Day 45 – Wednesday 2 September 2015
The day started
slowly as we were in no rush. So we packed up the caravan, picked up Fay and
headed towards Cairns looking for a good coffee and a vanilla slice (my idea).
The latter eluded us, but the former was found at a place called the Trinity
Beach Bar and Grill. It was a magic spot in a great location.
We dropped Fay at
Cairns airport and headed south then south west, into the Atherton tablelands.
The middle part of the trip was about 30 km of a climbing twisting road that
varied between 30 km and 50 km. The views were superb but I could not afford to
look. At the start of the drive the car indicated 30 degrees. By the time we
reached the tablelands the car suggested 24 degrees was the current situation.
We set up camp at the Malanda Falls Caravan Park, a mere 100 metres from the Malanda Falls.
Malanda Camp Site
We were now in the
middle of one of the two places in the world where tree kangaroos are found in
the wild – the other being New Guinea. It is also a good place for platypus.
Malanda Falls
Malanda Mosaic
It is also the
traditional lands of the Ngadjon-jii people who were “hunters and gatherers”.
Although traditionally small people they had a special skill of climbing tress
to gather such treasures as pythons and tree kangaroos. Malanda is also known
for its mosaic wall plaques that adorn many buildings in the town.
After some research
and wood collection (via an opening of the wallet) we lit a fire and cooked a
stew for dinner. My little gas-bottle BBQ has now been used two nights in a
row.
When the meal was
finished I put another log (or two) on the fire and we listened to the “symphony
of natural noises”. The base or constant was the sound of water crashing over
the falls. This was supported by the varying intensity of the many different
insects, some nearly drowning out the water falls. The regular chorus was
provided by (at least) six kookaburras.
When the orchestra
went home we went to bed and listed to the waterfalls.
Day 46 – Thursday 3 September 2015
I had my 7am walk
via two rain forest tracks, one either side of the main road to Atherton. My
first photo shoot was a collection of turtles, who seemed keen to work out who
I was – or else they were keen on getting their photo taken. Platypus and tree
kangaroo were not on offer.
Zillie Falls
We also saw some
other items of interest near the waterfalls.
A Flower, a Fungi and a Small Member of the Lizard
Family
We had found time,
in between waterfalls, to visit the “Mungalli Creek Bio-dynamic Dairy” that
sold superb cheese and a passionfruit cheesecake to die for. The coffee was OK
as well. After the walking we reckon that we deserved the cheesecake.
After the last
waterfall we stopped in a little place called Millaa Millaa – because they have
a place that has excellent pies. It just happened to be lunch time and they had
a nice park for us to rest our legs – and enjoy a pie. They also happened
to have a display of some 870 year old timber - a Giant Kauri Pine. Its
trunk had an average girth of 10 metres.
On the way home we
stopped at a place called “Tinzali Lakes” to see platypus in the wild. We were
lucky enough to see two or three, and get some photos.
A Platypus in A Lily Pond
We had enjoyed our
day driving though some lovely lush country on roads that have many twists and
turns – some not good for caravans.
We had left-overs for dinner.
Day 47 –
Friday 4 September 2015
Shirley changed
strategies today and we had mostly a historical day. Our first stop
was the Herberton Historical Village, a similar place to other such
villages around Australia (such as Swan Hill and Ballarat). The
Herberton Village has about 60 different buildings (mostly original) that
display many artefacts relevant to that theme. For example "Day's
Garage" has many period cars and motor bikes, a number of them in pristine
condition. Shirley and I both agreed that it is the best
"village" of its kind that we have ever seen - anywhere.
"Elderslie House" - which belonged to the founder of Herberton - had
bedrooms, dining and lounge areas with not a spec of dust. Shirley knows
as she checked. It was amazing.
The state school
also presented a few "period" school "sums" that brought a
smile. A couple of these appear below.
All implements with a motor - car, bike, tractor, steam - are started on a regular basis, some every day.
State School Question No 1
Two more State School Questions
Above & Below: Example of the Quality Restoration & Care of
Exhibits
We moved from the
village to the mining museum, which highlights the history of the town in
relation to tin mining. On our way home we called into the Gallo diary which
specialises in cheese and chocolate. No need to go further here - we were
hooked.
We lit fire in
our gas-bottle-BBQ and cooked some roast veges to go with our left-over roast
beef. It was pretty good.
It is a good place
to relate two bird stories concerning Shirley.
Story 1: While
relaxing beside the fire last night Shirley was not happy with two bush turkeys
having a "real estate" issue about one metre from her chair.
They can jump over a metre into the air, whilst trying to claw each
other. The winner ended up with a limp. Shirley was not impressed.
Story 2: We were
blessed with having 5 or 6 kookaburras around us for most of our time at
Malanda. On one occasion one kooka liked something just behind Shirley's
chair (close to the bush turkey incident). On his way "to site"
he missed Shirley's head by the length of a feather. On his way back to
base he took the same route. Shirley was unamused.
I got a chuckle out
of both incidents.
Day 48 –
Saturday 5 September 2015
It was our coldest
night since we got to Queensland some four weeks ago, and was great for
sleeping.
Our third full day was
fully planned by Shirley and we soon set off on a busy schedule.
Our first stop was
Lake Eacham, which is one of six volcanic crater lakes in the district.
It was a lovely spot for a picnic or a swim. We did neither.
Lake Eacham
W then drifted into Yungaburra
and visited the (fairly) new Afghanistan Avenue of Honour - a tribute to our
soldiers in the recent Afghanistan conflict. It is an excellent tribute
and should be visited if you are in the area.
Curtain Fig Tree
Of course we could
not visit the area and miss the Curtain Fig tree so we used the board walk to
visit the majestic (and very old) tree. It is truly amazing, and not the
only one of its kind in the area.
A walk around
Yungaburra was next, admiring the local arts and fantastic wood work. Coffee
also got on the agenda.
The Peterson Creek
Walking Track is a popular attraction, so we strolled for one km or so and
saw two platypus. It was worth another platypus photo.
We had a light lunch at the Lake Tea House, which was built in 1927 and has been in the same family since then. Lake Barrine is another volcanic crater lakes. The actual reason for our visit was a 45 minute cruise around the lake. Yes, it was suggested by Shirley - a sail on water. Our guide pointed out many plants, birds and water animals to us. However we did not get to see a local 8 metre python.
Twin Bull Kauri Pines (about 45 metres) & Long
Fin Eel (about 900 mm)
We cooked sausages
and veges on the gas bottle BBQ and sat around the fire enjoying the ambience.
Day 49 –
Sunday 6 September 2015
Shirley cooked me
bacon and eggs for Father's Day breakfast - a great start to the day. We
slowly packed up and moved north to Tolga where we stopped for a market with
lots of farm produce. We both spent some money.
Camp was established
soon after near Lake Tinaroo - about 15 km north of Atherton. Two tiny
red-browed finches (Firetails) entertained us as they searched for lunch.
Lake Tinaroo Barra
After a relaxing
period we went for a 4 km walk along the banks of the lake, which is man made
with a 45 metre high bank and about 75% the size of Sydney Harbour. The
lake holds barramundi and some are apparently pretty big. I did witness
one example, about 60-70 cm long - not caught be me.
It was time for more
"Father's Day" relaxing, so I/we did.
Shirley cooked a
lovely piece of steak for dinner. It was nearing the end of day 49 and
our TV is yet to be turned on. We have not seen a TV news bulletin, or
detective show, since July 19.
Day 50 –
Monday 7 September 2015
I went for a good
early morning walk but the sunrise was hidden by storm clouds, that petered
away after the sun was high in the sky.
We went for a 2 hour
drive that circumvented Lake Tinaroo and checked out the many camping and
sightseeing points along the way. Unfortunately the dirt road is
unsuitable for caravans.
Top left - Some flowers on a tree.
Bottom right - Mobo Creek Crater.
Others - Cathedral Fig Tree
After lunch we
visited a gallery that sells magnificent wood products, as well as wood
off-cuts. I had to leave my wallet in the car. Then we visited the
Mt Uncle Distillery which produces gin, rum, vodka and whiskey. I could not
afford the $150 for the whiskey but the $4 nip was enough to prove that it is
very nice. The producer is a local young guy who branched out from the family
business of growing bananas, even though the distillery is in the middle of the
family banana plantation.
Spaghetti bolognaise
for dinner topped a good day.
Day 51 –
Tuesday 8 September 2015
We broke camp and
headed into Atherton about 9:45 am - very late for us. However it was
only a 20 minute drive. We had a lazy day in Atherton and late afternoon
saw us head out to a free camp about 12 km north of town.
How Wang Temple
Day 52 –
Wednesday 9 September 2015
We had another lazy
start and drifted back into Atherton to do some shopping and get to the How Wang Temple by late
morning. The timber and tin/iron temple is a departure from the normal
and is the only one of its kind left in Australia. Apparently there are
few left in China, courtesy of the cultural revolution.
We did a tour with
(who you would call) an Aussie character who knew the history and used
traditional Aussie vernacular to get the story across.
He was very effective, and
explained the components of the temple at length. Due to the oppression
of the Chinese it was left to the elements for some time and locals took
advantage of the artefacts that existed in the temple. Rather than try to
emulate the lost artefacts they have left "blanks" to show where
things are missing. All items on view in the temple are authentic.
One thing I
learned from the tour. If you live in a hot climate and build a wall from
corrugated iron, it should be installed horizontally so that (at any one time)
around 50% of the surface is in shade in the middle of the day - reducing the heat
that transfers through the wall. Think about it. Check out the
photo.
It is also
interesting to note that the Chinese cooked a whole pig in the vertical (non
moving) position, rather than on a rotisserie, and have a special oven for
doing so.
We left Atherton and
arrived in Cairns around 2:45 to set up camp and have around 44 hours
of peace before our grandsons arrive. We are looking forward to it.
Day 53 – Thursday 10 September 2015
Today is a quiet day as we do some shopping (bits we forgot yesterday), some washing and some organising. I have already had my 4 km walk and admired the colour, a leisurely breakfast and a great shower.
Shirley hung the
washing out about 12 minutes before the rain started. We are hoping it
was a one-off shower.
As I wind up this
chapter we have been on the road for 42 days (excluding the 10 day Cape York
trip), averaging 119 km per day and spending an average of $33.20 per night on
accommodation. It has been a slow (and enjoyable) pace compared to
previous years.
This post is complete (last
update 9:30 am Thursday 10 September 2015)
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