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.