Ravenshoe

Dear Family and Friends

the previous photos are of

1. One of the many views we see as drive around
2. The statue at Kuranda depicting the two tools, the pick and shovel used to carve out the scenic railway.
3. One of the amazing tropical flowers we see.
4. Billy, everyone's pet at Walkamin.
5. View of the Atherton Tablelands from Halloran's Hill.
6. One of the waterfalls we have seen (I forget which one)
7. Tiddles. Peter and Erica's amazing wonder dog.
8. Tiddles delivering the mail to Peter.


We are now settled in with Robin and Pauline. We have our van parked beside their little
A frame studio and we are using the bathroom in it but still sleeping in our van. Robin and Pauline have made us feel very welcome. We have almost been here a week now and I'm wondering where the days have gone. Last Sunday following church Robin, Pauline, Ken and I joined Peter and Erica to have lunch with them at their place. It was a lovely afternoon sharing life experiences with each other.

Robin and Pauline live on three acres and it is landscaped with natural Australian trees and shrubs and is an amazing natural habitat for birdlife and some animal life as well. Each morning Pauline puts out bread, and seed for the lovely brightly coloured rosellas and there can be anywhere between twenty or thirty birds feeding at any one time. There are also Kookaburras that come in to be fed mince by hand and possums as well.

Except for a couple of nights we have eaten our meal each evening on the back verandah. They have a large verandah covering two sides of the house and it is a lovely and peaceful place to eat our meal. Inevitably a couple of visitors come to have their meal also. They are a couple of possums that come down just as the sun gives way to the moon to eat bread that Pauline puts out for them. Thr other night one reached right over and sniffed Robins hair. They scurry around in the trees for a while and then disappear or we go inside and leave them playing.

Living here has reminded us how nice it was to live on our farm and we do miss that quietness and solitude that you get in the country but never in the city.

Yesterday, Thursday, Peter, Robin and Ken got up very earlier (as did Erica, Pauline and I) to have a guy's day out. They went to Townsville so that Peter could have a test drive on a Spyder Motorbike. Peter is probably going to buy one and so they all decided to go with him to have a test drive. The Spyder is a new three wheel bike that has two wheels at the front and only one at the back. The luxoury model, which is the one they rode, has a an armchair at the back which means Erica can ride it too when they get it.

While Robin, Peter and Ken were away Pauline and I (Erica had made arrangements to go out with a friend of hers) went into Atherton to begin sorting out toys ready for Christmas. There is a toy run that happens on Saturday and I think we will be there for that also. We unpacked about 12 large packing boxes yesterday and separated the boys into one room and the girls into another.

Have you ever seen a pineapple growing? Well I haven't untill just recently. Pauline and Robin have one growing here. They take five years to grow and the bush they are attached to is only the size of a shrub.

Our love to one and all

Ken and Lyn

billy

Dear Family and Friends.

Well, I have Ken back after his quick visit to Vic. He went to get the car registered and they were pedantic and he had to physically go and do it. He got a Tiger flight for $82 each way and he got to see each of the kids except Justin. While he was away I amused myself by reading and sewing and playing with Billy. I don't think I have told you about Billy yet. Billy is a young red cattle dog (I think) and she loves to play fetch. Billy belongs to Lucy who is the owner of the park so Billy wanders around the place like she owns it (well, she does , kind of).

She is funny to watch as she does the rounds, going from one van to the next visiting everyone. She will play fetch with anyone and she picks and chooses who she plays with. She comes with a bottle top, a stick of wood, a tennis ball or a large ball, pretty much anything you can throw or kick, the smaller items she rests on her tongue and even when she pants she keeps it on the front of her tongue until she drops it at your feet when she wants you to kick it again. She plays for a while and then moves on. She likes food too and if you feed her she will lay down and stay for a while. When she gets a bit overweight she has to go on a diet and at the moment she is wearing a sign that says "don't feed me, Mum says" and we are told in the peak season when this place is packed out they stensil a sign along her body which says "Nil by mouth"

Talking of clever dogs I must tell you about Tiddles. Tiddles belongs to Peter and Erica Fuller whom we met at church. She is a poodle cross but I can't remember what they said she is crossed with. She is white and has long hair and is similar in size to a Shitzue and she is learning to become a dog carer. Peter and Erica have a very steep driveway Peter has taught her how to collect the mail. When they hear the postie in the next street they know she is on her way around the corner. Peter opens the door near where he sits and Tiddles runs down to the letter box and waits. The postie puts the mail in her mouth and she runs back to Peter and delivers the mail to him. If they have been out then Erica gets the mail from the box and gives it to Tiddles who in turn gives it to Peter.

Like all dogs there are toys in the house that she plays with. The amazing thing with tiddles is that she knows each toy by name and she can distinguish between each toy by name. She knows which one is Turtle (her favorite) which one is Giraffe and which one is Zebra, which one is Big Elly and which one is Little Elly and so on. She will rummage around in the box till she finds where it is and if it's not there she will look for it. If she still can't find it they will tell her which room it is in and she will go straight to that room and get it. So she knows each room in the house by it's name. Clever. Peter will say give me a kiss and she will jump up give him a kiss them jump down again. When there is food around she will sit on her hind legs and stand the way a Meercat stands.

To become a dog carer there are certain things she has to be able to do for Peter on command such as pick up something dropped on the ground, get something he needs, get the mail etc. I have never seen a dog find toys and do what Tiddles can do. Peter and Erica have done an amazing job in training her. What dog can pick up a toy on command let alone determine which one is the big or small elephant.

On Tuesday we went for a drive. We headed toward Cairns and just before getting to Cairns we took a left hand turn and headed up the coast line toward Pt. Douglas and Mossman. Along the way we detoured off the main road to take a look at Trinity Beach. It turned out to be a really beautiful area. The coastal views were amazing and the blue of the water is hard to describe, I guess it could be called a teal blue or aqua in colour. It was stunning.We continued up toward Pt Douglas stopping a couple of times to enjoy the view and take some pictures.

We had been told there wasn't much at Pt Douglas as it was a stepping stone for people to go to some of the islands so I wasn't expecting too much. And I was surprised by its beauty , its size and it's shopping precinct. Yes it was resort after resort after resort, but their gardens and entrances were worth looking at. Qld has plants and flowers that I have never seen, not even in a magazine. Their colours are striking and the flowers are awesome.

It was heading toward lunch time so we decided to go the 20ks to Mossman and have lunch there. Mosman which we had been told was nice didn't rate that good for us. Less than average would be how I would describe it. It was quite dilpadated with many homes in quite a bad state of disrepair. The town looked to me like it would be more at home in outback NSW rather than here in far north Qld. We looked around for somewhere to eat and when we got out of the car there was a really unusual smell which was very unpleasant and we couln't place where it came from other than at a timber yard that was near the restaurant we were planning to have lunch at but the smell put us off.

That being the case we decided to hold off lunch till we got to Mount Molloy which was on the journey back home. Mount Molloy had a pub so we decided the pub was as good a place as any for lunch but wouldn't you know we got there about five past two and the kitchen was closed. With nowhere else to go we decided a Mrs Mac's pie was as good as anything, even with the temperature at a pleasant 31 degrees. After lunch it was back to Mareeba and home to Walkamin. All in all it was a lovely day with some amazing views along the way.

This week there are a number of long term residents of the park who are leaving. We've been here four weeks but others leaving have been here for six months or more. So Lucy decided to have a BBQ to say farewell to all those leaving. She put on a spread of steak, sausages, mashed potatoes, gravy, buns and dessert. Park patrons added to this with nibbles, garlic bread and salads and more dessert.. All up there was probably about 40 plus there. No cost, Lucy paid for the lot. It was a really good evening and would have cost her a pretty penny. We are told that in the winter months this place is bulging at the seams. Lucy has council approval for another toilet block and additional powered sites. Ken was told this morning that the park is up for sale appros 1.2 million so if you like the idea of running a caravan park , this would be a beauty.

On Friday we are leaving here and going out to Robin and Pauline's place It means we move down the map a little and inland a bit. It is much cooler than Cairns and doesn't have the humidity that you get closer to the coastline. We are starting to get some of the storms that come during the wet season. The mornings are hot (always in the low thirties) and humid. After lunch the storm clouds come over and for the past five days we have had very heavy rain that only lasts for a little while before clearing up. We were on our way home from Atherton when we drove into rain and visibility was very poor. Two other times I can remeber rain being that heavy were once we were on the Nullabour and the other was On Leanne's 13th birthday when we drove from Washington through Philladelphia and up to New York and it rained for the whole trip and we could hardly see anything along the way.

It's quite a long blog today. Hope you find it interesting

All our love and God bless. Ken and Lyn.

Lake Tinnaroo

Dear Family and Friends

A little bit of local history. Atherton was explored by J.V.Mulligan in 1875 but it was John Atherton who who settled near the town which now bears his name. Originally a pioneering pastoralist, John Atherton was the first to find tin deposits in Northern Queensland. Local legend has it that Tinnaroo creek received its name from Atherton who shouted "Tin, Hurroo" when he first made his discovery.

Our stay at Lake Tinnaroo was pleasant but not long enough. We only had one full day to explore the local area. Sadly the weather wasn't hot enough to enjoy the delights of the pool or the lake.

On the Tuesday morning (Melbourne Cup Day) we enjoyed a morning tea of pikelets with jam and cream put on by the staff at the caravan park. We then set off to see the lake. We followed a sign posted tourist drive thinking it would bring us back to the van park in plenty of time to see the Melbourne Cup which started at 2 pm here rather than 3 pm in Melbourne due to daylight saving time difference. As it turns out the drive took us right around the back of the lake, and it is a huge lake and supplies the entire area with its water supply. A large part of the road turned out to be dirt and not recommended for caravans. We had just a few spots of rain along the way but it was only enough to make the car dirty. We also found a couple of lovely green grassed camping areas. Ken stopped to chat to one chap and he said to come during the week as on weekends there are heaps of people that come out just for the weekend.

Just a couple of klms down the road we were back onto tarred road which eventually brought us to a town called Yungaburra where we stopped to watch the horse race at a local pub and we just made it by about four minutes to spare. From Yungaburra we then travelled through Atherton, back to Tolga where we turned to go to Kairi and then back to the lake. Another night in the park and then it was time to pack up and come home.

Ken is flying back to Melbourne as he wants to get the cruiser registered in Victoria. It is much cheaper there than it is QLD so he's got a super cheap flight with Tiger from Cairns to Melbourne leaving Wed night and coming back on Sat night. So here's hoping there are no hiccups with the travel plans. All up it is cheaper to do the rego this way than it is to put 12 months on it up here.

Ken's going to take the laptop with him so as a result I won't blog again till he returns home.

So love to one and all

Ken and Lyn.

Lake Tinnaroo

Dear Family and Friends

After a very busy few days Saturday was the opposite and we made it a very slow relaxing day.

At church on Sunday there were a group of New Guinea ladies who are in Far North Queensland for about 4 weeks visiting churches in the local area. They led the service, shared testimonies and sang in their own unique style. It was a great service and we will remember it for a long time. Following the service we shared a lunch with them which turned out to be a lovely day all round. It's amazing how you run into people that connect up at a specific time in life. A friend of Ken's from his youth (many years ago) just happened to be the driver taking these ladies wherever they needed to go during their time in Australia. Anne grew up in Toongabbie (as did Ken) and had lived in New Guinea for many years, she met her husband and started her family there and now lives in Cairns. I have met her only once before so that means Ken hasn't seen her for over 40 years, so they had some catching up to to do.

Monday began with another restful start to the day but by midday we had packed up a few clothes and some food and set off for two nights at Lake Tinnaroo. If you remember three weeks ago on our first Sunday here we stopped on the way home from church and went to the "Taste of the Tablelands" as did others from our Walkamin Caravan Park. As you entered you were given a voucher to fill out and place in a very large box. We didn't give anymore thought to it but it turned out that people near us at the park at Walkamin won two nights at a unit at Lake Tinnaroo.

When they were contacted to say that they had won this prise they were about to leave to go down to Rocky and they could not delay their departure. So they trasferred the prize into our name and gave it to us and that is the reason we are here staying in this unit. Lake Tinnaroo is enormous and is the water supply for a large area in the local vicinity including the many farms and market gardens in the area. When you drive around you can see large channels filled with water from lake Tinnaroo and it is from these channels that farmers get their water.

The park here puts on a Pancake morning tea on Tuesday and Thursdays so that will be our first stop this morning before going for a look around the local area.

More to follow

That's all for now

Love Ken and Lyn