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.

 

Breakfast out!

13th aug.
  We had noticed while in a gem shop at Yungaburra the day before that they had a cheap breakfast on sat & sun mornings so we decided to eat there on sat morning. It was amazing value for $8 for John & Allan who had bacon,2eggs.,tomato,sausage,onion,baked beans & 4 pieces of toast each.Sue & I had a smaller breakfast & my poached eggs were $4!
 We then drove 32 klms to markets at Mareeba & they were excellent. We came away with lots of fresh produce & a couple of mats for the caravan. Next stop was at Coffee Works which was a great place. The coffee wasn't the best ever but fabulous things in the shop including some great blown glass things.

14th aug Cool & cloudy today for Allan's birthday & we went out for lunch to a pub in Atherton to celebrate his 75th. We were going to walk but drizzle arrived so soon changed our minds & was good food.

John & Sue gave Allan a special glass for his home brew,complete with a silver fern! The weather cleared so later we did a 4.5 klm walk & dinner was very small rations. It got quite cold so no happy hour & later the drizzle came back & was still there next morning. Atherton was a great stay & we enjoyed our cosy corner.

There were little tomato bushes growing behind our van & an avocado tree with fruit below John & Sue's van plus they had a visit from a possum one night. We packed things up ready for our 300klm drive to Cooktown next morning.Love Bev & Allan.

Atherton

Oops will try again!
11th aug.
Set off on the 100klm trip to Atherton but stopped to check out the quaint town of Ravenshoe which pub boasts being the highest in Qld.

Different scenery on the next part of the drive with beautiful tropical rain forest. I didn't enjoy driving over the mini Mt Messenger but thankfully not for long.Staying at a Big 4 & very nice trees & shrubs. Next morning Allan was keen to see the dairying in the area but first stop was to view the Curtain Fig Tree which was amazing.

A dairy farm with a cafe,shop selling cheese & chocolate was next & also viewed where the cheese was made.Later in the day you could also watch cows being milked. We needed somewhere to have our picnic coffee so stopped at Malanda Falls.

An amazing amount of heavy traffic heading somewhere rather spoilt it being a quiet spot but afterwards we walked thru the bush where we saw huge black walnut trees & some turtles !

We spotted a farm museum further on & saw old milking equipment & an old favourite.

Next stop was Lake Eachem which is a crater lake & perhaps why people were in swimming thinking it would be warm but it wasn't! Very clear though.

Fantastic facilities & we enjoyed our picnic lunch in the sun sheltered from the wind.

Our next stop was to take a photo of the farmland & thought we were back in NZ!

Lake Tinaroo was next & it was huge with a very nice picnic area although more exposed.

An excellent memorial there for the soldiers who lost there lives in Afghanistsan .

Our final stop was the cute town of Yungaburra which had great murals & quirky shops.

It was a wonderful day out in the great farming area with lots of roadside stalls selling fresh produce. We are here for four nights . love Bev & Allan.

Atherton

Charters Towers entertainment,Greenvale & Mt Garnet

Aug 8th
    The last night at Charters Towers had us wandering over to listen to the very good music provided by a couple. Many grey nomads gathered around the fire pit & an excellent couple of hours entertainment. Some of the Big 4 parks put in a lot of effort to have happy campers.

Aug 9th
       The next morning we were on the road at 8.30am & good road except for one three narrow pieces with tar seal only a car width & we met a road train. We stopped & got off on to the side while he went by using all the road plus the dirt on the other side. It took several mins before we could see John who was in front as so much dust!  On arrival at Greenvale we were handed Census papers so ours were done the old way as not much internet in the rustic park with cattle yards close by.

We went for a walk & found an Olympic size swimming pool, a pub & not much else. It was a nickle mining town but down to 150 residents from over 3,000. It was a quirky little place too.

There was also a very strange tree called the sausage tree.

  A bit more info about the tree. We went to the pub for dinner & the food was very good.

10th Aug
  A bit warmer on leaving this morning & the scenery was changing although back to lots of big termite mounds. The most stock we had seen & lots on the roadside grazing up to their bellies in the grass. Mt Garnet was another rustic park but very clean loos & a nice lady manager. Allan washed the car & van as badly needed it.

There were horses nearby & termite mounds so not much to see although next morning we discovered a tiny township further on.

We stopped for a picnic coffee & this was sitting on a termite mound & made a change from clothes decorating the mounds. Love Bev & Allan.