It's been a big few weeks with visitors and socialising, hence the late delivery of the remainder of the June diary...
Well I might have to come back to "Glen Erin" farm stay again... It was such a delightful interlude. Quite a few of the people here are regulars. Lyn who runs the place no longer farms mangos, but just runs the caravan park. Facilities are basic, but really clean and a great friendly atmosphere. Lyn makes damper every day and at 5pm everyone starts arriving with their drinks and chats while the damper cooks, then she cuts it up & shares it around. I’ve never tasted damper quite like it 👍😘first night was citrus flavour, then next night garlic & cheese💕....sooo good!!
That's the damper cooking in the black pot sitting on and covered in hot coals.
These were the early starters...the group got quite a bit bigger than this
Here's where I parked my van...
One of campers I was speaking to had stepped on a baby snake a couple of days ago then Lyn mentioned she saw a baby snake a couple of days before. The question we all had was....WHERE IS THE MOTHER???
The only visitor I had each day was this pet kangaroo...
The Mango Grove
I took the bike for a ride along the sandy dirt road that takes you into Glen Erin.
Lovely late afternoon shadows as I was riding my bike back to camp
I was only 15 kms out of Bowen so I spent a day in and around the town sightseeing. I walked around Horseshoe Bay, climbed up to the Rotary Lookout (fab view), drove up to Flagstaff Hill, saw lots of Pied Butch birds at the lookout and bought some locally caught prawns from the jetty fish shop on my way back....which were yummy.
Horseshoe Bay
From the lookout looking South towards Gloucester Island NP
From the lookout looking North over Horseshoe Bay
June 14th...Leaving the farm stay at Glen Erin.
Meg is arriving today to spend 6 nights with me. I'm so looking forward to seeing a familiar face. I drove through to Townsville and parked my van at the Coral Coast Tourist Park. Meg's plane was late so after picking her up we promptly drove into town searching for food, ended up getting fish and chips and listening to a band from the pub next door. The following morning we met with one of my brothers Real Estate mates who took us on an orientation tour of Townsville and pointed out all the major attractions including a drive up Castle Hill.
On the way up to Castle Hill with Meg and Todd, our chauffeur.
Looking down over Townsville from Castle Hill with Magnetic Island in the background
With Todd, our chauffeur in his Real Estate office
For the next few days Meg and I did the tourist thing...walked The Strand & had coffee at the "CBar" checked out the Sunday market, had a lunch at "Rock, Paper Scissors, ate dinner at Miss Song (a restaurant in the casino), and for anyone who knows Meg and her love of op shops, we visited quite a few along the way.... We also went to the Perc Tucker Regional Art Gallery and saw a beautiful retrospective exhibition by pottery artist Connie Hoedt - https://whatson.townsville.qld.gov.au/events/connie-hoedt-from-microcosm-to-delft-blue. Check out the link if you're interested. We met and befriended another solo female traveller who joined us for a drink or two and it was a great relaxing week of socialising. Thank you Meg for making the effort to visit. I loved having you here with me.
Meg insisted I needed a photo of me amongst the Bougainvillea "cos I was wearing pink... I like his next photo much better 😎
We checked out the weather conditions and decided Tuesday 18th was going to be the best weather day to visit Magnetic Island. We were spot on 😎...the weather has been overcast and at times raining since Meg had arrived, but the sun graced our sky's that morning. We had been advised by the tourist info centre and another camper at the park the best way to see Magbetic Island was to take the Ferry and and the hop on, hop off bus option as it took you to all the stops...WRONG...On hindsight we should have hired a roofless car as the bus only ran every hour or hour and half and we spent quite a lot of time sitting around waiting or rushing to get back in time for the next bus. We didn't get to one section because we wouldn't have made it back to the ferry until after dark so we didn't go 😢 My advice for anyone visiting Magnetic Island for the first time is - It's a great Island and worth the visit with lots of lovely beaches, shops, restaurants, walks etc, but splurge on a topless car and see it at your pace. If I go again that's what I'll be doing.
On our way there
That said we still had a fabulous day, we swam at Alma beach which was soooo good and really enjoyed the Islands atmosphere. Here's a few photos of the day.
Our first stop was Horseshoe Beach. The beach was closed for swimming as the foreshore had been damaged in storms. There were lots of shops and restaurants here. We didn't stick around as it was too early for lunch.
Took a walk up to the Fort and lookouts and promptly saw a few Koala's.
I got to the top, but it was a pretty steep walk. It was advertised as a 1.5 hr walk, but as we wanted to catch the next bus we only had an hour to do it in. Meg opted to turn back, but I took off and it was a BIG ask to do it in the hour. I made it back just in time...after running the last 500 metres.
This was an easy part of the walk with concrete steps and railing. At times it was a narrow path and very rough, steep stone. I didn't have time to stop for many photos
I was well and truly ready for a swim....at
Alma Beach, Arcadia. The water was superb👍🏊♂️
We then walked across the road to the Bikini Tree Cafe for lunch and came across this little fellow
A Curlew...very cute
Back at the ferry now and waiting for the trip home. My brother Peter and his wife are about to hop on a plane to Paris. 15,455kms away. It's not much further than what I'm attempting to do...14,500 around Australia!!!
I dropped Meg off at the airport early on 20th June then packed up the van and headed for Cardwell. I parked my van across the road from the beach....what a beautiful little holiday village that is😍 I met more delightful caravan park travellers (Rob and Karen from Adelaide - Hi guys if you are reading this and Nigel from Innisfail). We then met up for happy hour drinks at the pub. It's so great to hear people's stories, where they are from, their travel stories etc.
I pulled the bike off the rack and went for a couple of rides at Cardwell. There is a fantastic bike/walking path that winds all the way along the foreshore winding in amongst some amazing looking trees and mangroves.....looking for crocodiles
According to the local council worker who I stopped to ask about the trees, they are called "Calophyllum Antillanum" and only grow around the Cardwell and a little further North. The originated in the Caribbean. The seeds are highly poisonous, but the seed oil can be used in the manufacture of essential oils. They provide beautiful shade along the foreshore.
No swimming at this beach....crocodile signs all the way along the beach. Two months ago a dog was taken by a crocodile in the shallows of this beach😱...You can see the Channel 7 footage if you google "Dog snatched by croc" April 26.
Stopped at a coffee cart for a coffee break and contemplated how easy it would be to live here!!! 😎🤔😜
Hinchinbrook Island in the background
Looking across to Hinchinbrook Island from the end of the bike track
I took a drive around the Port of Hinchinbrook. It's a real pity the port has not gone ahead as was originally planned. I was told the port was dredged to build the marina and there were plans for international hotels, caravan parks etc, but the marina has had constant dredging problems and now many beautiful homes are up for sale.
Peter is providing me with a few friends of his who have welcomed me into their town and sometimes even their homes. I parked in the backyard of Ron & Jill’s at El Arish, about 15 kms from Mission Beach, and I’m being very well looked after!! I stayed here for 4 nights and explored the Mission Beach and Tully region
My hosts chauffeured me around the area on my first day, driving to seaside holiday villages, through banana plantations, more sugarcane fields and beautiful lush forests. We also drove into the Tully National Park where the international “White Water Rafting Championships” were held last weekend and saw some stunning waterfalls. We watched the sugar cane being cut, which was fascinating.
Watching how they cut and cart the cane
An empty sugar cane train waiting to be filled
We even jagged a local boot sale and produce market that only occurs once a month. Lots of great stuff, but living in a small van restricts the amount of material possessions you actually need!!! We then finished off the day with a home cooked Sunday night roast. What a great day.
Travelling in the cane country on back roads is fraught with danger at the moment as cane cutting season has started (a little late due to the excessive rain that's been happening here) and there are train lines crossing the roads everywhere. Admittedly the trains are slow moving and often follow the road, but the railway lines are often hidden by the sugar cane crop and it's impossible to see the train until it gets almost at the crossing. I've been quite cautious when the crossings don't have warning lights, just a "beware of trains" sign!!!
Paronella Park...What an amazing place. I parked my van at this historical wonderland (26th June) and was enthralled with the history, the beautiful gardens, the amazing buildings and the atmosphere of the place. Set on 13 acres beside Mena Creek Falls with over 7000 tropical plants and trees planted by the original owner, Jose Paronella. Jose designed and built North Queensland's first hydroelectric plant in 1933 to power the park. The park opened to the public in 1935 and had a movie theatre, tennis courts, shops, cafes and weddings and parties were held in the ballroom. In 1946 quite a lot of the park was destroyed when massive logs upstream swept away the railway bridge destroying quite a lot of the buildings. Since then it has been damaged by cyclones and floods but has flourished over recent years as a tourist attraction telling the story of it's spanish beginnings.
I spent the day doing a guided tour of the park, exploring the gardens and attending the night tour which finished with a performance by "The String Family" in the most beautiful setting. A magical experience.
Mena Creek Falls within the Paronella Park complex
The top floor of the ballroom as seen on the night tour
Rain, rain....go away🌧🌦🌧.It's raining again... I suppose I shouldn't complain as the temperature is still around 21 to 25C. The locals say they can't ever remember it being so wet at this time of the year...Cane cutting started late and I'm told, the grey nomad migration is not so busy this year. Parks further away from the beaches have quite a lot of spaces available, which suits me as I can't swim in the ocean because of the crocodiles so I'm staying in parks that are less populated and taking a drive to the nearby beaches and National Parks to explore the local region.
I left Paronella Park on 27th June and on my way through to Innisfail, I called into the "Mamu Rainforest tropical skywalk". It's a beautiful walk through the rainforest floor and canopy if you're game to walk out on the cantilever boardwalks or climb up to the top of the tower, which I did of course!! you are graced with quite sensational views of the rainforest.
Heading off on the forest floor walk
Looking down on the forest
The cantilever boardwalk....bounced as I walked out and turned my stomach...😳
The Tower that takes you to the top of canopy of the rainforest...
One of the views
I drove on to Innisfail and parked my van at The August Moon caravan park. The park is run by a delightful young family originally from Ouyen in Victoria. I decided to stay a few days and spend some R & R time as constant sightseeing can be very exhausting!!! The park was having a social night the evening I arrived so I went along and met a few other campers and listened to the live muso who was playing. I had a great night and ended up dancing. A couple of days later I set up my PA and did a gig for a few of the campers and we had another great night.
My CASSOWARY Experience...I had been seeing lots of Cassowary signs everywhere, but hadn't seen a live one. Julie, from the caravan park, suggested I drive into Etty Beach, just south of Innisfail as they had been seen there recently. Sure enough, about 1km from Etty Beach I saw a Cassowary sitting by the road. I stopped and was going to take a photo, but when I looked out the window it had moved on. I thought it had walked away so i got out of the car to have a look. Instead it was hiding behind my car and as I walked around the car I came face to face....OMG did I get a fright😱😱 I took off like lightening back into the car with it following in hot pursuit.
A little bit scary seeing this up close and personal
I then came across another two, an adult and it's young that I was told was being weaned as it was walking on the beach on its own.
The young Cassowary on Etty Beach
Next stop for me was Cairns on 30th June where I parked at the NRMA caravan park and set up the van ready for my next visitor, Susan from Melbourne. I picked Susan up late in the evening. For the next two days we did typical tourist stuff such as walk the lagoon/wharf boardwalk, have a drink at Hemingway Brewery, visited a tropical fruit winery, drove through some beautiful countryside and visitied....
Skyrail...Another sensational experience. Facts...There are 32 towers in total, supporting 103 Gondola cabins travelling over 7.5 kilometres and leaving every couple of minutes. Here's a few photos from the day. We took the Skyrail to Kuranda stopping off at Red Peak station, Barron Falls and then Kuranda. Spent a couple of hours walking through the markets and having lunch before heading back on the skyrail. By the time we left it was raining and we travelled in thick fog some of the way.
The view not long after we left Smithfield Station near Cairns
Barron Falls looking down river
Barron Falls
Me and Susan at Barron Falls
Coming into the Kuranda (the red building in the distance)
One of the stunning vista's from the skyrail
Having a fun photo on the Red Peak boardwalk
Heading for the return trip from Kuranda station...in the rain
Passing over the highest peak (545metres) in thick fog. An eerie experience
Passing over the last of the rainforest the sun came out as we were heading back to Smithfield Station and Cairns.
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Enjoy...the journey with me.😎
Total Distance travelled to date 8601 kms
March...764km
April .....1225km
May......3435km
June....2800km