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.