Friday, 7 June 2013

Up North

The Sunshine State does not always deliver sunshine. Number plates should read The Drizzle State, State of Wetness, Cloudy State or Windy State with Occasional Cyclones. Well it has not been that bad really because when we have chosen to do something outdoors the weather has fined up and we really have been very fortunate. Most of the rain in all honesty has happened at night but we have been driven into a cabin for only the second time since Port Lincoln because the Atherton Tablelands has the sort of drizzle/rain that would put a Welsh summer to shame. Not all bad though because we got to see the Brumbies play on the TV last night against the Rebels and tonight we will hopefully watch a Reds and Lions go around.

What has happened since the last post. We have been to Cairns, Kuranda, Port Douglas, Cape Tribulation and are now sitting in a cabin in Atherton. From Cairns to Atherton we travelled with Uncle Gareth and Auntie Karyn which was great fun as the last ten days were fairly action packed, full of laughs and only one minor injury which I will get to.

All aboard and up the mountain.
I was last in Cairns some 27 years ago and my memories of it were tainted by the cockroach invested backpackers (since demolished), FNQ lager (fizzy formaldehyde) and a bay that stunk when the tide went out. It's bigger and fancier than I remember and because I had sinus complications I could not smell the bay and had the sense to drink XXXX Bitter which was blessed by Billy Moore. The Esplanade has had a makeover and we enjoyed a walk along it and the kids made the most of the water parks and the playgrounds. We also had a wander through the botanic gardens which was a lot of fun, a bit like Juraissic Park without the dinosaurs.

Nice place this, where can we get breakfast?
When in Cairns a trip on the tourist train through tropical rainforest Kuranda is a must do and even though it was a cloudy day the views were fantastic. The running recorded commentary with video slides on the train gave a very descriptive history of the building of the railway which was essentially and important link for the Atherton Tableland and beyond to the sea. So many facts to remember but I do know the line from Cairns to Kuranda is 37km of track where there are 15 tunnels, 37 bridges and at one stage had 38 licensed premises and one brewery. Thirsty work alright.

Kuranda is a very touristy place but still retains plenty of charm. It also has a very cool butterfly sanctuary where we learnt butterflies don't live very long but spend a lot of time mating, might be some sort of causal link there. These days you can return to Cairns via Skyrail which is great way to see the rain forest from atop whilst been blown around by the wind in a gondola. Great views and some good look outs on the way way down.


These butterflies seemed to like Finn..
...and Marley.
We passed 19 gondolas of Indians and Marley said hello to all of them
Just up the road from Cairns is Port Douglas where we camped for a couple of days and had perfect weather for a trip out to the reef. Having had some pretty average experiences on the reef previously I was not really expecting much but the good ship Poseidon took us to three excellent reefs which had plenty of coral and fish and not one crown of thorns so there are still some parts of the reef that are visibly very healthy. So if you are up here go Poseidon and give Quicksilver the flick and you will get to three good sights instead of one average sight and do it with 80 versus 400 people. The diving was also good and cheap, $60 for three dives. Good healthy fun, I should let Michael Douglas know that this sort of diving is less likely to give you cancer than the sort he has been up to.

Cape Tribulation was  probably our favourite campsite on tour so far. World heritage forest meets world heritage marine park. Unspoilt natural beauty would be one way to describe it. Might let some pictures do the commentary on this place but if you like tropical rainforest this is a place you must visit as there is no greater range of tropical rainforest plants anywhere else in the world. If you are up for it go jungle surfing through the canopy which is a ton of fun and after that go back to the campsite and enjoy a beer at the Sand Bar whilst munching on a wood fired pizza. Alternative activities could include building coconut castles on the beach, swinging on a rope from a tree, tug of war, sand sculptures but if you are over 60 don't have a skipping race with a nine year old or you might just tear your calf muscle, eh U. Gareth. Ice and cold beer did help reduce the inflamation though. Fun times, great memories.
Cape Tribulation....serenity

Cape Tribulation...stupidity


Mossman Gorge.....broken tranquility


Preparing to swing through the trees of the Daintree



The Sandbar at Cape Trib...great place

Fig tree..and fig tree elf.

1 comment:

  1. The bad thing about nature is that if things are going to be green there has got to be rain. Pity is doesn't only rain underground.

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