Innisfail

26th Aug
       We said goodbye to John & Sue this morning as they headed to Cardwell on their way home after being in each others company for just over 3 months.This was the park we stayed at in Cairns.

I had a quick shot out the window soon after we left of the unusual shaped range.

Only single lane hwy with very short passing lanes but not too much traffic. The park in Innisfail was walking distance to town & Allan loved our site with river views. After settling in we were told the resident croc had been sunning himself on a sandbank earlier when the tide was out! The neighbour commented that the croc only came up the bank to our site & didn't bother the rest of the campers! Ha Ha!

We did a walk to town & really nice art deco buildings after the town was rebuilt following a cyclone in the 1930's.

Quite a busy town with both major supermarkets

Two rivers meet & become a very wide one which follows thru the town.

27th Aug
  Decided to pack a picnic lunch & visit a couple of the bays. We drove to Etty Bay first which was quite a climb up & then down to find not much parking as a group were having a school reunion. We had a coffee at the only shop & then walked along the beach. Allan spotted something Sue had been hoping for but the phone had a dirty lens so photos not as clear as they should be.

It was a Cassowary trying to get into someones lunch which they had left while going down to the water.

Allan went to get closer & the bird chased him around a treeso  we decided to picnic elsewhere as didn't want company!

We drove to Mourilyan Harbour which is the main loading port for exported sugar in this region.No picnic spots here so drove to Coquette Pt. No parking at all but a nursery called Lavender & Lace had a drive in so went to investigate. We were heading into the nursery when a lady came up from behind us & we explained we weren't coming to purchase but wanted somewhere to eat our lunch. She offered us her boathouse & took us thru to their private property.A nice walk!

We decided to take our own chairs & not sit in the boathouse & were told not to sit under the coconut trees as they were laden. The house was something else & a magic spot where the husband fished with success.

We felt very spoilt to be offered such a unique picnic spot & later wandered around the huge nursery which was showing signs of neglect.

Amazing how a simple plan can turn into a magical day finished by the croc splashing below around 8pm catching fish for his dinner. I cooked outside & was worried he might come to visit as we could see his outline even though it was dark. Scary. Love Bev & Allan.

Cairns Part Two

25th Aug
  A cloudy humid morning of 27 degrees when we left to drive into Cairns. A much bigger shopping area than we expected & some great buildings. The actual shopping mall was quite old & covered a whole block but a superb building & quite updated inside.

We didn't have much time & thought we'd struck gold at a huge fruit market but they were preparing for markets the next day & wouldn't sell us anything! We decided to do a quick drive to the waterfront & have a coffee but the tide was out so not pretty!

There were some better sights though.

A huge pool complex that was all for free & a really great spot for a picnic & swim.

We had a short time left so headed to the Botanical Gardens & the little we saw was magnificent.

It was a huge place & certainly would love to spend a few hours wandering around .

We went back to the park to pick up John & Sue & drove to Yorkeys Nob Boating Club for a farewell lunch. Very pleasant on a big deck overlooking the water & could watch boats going in & out.We really loved our brief time in Cairns & will certainly try to come back on hopefully another trip. Love Bev & Allan

Cairns

23rd Aug
A superb morning as we left to drive to Cairns & was 28. Quite a twisty road & narrow for a main hwy & wasn't the best drive ever for me. Beautiful views of the sea & coast & stopped for photos a couple of times.

We stopped here & were offered a site but not for me as free camping is not my scene at all.

We arrived at our Big 4 park which was very nice with the best amenities of the trip & a beautiful setting about 20 mins out of Cairns.
24thAug.
  John & Sue had done the Kuranda rail but offered to drive up & pick us up as I wasn't wrapped in the Skyrail to come back. John took us to the station & Allan told the girl in the ticket office that he had done the same journey 57 years ago. We were disappointed with our bench seats for 4 people as we didn't have a window & Allan's neighbour wouldn't stop talking. Just before we left a girl came rushing in & said to follow her & we got given perfect seats with a whole bench seat & a window, The girl in the ticket office decided we were very nice people & gave us an upgrade. What a difference it made to the ride.

The carriages are beautiful & we had a couple from Melbourne opposite who were really nice.

It certainly is a popular attraction & really excellent.

The tales that were told of how it was all built 125 years ago were interesting too.

It took 1& 3/4 hours & superb rain forest & magnificent views.

When Allan did it all those years ago the photos show beautiful flowering hanging baskets at the Kuranda station but now they are ferns although still look good.

We thought the main street was fantastic with trees & tropical plants.

We met up with John & Sue & wandered thru the markets & then found a place to have lunch.

The road back was quite twisty but better than I thought & we cooled off in the pool after another great day. John suggested a meeting place which was easy to find.

Allan really enjoyed his day which was certainly memorable. love Bev & Allan.

Mossman Gorge

Mon 22nd Aug
      We left at 9.30 am & drove 18klm to Mossman Gorge. A huge car park which was filling rapidly. We then paid the $8.20 fee each for the return bus ride to go the 4klm each way. An excellent walkway to begin with.

We thought we were back in NZ with the crystal clear water & very green vegetation.

At the end of the walkway we went across a swing bridge & then began the 4.5 klm circuit on a track which I found really good.

We could hear water most of the way & the rain forest was just so beautiful .

It was a very enjoyable walk & very quiet as hardly any birds.

We had a few mins to wait for the bus to return us to the superb building where we started from. We had a nice coffee & a look around the excellent shop which had lots of nice goodies
.

We drove into Mossman & found a park for a picnic lunch & afterwards wandered over to where people were swimming . The usual croc warning sign but a young mother didn't seem too worried as her very young children played in the water!

This day was yet another high light in this trip & there certainly have been many of them. Love Bev & Allan

Port Douglas

18th Aug
   Had a coffee at a truck stop on the way back down after leaving Cooktown quite early & the weather was very warm & sunny. We did a left turn for the coast at Mt Malloy & couldn't believe the bright green countryside. It didn't appear to be very well stocked & feed everywhere on the small farms. We were at another Big 4 & about 7klms out of town . We did a walk up the road & sugar cane growing everywhere.

A narrow road & quite busy traffic wise but could have been after school pick ups.

We were standing on the bridge when a big school bus drove over & there was alot of movement! The next morning we drove into Port Douglas & certainly very nice with beautiful looking resorts & fantastic palm lined streets. Very tropical with different shrubs which are so colourful. Quite up market shops but still a village look & excellent coffee at The Coffee Club. We met John & Sue at The Tin Shed for lunch. We sat on a nice verandah style deck over looking the water & a magic spot.
20th aug.
Allan & I headed off to Daintree Village & stopped on the way to look at markets at Mossman & had a coffee & walked the length of the town. We then drove on to Daintree Village & found ourselves a place on the river bank for a picnic lunch .

Several river cruises left along side us & their first stop was directly opposite where crocodiles were apparently smiling for the camera! On the way home we called into a Barra farm where you could try you luck fishing for $55 but couldn't keep it. Very enjoyable outing & I drove home & second time in three months!
21st Aug.
 We went to the markets at Port Douglas & it was very busy. The vegs were excellent & some very nice stalls especially the ones with photography.

It was very warm so treated ourselves to a drink at a place called The Brewery which over looked the marina.

We had seen boards advertising fresh prawns so walked to the end of the wharf & bought half a kilo for $10 & they made a yummy lunch & best prawns we've had for a long time. We were so full so spent the rest of the afternoon residing outside enjoying the warm 27 degrees. At the end of the road which we turned into for the caravan park they were harvesting cane.

Allan was paid to cut it by hand when he was over here on a working holiday many years ago. Once this truck was filled it was emptied into special bins sitting on rail sidings & an engine arrived to take it to the sugar factory at Mossman. Certainly a huge industry in this area. We had some visitors at the caravan park which were quite cute.

We had a mother  Stone - Curlew & two baby chicks come to show off. The mother sat on top of the chicks after feed time & no one would know they were even there!

Dad thought he would also be in the picture. Always something different. Love Bev & Allan.

Cooktown Part Two

17th Aug
After rain overnight & more wind it cleared around mid morning so we decided to go to the beach but an unsealed muddy road suggested maybe not many people went there. The croc sign said it all!

Allan walked down for a photo but I was happy in the car.

We then went for a coffee at the Botanical Gardens which was a very nice place.

This Jackfruit tree was quite different.

A fence protected the gardens from harm & it was a pleasant walk .

We were going to the museum but decided to go for a walk along the foreshore which was really interesting. Lots of reading beside the statue of James Cook.

We finished off our tour by going to the cemetery which had some very old graves & they sure died young in those days. We were unfortunate with the weather but still an interesting place to visit. Love Bev & Allan.

Cooktown

15th Aug.
  We had light drizzle overnight & in places on our 300klm drive. We soon left behind the beautiful green tablelands for scrub & yet more termite mounds. We stopped around halfway for a coffee stop but no nice rest stops to pull in at. It became quite quite hilly from then on & we climbed up & then had downward curves but a good road. We just got set up at the Big4 when the drizzle arrived & it was very cloudy & not the sunshine we'd hoped for. We decided to walk into "town"but dived into the car as the rain became heavier!

A hardy couple were fishing from a jetty & drinking coffee & eating fish & chips!
16th Aug

  We woke to light rain & very windy & rather a shock after 10 weeks of sunshine & blue sky. We decided to go out for lunch as not much else to do & it was a very pleasant meal right on the water front. As the rain had cleared a little we drove up to the light house & lookout

After going aground on the reef Captain Cook managed to re float & came ashore for repairs. It is said he came up here many times to plot a course to avoid a repeat on the way back to sea.

Cooktown is quite small now although during the Goldrush had the second biggest port in Qld.

We decided to walk off our lunch when we got back to the park as still fine. However we weren't so lucky on the way back when a very heavy squall came across & we got quite wet! Allan took this photo in a park which also had several old military tanks.

Too wet for happy hour & the wind became stronger & the rain heavier so we battened down for the night. Quite a sense of isolation here although lots of caravans in the park. There are also many camper trailers who obviously go off road up to Cape York & they are covered in red dirt! Love Bev & Allan.