Cape York - 2006

Day 22 - Cairns and the Way Home

Ian and Helen

Index

Day 22

After the rest of the group headed for Cooktown we headed for Cairns.
The drive was uneventful except for the headwind which required me to drive most of this leg in 4th gear.

We did the coffee tour at Mareeba; tour and bottomless cup of coffee for $9.50; with some 20 different coffee types to sample. When I left I was wired!!! We were unable to find accommodation in Mareeba due to a number of weddings that weekend, so we pushed on to Cairns, where accommodation was nearly as hard to find.

Unsure as to whether to camp or go a cumfy cabin, the rain on the way into Cairns made our minds up. We ended up in the same caravan park we stayed in on the way up in their last "basic" cabin. From here on in there was to be no camping so everything came off the roof rack and was packed inside to reduce drag.

Day 23

We went to Kuranda via the scenic railway, with it's spectacular views and many tunnels. The highlight had to be Stony Creek Falls where the volume of water cascading over the rocks was awesome. After two hours in Kuranda, we returned via the Skyrail. Helen collected a few more china Gheckos for her collection and I managed an icecream!!!

Day 24/25

There was just too much to see at Atherton tablelands in a day so we decided to head south a day earlier and spend the extra day with Helen's mum and sister. Paronella Park was a must see on Helen's list. The gardens were created by Jose Paronella in the 1930's and his skill and persistance is truly amazing; well worth a look. See www.paronellapark.com.au for additional information.

We ended up in Bowen for the night and then to Caloundra.

The following day was a source of embarrassment for me when I attempted to remove three tree stumps in the outlaw's back yard. Given the recent rain, a smarter man would have used a hand winch but I elected to pull them out with a drag chain.

The first two came out with no problem but when I repositioned to attack the third, the right side of the tractor sank and I was stuck. Luckily, council workers were in the street and a small tug with a backhoe extracted me to continue to remove the last stump. A few beers thanked the workers and thankfully Helen neglected to take pictures, thus removing further embarrassment (but she is still telling everyone about it!!!). MTRs didn't help me here either......

Stoney Creek Falls

A Kingfisher

Couple of the locals playing up making a racket. A worker came out and shouted "Quiet down boys, behave yourself"; and they did!! Just like kids.

Views from Kuranda Skyrail

Croc Boat doing a spotting tour

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