Author: wisteria3

 

The next part of our journey was directly west of Townsville. We had had difficulty getting accommodation in Winton and had to delay our trip for this reason, staying in Townsville. This had actually turned out to be a great thing. We had also had to find somewhere to stay before Winton, and as Hughenden was also booked out, Paul noticed a small dot on the map, 45 kms before Hughenden, called Prairie. There was only the hotel for accommodation so he rang and it appeared we could have 1 of the 2 motel rooms. We said yes, not knowing what we were going to get.
The trip took us back out through Charters Towers and we had coffee again at the cafe in the old Stock Exchange Building. Then another 2 ½ hours to Prairie. We had travelled a long way without seeing any sign of activity on the land – no cattle, sheep, crops, even emus or kangaroos. There had been a lot of very long trucks – mostly with 3 trailers but some with 4. Overtaking was a tricky thing as there was always something coming the other way. This is the direct route to Mt Isa.
We arrived at Prairie. A real dot on the map. There was a small school (total enrolment of 15), a couple of houses and the pub. It was one of those corrugated iron buildings with a hitching rail out the front (with old saddles on it), kegs for tables and some flowers. Cute in a messy outback style. We walked to the door and Tom looked up from his coffee. Yes, he did have a room, yes he’d get the key. I asked if they did dinner, yes they did. Not a lot of communication. Anyway we checked out our room and were grateful that it was quite good inside, despite outside appearances. Around 5 we wandered into the bar for a beer. There were already 3 at the bar (turned out to be mannequins). The bar had hats over the roof and walls and there were bits and pieces of everything everywhere. Tom was watching Millionaire Hot Seat, but managed to get us a beer. Shortly after John came in. He worked for Elders and was staying overnight in the other unit. We got chatting and were soon joined by another couple, Colin and Joy, who were staying in their caravan out the back of the hotel. We all asked if anyone knew much about dinner. Noone did. Joy said they were just told to be in the bar by 6. We were soon joined by Andrea, Tom’s wife. She was friendly but didn’t want to answer questions about living in the pub, their life outback etc etc. she said everyone asks these questions. She did tell us that they have 3 daughters, Lily 14 who has to go to boarding school in Charters Towers, but that she drives her there very early Mon mornings so she can have normal weekends with the family. Then there was Bella 11 and Cherry nearly 8, who go to the small school. She said she had lived out here since the 1990s. Anyway she excused herself to get dinner and we chatted on. Around 6.30 she announced dinner was served. We moved to the room next door, the dining room. One of the girls stood waving us in! There were several tables but one seating 12 was set for the 5 of us and our meals were sitting there. It was chicken schnitzel, chips and salad. The room looked good (not sure about in the daylight). There was a huge chandelier above the table and candles on the table. All around were bits and pieces from grandma’s house. The 5 of us had a very pleasant time – just like we were at a dinner party.
It was not a quiet night. There was the goods railway on the otherside of the road, parallel to it, with several trains running by through the night. Then there were the big trucks, still rattling through all night. They didn’t worry Paul too much, but I heard a lot of them, the worst being around 4am when one stopped right outside and left the engine running for at least ½ hour. All I could guess was that he had stopped here for a shower (they had showers and toilets outside for the other 2 rooms they had available). Anyway, eventually he took off. My other problem was when I went to the toilet in the night and found a green tree frog in the toilet! I didn’t even wake Paul, tried to take a photo and he disappeared into the water??
That was Prairie, a great experience of outback Australia. Glad we did it.

Our motel room at the Prairie Hotel – one of 2 motel units

 

 

 

We left our accommodation in Mission Beach and stopped at the local Rotary markets. They were in the park fronting the beach, pretty location. An interesting collection of stalls, Paul particularly liked the coffee stall The grower from South Johnston was there with his wife, both of them old, a basic coffee machine, a long time making Paul’s double shot, but apparently according to Paul, great coffee and he bought a bag.
We had decided to get to Palm Cove via the Atherton Tablelands, rather than up the coast. This made the trip about 3 ½ hours, without stops, rather than 2 ½. What a good decision.
We set off through El Arish and then across the river to South Johnstone, missing Innisvail. This is real sugar cane country – the road constantly crossed by rail tracks from the sugar trains. It’s even called the Cane Cutters Way. The land was undulating, green and very pretty. We even passed a tea plantation. As we continued, the road began to wind and climb and the temperature dropped to 14 degrees. We were now on the tablelands and rolling hills. No sugar but now cattle. We stopped at Millaa Millaa Falls. These were pretty good – 18.3m high and quite wide. With 2.3 meters of annual rain, there was plenty in them.

Travelling through more green rolling hills we reached Malanda and another waterfall. This one was not as high but had plenty of water falling. A concrete pool had been constructed at it’s base and there was even a ladder to help with entry. The water didn’t look that inviting – murky and a bottom of unknown condition. However, as we walked to it, a man had just gotten out. A notice board said that this had been a favourite place for servicemen in WW2, and I guess my father would have enjoyed it. He had a fondness for this area after being stationed here for some time in the war.

Next stop had to be the Curtain Fig tree near Yungaburra. We had walked around the base of it when last here, a long time ago. Now of course you walk around it on a boardwalk, but it is still very impressive. The sheer width and height are spectacular.

Curtain Fig Tree

Next stop was Atherton, a biggish town but very lacking in coffee shops, particularly on a Sunday. We stopped at the one with cars outside, actually the only one we found. It was a messy place – the back half appeared to be a fabric store, the front half had a counter and then a few tables inside and some more outside. We had just coffee (worst and most expensive for a long time), but a couple of men sitting next to us had hamburgers. They (and we) couldn’t believe what arrived. It was like a full mixed grill on a hamburger, still with the egg, cheese, beetroot etc, held together by 2 skewers stuck into it – 7 or 8 inches high. They really didn’t know what to do with it!!
We left Atherton, heading for Mareeba, passing a big wind farm on the tops of some hills. No electricity today, they weren’t moving. As we were on the tablelands, it was flat again and there was sugar again, bananas and avocados. It is a very fertile area. There had been ads for the Coffee House, at Mareeba, so we thought we should check it out and maybe find some lunch. This was a serious business. A huge shed, transformed into various spaces – cafe, chocolate room, coffee products, gifts and more. You could do a tour of the plantation. We had lunch and Paul bought some freshly ground coffee – he had the choice of more than a dozen types. Unfortunately the bad coffee from Atherton meant he wasn’t feeling like another yet.
Mareeba became Kuranda and then the steep descent to Cairns. The road is very winding and drops quickly, the sky gondola passing above the road. It takes people up to Kuranda. The road spits you out at Smithfield, north of Cairns and we stopped at this very big shopping complex for a few supplies.
There is now a divided road north, passing Trinity Beach, Clifton Beach and Yorkey’s Knob before Palm Cove. We are staying at Palm Cove and found our accommodation easily. It is in a great position, opposite the beach at the southern end. It has been built in several blocks around a large, beautifully landscaped area that includes a meandering pool. They have left the paper bark trees, many coming up through the timber decking. Little areas have been set aside with tables and chairs, screened from other spaces by luxurious vegetation. I guess it’s easy to grow things here. We have a 2 bedroom apartment which is very comfortable. Plenty of room for the 2 of us. Not sure if there were 4 how it would go. The second bedroom, quite small, is really a glassed room off the main bedroom. We had bought a lamb rack to roast, thinking this would be an easy dinner. The blurb on the internet said we had a full kitchen. Well, we have a microwave/inverter oven and no instruction manual. There is also nothing to cook with for the microwave. Luckily we travel with our ‘bits and pieces’, not having needed much so far. Out came our microwave safe bowl, and a few other things. Paul managed to cook the rack with a lot of attention as it kept stopping. It was actually a lovely dinner. Tried another night to cook some crumbed stuffed chicken breasts.  Paul had downloaded the manual for the oven.  We baked it for 35 mins, then grilled for 10 mins – still not cooked and not browned.  Next was the frypan and a few minutes in that, followed by a quick microwave to make sure they were cooked through.  Remarkably they still tasted good, but not sure about this oven.  The next night we tried dumplings from a restaurant underneath and they were delicious.
Palm Cove is still a beautiful place. The accommodation has been built along the road fronting the beach. Lots of palms and paper barks are on both sides of the road – the beach and integrated into the developments. So attractive. The buildings are in a variety of styles but many have an old Colonial feel about them. There are lots of eating places attached to the buildings, mostly with open air spaces. Not sure how they all survive. It was Sunday, and several had live music – we saw a singing duo, a band playing jazz and then a troupe – couple of guys singing and playing instruments and 3 women doing crazy dancing – and they were not young. All lots of fun.

Huge free form pool where we are staying.  Decking has been built around the trees.

A new day and we decided to drive to Port Douglas, about 40 mins further north.  This has to be one of the most beautiful drives you can do.  From Palm Cove, the road hugs the water and the rainforest meets the road.  It is a very twisting road and each turn brings new views north up the coast – sweeps of beach and mountains.

 

We drove into Port Douglas and were surprised how much it has grown since we were last there.  The road runs 4 kms from the highway, out to the town and along most of this route are various types of accommodation – ranging from the big resorts, including the Mirage (old Christopher Skase’s development) to smaller blocks of townhouses and units.  The road is lined with majestic palms, thanks to Christopher, and this turns it into something special.  After 4km the road turns to the right, to the beach and the beginning of 4 Mile Beach, and to the left, through the shopping precinct and down to the marina. We parked the car and walked the long stretch of shops.  It was an interesting collection – old hotels that had been renovated but still retained their tropical ‘roughness’, plenty of restaurants, surf shops, a few very upmarket jewellery shops and many tourist shops and tour booking sites.  One small road to the side seemed to be predominantly food places and we chose one for coffee and cake.  Where we had parked our car was a park adjoining the water and then the marina.  There was a delightful church, St Mary’s Sitting by the Sea, in the middle, shaded by big trees.  It was a non-denominational church available for weddings.  When you stepped inside, it had a window at the front that framed a view right up the coast.  Wow!  We drove to the lookout above town that gave a great view down Four Mile Beach and then drove down to the beach. There were quite a lot of people on the beach and a few were swimming.  We have not seen many people swimming, not sure why as the water is warm – 24 degrees.

St Mary’s Sitting by the Sea in the park at Port Douglas.  The view through the window in the church is right up the coast.  It is available for weddings, baptisms etc.

We returned to Palm Cove and had a drive around the Coral Coast Resort, a place we have memories of from almost 30 years ago.  The buildings look just as they did then, which is good as it shows they have been maintained.  The pools are all there but a parcel of land has been sold off for housing and now 100 homes occupy the land. Somehow it doesn’t seem to have detracted from the place.  A new hotel chain manages the whole place – Grand Chancellor.

We spent the next 3 days enjoying Palm Cove. They were erecting fencing at the northern end of the beach, next to the caravan park. We found out that the Asia Pacific Ironman Triathlon was to be held on Sunday. The 3.8km swim will be along the beachfront, then they transition to their bikes and ride 180km  up to Port Douglas and then down to Cairns. This is followed by a full marathon around Cairns. Phew! To enable this to take place, they are closing the Cook Highway on Sunday between Cairns and Port Douglas. That is the only road north so for towns like Palm Cove and then north, they are trapped for the day. The TV news says that this event is the biggest money maker for Far North Queensland. We also saw on the news that 100 of China’s best triathletes had flown in, keen to compete in such a scenic area and enjoy clean air. It will certainly be scenic – this is the most beautiful stretch of coastline and I am sure helicopters will be taking full advantage. Around Palm Cove they have been busy tidying up grounds around places and trimming dead leaves from palm trees.

We tried out some of the coffee shops, walked the winding pathways, I swam in the pool – no other people as water was cool. Everyone was lounging around the pool. We did have a hitch, Paul went out to the car to get something and found we had a flat tyre! He insisted on changing it himself as he wanted to make sure he knew how, in case it happened when we were in a more isolated place. A person who saw him, suggested a Beaurepairs in Smithfield so we set off in search of it. They said they’d look at it. The following day they reported that the side wall had a puncture – Paul was not happy as the tyres were all new to come away, with special thicker side walls, and we had not been off road. Anyway we had no choice but to buy another new tyre and have it fitted. We were lucky we had the time and we were somewhere big.

Speaking of big, once you drive south 15 mins to Smithfield, you are in suburbia with a very big shopping complex and traffic and lots of roundabouts. The new development taking place means that it will only get worse. Subdivisions are replacing open greenspace.

The night of State of Origin we took ourselves for a walk along the beachfront to check out how busy the restaurants were, before the game. It was sooo quiet. We checked the following night and things were busy. Interesting.

 

 

 

This is the start of another one of our Odyssey trips.  We have had an appointment in Townsville for almost a year and had been prepared to fly up and back, but have decided that we have the luxury of a holiday with no set date to return, so we will embark on a road trip north.  We have planned the first 17 days, mostly because they are to places we really want to make sure we can visit, then it will be a case of where we choose to wander.