8^th News letter.

2^nd News Letter from Cairns.

 

Saturday 13^th June.  It was time for another shopping fix and what better way to spend an afternoon than in camping stores. Well it makes perfect sense given our new life style.  What we had planned was to start gathering the things together for our trip to Cape York, essentials such as tent poles, solar shower, collapsible toaster and of course some 4WD cloths for Elizabeth.  No I don’t have enough of that kind of clothing, since you ask!  I picked up a couple of tops made of Bamboo and Cotton which have a great feel to them and appear to be very practical, so that makes sense to me.  Arriving back at the caravan park we discovered we had new neighbors John and June who come from South Australia, a lovely couple that we hope to catch up with again in our travels. 

 

Traveling does not afford me to be a recluse especially when one’s partner is head of the meet and greet committee for every park we have been in, he makes it really difficult to hide in the van and not come out to meet and greet particularly when he is calling out ‘come out Elizabeth and meet out new neighbors’.  I do pretend that I can’t hear him but he does persist even coming and opening the door (just in case I really didn’t hear him).  The notion that Ken would think that I have anything in common with or want on any level to know said neighbor always fascinates me.  He never gives up hope that underneath my grumpy exterior is a nice person, poor soul, very delusional.

 

Sunday 14^th  we were fortunate enough to be invited to Ken’s ex sister-in-law Robyn’s house for lunch at Cliffton Beach.  It was also a chance to catch up with Ken’s niece Samantha, her husband and their two children, so it was very much a family day.  Robyn went to no end of trouble to produce a wonderful array of food, which was deeply appreciated by Ken and my dear self.  Thanks again Robyn.  

 

Monday 15^th An appointment with the vet took priority to other activities for that day.  Wendal had his vaccinations, tummy clipped, bottom clipped, nails trimmed and dare I mention worming.  How rude of me to mention such a delicate subject, sorry Wendal. He managed to sail through it all with his usual good grace and refinement, after all some things just have to be tolerated in life.  I also had a visit with a GP and shared with her just some of the many joys of living in such close quarters with one’s life partner. I asked her for any kind of drug she could supply me, in order to ‘HOLD MY TONGUE’.  She did afford me 45mins of her time and probably rang a help centre after I left, but hey, I thought it was 45min well spent and felt so much better after our talk.  Fortunately for me Robyn suggested she and I do lunch and chose a lovely restaurant at Palm Cove, meanwhile Ken and Warwick, Robyn’s husband, enjoyed a fine repast at Trinity Beach.  All in all a lovely day was had by both of us.  Wendal finally forgave us for taking him to the vet and decided that sulking was probably not his best option. 

 

Tuesday 16^th we played tourist for the day and decided to take the Sky rail up the mountain to Kuranda and returned by the Scenic Railway.   The Sky rail was wonderful and is certainly a fine example of modern engineering.  A gondolier glided us up the steep coastal range over beautiful lush rain forest to the summit, where we were able to exit at Red Peak and experience a mountain top walk.  Back to the gondolier and down the other side to a visibly different perspective of dryer country but still tropical.  Another stop at Barron Falls and an opportunity to see Barron Gorge, steeped in history re the Hydro Electric Power Station, after reading about some of the experiences these men had, it’s a wonder this country was ever conquered.  Continuing on to Kuranda, with its well known tourist railway station, we enjoyed lunch at the old Karanda Hotel, being one of the towns many icons.  The Kuranda markets, proved a place of entertainment and appears to cater for many diverse needs including a hat each for us.   The Scenic Railway trip is something which every tourist, particularly ones with interest in our history should not miss.   Building a railway across and through this rugged tropical range, with the knowledge and skills they had at the time, makes me ponder at the fiber of the people who built this country. 

 

Wednesday 17^th we left the van about 11.30am and headed up The Captain Cook Highway to Port Douglas.  A lovely town which has the same ambiance as Noosa, built for the tourist.  I immediately showed interest in shopping and at Ken’s suggestion he headed for the marina to ‘look at boats’ while I scanned the boutiques for a little something.  Eventually I did find some tops and a pair of shorts that I felt would be handy in my new life style without breaking the bank. We continued on to Mossman and visited Mossman Gorge National Park, with its dense lush tropical foliage and crystal clear waters brimming with fish. Boardwalks and well maintained tails made it easy to access the river. A truly enchanting beautiful place. Lots of lovely photos were taken. Back to the car we continued along to Wonga Beach where we looked up our new friends and ex neighbors, John and June to find out how they were enjoying their new location.

 

Thursday. 18^th met our friends Paul and Marion for lunch at a restaurant in the Cairns Marina precinct.  We ordered Fish and Chips all around and had a most enjoyable time.  After lunch we visited every information centre we could find to seek information on Cape York with particular interest in the state liquor laws, as we have been informed they are very strict about liquor on Aboriginal reservations and we are sure reserves will be part of our experience. Eventually we got the information we wanted and you will all be relieved to know not one of our team has to go through Alcohol withdrawals.

 

Friday 19^th another laid back day, cleaned the car, caravan, did washing and eventually drove to Barron Gorge Power Station to find it had closed 10min earlier.  Not surprised I hear you say, well from our perspective it was only 4pm and our day was just kicking in.  Well, we decided to go shopping instead and this time it was to Bunnings Hardware.  No I am not going to tell you what we bought and what bargains we found because I would be lying, suffice to say we were not long there.

 

Saturday 20^th Off to DFO (Direct Factory Outlet) in Westcourt where we purchased a soft bag as a second suitcase for our trip back to Brisbane.  I did try on a lovely White T shirt in the POLO shop, with fifty percent off but they only seemed to have sizes that would fit someone suffering from anorexia or myself when I was 18 years of age.  Unfortunately the more mature stomach does not fit well inside a slim fitting skimpy T Shirt.  I decided they just don’t make cloths the way they used to anymore.

 

Sunday 21^st.  Another late start in getting away from the cave (caravan), but not because we were in any way wasteful of our time, nay nay, we always seem to be busy doing things and yet at the end of the day WE ARE ALWAYS LATER THAN WE HAD PLANNED.  Oh how surprising I hear you say!   We did however allow ourselves enough time to re visited Barron Gorge Power Station and thoroughly enjoyed the experience and also gleaned a lot of informative.  Next stop was Crystal Cascades, which is located in the National Forest south of Barron Falls National Park.  Another lovely place well worth a visit, unfortunately the last part of the walk was blocked off to the public, not sure of the reason however do not be deterred because it is worth the effort.   Along the walk Ken uttered the words ‘Oh shit’, on inquiry one discovered that he had left his new hat at our last location ‘Barron Gorge Power Station’ on a chair in front of the seat he was sitting in.   A hasty retreat from said peaceful location, and a quick trip back to said Gorge.  A very nice security officer was located after hours and hat was returned.  Good news because it is a really nice hat.  This is our last night with our little man MR WENDAL for 5 whole weeks.  I will miss him and feel really awful that we are putting him in care while we are away.   Have a great holiday Wendal.

 

Monday 29^th We are headed up the mountain to deliver Wendal to Julie the owner of The Cat Resort at Kuranda and then on to Walkamin caravan park where we plan on staying for two nights.  We are leaving the van and car at Walkamin until our return from Brisbane on the 7^th July.  We are hoping to catch up with as many of you lovely people as we can on our return to Brisbane/Sunshine Coast.  Expect a phone call and if not phone us. 

 

Hope this finds you well and happy.   Your friend, Elizabeth.