Home again

The end of our adventure has arrived and while we are happy to have “home comforts” and spend time with our family and friends we will miss the stimulation and enjoyment of seeing and doing something new each day and the simplicity of a camping life style - a time to reflect on what is important.
We were away for 20 weeks and during that time stayed in 48 different towns and had a lot of practice in putting up and packing away our camper trailer! One discovery has been the laid back and friendly attitude of other campers and caravanners, most people are happy to have a chat and share their experiences. In fact much of our route was decided after hearing other travellers’ tales.
Our Suzuki covered just over 20,000 km and didn’t miss a beat, we were lucky enough not to have to change a tyre and thank goodness there were no mechanical problems in some out of the way place.
Adelaide has had a very cold and wet winter and being able to enjoy the northern sunshine has been a bonus, some of you may remember the long summer school holidays when shorts and sandals were the dress each day and by the time it was back to school the sun had left an outline of those sandals on your feet - it has been a bit like that for us - a long holiday in the sunshine, no responsibilities, no worries!
This is my last blog - thank you all for your comments and interest - it’s now time to plan the next expedition and decide when H & L will be on the road again.

Ceduna, Smoky Bay, Streaky Bay

The coastal towns of Ceduna, Smoky Bay and Streaky Bay are renowned for their clean water and seafood, especially oysters and what better than half a dozen for breakfast and some more for lunch, they are very very good. Our visit to these towns was pretty brief, while the sun has been shining a cold wind has been blowing and we hope to return and spend more time there when the breeze is warmer. The landscape is familiar and home is calling so we will head for Port Augusta and with mixed feelings take the road to Adelaide.

The Nullarbor

We enjoyed the long drive across the Nullarbor Plain which contains Australia’s longest straight stretch of roadway - 145 kms - in fact much of the journey is through scrub and because of recent rains the countryside was looking green and healthy and there was always something interesting to see. Only a relatively short stretch of the road is through nullus arbor. Our first stop was at Balladonia where in 1979 space debris from Skylab landed nearby and the roadhouse has a small museum. We stayed in a cabin and awoke to rain, the last time we saw more than a shower was at the beginning of our trip but the car needed a wash! We called into Eucla to have a look at the Old Telegraphic Station ruins and another stop at WA/SA Border Village - there is a 2.5 hour time change, WA doesn't have daylight saving so a sudden time jump. We stopped at the Head of Bight and went down to the boardwalk where from the sheer drop of the towering cliffs one can watch the Southern Right Whales which gather here to breed. It is getting late in the breeding season but there were 4 whales and one calf just off shore, apparently earlier in the year there were 130 or more, but it was wonderful to see these huge creatures playing in the warm water.

Kalgoorlie

Kalgoorlie is Australia’s best known gold town and one of its most remote being perched on the western edge of the Nullarbor Plain.
In its hey day it had a population of over 30,000 with the usual supply of pubs, breweries and brothels. The area became known as the Golden Mile and was thought to contain the world’s richest supply of gold reserves. After the surface gold was exhausted deep reef mining started and now the “Super Pit” covers an 8 square km area and is so large it can be seen from space. Many of the attractions here relate to mining and the town has fine period buildings built during the roaring days of the gold fields. When you have a mining town and lots of single men prostitution follows and Kalgoorlie has a thriving red light district - they even offer guided tours. We went to have a look at Questa Casa “the oldest brothel in Kalgoorlie” and were shown around by the madam. The tour lasted for nearly 2 hours and we heard the history of the ladies who service the men of the town before being shown some of the rooms and equipment they use - very interesting!!
We next head for the long drive across the Nullarbor. This post is a bit out of date - haven't had a mobile signal for about 3 days and am posting this at the head of the Nullarbor where to my surprise I suddenly got a signal - if the weather holds up we may go down to Streaky Bay and have a look at Port Lincoln, don't think we will make it home by next weekend!!

Moora, New Norcia, Cunderdin

We drove from Cervantes through Moora, an area known for its wildflowers and we were fortunate to be travelling at the time of the year when they are in full flower but we didn’t stop except for a few hours at New Norcia - home to a community of Benedictine monks who arrived as missionaries from Spain in 1846 and established a village in the hope that they could peacefully bring the local Aborigines to Christ! They had some success and with donations from Europe built a substantial community with monastery, chapel and supporting buildings which they now use as accommodation for conferences, tourism and the like. It is still a thriving village run by the order.
We stopped overnight in the busy wheat belt town of Cunderdin and then followed the 650 km “golden pipe line” constructed to enable the gold mining towns to survive by providing them with water from the hills near Perth and travelled the road used by prospectors who crowded this trail on horseback and foot over a century ago during the time of the great gold rush east. We too are headed for Kalgoorlie.

Cervantes and The Pinnacles

Cervantes is one of WA’s newest towns and services the local rock lobster industry and tourism. It takes its name from an American whaling ship that sank on the nearby coast in 1844. The town is adjacent to the Nambung National Park famous for the world renowned Pinnacles Desert with its thousands of lime stone spires which can reach up to 4 metres high. It is promoted as a photographer’s paradise but unfortunately for us it has been and still is pissing with rain. Because of the weather we extended our stay hoping that tomorrow the rain will stop and the tent can dry out before we pack up and move on towards Kalgoorlie.

Geraldton

The drive down to Geraldton was very pretty, it is wildflower season and together with the flowering wattles they are growing along the side of the road, in parts it was almost like driving through a botanical garden. When we reached the wheat belt and a landscape similar to that north of Adelaide and of a type we haven’t seen for a long time, we knew we had sadly well and truly left the tropics behind! One reason for our stop over here was to get a car service, we have travelled over 15,000 km so far!
It is school holidays in WA and this weekend a Monday public holiday for the Queen’s birthday, so busy with local holiday makers here in Geraldton and many family groups in the camp ground which is next to the sea. The ocean here is popular with wind surfers, and they have plenty of wind to play with. We went down to the marina this afternoon, there must be some money to be made here because a good supply of large glossy boats were in dock, but then rock lobster fishing is a local enterprise.
On a hill above the CBD is a memorial to the HMAS Sydney, a silver dome consisting of 645 silver sea gulls, one for each of the men who went down with the ship, it can be seen for miles around a touching memorial to a tragic event.
We aren’t enjoying the cold and windy weather - will likely head in the direction of home soon and leave southern WA for another day.

Shark Bay, Denham

Shark Bay is about 850 km north of Perth and we are staying at Denham. It is a World Heritage region and offers plenty of activities relating to the sea. You can swim with dolphins at Monkey Mia, snorkel, dive, fish or cruise to see dugongs, manta rays and turtles etc etc. The weather has been a bit too windy to go out on the ocean so we have only viewed it from landward but we have been down to have a look at the stromatolites at Hamelin Pool. Stromatolites are living microbes which form colonies similar to the earliest forms of life dating back 3000 million years. They are very rare and only survive at Hamelin Pool because of its very saline waters. To the uninitiated they look a bit like stumpy rocks sticking out of the shallow water but a walkway with information signs provided an interesting view of the site.
We have also been to Shell Beach, a 120 km long stretch of pure white beach but instead of sand it consists of tiny white shells similar to cockle shells but much smaller. These small shells are thought to be up to 4000 years old and in some places they are 10 metres deep. The shells glitter in the sunlight and the beach sparkles. They are also used locally for paths and the like and our camping ground has them as road cover. We have a very good camping site, private and sheltered from the wind so we have spent time enjoying the sunshine.

Carnarvon

Carnarvon provided all that it promised in the way of being one of Western Australia’s food bowls, due to both the warm climate and availability of water from the Gascoyne River. We went on a tour of a plantation which specialized in growing bananas and red table grapes - after seeing all the trouble and care given to this activity I will never wonder why grapes can be so expensive to buy. They are grown in vast spaces, with netted walls and roofs and are manicured every step of the way to ensure that each bunch is perfect in shape and size and number of grapes per bunch and they are only picked when tested as having optimum sugar content - each bunch has to be perfect for their intended market. Quite amazing the amount of energy and effort put into the production process. There is also an emphasis on organic growing and we were able to buy tree ripened bananas which have a very different flavour and texture to those ripened with gas - we also stocked up on other fruit and veg but alas no mangos until about January!

Quobba Blowholes

The coastline of this part of Western Australia has rugged cliffs and we took a side trip from the main road to have a look at the Quobba Blowholes. The blowholes are a series of rock fissures and cavities through which the ocean waves send huge volumes of water which shoot into the sky and can be up to 20 metres high. Freak or king waves also happen there, so going close to the edge is a no no.
On a cliff nearby is a memorial to the HMAS Sydney the wreck of which has only recently been located after being sunk by the German raider Kormoran in 1941. The area is notorious for ship wrecks and also is prone to regular cyclones.

Point Sampson, Coral Bay

Since we left Pardoo we have had a combination of either no power and/or no internet signal, hence no blog. We are now in Carnarvon and have both power and good signal.
We travelled from Pardoo to Point Samp
son which is a holiday resort near the towns of Roebourne and Cossack. Cossack was once a prosperous pearl shell and turtle catching town but is now nearly deserted. However the old buildings have been restored with the help of labour from the local gaol residents (what a good way to keep them busy) and it makes for an interesting visit and a whiff of what it was like in times gone by - more fishing but none to eat, either too small or of a variety that looked as though it should live in an aquarium and not on a plate.
We headed further south staying one night in shearer’s quarters on a station home stay and then to Coral Bay which is another holiday town, this time on a bay of the Ningaloo Reef and has some of the most beautiful clear water I have ever seen. More swimming but this time a noticeable difference in water temperature to that of further north.
We are now south of the Tropic of Capricorn and the days are cooler - we are both as “brown of berries” from spending time out of doors.
We have been driving through the Pilbarra region, rugged with dark red rocks rich in minerals and with wildflowers WA is renowned for amongst the rich red soil. It is said that Lang Hancock flew over the area and decided that the red rocks must have something worth mining - the rest is history.
Carnarvon is on the Gascoyne River and the shire takes its name from the river. It is a prominent food growing bowl and on the way in we passed plantations of bananas and various vegetables - veggies have been a bit hard to come by, in some shops you find them in a refrigerated cabinet and often looking as though they have been there for some time.

Fishing at Pardoo Station Homestead beach

Pardoo is about 500 km south of Broome and we had been told that the Station Homestead was a good place to stay. It is a working cattle station with small caravan park plus accommodation for back packers and groups as a sideline. We found that many of the caravan owners are regulars who come every year and stay for up to 6 months. The big attraction is the fishing and we found people incredibly friendly and happy to share their fishing tips. So at long last we has some successful fishing expeditions and even threw back those we caught but didn’t need for dinner.
We meet many people who are permanently “on the road”, many having sold their homes and bought a big rig and some who go home for the summer and travel north in the winter - a tempting proposal. Weather here still nice and warm, the sea is beautiful but unfortunately no good for swimming, sea snakes and sharks!

Broome

If someone mentions the name ‘Broome’ an image of pearls or camels on the beach probably pops into your mind. Pearls feature prominently here, there are heaps of shops selling them at various prices and tours galore to see how it’s done, you can even eat pearl meat at some restaurants. We have given all a miss but have been down to the fabulously long and white Cable Beach where at sunset you can take a camel ride through the shallows. In fact we have swum twice at Cable, the first time I have been into the Indian Ocean, the water temperature is about 24, so the water is warm and silky, very pleasant, oh dear!
Another first, last night we went to the movies at Sun Pictures outdoor cinema. You sit out under the stars in deck chairs (remember the scene from the film Australia), we saw Samson and Delilah, a gut wrenching story about the problems young Aboriginal people face. Very relevant for us, during this trip we have been made aware of many of the issues.
Broome has a long history of pearl production, initially in the 1880s it was mainly pearl shell but with the introduction of diving helmets and the ability to dive deeper Broome pearls became famous around the world. With the introduction of plastics the bottom fell out of the button market and the industry went into decline until the 1950s when the introduction of cultured pearls revived the town’s fortunes. There is a long history of pearling masters from Malaysia, Indonesia and Japan working these waters and the town has a multi cultural feel.
The town was bombed by the Japanese during the war and has had to endure many cyclones, the latest in 2002, so much of it is newly built, but there are 120 million year old dinosaur footprints which can be seen on the rocky shore at low tides. We are enjoying the warm and balmy climate here and have extended our stay until Friday when we head south.

Halls Creek, Fitzroy Crossing, Derby

If you have seen the film “Australia” that’s what the countryside around here is like, in fact Nic and Hugh were up at Kununurra for about 4 weeks on location. One particular distinctive aspect of the countryside is the Boab tree, which come in all shapes and sizes, some so big they were hollowed out and used for storage or to live in.
Since leaving Kununurra we have been covering a bit of territory - an overnight stay at Halls Creek, an old gold mining town, then on to Fitzroy Crossing where in days gone by in the dry season there was an crossing of the Fitzroy River. We stayed one night and tried our hand at fishing in the river - no luck! Yesterday we arrived in Derby, where the Fitzroy River meets the sea. When in flood the only other river in the world that moves faster is the Amazon!
Derby is famous for having huge tidal variations, up to 11 metres. The tourist office say there is good fishing off the wharf, the story usually goes something like this “if there are indigenous women fishing there, then it’s a good time and place to try your luck” - we have had this advice many many times but somehow it doesn’t work for us. We went down to the wharf, live cattle exports happen there, but it was very quiet yesterday.
We went up to the local Woolies to stock up on fruit and veg. Coming into WA from NT there is a quarantine on fruit and veg and no fresh produce can be brought in - I made a vegetable curry with the fresh stuff we had and it lasted us for 5 nights so we were looking forward to a change. We also wanted to stock up on booze, it is pension week this week and the grog shop was buzzing, indigenous locals with laden trolleys, not a good sight. There are limits on what you can buy, e.g. no cask wine here only bottles and no port, but that doesn’t seem to make much difference, Bundy and coke or beer seem to be popular with the locals.

Kununurra

One of the most amazing things about Kununurra is the amount of available water - coming from dry South Australia we can only be amazed and envious. The damming of the Ord River produced Lake Argyle which holds 35 times the amount of water in Sydney Harbour and only a small percentage of the available water is used locally for crop irrigation. The main crops are Indian sandalwood, mangos, pink grapefruit (exported to Japan), chick peas, melon and pumpkins and a variety of other crops and vegetables. The township of Kununurra itself was built to accommodate the workers on the Ord River Scheme and is now a popular tourist venue for those wanting to explore the region and visit the Bungle Bungle Ranges. We have been told that at the moment it’s not as busy as it has been because it’s getting too hot - day time temperatures are about 36 so more time in the pool for us! Although we have been away for 3 months we aren’t in a rush to get back to cold weather!.
One of the best ways to see the Kimberleys is by air and we took a 2 hour scenic flight which took us out over Lake Argyle, the Argyle diamond mine (famous for its pink diamonds) and then over the Bungle Bungle Ranges with their distinctive bee hive shapes and stripes of brown and grey. I am slowly getting more comfortable with small planes, if only the pilots didn't look fresh out of secondary school!
We head further west soon.

Litchfield National Park

Litchfield National Park is only 115 km south of Darwin and while not as large as Kakadu it has lush rainforests and waterfalls which cascade off a sandstone plateau into pools which are safe to swim in and croc free at this time of the year. We spent 2 days there and visited the 3 main falls and swam in Buley Rockhole. It has been very hot and sticky and swimming has been at the top of our agenda. The park is also well known for its magnetic termite mounds. These clever creatures build mounds which are up to 2 metres tall and stand in a north-south orientation which gives them an inbuilt temperature control as only one surface is exposed to the sun at any time. The termites move from side to side depending on the heat of the day!
We are presently back in Katherine for 2 days and last night caught up with Tony C, a previous work colleague of L, whom he hadn’t seen for about 15 years. Tomorrow morning we leave for Kununurra so it’s a long drive west but we gain 1.5 hours.

Kakadu 2 and Darwin

It may be the dry season in Kakadu, but when it’s “the wet” there must be water everywhere because when we went out to Mamukala to visit the bird hide there were huge billabongs and thousands of birds, which is not surprising considering that this area is the breeding ground for many species some of which come up from the Antarctic to breed. We enjoyed being able to watch the birds without them being aware that we were there.
We also drove up to Ubirr, famous for aboriginal rock art, of interest a thylacine or Tasmanian Tiger drawn thousands of years ago and of course now extinct. Another drawing of interest, a man with hat and cigar, obviously one of the early white explorers.
And then off to Darwin, my idea to stay in a city motel, as most caravan parks are some way out of the city, to be able to enjoy some of what the city has to offer in the evenings. So we are at Palms Motel, complete with en suite and TV but looking for chilli Mud Crab!!
By chance this week is one of cultural events for Darwin and yesterday we happened upon an exhibition of fabulous art from the TiWi Islands. About 80% of the exhibits had red stickers so a good feeling there and a young organizer suggested we might like to go to the evening awards ceremony. It took a bit of finding, and when we did some where to put the car was the next issue. We followed the crowd to find ourselves in a setting not unlike Elder Park, people picnicking on the grass in front of a stage with music and dance, but this time not by the River Torrens but by the sea with a magnificent sunset. An interesting combination of people, all the Darwin arty fartys, aboriginal artists and musicians and a few tourists like us. Unfortunately we didn’t realize the concept of the occasion and hadn’t brought anything to sit on or eat so after some enjoyment of the entertainment we headed off looking for dinner. We had been told that the Asian restaurant at the Casino was a good place to go - WELL - the Territorians obviously love to gamble if the number of cars in the car park was anything to go by and the young woman at the information booth said “all restaurants are booked out, ITS FRIDAY” so things didn’t look too good but we struck gold when we arrived at the maitre de’s station at the Chinese restaurant just as someone had cancelled their reservation so we were able to have their table. The food was pretty good too.
Twice a year in Darwin the Parliament, Government House and law Courts are open to the public and today was one of those days so we have spent the whole day being fascinated with listening to the Speaker of the House explain the running of the NT system, a judge talking about the issues which are faced in his court and finally afternoon tea with scones, jam and cream at Government House.
Sunday found us at the Chinese Temple and museum, they have been prominent in the community here and this evening a visit to the Mindil Beach Sunset Market.

Jabiru, Kakadu National Park

It’s the dry season in Kakadu at present, but it’s also pretty hot, maximum of about 35 minimum of 18, flies during the day and mozzies at night - so the best time of day to get going is in the early morning - this morning we took an 8 am scenic flight to have a look at some of the inaccessible surrounding countryside and out into Arnhem Land. Kakadu is a World Heritage listed National Park which covers nearly 20,000 square kilometers and we flew over huge rocky escarpments, the East Alligator River, complete with crocodiles, flood plains and billabongs. Some the famous waterfalls are not flowing at present and the rivers are low. We may have to come back in the wet season.
It’s the first time I have flown in a small plane, this was a 5 seater Cessna, and to be honest this morning I would have been quite happy not to have gone, particularly as there was a newspaper item yesterday about a sight seeing plane crashing into a helicopter, but off we went and of course it was a wonderful experience!
When arrived at the park via Pine Creek and drove across a large section to the town of Jabiru, a mining town which was constructed by the company which runs the uranium mine. We are staying at Kakadu Lodge which has a large swimming pool complete with poolside bar, restaurant and grassy surrounds. We are camped right next to the pool area and have been making the most of it, as you can imagine it’s a very popular spot and we are both showing early signs of a tan.
We leave here Friday for Darwin where we have booked ourselves into a city motel so that we can sample some of the night time cultural activities!

Rain Tree at Springvale Homestead - 150 years old

Katherine

The 3 Ways Road House is where the Barkly Highway meets the main north-south road, the Stuart Highway, the road to Darwin. We arrived there, and turned right! The countryside is like being in Baz Luhmann’s film “Australia”.
Daly Waters is on the route and at one stage was a refuelling point for Qantas flights on their way to Singapore. Now there’s not much there, an aircraft hangar with memorabilia and a pub. We stopped for a beer and pie lunch.
The towns are few and far between in this neck of the woods but the countryside is mostly wooded, sometimes big trees others more scrubby but always plenty to see, very little bare countryside.
We are in Katherine, a large river of the same name running through the town, there are hot springs, the Gorge and relics of the past. In the 1800s 12,000 sheep were brought overland from Adelaide in the prospect of setting up a sheep station which they named Springvale Homestead. An amazing proposition but it commenced in good years and for some time looked as though it could be a success. However eventually bad years ensued and the project failed. The family involved planted trees for each of their 4 children, the trees still survive! We are enjoying warm weather and the park has a very good pool which we are making the most of.

Mount Isa, Barkly Homestead

We left Cloncurry (where Australia’s highest temperature of 53.1 was recorded) and drove west through beautiful countryside of tree covered green hills to Mount Isa. The Isa is a mining town, the mine being owned by Xstrata a Swiss company. The company produces copper, silver, lead and zinc and the copper mine goes down to a depth of 1.8 km. We would have been happy to spend more time in the Isa but it is rodeo week and all accommodation booked out. So we headed another 450 km west and have now left Queensland. Our Northern Territory overnight stop is at Barkly Homestead Roadhouse, a petrol station/camping ground/shop/restaurant, the next town is 200 km away. The route we followed is the old cattle droving way, the cattle are now moved by road train if we see one coming we move right over and stop. There are plenty of wide open spaces and the termite mounds are taller than I am! Since we have been inland the nights are cooler but day time temperatures still about 27!

Black Sapote

A digression. Most people who know me well will know that when it comes to food I am only too happy to try anything different. As BF reminds me she remembers me eating raw sea urchins in Greece - something I have not repeated! I knew that at this time of the year most tropical fruits would not be in season so when I saw black sapote I knew that I had to try them. Fortunately the young man who had them on his stall was happy not only to give me 3 samples but also to tell me how to ripen them and when they would be ready to eat. They are picked when still hard and like to ripen in a dark place. When ripe they are very soft, a bit like a persimmon, and have a dark black flesh which is almost like the soft part of a chocolate brownie. They are often used to flavour ice cream or in smoothies. As we are unable to have either I have been eating them with other fruit or with plain yoghurt. A burst of tropical flavour.

Lava tubes and bones

Undara, Hughenden, Cloncurry

The Undara National Park is a beautiful place to camp. We booked for the easy lava tube tour (i.e. stairs and boardwalks, NOT up and down ladders in the dark). It proved to be a very informative 2 hours with guide Ross Rogers who grew up in the district. A wonderful tale of how and why (in theory) it all happened. Several million years ago there were volcanic explosions, lava coated hundreds of kms of the earth’s surface and then started to cool and form a crust. Under the crust some still molten lava flowed on forming rivulets which flowed out of the hardened crust leaving hollow lava tubes. Over the years some of the ceilings of the tubes have collapsed and we can now go inside the tubes and explore. It is a well organized resort with plenty of marked walks, information sessions and camp fire star gazing and sing songs in the evening and good facilities.
After 2 days at Undara we took the back road which is dirt all the way to Hughenden and the car and trailer, after several creek crossings, has a coat of mud and red dust so we blend it a bit more with the locals. In Hughenden we had a look at the restored dinosaur the bones of which were found locally and we then headed on to Cloncurry.
It is rodeo and air show weekend in this neck of the woods so this morning we went out to the air show, lots of small planes and men in big hats. This is Burke & Wills territory, they rode through here on their ill fated expedition, wonder if they had problems with green frogs!

Port Douglas

Port Douglas is one of those places which began life as a small village, gained popularity with holiday makers and now has a real “resort” feel with luxurious apartments, health clubs, marinas and a plentiful supply of bars and restaurants and has its renowned 4 mile beach complete with net to keep out the stingers.
Like so many of the coastal towns in FNQ it has a beautiful setting and we sat, sipping champagne, in a bar which overlooked the water - sail boats were going back and forth and we were delighted to see a sea eagle swoop down and take a fish. Don’t know if there is any truth in it but we heard that Greg Norman moors his boat at Port Douglas.
It is also a popular place for weddings and there is a dinky little wooden church which has for its altar piece a plate glass window that looks out to sea. We were there on a Saturday and they closed the church because a wedding was about to take place. The bride and groom arrived together, they not in their first flush of youth so perhaps a second time around. Also no guests, just the two of them and a photographer and celebrant. They disappeared inside soon to re-appear to the sounds of the bells ringing!
We are presently in Cairns and the Suzi is having its service. This afternoon off to Undara and lava tubes.

Cooktown

Cooktown owes its existence to the fact that in the late 1800s gold was found nearby and a port was needed to bring in provisions, a site on the Endeavour River was selected and Cooktown was born. At one stage there were estimated to be 15,000 miners on the Palmer, 10,000 of whom were Chinese, and Cooktown catered for the influx with stores, pubs (50), and the like. When the gold ran out it meant the eventual decline of the town and now the “gold” is in tourism. At this time of the year the weather is warm and comfortable, the scenery is beautiful, plenty of clean water for fishing and generally a relaxing environment and laid back atmosphere.

And of course there is the fact that Cook spent time here in 1770. The town has a very interesting museum which has many of Cook’s artifacts including the original anchor and one of the cannons from the ship.

We have been on a visit to rock art sites in the company of a Nugalwarra Elder, Willy Gordon, who shared with us the stories the rock art depicts and the tour included a visit to an an ancestral birth cave. It was a 4 hour tour with plenty of walking and clambering up and over huge rocks so today our bodies are acknowledging the unused to exercise - can only be good - and we are catching up with chores and plan a visit to the Cooktown Botanic Gardens.

Tomorrow it’s off to Port Douglas, the Suzuki needs it’s warranty service, so it’s back to the Cairns area before we head west.

Market and Goanna

Mossman

Today is Monday 20th July and in Mossman it’s a public holiday - why? - it’s the annual Show. It’s on for 2 days and we went and had a look before we left for Cooktown. Some of the highlights were the show jumping with a bevy of young lasses in tight white jodhpurs trotting around the oval on their frisky ponies which often, when it was their turn to go over the jumps, refused and had to have a smack with the whip - the pony not the rider! Then there was a selection of sugar cane with a prize for the best sample, sheep shearing, wood chopping, snake handling, and of course the flowers, preserves and arts and crafts not to mention the trained ducks. A delightful traditional country show. We also visited the weekend market and bought lots of beautiful organic fruit and vegetables, the locals supply the trendy restaurants in Sydney and Melbourne and the quality of their produce is first class, of course no water shortages here and organic and biodynamic farming is a big feature.
We left the coast and crossed the Great Dividing Range and then headed north to Cooktown, which nestles between Mount Cook and the mouth of the Endeavour River. In 1770 Lt James Cook, in desperate need of a safe haven, beached the Endeavour and named the river after his ship. In later years gold was discovered nearby and the town prospered but languished at the end of the gold rush and has had to survive two devastating cyclones. It has become popular with tourists because of its pristine waters and beautiful scenery.
The average winter temperature here is a high of 26 and low of 20, so it’s pretty nice, just a tad humid at this time of the year. We were just settling in when L spotted some local fauna about 10 metres from our tent, a big goanna, which I am pleased to report seemed shy and promptly ran up a tree.

Daintree Forest

Wonga Beach & Daintree

Wonga Beach is a small seaside town just north of Mossman and south of the Daintree Forest which represents the largest block of tropical rainforest in Australia.
It was a hot day when we arrived so on with the bathers and a swim in the pool and a walk on the beach, people were fishing and had caught a big flathead the day before but nothing while we were there.
Today we took the ferry across the Daintree River (at $20 return and about 25 vehicles a crossing, which takes about 5 minutes, they must be making a bit) and up to Cooper’s Creek Wilderness, an area recently classed as the oldest forest in the world, where L did a 2 hour up hill and down dale guided walking tour (I have been having knee trouble and didn’t go) through the Gondwanan forest.
An excellent guide told the story of the evolution of forests from mosses to giants. The first flowering plant and mosquitos predate the dinosaurs by 200 million years.
There are many other opportunities to walk in the forest, we also took the Jindalba board walk through forest and mangroves and then visited the Discovery Centre where you can climb a tower and view the canopy from above.
Lunch was a de luxe ice cream, macadamia, raspberry, jackfruit and wattle seed flavours! We bought fish for tea, Nannigai - haven’t heard of this one before! - it turned out to be very tasty, firm flesh and mild flavour
Today we are going into Mossman to check out the weekly market and to stock up on perishables. We leave Wonga Beach Monday morning for Cooktown. We hadn't planned going that far north but we have spoken with so many people who recommend going there that we will go but not via the 4 wheel drive track along the coast. We will take the inland black top road which, although it takes longer, is a much safer road for we seniors!

Cairns 2

There have been good times and not so good times in Cairns, we had just finished dinner and I was waiting for a kettle of washing up water to boil when, because I was wearing my headlamp which was pointed towards the ground, I was surprised to see a lengthy snake gliding under the floor of our tent, just inches from the open door. I pointed it out to L, just in case my imagination was getting the better of me, and he was pretty surprised too. So it was into the tent, zip up both doors and close the velcro strips at the bottom and we didn’t emerge until day light!! Apparently we need not have been so concerned as it was probably a harmless (or so the locals say) python but I am still quite cautious.
The good time was the trip we took to the reef yesterday. The blurb said we would get 5 full hours at the outer Barrier Reef, platform offering shelter, shade, sun deck, showers and change rooms, underwater observatory, marine biology presentation, unlimited snorkelling with all equipment and instruction, dedicated dive tender for certified scuba divers, semi submersible tours, hot and cold buffet lunch, morning and afternoon and tea - and we did get all they promised and more. It turned out to be a beautiful day and the journey to the reef not too choppy, the young assistants were full of encouragement and enthusiasm and there was plenty of equipment available. After some consideration we decided to give snorkelling a try, there were steps down from the pontoon so it was a bit like getting into a swimming pool and the recommended area was roped off with buoys. Safety was highly promoted.
It was just fantastic, plenty of fish to see ranging from the tiny to quite large and so many wonderful colours, and the coral is just amazing. We left the park at 8am and didn’t get back until 6pm so it was a long day but so satisfying.
Tomorrow we are off to Wonga Beach which is close to the Daintree.

Cairns

The drive to Cairns was through more lush cane fields and banana plantations all backed by the green heavily wooded hills of the Great Dividing Range, spectacular countryside. We are staying at the Lake Placid camping ground which is in a rainforest setting about 15 minutes drive from the city centre. There is a national park across the road with a river running through it where you can swim and canoe, still a bit too cold for us.
Yesterday we went into town to check out the city scape. We took a long walk along the Esplanade which runs along the harbour, the path is bordered by lawns and landscaped gardens which look out to sea. At one end there is a Saturday craft market and as many beaches are off limits because of stingers and crocs there is an amazing 4800 metre salt water swimming pool designed in the shape of the State of Queensland - it has sandy shores, lifeguards, picnic facilities, the works! We were surprised at the number of people who were sunbathing, perhaps they were tourists but the slip slap slop idea doesn’t seem to have caught on up here.
The street that runs along the harbour behind the Esplanade is lined with coffee shops and restaurants and as it was lunch time we checked out their menus but ended up at the RSL club, not so commercial and always good value.
We have booked a trip to the reef for tomorrow, hope I can remember my snorkeling skills!

F&C at Balgal Beach