over the Famechon Bridge which is the second highest bridge in Australia.  Twelve kilometres later R & R stopped at Lakelands and as they were not sure about the restrictions on bananas, ate the last couple they had.  Lakelands being a flat area which had Spring Dam, supports the growing of bananas and other fruits.  From there on, the drive remained hilly and sometimes winding, over the Little Annan River which was cascading over rocks, with the exception of another steep ascent and decline through the Black Mountains. Overall the level above sea was decreasing towards Cooktown but the hills never disappeared. Cooktown lies below Mt Cook at 428m where the Endeavour River flows into the Coral Sea with a coastal vegetation that consists of mangrove.  R & R drove into Cooktown about noon and stopped, by chance at an op shop before heading downtown to the James Cook Museum. It was not the information centre so they went to the Powerhouse Museum at the Botanical Gardens where they sought information.  From there they booked a spot at a caravan park so that they were able to enjoy lunch and walk leisurely around the gardens without having to rush and dump the camper.  While they were having lunch, they chatted with their daughter, H.  After setting the camper up and writing on the post cards for the grandchildren, R & R went downtown just after 3:00pm.  They parked the Ute under the shade along the foreshore near the jetty and wharf and walked as far as the road would go and up and down the main street taking in all the points of interest including: the statue, cairn and interpretive panels relating to James Cook, all of which commemorate the fact that Captain James Cook beached the HM Bark Endeavour on this part of the coastline in 1770, Mick the Miner and the Chinese Monument which commemorate the Palmer Gold Rush, the boat ramp, jetty and wharf, the Powder Magazine which was used for the storage of explosives and is believed to be the oldest building on Cape York having been constructed in 1874 without nails, the cairn to Edmund Kennedy who was fatally speared on an exploration expedition in 1840, the old town well and the musical ship.  RL then drove up the top of Grassy Hill which has spectacular 360* panoramic views over the green hills, Endeavour River and Coral Sea. On top of the hill is a lighthouse which was shipped from Birmingham to Cooktown in 1885 and automated in 1927.  That was a treat for RA who likes lighthouses nearly as much as windmills.  As it was getting later in the afternoon, R & R drove to Finch Bay and made a point of washing their feet in the Coral Sea.  There was something special about doing that, knowing that RL’s father, B, would have wet his feet in the same sea so many years ago.  As the sun was sinking, R & R went to look for the beautiful Chinese Shrine in the cemetery.  Set apart from the European section by a track of 150m, the shrine also has two burning towers which were used to make offerings to the spirits.  The three red characters on the shrine say “Respect the dead as if they are present.”  Back at the caravan park by 6:15pm, it was still 24*C and 76% humidity which was something that R & R were not used to.  After late dinner RA discovered she had a tick on her scalp only after scratching it off and squishing it between her thumbnails.  Immediately, she dowsed it in alcohol spray before they went to the showers where she made a point of shampooing and washing her hair.  By 8:30pm, they were both refreshed … but way too tired to do anything more that read a little before bed.

7/8/2018 Tuesday.  R & R slept well despite the warmth and humidity, waking just before 7:00am to 19*C and 95%.  They went straight to the showers before breakfast and packed down.  By 8:40am, RL was pulling out of the caravan park and heading down town to take a look, once more, at the foreshore and the main street.  The river was delightfully calm and worthy of one last photo before R & R headed south again on Mulligan Highway back to Mt Molloy and Rifle Creek Rest Area (about 224kms) where they had slept the night before.  Obviously, the countryside had not changed dramatically since they had driven up, but driving back often presents perspectives that weren’t visible before or the opportunity to stop where one had not previously.  At 9:30am, RL pulled up at the Black Mountain (and its National Park) lookout.  The mountains, at just below 500m, were a jumbled pile of dark black rocks that are steeped in myth (Aboriginal) and legend (European).  The formation which was created about 260 million years ago is said to have chambers and tunnels in which whole herds of cattle have disappeared or which cause turbulence to pilots.  RA played more of “The Potato Factory” as they drove further.  About an hour later, R & R stopped for a break at the truck stop at Lakeland.  They got chatting to a truckdriver.  He had just been 17kms west of Lakeland and filled his beautiful blue Kenworth semi and trailer with 30 tonne of watermelon and was taking a break (breakfast and shower) before beginning his 36hr drive (12 on, 12 off and 12 on again) to the Sydney markets via Charters Towers and Roma.  An hour later, R & R were stopped again at what is called Bob’s lookout.  The vista, of a not too far off row of hills with shining patches which are where the water runs during the monsoonal rains to the valley floor below, impressed RL so much, he commented “I think I’ll come back again!” much to RA’s surprise.  Overall, the drive from Cooktown back to Mt Molloy was very pleasant where the countryside is hilly and the road runs relatively level except at the Black Mountains, Byerstown Ranges and Bob’s Lookout, all of which have steep inclines and declines and then the last few kilometres before Mt Molloy.  Just 5kms north of the rest area, QPWS were managing a control burn and the Ute was stopped for about 10minutes as visibility was low.  The man holding the Stop/Go sign was originally from WA and happy to chat with RL as everyone waited for the smoke to clear.  Shortly before 1:00pm, RL pulled into the rest area and they set up the camper for lunch.  After a cat nap, they looked at maps to work out a plan for the next day, a big problem being that there were virtually no free camping places within cooee.  RA attempted, not too successfully, to sort out the problem with the email account not sending or receiving.  She got so frustrated that the only thing to do was to leave it for another time.  RL read and RA did some diary before they decided to go for a walk.  Naturally, that meant chatting with some fellow campers as they set off. S, their daughter rang while they were preparing dinner, after which RA finished the diary for the last couple of days and RL read. RL & RA were looking forward … He to the Daintree and she to the possibility of a sugar farm tour.