I'm doing a bit of a catch up here as Tim and Leanne came up for a visit and we have had a very busy three days sight seeing.
Having not seen any family for a well over six months it was good to put my arms around them and give them both a hug. It has made me realise how much I have missed all our family.
Tim and Leanne arrived in Cairns on the red eye special arriving at just after midnight. Ravenshoe is a good two and half hours away from Cairns so we didn't like the idea of driving back here at that time of night so we had booked into a Motel at Palm Cove that was just 15 minutes from the airport. I think we all fell into bed we were all so tired.
On our way back to Ravenshoe on the Saturday we detoured here and there sightseeing starting off at Barron Falls. The Barron Falls are a 260 metre granite faced waterfall that can easily be seen by taking road, rail or skyrail and they are a sight to be seen. If you look back on the blog you will see the difference in the falls from the first time we saw them to the time we went with Erica and Peter to this past weekend with Leanne and Tim. They were awesome to look at and the water going over them was just amazing. It was the best time to see them as the pictures in the tourist magazines were no better than the pictures we took with Tim and Leanne.
From Barren Falls we drove up to Mareeba where we had lunch at the Ant Hill Hotel.
Driving toward Atherton I wanted to stop at Walkamin where there was a really good place to get fruit and vegetables but when we drew up there it wasn't there anymore. This place wasn't just a roadside stall where they have an honesty box and you drop your coins in. This place was like a proper shop, it had electricity, fridges, cash register and was located beside the Walkamin Post Office. Leanne and I went in to the Post Office / corner store and asked what had happened with the shop beside him and he said Council had come along with a list of changes that had to be made and he said that they (the owners) said it was unreasonable and decided to close up shop. Not just close up shop, because it meant dismantling the whole premises. When we drove up it was like there had never been a shop there at all. Such a shame and as the shop owner said there were now at least three people without a job. He wasn't too impressed himself as this has affected his business also.
We continued on to Atherton to a shop called the Crystal caves where they sell a huge range of gems, jewelry and rocks. From there we headed off home to Ravenshoe where Pauline had a roast ready for us. Our evening was spent watching the night animals come out to play. An early night was planned to catch up on our missing sleep.
Sunday Morning, we had a leasurely breakfast before heading off for some serious sightseeing.
Every Sunday there are markets that rotate around the Atherton tablelands and on this Sunday they were at Ravenshoe. Not the best but we stopped and had a quick look around before heading off for our day of sight seeing. There are so many things to see and do it wasn't easy to decide what to see and what not to see so we took the best of the best and tried to fit as much in as we could. Our first stop was Milla Milla which is by far the prettiest falls of all and apart from Barron Falls one of the longest.
Malanda Falls were also spectacular but very muddy and like Millaa Millaa you could normally swim in it. Malanda, in particular was brown and dirty and all you could see was just the top of the arc where you normally step down into the water.
Two other stops that we did were at Lake Barrine and Lake Eachem. Lake Eachem is a very popular swimming area and great for a picnic. While we were there there were three men going skin diving so it was interesting to see them suit up and go in. We think it might have been either a lesson or a test. The last time we were there there were skin divers there then so they must use the lake quite often.
Leanne was keen to see the Curtan Fig Tree so we made that one of our stops. The Curtan Fig is a major attraction to the Tablelands. This 100 (some say 500) year old tree within the rainforest has roots that drop 15 metres to the ground that form a curtain effect. the Cathedral Fig Tree is another massive strangler fig tree and like the Curtan Fig Tree is one of the most impressive sights in the Danbulla Rainforest.
The day disappeared all too quickly and it wasn't long before we made our way home with a detour to visit Peter, Erica and Tiddles the wonder dog.
Monday our last day together was spent at the Hartley's Crocodile Adventure Park. What a great day that was. Hartley's is 40klms north of Cairns and has won some of the top tourist awards in QLD.
The map given to us was marked so that if you followed the attractions in a certain order you would see all the attractions with a minimal time of waiting. The great thing was that if you didn't make it to all the attractions you could come again for three days and the only stipulation was that you couldn't go on the boat ride again. On the boat cruise on the lagoon we saw just how high a crocodile could launch itself out of the water to get it's food. We saw a crocodile do the death role. The snap of a crocodile shutting its mouth is undescribable. If they got you there is no way you could get out of its mouth. Leanne decided she would have a go at feeding the crocodiles. You get a long pole with a piece of chicken tied to its end with a string of Hemp. They are incredible when they rise up out of the water and reveal more than half of their total body size. In the amphitheatre they had a large crocodile and when the man came into the area he told us that the two men outside were there to step in if something went horribly wrong. The trainer showed us how a crocodile could lay in water less than two feet deep and not be seen. they barely break the water when they bring their heads above the water line.
There were three koalas and a couple of Kookaburras that were injured and unable to fly, a bird Avery and a snake show where the trainer picked someone from the audience to join him during the demonstration. Tim just happened to be that someone. The trainer asked everyone to stand then asked all children below the age of 18 to sit down, then every one above the age of 40 to sit, all women to sit and then all men from overseas to sit and Tim was the last person standing. so down he went. The trainer asked Tim to put his hand in a large bucket where he had a deadly snake, he even took Tims hand and attempted to put his hand in the bucket. Tim kept resisting so the trainer stopped and said to the audience that some people actually trust him and go to put their hand in. In his other bucket he had a non poisonous snake which he placed around Tim's neck. While Tim was standing their the trainer started to put on a thick leathery cover for his legs and said to Tim to take the snake off and put it back in the bucket, which Tim did before coming back to his seat. Ken and Leanne got some pretty good photos of Tim with the snake and Leanne was able to get a short video of Tim taking the snake off. All in all we had a really great day and went home with a greater knowledge and awareness of both the saltwater and freshwater crocodiles.
From the park we headed into Cairns to a Hotel that we had booked into so that we didn't have too long a drive to the airport so Tim and Leanne could take their midnight trip home. After a meal in the city we went back to the Hotel where Tim, Leanne,and Ken got a couple of hours sleep before heading off to the airport.
Yesterday we had a BBQ here at Robin and Paulines. Guests included, Peter and Erica and Tiddles the wonder dog. Rick and BJ (the Atherton Corps Officers) Anne, a friend of Kens from his teenage years at Toongabbie Salvos and Heather also a retired officer and a good friend of Anne's. We had a great meal together with Peter as our chef on the BBQ.
That I think brings me up to date on all our news so with that
All our love and God bless
Ken and Lyn.
No comments:
Post a Comment