Travelling inland we passed through lush tropical rainforest, sugar cane and banana plantations. We climbed up to over 1000 metres, twisty hairpin bends until we reached the Atherton plateau which was very fertile and mostly dairy farming. Stopped at Yungaburra, a quaint old fashioned town for lunch and where they promised 'free beer tomorrow'!
We then went on to see the famous Curtain fig tree which we first saw 36 years ago. Next stop was Malanda Falls and the Millaa Millaa falls where we saw terrapins and a beautiful kingfisher.Arrived at Mission Beach late afternoon – such a beautiful beach and a good place to stay put for a couple of days. 4.00 a.m – 10.00 a.m. we had 6 inches of rain fall – a super electric storm to watch, but by morning all gone and dried up. So had a lovely walk along the beach.
It is difficult to comprehend that while we are beachcombing like this, in the local shops they are playing Christmas songs – heard ' Silent Night' and 'Sleigh bells ring' yesterday!!!.
Next day, we are on the move again through sugar, banana, mango and pineapple plantations, dairy cattle and goats. However, on Reaching Townsville the scenery dramatically changed from lush tropical flora to dry bush and eucalyptus trees. We went to the top of Castle Hill in Townsville and had a beautiful panorama 360 degrees overlooking Magnetic Island. Stopped the night at Ayr where we had fresh iced mangoes and a fantastic tropical thunderstorm.
Next stop was Airlee Beach. However it was 'Schoolie Week'. The town was packed with school leavers (a bit like Newquay in early July). 'Schoolies' are strange Australian creatures. They are aquatic mammals who invade the swimming pools with cans of cold drinks and they are nocturnal, listening to loud music and noisy all night!! Seriously though, Airlee Beach is a vibrant town with a beautiful freshwater swimming lagoon where we spent several hours.
But the 'piece de resistance' here was our trip to the Whitsunday Islands – so called because James Cook arrived here on that day in the 18 th century. We cruised on a catamaran to Daydream Island, where we walked through the resort and saw lemon sharks, manta rays and all sorts of pretty coloured fish including nemos, starfish and lion fish.
We had a swim at Hamilton Island and then a Barbecue lunch before we went to Whitehaven Beach. Wow!! Pure white silica sand and crystal, clear turquoise water. We had to wear stinger suits (see photo- don't we look cute) because of the danger of being stung by the irukandji jellyfish which are deadly. We had 3 hours of pure desert island bliss here.We have now moved South to Yeppoon, where Peter and I got engaged 36 years ago and our next report will probably be after our camping trip on Fraser Island. The weather is still sunny every day and 30 deg C plus each, but not quite so humid. By the way, the climate suits us very nicely. In 4 weeks, I've lost half a stone and my hair is blond, bleached by the sun!! Bye for now.
- Sheila.
Good to hear the weather is in your favour and you're having a great time.
ReplyDeleteOh well at least you won't need to SKI on blonde highlights then!!