Tully

29th Aug
     An early start leaving Innisfail at 8.15 am for a short drive to the info centre at Tully to pick up our tickets for a tour of the Tully sugar mill. We drove into the town & found a park which wasn't easy with the van on behind. Allan had cut cane here all those years ago but didn't find any familiar landmarks.

Tully had some huge floods after Allan was there & they have this gumboot as a reminder to that time. It isn't a very big town & like many struggling to survive. About three hundred workers at the sugar mill which is very close to the main street. We arrived at the shed for an induction talk & to don our hard hats,safety glasses etc. There were about a dozen on the tour & the leader was a lady who was an excellent guide & very interesting.

First stop was to look at the sugar cane arriving by train & we had seen many of these cages being filled on previous days as the cane season is in full season.

Each of the cages was turned upside down by this machine & the cane stalks emptied on to a conveyor where it was crushed & the fibre was separated from the liquid & then dried & used as fuel for the boilers. This supply's enough power to run the factory & the surplus goes into the national grid.

The liquid molasses is put into high speed centrifugal cylinders with very fine mesh inside which traps the raw sugar.

All the raw sugar is exported & transported by trucks to the loading complex we had seen while staying Innisfail. 

We saw a truck being loaded which was a simple operation for the driver as lights indicated when he should move the truck forward to fill the next compartment. Allan especially enjoyed the tour bringing back memories of cutting the cane by hand after it had been burnt first & was a very hard & dirty job!

We drove on to Cardwell for a lunch stop & thought it looked a very nice place but we had booked two nights at Ingham so continued on. Love Bev & Allan.

Innisfail Part two

27th Aug.

Decided to take a picnic lunch & visit some of the beaches & after climbing up quite high we then drove down quite steeply to Etty Bay. A school reunion at the only cafe meant not a lot of parking left. We had a coffee & wandered along the beach & Allan was happy to spot one of the more unusual residents.

Unfortunately the phone camera had a dirty lens so the photos aren't as clear as they should be.

The bird is a cassowary & very large & decided to investigate someone's lunch! Allan had to hide behind a tree when it decided he was too close!

 We didn't want to share our lunch so drove on to Mourilyan Harbour which is where all the raw sugar in this region is shipped overseas. There was no where for our picnic lunch so moved on to Coquette Point & there was no parking at all. However just back was a drive into a nursery called Lavender & Lace so thought we'd have a look. After parking we wandered into the nursery & a lady came out , so we explained we weren't customers but were looking for somewhere to eat our lunch. She said we could sit in her boathouse & promptly led the way thru tropical plants to her private residence.

We decided not to use the boathouse & collected our chairs & lunch & set ourselves up in a magnificent setting. The house was stunning & we looked out on boats fishing & even a fly fisherman trying his luck.

We were warned not to sit under the palm trees as they were loaded with coconuts. We felt very spoilt & afterwards looked around the nursery which appeared to be rather tired. It was huge with many thousands of plants & all too much for the couple & one part time helper.

We returned to the park after an enjoyable day & were entertained around 8pm by the croc making lots of splashing as he had fish for dinner. I was quite worried he might want ours as I cooked it outside but Allan said he wouldn't come up the bank.

It was a nice view of the river & the next day explored more & had another picnic lunch at the Botanical gardens where a lady was celebrating her 100th birthday in a covered in area there. All good. Love Bev & Allan

Innisfail

26th aug.
  We said goodbye to John & Sue this morning after just over three months of travel together on an amazing trip. We need to slow up as are meeting everyone in Maroochydore in a month's time.This was the very nice park at Cairns.

Shortly after leaving Cairns we saw these unusual ranges.

The caravan park at Innisfail gave us a site right on the bank overlooking the river which Allan was pleased with. However there was a resident croc who had just left after sunning himself on a sandbank while the tide was out! Here we were able to walk into town so set off to enjoy the Art Deco buildings.

A cyclone destroyed the town back in the 1930's so all the buildings rebuilt then were of a similar style.

Two rivers meet to form a huge waterway along the back of the town.

An interesting place to wander around & a stall selling very cheap bananas almost opposite the park was worth the visit too. love Bev& Allan.

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.An interesting town. Love Bev & Allan.

 

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.

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