Fickle winds and unfavourable forecasts

                      After a week in Port Doughlas Marina, with no sign of the winds abating, we decided on another roadtrip, this time up to the Atherton Tablelands. We travelled up the Rex Range Road, passing Mt Molloy and Lake Mitchell and stopping at Mareeba, where we enjoyed a delicious coffee and marvelled at the Heritage Museum, a veritable wonderland collection of local history on display. We continued onto Atherton, visiting the Information Centre to find out what might entertain us in the region and coming away with armloads of brochures from a very helpful volunteer! We were keen to explore the "food bowl" region so we headed out to Gallo Cheese factory, on the road to Malanda. Unfortunately, with Covid, there were no tastings on offer, but we chose two likely cheeses and bought some of each for later. We continued on to Malanda, where the waterfall crosses the highway, visiting another informative visitors centre and admiring the water cascading over the rocks. From there we continued to Lake Eachem, a volcanic crater lake where the water is clear, blue and very deep. Some hardy souls were kayaking and swimming, but the temperature of the water - and the surrounding air - kept us away! After a short walk we continued on to Yungaburra, enjoying a "Yungi burger" at the lovely old pub. From there we drove out to Tinaburra, on Lake Tinaroo, to see the impressive and very moving Afghanistan war memorial, which was conceived and built with local donations to remember the lives of all Australian soldiers lost in that war, in particular Ben Chuck, a young local boy. It is a beautifully designed and fitting memorial to a tragic war.                               

We continued back to Atherton, exploring the main street and deciding that dinner in the pub where we were staying was the easiest option after a big day of driving and exploring.

On Monday we headed southwest to Herberton, the first and, once, the largest regional town, with miners attracted to large tin deposits in the surrounding hills. There is a very comprehensive and informative historical display at the information centre and we spent an hour reading and learning about tin mining and its effect on the local area before continuing to the Herberton Heritage Centre, a "village" consisting of many local buildings which were moved to the site to create an amazing educational resource. Every building contains a comprehensive collection - from potions at the pharmacy to vintage cars in the garage, historical toys at the toy shop, fashions of a bygone era at the drapery and ancient, lovingly restored John Deere tractors in a shed. The school is full of memorabilia including books I remember reading when I was a child (some I even used when teaching!), the workshop is full of tools the captain knows how to use. The blacksmith was busy making new things out of old metal. There is a beautiful old house, Elderslie House, built for John Newell, one of the original founders of Herberton, restored and filled with lovely old wares. The only thing not working were the tearooms, closed until Covid recedes. We had a fascinating time exploring and only left when our tummies were rumbling for lunch, which we enjoyed on the banks of the Wild River. In the afternoon, we continued on a round trip through Wondecla, joining the Kennedy Highway and stopping at Mt Hypipamee National Park where we walked to the crater lake and on to Dinner Falls, enjoying a cuppa in the park before returning to the car and on to Atherton. That night we ventured out to the Carrington Hotel for a delicious dinner before a well earned night's rest.

      
 

We walked up to the top of Hallorans Hill on Tuesday morning, through dense Mabi rainforest where we both spotted small kangaroos and heard many interesting bird calls. Leaving Atherton, we continued through Tolga, stopping at the Rocky Creek memorial park, on the site of the largest WW2 field hospital in Australia - over 60,000 soldiers were treated here over the time it operated. There are many plaques representing different squadrons and divisions of the armed forces placed on large rocks in the park. It was very interesting. We decided to return to Port Douglas via Kuranda, taking the very steep and windy Kennedy Highway down the mountain range. Unfortunately the markets were not operating today so Kuranda was very quiet and we continued on to Palm Cove, where we had planned to have a picnic by the sea. The wind and waves were quite intense, so instead we enjoyed lunch in the surf club, before returning to Port Douglas and Manookatoo.

Rocky Creek Memorial Park

           

The wind continued to blow. Fortunately, Port Douglas is a place we like, with lots to keep us occupied. We went walking most mornings, either up across the bluff and down onto Four Mile Beach, or along the inlet and across the peninsula to Four Mile Beach, often enjoying a swim before returning for breakfast. Other days we got on our bikes and rode along the old sugar train track to St Crispins, continuing across the top end of the peninsula and onto the other end of the same beach, riding along the sand with a tail wind pushing us until we reached the lifesaving club - a good 15 kilometre cycle on mostly flat terrain. The local shopping centre is easily reached on foot, as are a few nice "watering holes" including the "Tin shed" community club and the yacht club. Sometimes we would spend time with other boaties, all bemoaning the windy weather and wondering when we could get out to sea again.

Same lookout, different days!

 

After another week had passed, the Captain went to see Fiona, the friendly hire car lady, and we took off on another road trip. We travelled north along the Great Barrier Reef drive, passing through Mossman and continuing along to the Daintree River. In 2017 we had cruised, in Manookatoo, up this wide and winding river, full of crocodiles, anchoring just near the ferry crossing and making our way ashore before deciding there was not much to see on foot! This time, we took the ferry across the river and drove up to Cape Tribulation. It was perfect weather for entering a rainforest - lots of rain! Up to four metres falls every year up here, and the plant life certainly reflected that. We stopped at Alexandra Lookout, but could see nothing but clouds, then continued to the Daintree Discovery centre just as the rain started bucketing down! Armed with a range of brochures and some great ideas, we continued on, stopping at the Marrdja boardwalk as the rain stopped, enjoying the fabulous range of foliage along the creek and surrounding wetlands. The drive along the road through the Daintree is beautiful but winding and hilly, a place to take it slowly and enjoy the views. We saw no cassowaries but plenty of signs warning us they were in the area. Arriving at Cape Tribulation before lunch we were lucky enough that our room at the Ferntree Rainforest Lodge was ready and we could settle in, but we were keen to keep exploring so once we had unpacked we continued along the road until it becomes the 4WD Bloomfield Track, where we could go no further in our little machine! We stopped at Kulki Boardwalk, on the cape itself, where we climbed to the lookout and walked along the beach, hoping for a glimpse of Mackay Reef offshore but not spotting it. After lunch in the picnic area we took a walk along Myall Beach on the southern side of the cape, then returned to our accommodation to leave the car and walk into the small township. As with so many other places, some things were closed due to Covid 19, but we could explore other accommodation alternatives, check out the (almost empty) supermarket and enjoy a drink at the Cape Trib campground before returning home. Dinner that night was at the Cassowary Restaurant at our accommodation, where we enjoyed an "Aussie platter" of barramundi spring rolls, kangaroo, rump steak, salad and chips - even though they'd run out of crocodile skewers it was very nice!

The next morning we started our day with the Dubuji boardwalk through the mangroves and onto Myall Beach. It was another beautiful walk through stunning foliage. After breakfast we packed up and continued driving, this time south, detouring out to Cow Bay and then on to Jindalba, where we enjoyed a very challenging climb up through the rainforest, crossing creeks and admiring waterfalls and treetop views before returning via a boardwalk through the forest on our way back to the carpark. We stopped again at Alexandra Lookout and this time we were rewarded with sweeping views across the Daintree River and out to Snapper and Low Isles, continuing down the hill and taking the ferry back across the river. We stopped in Mossman for a lovely lunch, picked up some supplies at the shops and continued back to Port Douglas.

  

It looks like there will be another week of wind before anything improves, so we have more time to enjoy Port Douglas, stock up the boat and get ready for - hopefully!! - our next cruising adventure.