MALANDA TO KARUMBA
As of last post the truck was not completed and ready until Wed. 16th Sept. So we had kept the hire car for another week to do more siteseeing. An attraction worth a visit is Paronella Park not far west of Innisfail. A Spaniard’s dream to build a castle on 13acres beside Mena Crk. Falls. For more info go to
http://www.paronellapark.com.au/On our drive back to Malanda we visited Mamu Rainforest Canopy Walkway part of Wooroonooran National Park. A distance of 2.5klm. return at a max. Height of 37m. Counted the steps going up the 37m. Tower, 100, with a spectacular view looking down towards the Johnstone River. You could walk the canopy one way and return on the forest walk. Only opened in Aug. 08 also worth seeing.
Lake Tinaroo on the Tablelands is a great place for water activities plus fishing and red claw crayfish. Unfortunately the day of our visit it was fairly windy and not very pleasant. Would recommend this for family holidays.
If you a lover of good coffee, like we are, a visit to The Coffee Works in Mareeba is a must. We experienced the tour which was just amazing. They have the largest coffee museum in the world. 2000 coffee treasures come to life in a labyrinth of light & sound.
http://www.coffeeworks.com.au/Gallo Dairyland is a fully functional dairy farm that produces a range of cheeses, yoghurts and chocolates. We sampled and bought some of their beautiful cheeses and chocolates.
Yungaburra Village has a country charm and several art & craft galleries. Also, along with most of the Atherton Tablelands area it has milder temperatures than on the coast around Cairns. Not far is Lake Eacham another famous crater lake with blue water that is perfect for swimming and is surrounded by tropical rainforest. There is shady picnic areas and bbq’s.
Our last weekend on the Tablelands and drove down to Mission Beach and stayed the night with Peter & Denise again. They didn’t think they would see us again so soon. Had another very enjoyable Sat. evening with them before heading back on Sunday.
Thurs. 16th Sept. We were mobile again. An overnight stop was made at Innot Hot Springs van park. Tried out the different hot pools and swimming pool. Probably not on a level with Rotorua in NZ although D’Arcy had hurt himself and the next morning before leaving he went to the pools and came back with no pain or soreness. Unbelievable I thought. There is a local pub where we had a couple of pre-dinner drinks and met 2 couples from Hervey Bay travelling and told us about their next destination, which was Undara Lava Tubes, 15klms. south of Mount Surprise so we gave it a go too. (
http://www.undara.com.au/) The van park & camping ground is a real bush park. We had our fire each night outside our van joined by Alan, Helen, Kim & Peter. The tour through the tubes consisted of a bus ride with lots of information on the area by our guide, and then the walk through a couple of the tunnels. Really quite fascinating. After 2 nights here it was on to Cobbold Gorge, 147klms to Georgetown then south 40klms to Forsayth another 45klms to Cobbold Gorge. The last 85klms being gravel road, parts corrugated. It is unique, hidden away within the rugged sandstone formations of Nth. Qld. The gorge is extremely narrow, only 2 metres wide in places with 30mtr cliffs on either side. Overall length of the gorge is about 6klms., but only the last 500mtrs. is accessible by flat bottom boat with an electric motor at either end. Located on a private cattle property, Robin Hood Station with 10,000 head of Brahman cattle, it dates back to the early gold rush days. Before the boat ride we climbed up through rock crevices to the top of the gorge where there is quite a different outlook to being down below. This part of the gorge is home to many fresh water crocodiles which look very docile, but told still don’t TRUST them. After a very hot day it was decided to give ourselves a break from cooking and have dinner in the restaurant, which have home cooked meals. We had a choice of roast pork or beef, followed by a choice of desserts, apricot crumble, sticky date pudding or fruit salad & cream. Had a lovely night with Alan & Helen as Kim & Peter had started their journey home from Undara.
Back on the road again, Tues, 22nd Sept. Onto the Savannah Way from Georgetown, destination Croydon, 147klms from Georgetown. On arriving in Croydon for an overnight stay discovered we had lost a tyre off the van and damaged the rim beyond use. D’Arcy changed it with our spare and headed for the service station for air, only to discover that the tyre in front of the missing one had been damaged and was going down. With no other tyres available it was decided to put a tube in and see us to our next stop, Normanton, 157klms. After an early start and a steady drive to Normanton, only passed 1 roadtrain, arrived at the service station to organize to have 4 new tyres sent in. The tyre with the tube did not see the distance to the caravan park without getting more air. It was a dash to get parked up and chocked up before it started going down. The new tyres arrived on Friday morning and D’Arcy took 2 at a time down to the servo to get replaced. Now have much more superior tyres, but still chasing a rim for our spare. A huge dust storm had emerged on Normanton by lunchtime on Wed. Later discovered it was covering most of eastern NSW & QLD.
Thurs decided to take a run up to Karumba in the truck and check it out. Had lunch at the Sunset Tavern. Unfortunately D’Arcy was robbed of half his steak sandwich by a kite (hawk) which swooped down and picked up the remainder off his plate. It flew between our shoulders from behind. So quick, it brushed my shoulder. Also, disappointing for D’Arcy was the fact that all he wanted to do was to come to Karumba and catch a barramundi, only to discover that the barra season was closing on Frid. 25th. So only had 1 day. Not to worry, we went and bought frozen barra fillets while here in Karumba along with 3kg of tiger prawns, which are bagged and in the freezer. Cost a lot less up here than down on the coast.
Sat. 26th was race day at Normanton. We went along for a look to see how it was done in the outback. It was a 10 race meeting, with the last being a cup race. Only 4-5 entries in each race and a Calcutta held before each race. All the horses were from outback stations, but didn’t do too bad either. Fashions in the field were held, and you would think you were at a Melbourne Cup meeting. A great effort was put forward by a lot of people, not just the girls but kids and young men as well. Included a few pics. Afterwards it was on the the local Albion Hotel for bbq buffett and entertainment. Enjoyed the atmosphere and dinner for awhile then headed home to watch the footy finals. (AFL).
Sunday saw us off to Karumba with the van, but without a spare. As it was a good sealed road and only 70klms we had no problems. Staying in the Sunset Van Park opposite the Norman River and the Gulf. Went to the Tavern for sunset drinks and photos, but because of the dust haze it wasn’t very good. Same last night, Monday. D’Arcy tried his fishing out and came home with a very nice jew fish. As per photo. The tourist season is just about over up here now so the parks have plenty of sites available. Visited the Barramundi Discovery Centre for a tour where there is a breeding program for the barra.
http://www.barramundidiscoverycentre.com/ Finglings are re-stocked in various locations around the gulf including some fresh water dams. Very interesting as it is all run by volunteers. Next post for more pics.
