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 6 July 2019

Port Douglas Qld 6 August 2019

We shifted camp from Atherton down to Craiglie, which is on the highway, just near the turn off to Port Douglas proper.

The weather continues to be mostly almost raining, with bursts of bright sunshine to keep you guessing. I went for a few walks around the local district and then drove further into Port itself, which appears not to have changed one jot since we were here last but still managed to spend time wandering the shops and having coffee

Cane train railway. Craiglie Qld

Tiniest flower you ever did see. Craiglie Qld
This on one of the many types of creepers in the rainforest that will reclaim any cleared lad, almost while you watch 

Weed. Craiglie Qld

Cane train. Craiglie Qld
The rails look like they are disused but these trains are moving all the time. 

From field to train, only a tractor ride away. Craiglie Qld

Cane train rails over one of the numerous creeks. Craiglie Qld

Over the hills and far away! Craiglie Qld

Random grevillea. Craiglie Qld

Ingham Qld July 22 2015

Ingham Qld July 22 2015

Unfortunately, there was no other option than to do the 60km trek back up to Ingham today: we felt that we should really go to the TYTO Wetlands. We started out the back because that's where the sign pointed us, and well, due to lack of rain this year, the wetlands are almost dry and not really at their best. We wandered around the well made paths and tracks, trying to find the birds that were laughing their heads off from the trees and shrubs. This is a great setup for birdies but we struggle to actually see the silly things! On our way back two big ones surprised us by flying up out of one of the lagoons right in front of us, how could we miss? Then we had the unusual sight of a wallaby with a willy wagtail on its back, I had no idea they did this.

 TYTO Wetlands. Ingham Qld

 TYTO Wetlands. Ingham Qld

 TYTO Wetlands. Ingham Qld

 TYTO Wetlands. Ingham Qld

 TYTO Wetlands. Ingham Qld

Water lily pad. TYTO Wetlands. Ingham Qld

 TYTO Wetlands. Ingham Qld

Hitching a ride. TYTO Wetlands. Ingham Qld

It was getting late, after 1pm, and so we made our way back past the RV free camp, up toward the information centre, looking for the cafe. And then we saw what the TYTO fuss was all about: they have lots more wetlands, full of water and surrounded by lush green lawns and elevated walkways all over the place. We had to cross from the info place to the cafe along this walkway, along the way we saw waterlilies galore, some jacana (i thought they only lived in Kakadu) and heaps of other big white birds, and ducks galore. But then judy spotted the blue kingfisher, just sitting on the rail and despite its small size and our distance we managed to get a few shots.

 TYTO Wetlands. Ingham Qld

Blue kingfisher. TYTO Wetlands. Ingham Qld

We found the Tiddaliks restaurant, which is part of the complex and boardwalk and overlooks one of the lagoons. We both had a delightful lunch, certainly exceeded our expectations of cafe food.

After a bit more of a wander about we headed toward the coast to Lucinda, mainly because i wanted to see the sugar loading jetty, reputed to be 5.8km long, so long that the engineers had to factor in the curvature of the earth's surface so that the distant end stayed at the same height relative to the water.

Cane loading jetty. Lucinda Qld

I was particularly taken by the pelicans sitting atop the poles that normally hold the stinger net up. One pole had a gull sitting on it, but big bully pelican saw it off quick smart!

Pelicans-on-posts. Lucinda Qld

Lucinda seems like a nice little town, certainly the people jammed into the van park must think so as they tend to come and stay for 3 months at a time, mostly so they can go fishing. We had a look through the park, and were amused by the number of Curlews roaming about.

Curlews in caravan park. Lucinda Qld

I had to take one last snap on the way back: we came to a level crossing just at the same time the cane trade was lumbering down. This is the local industry in acton.

Cane train. Lucinda Qld