TOWNSVILLE and BEYOND

The landscape really opened out into flat expanses and fields of sugar cane on the way to Townsville. Sugar cane is a huge industry in Northern Queensland, fields of cane in various stages of growth stretch from the side of the highway as far as you can see. The houses of the cane farmers are situated in squares cut into the cane fields, they do not waste much space, every inch of ground is planted up and as the crop grows to its full height their views would decrease. Narrow gauged railway lines for the cane trains frequently cross the roads, their wire carriages full of cane ready to be processed at the refineries, where huge clouds of smoke bellow from their tall chimneys, casting a rather unfortunate smell around the place. The Great Dividing Range, a rugged series of mountains, remain a constant on our left hand side as we travel northwards up the coast, creating cloudy and unpredictable weather systems. We have just left Townsville after spending five days there and we were surprised how much we liked the place, it has a very modern and trendy feel. A lot of money has been spent on a stretch of the waterfront called “ The Strand”, a great place for kids and families. We spent time at the water park there, it’s just like a playground but with water spurting all over the show, a huge bucket on top fills with water and then tips out when it is full, must be 200 litres of water drowning everyone underneath it, great fun. Castle Hill, a massive rocky outcrop, provides a great backdrop to the town and the drive up and around its steep roads to the summit is quite awesome, the view over the deep blue water to Magnetic Island is pretty special, and our drive up there at night was spectacular, a sea of lights all around. The kids made a couple of good friends at the camp ground, Elizabeth and Elenor and our families went out to the Strand for some fish and chips together one evening. We visited the Palmetum, a section of the Botanic Gardens full of different species of palms and we were amazed at the hundreds of different varieties from all around the world. Murray Falls National Park has a magnificent waterfall which cascades down through a series of clear pools, it was so loud, like waves at a beach, roaring as it fell. It was a beautiful place, although the ordinary weather continued. I went for a walk at night with my powerful torch and saw a small sugar glider leap from a tall gum tree and glide to the next tree before scooting up high into the canopy. I also saw a bandicoot feeding but it took off when it heard me approaching. We past a small school between Murray Falls and Mission Beach, our next destination. We noticed it had a “bush tucker” garden and asked if we could have a look. Elisa the principal was happy to show us around and described her experience during the cyclone that ripped through in March. They bunkered down in the brick toilet block at 4am after battening down the hatches, and waited as the wild wind tore past for the next 8 hours. The school has 80 students, a third of which are indigenous, so they created this garden which provides all sorts of bush tucker for the kids to eat. Cyclone Larry devastated the region earlier this year and the effects are still very obvious. Trees and palms are leaning away from where Larry hit, as if cowering in fear of another blast. Some tall trees simply snapped in half, signs blown over onto the ground, fences downed by falling trees, the photo boards at the caravan parks documenting the destruction and the clean up efforts. The wet and windy weather continued which made our stay at Mission Beach a short one. How different it was from when we were there at the same time two years ago, the blue sky and sun shining creating great conditions for beach time. This time though the waves were pounding in, the water full of stirred up sand, grey and cloudy skies and a brisk wind blowing in across the sea, washing up loads of coconut fronds and pieces of wood. This weather is quite unseasonable we have been told, the locals reckon it is still after effects of Larry and they are all bracing themselves for another one. It is quite fascinating hearing different peoples perspectives of their experiences during the cyclone. The people who stayed describing it as the scariest thing they have ever experienced.

DON’T GET SICK IN MACKAY

Trying to get an appointment with a doctor in Mackay was like looking for rocking horse poo, extremely hard to find. I found a small lump in a delicate place and just wanted to get it checked out, so I started calling medical centres. After seven calls to no avail I thought I would leave it until the next town, but my mind kept conjuring up worst case scenarios and I couldn’t think of much else. Being a Friday all the doctors were full up or just not taking any new patients. The private hospital wanted a small fortune to see me so I just tried my luck at the local medical centre. It was 4,55pm and the sign on the door said they closed at 5pm. I walked into the reception and the two ladies behind the desk were tying up the loose ends, looking forward to the end of the week, and chatting to the guy who was leaning against the counter. They explained they were finished for the day to which I replied that I was pretty desperate to get this thing checked out. The fella leaning on the counter said, “Well I am just the janitor here, but I could take a look if you like!!” He took me through and checked me out and gave me the all clear, which was a great relief. He was quite a character really.

Bloody Kids! Bloody Technology!

We are off the air for a while until the laptop is up and running again. We have had to replace the screen as it has received some serious use over the past few months. The kids use it like an MP3 player amongst other things and it has suffered a couple of drops recently as well! So the apple shop here in Cairns is sorting that out at the moment. We will be up and running ASAP!

WHERE THE FOREST MEETS THE SEA.

We are in Cape Hillsborough National Park, bang on the beach 85km North of Mackay. The park is predominantly rainforest and stretches along the coast on a large expanse of interesting beach. It reminds me of Jenny Bakers picture book “Where the Forest Meets the Sea”. It really is very picturesque. We are staying at the resort here, but wouldn’t exactly say it is like any resort I have been to before. It really is just an upmarket bush camp, which is where it gets its appeal. However it has just enough mod cons tucked away in the main building, like a café/restaurant, internet and children’s play area, to make it very attractive. Oh the joy of sinking into a wonderfully, comfortable couch to type this. Often you don’t know what you miss until it is right there. We haven’t sat in a sofa since we were staying at our friends place in Brisbane! Very nice. After three days of rain in Mackay, we arrived here on my birthday and finally saw a few rays of sunshine. It really changes everything when it is raining. Trying to keep the three kids entertained all day on the bus is never easy, but when it is hot and humid as well, we can all get a little antsy. This morning the sun was shining thinly and we decided to head off walking. It was quite a climb for the first km, almost straight up and humid, through thick lush rainforest, but the beautiful butterflies sailing around us and the frequent sightings of lizards – Tal even saw a snake disappearing into the bushes - kept us all interested and keen. It was pretty overcast and windy when we reached the lookouts, which spoilt the views a little, but the cool wind was welcome relief. After our descent we walked along the beach and inspected the minute sand balls made by the crabs, but this time they were different with little arrow heads between the balls signalling the direction the crabs had moved in. Its these little things that we have the time to notice. After a couple of weeks inland it is good to be back on the coast with the lush, green forest around us. I realise how I crave to be surrounded by green. Which is why in its own way living in Melbourne felt ok. The gardens were all green and trees thrived everywhere, with lush green open spaces amongst all the concrete and urbanisation. When we head away from the towns into the bush where man has cleared the earth and it is parched in the sun, then we see the real effects of the harsh Australian climate.

CLERMONT-MACKAY ROAD

From Clermont to Mackay is about 280 km, probably the furthest we have attempted to travel in a day. It does not sound like a very long way but with a head wind the average speed is about 65-70 km/hour and it does take quite some time, especially if Jarra is troublesome. On our way out of Clermont we had a look at the piano in the tree, a symbol of the flood that occurred there in the 1920’s which claimed sixty local’s lives. After the floodwaters had subsided, various articles of furniture were found stuck up to sixty feet high in the surrounding trees, including three pianos. Leaving Clermont behind us we started on the road to Mackay and encountered absolutely nothing for miles except grassy plains dotted with trees and shrubs. The mountains in the distance, some really pointy and steep, others with very flat tops, kept the landscape interesting and in some parts it was almost like being in another world. As we got nearer to the dark ranges the pointy ones appeared as great jaggy rocks erupting skywards from the earth. Some of the peaks we saw from a distance eventually proved to be much further behind the ranges than I first imagined, distances can be very deceiving. The undulating road usually provided enough momentum on the downhill parts to get us up the next hill at a half decent pace. The contrasts of colours in these parts is intriguing, there are so many dry yellows, browns and pale greens, thet when a lush green crop comes into view, or one of the occassional purply/ red bushes we see about the place, it stands out like the dogs proverbials. The other day, a car coming towards us was one of the new Holdens, coloured bright orangy/ red, we saw it from a long way away, it stood out like a beacon and looked so unnatural. As Tal is so mad about snakes I am always keeping an eye out for them when I am driving along. The torn and shredded truck tyres on the shoulders of the road look quite like contorted snakes and they always hold my gaze until I am sure what they are. There was a noticeable lack of roadkill on the edges of this road, I don‘t know whether this is because the roos are smarter around here or maybe they have better eyesight or maybe there are just not many about. The white line markers were on the job today, although I think they must have had a few beers as the lines were wobbling all over the place, I got on the UHF radio to them to enquire about the quality of their work and the guy replied, “Do you want to come and drive this bitch of a thing?”