Mission Beach Qld July 31st, 2023

 Mission Beach Qld July 31st, 2023

We left our semi-dry spot in Glengarry this morning and headed out to Mission Beach. South Mission Beach to be more precise. But first, a problem with the stop lights on the van. I popped the covers off the connectors but couldn't pin-point the problem and as it was getting late, I decided to take a chance and head out anyway.

Smooth run down to Cairns but then, the traffic and the traffic lights and on and on and on. I was fair frazzled waiting for the crash up the bum due to our lack of stop lights, but it thankfully never eventuated. Finally clear of Cairns we then ran into road-works, which you can't complain about really, This Bruce “highway” needs all the help it can get. And then there was the rain, and more rain, down through Innisfail and all the way down to the turn-off to Mission Beach.

A miracle. It stopped raining just before we pulled into the Van Park. Our site is sodden, soggy and soft as a mudpie, but we backed and filled and fiddled about and got that van into the allocated space. Good on us. These spaces are ok size wise, but the road out front leaves zero room to manoeuvre, so we were happy to be in unscathed.

On reflection though, the van has quite a list on it and we’ll have to try and fix it, tomorrow.

After a late lunch and a rest, we went to the shops for bread and milk, as one does. On the way back Judy pointed out a patch of blue sky. I just had to get its picture....

Good grief, blue shy. What will they think of next?> Mission Beach Qld

Port Douglas Qld July 30th 2023

 Port Douglas Qld July 30th 2023

A photo shoot kind of blog today....

The original Parkrun on the Esplanade in Cairns. My fourth attendance. Tried for  a PB but fell 2 minutes short. The course is different from the first visits and is quite a good track. Cairns Qld

Palms at Palm Cove, northernmost part of Cairns. One of Judy's favourite places. 

We saw this string of empty carriages being shunted in as we were pulling into our caravan park. The line used to run right through the park and service the fields further down Mowbray Road. I just loved the early morning sunlight painting highlights on these rusty battered but still very much in used carriages. Glengarry Qld

Kookaburra sitting on the proverbial wire. This is when you wish you had a proper camera with a long lens. Oh well, at least the phone fits in my pocket! Glengarry Qld

Port Douglas Markets. Every Sunday whether they need them or not. Port Douglas Qld

Unusual rear view of the Sugar Shed. Built in 1905 to house the sugar coming in from the Mossman Central sugar mill, the cane train ran right out onto the wharf. Closed in 1958 when Cairns took over as a deep sea port. Ben Cropp had a museum there for some time, but now it is the most popular wedding reception venue in Far North Queensland. I took the shot while I was at the markets. Just something about the light and the symmetry. It just appealed to me

Wonga Beach, north of Mossman. Probably the pick of the beaches up this way.

You could hear the rust eating away you drove by. It's a Ford Customline ute, would be worth something if there were anything left of it. Daintree Qld

Distant waterfall, no idea what it's called. Mossman Qld

 Port Douglas Qld July 28th 2023

Turned out rather a nice day, no rain and lots of sunshine between cloudy bits. We went on the now rather lame Lady Douglas cruise up the Dickson Inlet. We’ve done this maybe four times before and I guess we’re just a bit over it.  They managed to find two small crocodiles, so they got a tick-in-the-box, but we probably won't bother again. Apart from anything else, the skipper kept banging on about how crocodiles only eat once or twice a year, which I'm sure is just plain wrong. Research shows that a crocodile can last for up to three years without a feed, they normally feed on ‘snacks’ every few days.

Baby saltwater crocodile, maybe 60cm long. Dickson Inlet Port Douglas Qld

The marina is looking tired an unloved. Today we hear that it was bought a few years back by some billionaire who wanted to pull it down and build two, yes two, huge hotels on the site. So, all the tenants closed their businesses and left and the builders started pulling things apart, like the slipways and the jetties. But then, for no apparent reason, the plans were shelved and its been left in limbo ever since.

Of interest is the new junk in town. Ostensibly commissioned by the CIA and used for surveillance of the coast of China. It's now owned by one of the tour companies and we saw it making its way up the Inlet, looking for crocs no doubt.

Chinese Junk. Dickson Inlet Port Douglas Qld

And the little trains that used to run up and down the old cane track, but it was pulled up and the trains are now permanently parked and the carriages used as seating area for a cafe. 

We took ourselves off to the Court House Hotel for our usual bucket of prawns for lunch, but they were very few in number, expensive and lacking in flavour. 

Prawn quality control Officer. Court House Hotel Port Douglas Qld

Undaunted we decided that the best thing to do was go back to Mossman and get another vanilla slice.

Disaster! They had run out. I've never understood why these bakeries do that: only bake a few of everything, including the things they invariably sell out off.

Anyhow we found another cafe and had scones instead.

Port Douglas Qld July 27th 2023

 Port Douglas Qld July 27th 2023

Took my morning stroll out along Mowbray Road, down across the creek of the same name and up into the back blocks. The sun was actually shining and it was quite pleasant.

Mountains behind caravan park, Glengarry Qld

One of my favourite bridges has had a facelift and been saved from demolition. I was just walking over it when the men from the local council turned up to inspect the vandal damage to the not even 4 week old reno. They have put bollards along each side and joined them with a nice 2 inch thick rope in the form of a handrail. Very decorative and stops us pedestrians from walking off the side of the bridge. One of these ropes had been cut right through. Must have taken some effort to do this. The air was blue with what the engineer said! And he was right, a very apt descriptive name for people who do this sort of thing. PS: two days later the rope on the other side was cut as well.

Let me bore you with a bridge story....

The first bridge was build in 1919 right after WWI as a job creation project for the returned Diggers, and was named the Anzac bridge. In 1940 it was replaced with a new bridge, just downstream from it, also given the Anzac bridge monicker.

Anzac bridge 1940 version, Mowbray Creek, Glengarry Qld

In 2019 Council wanted to rip the lovely old timber structure out and replace it with a concrete causeway style bridge. The local were upon in arms and mounted a protest. And sometimes people power can win because the new bridge was build more or less where the original 1919 bridge had been. They even saved one of the old concrete piles and put it in a park up the road.

Later on, another visit to Port Douglas to finish the shops off, hopefully without the rain. We had lunch at The Central Pub before taking a drive up through to Mossman, just for fun. It rained on and off all day, so driving around is about the only amusement. We took coffee and cake at the Bakery in Mossman and Judith finally found a vanilla slice worthy of her praise. It won mostly by not having a soggy bottom. Would have got five stars if the icing had been pink and hard. 

Port Douglas Qld July 26th 2023

 Port Douglas Qld July 26th 2023

Time to leave our favourite spot in one of the top three van parks by our reckoning. It’s been raining on and off but stayed relatively dry while we broke camp and moved out. By the time we hit Mareeba it was raining properly and continued to do so all the way to Glengarry. That descent from Mount Morgan down to the highway is pretty special, it even has a sign that says “All vehicles use low gear”. I couldn’t help but wonder how many drivers would know what “low gear” means or how to use it. The road also has a “Danger: High Accident area”. So enough said, take lots of care and lots of time to get down safely.

Glengarry is on the Captain Cook Highway just south of Craiglie, which is just past the turn of to “Port”.

Luckily it stopped raining while we set up, but it’s very damp, even muddy underfoot. We had some shopping to do so went into town to the shops, had some lunch and returned to the van. The rain started almost immediately but as I was asleep most of the afternoon, I didn’t really mind!

Atherton Qld July 21st-25th 2023

Atherton Qld July 21 2023

Easy run up into the mountains except for the last 40km which was at snail’s pace due to climbing and twisting and narrow road  which banked up the traffic into a convoy. Oh well nought to do but tag along and enjoy the scenery.

Made it into what must by now be in our top three van parks, the NRMA Atherton Holiday Park.

Shock! Horror! They’ve heated the pool! Yeah, way to go them.

Got parked up and nipped into town to hit the shops for some essential food items, and Bunnings for a new heater and a new hose fitting.

Later in the day I walked back up to the platypus pond, saw nothing, then went around to the old train station and took some snaps of the carriages now being used  for a cafe.

Train cafe, Atherton Qld

Train cafe, Atherton Qld

Atherton July 22nd 2023

I was up early and did the Atherton Parkrun for the second time. its been four years since I did this one last, the time certainly gets away. This time I walked up to the start of Parkrun, maybe 400 metres, which is a nice little warmer-upper, even if it is only 10°. Anyhow we got under way and I walked with a fellow from Townsville who couldn’t run because he’d just had his hip replaced, but was keeping a solid pace nonetheless. The course was a bit different this year in as much as it was now one long loop of 3.6km and a shorter loop of 1.4km, instead of two at 2.5km. At the end of the big loop I was feeling lucky so I trotted off on the last leg, probably lasted about 100m but kept up a good pace, threw in a few more jogs, shuffle, jog sections in and came home 58 seconds faster than last time. Yippee a PB!

After breakfast we headed out to Yungaburra to go to the markets. Yungaburra is only a small place and its flooded with market doers and market goers. The markets are surprisingly large but as we’ve been to ten-thousand or so around the country, not all that exciting. Even Judy was finding it hard to find something to look at. We bought a cucumber, then slid out of town down to Malanda where we found a nice cafe and took our repast.

Just out of Malanda is the info centre and Malanda Falls, which look enticing, but not enough for me to brave the water. There was one couple however, she with a metal detector and he in a wetsuit and snorkel, scouring the bottom for sunken treasure.

Malanda Falls, Malanda Qld

On our way back we stopped at they Gallo Cheese factory where they no longer do tasting but are happy to sell you their cheese products... and their chocolate ones as well.

Before we reached the van park I was looking for an old train track, which turns out to be almost at Herberton. We ended up at the Herberton Train Station, which is now the Steam Train Fnaciers' club and a Men's Shed. I took a snap of their old train and we headed back

Old trains, Herberton Qld

Back at the van park we had a swim and sat in the weakening sun for a while before going back to the van for some warm clothes. You tend to forget that you are at the top of the mountain and its quire a bit colder than you think it should be.

Atherton Qld July 23rd 2023

Slow start today and we headed out to Mareeba late. Late enough to think that after a nice ramble around the Coffee Works museum and gift shop that it would be time for lunch.

But as has been a bit of a recurring theme this trip: the museum is closed indefinitely while the owner does some renovations. It was all so vague I suspect that it is just closed. End of. We had a quick look at the trinkets for sale and checked out the chocolates and were in two minds whether to stay or go. In the end we elected to stay for some lunch, which was ok even if it were slow, but the coffee was Black Mountain, not even one of the coffees they praise themselves on being experts on.

The Coffee Works, Mareeba Qld

The Scone with cream and jam was excellent however.

From the Coffee Works its a short drive west out to Granite Gorge, which we hadn’t been to, so it was a must-do. 

On the way we were distracted by a lookout, the Bunny Seary Lookout, whoever they may have been, the view was not particularly inspiring, and I wondered why they had bothered really.

Bunny Seary Lookout, Mareeba Qld

Granite Gorge turns out to be a a caravan park of sorts whose claim to fame is a 3 1//2 km walk down into a ... granite gorge. There is supposed to be swimming in the gorge which would be great on a hot day so we might keep this in mind for next time. Oh and there is a $15 per head day use fee if you just want to do the walks. There is also another huge “bush” camp just before you get to the place but you have to have a self-contained unit. 

Granite Boulders at Granite Gorge, Mareeba Qld

Atherton Qld July 24th 2023

Only one visit today; Millaa Millaa Falls. Actually there are three waterfalls to see on the Waterfall Circuit, Millaa Millaa, Zillie and Elinjaa Falls. Millaa Millaa (which may be a translation from the aboriginal words Malay Malay, referring to the fruit of vine which was a seasonal food source) is taken from the name of the nearby town. The falls are recorded as being 18.3 metres in height and display three distinct streams as the come over the top and make the fan into the large pool.

Plant of hardy folk were swimming despite the very cold water.

Millaa Millaa Falls, Millaa Millaa Qld

The other two falls may be spectacular, but one you can't see at all, the other requires you to be descendant from a mountain goat to get to the bottom so you can view it. I opted for a sidewise  snap though the vegetation.

Zillee Falls, Millaa Millaa Qld

 Elinjaa Falls, Millaa Millaa Qld

We went back to Millaa Millaa the village for a coffee and cake in a nice coffee shop come dress shop come toy and gift shop.

In all pleasant afternoon. 

I also took this snap on my morning stroll, Its in the middle of Atherton and it just appeals to me, all that rust and decay and it's like time has just stopped at this particular workshop!

Old junk, Atherton Qld

Atherton July 25th 2023

Today we set out to see if we could find a platypus or two, so we headed to Yungaburra where we had a brilliant sighting a few years ago. On the way we took the slight detour to check out the Curtain Fit tree.

Curtain Fig Tree, Yungaburra Qld

The tree is looking as magnificent as ever, and the stag-horns growing way up there in the canopy look just superb.

Staghorn in curtain fig tree, Yungaburra Qld

Back to those pesky platypus though. We thought we were clever when we found them last time because we went across the bridge, under the bridge and along the creek for a hundred metres or so in an area that is known as the Allumbah Pocket.

The disappointments continue. You can follow the track undef the bridge, but alas, the farmer that owns the land has closed it and fenced it off. Rats!

We went to the info place looking for a replacement waterfall brochure that I had left in the van, and got talking to the guides about the platypus pond and the fenced of area, when we discovered that the track we had followed goes quite a bit further along the creek. All we had to do was drive to the next access point and walk from there.

This we did and as soon as we neared the creek we say our first platypus, but only for a moment. They don't stay up on the surface long, stay down for 8-10 minutes at a time and can come back up anywhere.

Undaunted we went to the left of our entry point and crossed the creek on a genuine swing bridge. Ok so it doesn’t take much to amuse us. 

Swing bridge over Pattersons Creek, Yungaburra Qld

We hung around but saw no further signs of our quarry. Crossing back over we then followed the creek further along when we were rewarded again with another sighting, and another. The creek has quite a thick covering of some form of vegetation and the platypus seemed to be diving under it. We saw it one more time before we retraced our steps. 

Platypus, Petersons Creek, Yungaburra Qld

We had also been given a heritage trail map, which we duly followed looking for the numbered signs. On the way we drove through a rather good looking garden area and stopped to take snaps of another monotreme, an echidna. These animals are so timid, the second you stop they scurry off into a bit of grass and curl themselves up into a spiked ball.

Echidna, Yungaburra Qld

The only other highlight was the old railway bridge. The story is that the original railway line was flooded when they build the Tinaroo Falls dam in 1958. This bridge and the others like it were build at great expense and only used for six years before road transport took over when they were all closed.

Railway Bridge, Yungaburra Qld

As a final tourist thing, we went back to the van via Hasties Swamp where there is a two story bird hide, but apart from the ten-thousand Magpie Geese in residence, there wasn’t much else to see.

As has become a bit of a tradition, I took the car to the carwash and relieved it of its thick coating of red dirt and grime. Voila! You can see out the windows again.