Jim & Barbara Burton Travel: March 2013

Cairns – Holloways Beach,

We said farewell to Port Douglas early, so that we could drive inland through the Atherton Tablelands to Cairns. We headed north for a short while and then turned west, travelling through the Rainforest before reaching the Tablelands. The rain was yet again torrential until we left the Rainforest behind and into the beautiful sunshine of the Tablelands. This region boasts over three hundred days of sunshine per year and it is necessary to irrigate the crops here. The Tablelands was primarily a tobacco-growing region, but since the decline in smoking it has diversified and now grows a variety of crops including Mangoes, Avocados, Peanuts, Coffee, Corn and Sugar Cane, which makes for a more interesting landscape when travelling. It is also known for its enormous Ant Hills.

Mareeba was the first sizable town that we encountered, which has an Ant Hill Hotel. No! It is not a hotel for ants, it is for people, but there is probably no safeguard that you wouldn’t get ants in your pants!!!!! Sorry, just “Anting”around! However, the anthills were everywhere and I mean everywhere and huge yes absolutely ENORMOUS!!!!!!

Just outside Mareeba we saw a sign for “Coffee Works” and as it was the right time of the morning we turned off for a morning brew. Expecting to find a coffee farm with a café we were astounded to find a rather large warehouse with all kinds of quirky things at the entrance. As we ventured further we found ourselves in an Emporium like no other. Yes there was a lovely café and yes we had a lovely cup of locally grown coffee, Black Mountain, accompanied by a two delicious home made pastries, that was ONE each to clarify. Not only did they have all these beautiful gifts to purchase and a separate coffee tasting area they had an AMAZING chocolaterie. (That is where they make the chocolates, but spell-check doesn’t have that word yet.) Tasting was free!!!!! Yes freeeeeee!!!!! However, you never get out of one of those free chocolate tastings without purchasing something. Wine yes, chocolate no! How could you not buy the dark chocolate covered, locally grown, coffee beans?????? Yummeeeeeeee!!!!

Unfortunately, we had to leave and with our DCCCB’s (Dark Chocolate Covered Coffee Beans, for those that don’t do acronyms) stowed safely away in a cool place.

Back on the road our next stop was the famous, very large Curtain Fig Tree. This tree is located where Ngadjon-Jii people were the stewards of the land. The Curtain Fig Tree is formed by a fig seed dropped into a host tree’s upper limbs, germinates and sends a root to the ground. The fig tree is then nourished from this root and subsequently sends out aerial roots, which encircle the host tree, eventually killing it. The host tree then falls into a neighbouring tree at an angle. Vertical roots then descend from the fig tree’s trunk creating a curtain-like appearance. The host tree then rots away leaving the freestanding fig tree. Also in the rainforest here are Tree Kangaroos who live their entire lives in the treetops, rarely venturing to the forest floor. Unfortunately we were not privy to see any.

Our next stop was Yungaburra. This quaint little town in the Tablelands has many historic buildings and is listed by the National Trust. We had hoped to go also to the green crater, lake at Mt. Hypipamee and Millaa Millaa for the spectacular waterfalls but as it was not actually en-route we had to press on to Holloways Beach, Cairns.

We arrived at our accommodation “The Billabong” only to discover that the villa we had requested was double booked with someone already ensconced therein. This was the first glitch of our trip and hopefully our last. As luck would have it they phoned a resort just a short distance away and we managed to get a beautiful one-bedroom condo, at a better price, with both an ocean and pool view. The resort “The Cairns Beach Resort” was truly an oasis. The people were friendly, helpful and went out of their way to assist us. We also had a huge flock of Black Cockatoos that resided in a tree across the road. They are quite magnificent, hard to photograph and soooooo………NOISY!!!!!

The following day, Friday, we left early for our scenic, historic train trip to Kuranda, a little village way up high in the rainforest. Built originally for the mines it now transports just tourists. We embarked at Freshwater Station and travelled through beautiful scenery, but being in the rainforest it rained and some of the distant views were obscured by low cloud. We stopped at Barron Falls Station for a photo opportunity, around ten minutes and then continued our journey to Kuranda. Kuranda is lovely, very high up in the mountains with lots of arts and crafts, both aboriginal and Australian. Lots of paintings, carvings, opals, leatherwork and Ozzie Hats of which Jim bought one made of Kangaroo Hide. You can buy anything leather from calf to crocodile and others in between. You can even buy tanned cane toads and not from them being out too long in the sun. They were $5.00. I should have bought one but they are so ugly. We left Kuranda around 2pm and descended on the Skyrail which takes you back down over the tops of the trees in the rainforest. What an amazing view. Unfortunately, as we embarked on this journey down, the rainforest treated us to its best performance, which was torrential, but what else can you expect. They did have umbrellas though at each of the viewing stations. It was a full day so we just stayed at the condo and had a ham and smoked salmon salad for dinner.

Our plan for Saturday was to drive along the coast visiting various beaches, but the morning didn’t lend itself for beaching, driving or anything else except sitting on our sheltered verandah and watch the storms roll in from the ocean. Quite spectacular. Later that afternoon we managed to escape and do an abbreviated version but it still rained, just not quite as hard. That evening we went to the Boat Club at a place called Yorky’s Knob for dinner. We had a great table right by the quay and the food was superb. Their special on a Saturday evenings, is a dozen fresh oysters for $10.00. Jim couldn’t resist. I had a lovely soup and then we both enjoyed Garlic Prawns for our Main Course. This was our last night in Cairns so it was back to the condo to pack, for an early departure to the airport the next morning and fly off to Alice Springs in the Northern Territories.

Giant Ant Hill

Jim at Coffee Works Cafe

Coffee Works Emporium

The Curtain Fig

Yungaburra Hotel

Barbara at Freshwater Station

Freshwater Station

ET Call Home

The front of the train on the bend

The back of the train on the bend

View from the train

Jim & Barbara on the train

Barron Falls from the train

Barbara

Aboriginal Art Centre - Kuranda

Barbara with new friend - Kuranda

Barron Falls from the Skyrail

Jim in the rainforest

Rainforest from Skyrail descent

The nearest we will get to a Cassowarie

Rainforest from Skyrail viewing lookout

Black Cockatoo

Black Cockatoos - Holloways Beach

Cairns Beach Resort - Pool

Holloways Beach

The Red Centre ………………. and THE OUTBACK!!!!

Boy that was a lot for three days…………………

Port Douglas,

We had a pleasant drive up to Port Douglas stopping en-route, at a fruit stall, to purchase some lovely fresh fruit. Six mangoes were $5.00 and three avocados $2.00. We also bought Rambutans, somewhat like Lychees, delicious along with a pineapple and everything was so fresh.

We arrived in Port Douglas around 6pm to find a beautiful, peaceful, quiet resort. Our unit was very large and we were not far from the free form swimming pool, which has a tranquil waterfall that can be heard from the balcony. In fact there are two balconies, one at the front and a huge one at the back. Once again we listen to the birds chattering away and watch the fruit bats fly over in the evening. Another tropical paradise and the weather glorious. Cyclone Tim veered further south and that was just fine with us.

Our first day we spent purchasing a few groceries, a stop at reception to discuss tours and a walk to a nearby resort, that was absolutely unbelievable, for coffee. The lower apartments had direct access right into the swimming pool, which has to be one of the largest we have ever seen, one acre in size. The resort is called Sea Temple. From here we walked to Four Mile Beach with hardly a soul to be seen. The water was flat calm, the sand smooth as silk and the jellyfish await the unsuspecting. Such a shame!!!

After walking back to our apartment we drove back into town and booked some trips. We were able to secure spots on The Lady Douglas for the sunset river- boat cruise and at 4:30 pm set sail up The Dickson Inlet. We were hoping to see saltwater crocodiles and were rewarded with two. The first was languishing on the mud bank and was fairly small at around six feet. The second was in the water and much larger at around 13 feet in length. He used to be the dominant male but had recently been displaced by a larger male croc. Saltwater crocodiles are a protected species and tend to be solitary and very territorial. We also saw a pair of white-bellied sea eagles, which were truly magnificent who feed on the abundant carp in the inlet. We were also lucky to see rifle fish, also known as archer fish, that lurk beneath the mangroves and spout jets of water onto unsuspecting insects on the branches above, which then fall into the water for their supper. At the end of our trip we were treated to a beautiful sunset over the Queensland Mountains. Back at the apartment we enjoyed a scrumptious meal of Green Lipped Mussels and Banana Prawns that were straight from the trawler that morning. It was a great end to a beautiful day. They say in Queensland “If it is a beautiful day today, tomorrow will be perfect.” I like that saying.

Monday we drove to the Daintree Rainforest another World Heritage site. The weather was “perfect” and luckily so, as days like these only occur about thirty times a year here. Although not a long journey it took a long time due to the narrow, winding mountainous roads and the ferry crossing of the Daintree River, which is very wide and full of saltwater crocodiles. The trees and the undergrowth were very dense and the beaches were breathtakingly beautiful. Along the road we encountered signs for Cassowaries crossing, but unfortunately we didn’t manage to see any. They are very large, pre-historic like birds as tall as a human and very colourful. They are also very dangerous if cornered and can kill with one kick of a foot with its enormous razor-like claw. Crocs sound almost tame. At least your gone in one gulp and not split asunder. After our magical drive, where we saw an emerald dove and other small birds, lovely butterflies we arrived in Daintree Village. The river cruises start at this point but as we had already done one on the Dickson Inlet we opted not to go. However, we were told that in the river upstream there was a dead pig and two large crocs feeding on it. With the ferocity of their jaws it would probably have been long gone before we reached them. Back at the resort we had a welcoming cuppa and a sublimic dip in the pool. Later we feasted on Moreton Bay Bugs (like lobsters) with a Thermidor sauce, a fresh salad and a nice glass of vino. As Fred would have said – ‘ansome!!!

Tuesday we drove just a short distance to Mossman Gorge, Daintree National Park and still very much part of the World Heritage Rainforest. We arrived at the interpretive centre and rode the shuttle up to the gorge entrance. The first part of the trail is a boardwalk so as not to disturb the fragile environment. As it is rainforest, the boardwalks are uniquely constructed to be non-slip. Just as well with people like me around. From the boardwalk we crossed over Rex Creek on the suspension Bridge, a little bouncy!!!! From here the forest trail wends its way through dense undergrowth on a circuit of around 2 kilometres. The forest is so deafeningly silent except for the birds’ way, way up in the treetops and when the cicadas love song begins in earnest. The trees are soooo….. tall and some of them have roots known as buttresses for stability. There are all kinds of roots some of which descend like ropes. The butterflies are huge and the fungi amazingly beautiful. We were lucky to complete our hike without getting wet………….. well, almost. Just as we arrived back at the shuttle terminal the Rainforest treated us to its very best performance. No need for an encore. No bus shelter and in less than a few minutes we were soaked to the skin, literally. We had to wait 15 minutes for the OPEN-sided shuttle and when we arrived back to our condo we rang out all of our clothes including our underwear. After drying off and with better weather we went for a stroll in Port Douglas and bumped into some people that were staying at our resort on Magnetic Island, while we there. We arranged to meet them the following evening for dinner.

Wednesday, we left early to catch the Quicksilver from Mirage Marina, Port Douglas. Once settled on board we began our journey to the Agincourt 3 Reef, which is in close proximity to the Continental Shelf on the Great Barrier Reef. We left Port Douglas in our wake and at great speed we traversed the Coral Sea to our destination, arriving 90 minutes later. We disembarked from the vessel onto the platform where you could scuba dive, snorkel, board the semi-submersibles and also go to the underwater viewing platform. Jim had a great time snorkeling with enormous fish, turtles and colourful tropical fish. Note the stinger suit he was wearing. I elected to stay dry and took two trips on the semi-sbmersibles. The coral and the fish were absolutely amazing but unfortunately without special lenses and the fact that the fish forget to pose, pictures were not the greatest. We had a superb lunch on-board the vessel and wandered at will on board the platform when not doing activities. The weather was superb once again and the wind only increased slightly as we left Agincourt behind. We arrived back to Port Douglas around 4:30pm and headed back to the resort where I went straight to the pool for a swim. Later that evening we met Connie and Darren, our new friends who live at Lake Macquarie, NSW and had a very pleasant time.