Townsville Qld July 30 2015

Townsville Qld July 30 2015

Just a transport day today: Palm Cove to Townsville down the fabulous Bruce. I suppose I shouldn't keep slagging it off, but really, considering the sheer volume of traffic, not to mention the numerous tiny towns and cane-train crossings, its just downright dangerous. From Palm Cove its a 75km run in 1 hour, and that’s taking the back-way off the bypass. And then it was traffic as usual, anything from 70 to 90kph all the way down to Cardwell, about a 150km, where we, and 10,000 other caravans stopped for lunch. The Bruce runs right through Cardwell and is right on the beach. It’s a small, nice town and strangely, while we sat there feeding our faces, the Bruce was eerily quiet, except for a few odd trucks cruising through.

Cardwell Qld

Cardwell Qld 

Cardwell Qld

After lunch we noticed that most of the caravans had left, so we set of expecting the worst - but wait - a minor miracle happened and the road was clear ahead of us and we hit 6th gear and 100kph for the first time. This was just glorious and we gobbled up the miles most of the way down to Ingham, where we came up behind the usual gaggle of dawdlers: cars, small trucks and the odd caravan. We got lucky because we had driven through Ingham a few time just last week and knew the road; so when they all slowed to a crawl through the town in the left lane, i nipped past in the right, knowing that the road went to the left a ways up the road.

The road was again miraculously clear and we zipped on down to Townsville, where we had booked a spot for the night in the sold-out Big4. It’s a fair old way out of town, on the north side and right next to the Bruce and the railway line and it’s 500m from the van to the loo, but there’s no alternative, so we settled in. Five minutes later, we headed into Townsville itself, to the Strand actually, for an ice-cream and a walk along the boulevard. This is probably the best part of Townsville: it has cafes, jetties, playgrounds, beaches, water-play parks and, this year an added bonus. There is some festival or other on this weekend and there are artworks, street painters and sand castle sculptures all along its length.

Townsville Qld

Townsville Qld

The sand sculpting was pretty awesome

Townsville Qld

Townsville Qld

Townsville Qld

Townsville Qld

Townsville Qld

These are ‘3d’ chalk paintings on the footpath, with magnifying glass set up on a tripod in exactly the right spot so you get the full effect.

Townsville Qld 

Townsville Qld

Anyhow, that’s us for the day.

Kuranda Qld. July 29, 2015

Kuranda Qld. July 29, 2015

Up and away early this morning to catch the 845am train from Freshwater to Kuranda. This is an historic train ride, the line was established in 1891 to provide a reliable supply link from the port of Cairns to the gold fields and farmlands on top of the mountain range. It's 32km long and rises 300 metres, has 106 cuttings, 15 tunnels and 55 bridges and is literally carved into the edge of the mountain. One step the wrong way and its a long way straight down. If you keep in mind that the whole enterprise was undertaken using pick & shovel and man power and that they dug and gouged over 2.3 million tonnes of rock out by hand, you can start to appreciate the significance of the finished product.

We have been on it before, back in 2004, and so were able to relax more and take in the experience rather than trying to get snaps from every possible angle of the train, the view, the rocks, the waterfalls, the tunnels, the bridges etc.

Kuranda Scenic Railway. Cairns - Kuranda Qld

Kuranda Scenic Railway. Cairns - Kuranda Qld

Stoney Creek Falls.Kuranda Scenic Railway. Cairns - Kuranda Qld

Kuranda Scenic Railway. Cairns - Kuranda Qld

Me enjoying the ride.Kuranda Scenic Railway. Cairns - Kuranda Qld

Kuranda Scenic Railway. Cairns - Kuranda Qld

When we reached Kuranda Station, rather than go straight to town, we thought we would walk down to the man made lake and take the cruise. Ha, bit of a joke really, just a motorised pontoon with half-a-dozen captive sightseers and an inept tour guide. Still, in-between bumping into the banks to shake the wildlife out so we could see them and driving up and down looking for the freshwater crocodiles that are 'always here' the 45 minutes was pleasant enough. I notice that no one lingered when we tied up I notice and no gushing 'thank-yous'.

Turtles.  Reservoir lake. Kuranda Qld

Freshwater Crocodile. Reservoir lake. Kuranda Qld

Once up at Kuranda town proper (we drove up here two years back) we noticed that it might have smartened itself up a bit, which might be a direct result of the 200+ cruise ships that come into Cairns every year, with a good number of tourists making this their destination of choice. I'm glad we opted out yesterday and came on a  cruise-free day. First of all a coffee was called for and we found a little place off the main street to a little cafe called Kuranda Rainforest Coffee which served its own locally roasted and blended coffee, which along with a mixed berry crumble slice, was most welcome.

The main attraction for us has always been the butterfly house, which is where we went next and spend an enjoyable hour or so snapping away trying to get that perfect shot of these colourful but ever-moving creatures.

 Australian Butterfly Sanctuary. Kuranda Qld

 Australian Butterfly Sanctuary. Kuranda Qld

Ulysses. Australian Butterfly Sanctuary. Kuranda Qld

 Australian Butterfly Sanctuary. Kuranda Qld

Madame Butterfly. Australian Butterfly Sanctuary. Kuranda Qld

For lunch we elected to stop at the nearby cafes and walk back over the road to the  Kuranda Rainforest View Restaurant where we had a pleasant meal overlooking a bit of valley with rainforest in the distance. Our return journey was to be via the Skyrail so we wandered back to the terminal, waited our turn and finally got to ride the 7.5 km back down to the Cairns terminal. I enjoyed it, Judy was not so happy about the first 4.7km leg which is very high and goes up and down over the peaks before getting to the transfer station. The last leg is just a straight run down the side of the mountain. It's a shame that it was so misty / cloudy / hazy otherwise the snaps would have been spectacular.

Skyrail. Kuranda - Cairns Qld

Skyrail. Kuranda - Cairns Qld

We drank more coffee while waiting for the transfer bus to take us back to the station and our waiting car. Arriving back at the van park about 5pm, we considered that we had had a pretty good day out for our money.

Cairns Qld. July 28, 2015

Cairns Qld. July 28, 2015

We started off on a lazy sort of day. It's not cold, nor is it hot. Nor is it bright and sunny, but threatening rain all day, not that there's much difference between 99% humidity and actual rain.

We thought we'd go and take the skyrail ride through the treetops up to Kuranda and visit the butterfly house. We arrived at the terminus at exactly the same time as 27 busloads of pre-booked tourists from the Pacific Dawn cruise ship arrived, and so naturally enough, we decided that it would be better tomorrow.

Undaunted we were sort of heading toward town when we got side-tracked up to a previously unheard of place called Crystal Cascades. It's yet another walk along a gorge through rainforest, but this one is rather pleasant. You are walking on a wide smooth concrete driveway, well above the rushing rapids and inviting swimming holes. There are well made viewing platforms and stairs and people are encouraged to go swimming, which would be mighty inviting on a hot day. Nothing stops the backpackers though, and a few hardy souls had braved the waters (perhaps this is their substitute for a daily shower?)

If you look closely, you can still see the two pipelines that were Cairns water supply in the early 20th century and which are still in use. This explains the driveway and easy access.

Apart from the lush rainforest growth, there are numerous side creeks bubbling their way down into the gorge and one of the 'cutest' little waterfalls I've seen. I'd go out on a limb and say that this gorge is a heap better than the famed Mossman Gorge, which we have visited a few times over the last few years.

After the Crystal Cascades, we headed down toward the Freshwater railway station to sort out our tour for tomorrow. We were the only ones there and the lady was very pleasant and relaxed - what a contrast to the mayhem and crush at the Skyrail terminal.

Time for lunch, and we went back to a pleasant looking hotel back in Redlynch. Judy ordered 'Sliders' for lunch, thinking she would get one roll sort of thing with pulled pork upon it. I ordered the club sandwich. As a treat we had garlic bread first, but forgot to order the obligatory chips. Just as well. Judy's meal consisted of not one, but five rolls, each with a different filling. Speaking of filling, I was struggling with my huge triple decker chicken club sandwich, which came with chips of course, and I swear Judy looked like she was going to explode! But hey, when the food is this good, you just can't leave it on the plate. No dinner for us tonight!

We also 'discovered' the Big 4 caravan park hidden behind Redlynch and up toward the Cascades. Its just a lovely relaxed park and we'd have to seriously consider coming here if / when we come back up this way.

Some snaps from the gorge:

 Crystal Cascades, Cairns Qld

 Crystal Cascades, Cairns Qld

Fig tree. Crystal Cascades, Cairns Qld

 Crystal Cascades, Cairns Qld

Cascade at the head of the gorge. Crystal Cascades, Cairns Qld

Love this moss. Crystal Cascades, Cairns Qld

 Crystal Cascades, Cairns Qld

Tiny and cute waterfall. Crystal Cascades, Cairns Qld

Palm Cove, Cairns Qld. July 27, 2015

Palm Cove, Cairns Qld. July 27, 2015

One hundred and seventy kilometres in three-and-a-half hours. That’s the mighty Bruce for you, especially up this far. Actually, I exaggerate a tad, we stopped at the sugar museum in Innisfail because it was a more enticing option than trundling along the goat-track, but still, it was ‘tedious’, to say the least.

Here are some snaps from the museum, just for fun:

Sugar Museum. Innisfail Qld

Sugar Museum. Innisfail Qld

Sugar Museum. Innisfail Qld

Sugar Museum. Innisfail Qld

We finally made it into Palm Cove, which is the last suburb of Cairns, about 20k north of the city centre. The van park is OK, at least we can swing a cat on this site, it’s rather nice actually.

Some snaps from along the boardwalk :

Palm Cove Qld

Palm Cove Qld

Palm Cove Qld

Palm Cove Qld

Palm Cove Qld

Palm Cove Qld

South Mission Beach Qld. July 26, 2015

South Mission Beach Qld. July 26, 2015

If half the state of Queensland can have a holiday because the Tully Show is on, I can have a day off from Blog-writing!

Over the last two days we travelled around a bit. We went up to the Murdering Point Winery just north of Mission Beach, at a place called Silkwood, although you'd be hard pressed to spot the actual township. The wine was 'interesting', but we bought some fortified brew because we thought they needed our help!

Just down the road from Silkwood, on the coast is a town called Kurrimine, which doesn't feature in any of the tourist brochures but is quite pleasant and judging by the number of boats in the water and around the van park, it has some good fishing grounds.

We then found ourselves back out on the Bruce, at a town called El Arish, which is in the brochures. It's claim to brochuredom is that it is a reasonably intact example of the soldier settlement, a scheme introduced after WWI whereby returned soldiers could go into a ballot to be allocated a 600 acre farm and some expenses to help get them started as farmers. The town itself grew up not long after to service the farmers. All we could see that might have been original was the hotel and railway station. Speaking of hotels, we had lunch at this one, and pretty good tucker it was too.

Judy making a break for the hotel. El Arish Qld 

Railway Station. El Arish Qld

On our way back into the 'beaches', we were slagging off all the 'Beware of cassowary' and 'Cassowary cross here' saying that it was a joke and the you never see them. Wrong. Right then we came across an adult male (they do the baby minding) and two chicks. I braved the traffic roaring past and the Cassowary who was starting to get a bit agitated, to get this snap:

Cassowary. South Mission Beach Qld

Today was 'monster' market day and we toddled along because it's what you do on a Sunday morning in these places. The usual range of sun-dresses and hand-made necklaces competed for space with less than fresh looking vegetables and dog-eared books. We adjourned to Mission Beach for a coffee reviver.

'Monster' Market. Wongaling Beach Qld

Being the lazy sods we are, we ate lunch at the cafe next door to the van park before going down to the end of the road, where there is a boat ramp and a rather nice looking boardwalk going around the headland. It said 1.3 km to Luggers Bay and so we thought we'd have a go. They forgot to mention the stairs up and down, but it was generally pleasant, passing a pebble beach called Lovers Beach. At the end we couldn't bring ourselves to climb down the steep looking stairs, more ladder-like than staircase, to the actual beach of the Luggers bay.

Boardwalk, South Mission Beach Qld 

Palm and Dunk Island. South Mission Beach Qld

Luggers Bay Qld

Judy and tree. South Mission Beach Qld

We finished up with a swim in the pool and then a nice cup of tea and some walnut and date loaf from the markets.