It's reunion time again......

and we were looking forward to a fun few days in warm Tropical North Queensland.  Last nights pre reunion dinner had been fun and a great start to a long weekend of food, fun and friends.  Oh and one more thing - freezing weather!  Townsville, and in fact, the whole of North Queensland was in the grip of a cold spell that seemed to have no end in sight.  Friday saw Townsville record its coldest day in 74 years with the temperature not moving over 16 deg.  The rain that came to town as we arrived continued to fall making it a thoroughly miserable day all round.  What a shock for the many southerners who were flying in to party.

Bill and I enjoyed the morning with Sandy and Pat, spent the afternoon dodging the rain as we shopped for items for van maintenance and that night enjoyed a fabulous night with everyone at the Australian Hotel.  A great night was had by all as we all caught up with everyone's stories since we met last time.

On Saturday morning we met for breakfast at No 51 and enjoyed lots of laughs over the huge plates of bacon, eggs and of course Coffee.  The sun was shining too and after breakfast we all went our own way to spend the day exploring Townsville.  

Cheryl and Shane spent the day with us and we had a look around The Strand before driving up to Castle Hill.  Just Metres short of a mountain the views from here are pretty special and we walked to two of the lookouts for a fabulous 360 deg look at Townsville, Magnetic Island and the surrounding area.

From here we drove out to Bowling Green National Park were we had a look at Alligator Creek.  Just south of Townsville this lovely park has a number of walk tracks though they seemed to be closed for maintenance today.  Just one short track took you down to a pretty nice swimming hole and we all enjoyed the walk and the view.

Back at home we relaxed for a short while before heading out to The Yacht Club where we all met for dinner and once again a fabulous night was had by all.  With the rain gone we dined outside on the deck and loved the gorgeous sunset.  

About now I could tell lots of stories about what went down but that old adage 'what happens on reunions stays on reunions' kicks in so you will just have to use your imagination.  

The next morning we all met at Sandy and Pat's place for a fabulous barbecue breakfast and another fun and fine morning was enjoyed by all.  It's at this point that we usually say farewell again and head for home but with most people not leaving until the next day it was decided that one more dinner was needed to round out the weekend.  We all met for dinner again that night at the Victoria Hotel and the 'post reunion' party was as successful as the pre reunion and the reunion itself.  I don't think we will need to eat again or drink again for the next week or two.

So once again the 25 Frogs Reunion was a resounding success and we have to say a huge thanks to Pat and Sandy O'Reilly for all the planning and fine tuning that went in to making the weekend the success it was.  I know everyone had a great time.

On Monday the rain returned just as Bill, with Pats help, did some jobs on the van.  I caught up on some chores and washing (hoping it would dry).  Sandy cooked a fabulous dinner and we enjoyed it with Graeme and Karin who were staying on for a few extra days.  The next day we prepared everything in readiness to leave the next morning and after another lovely dinner with Pat and Sandy said goodbye and thank you for a fabulous few days with them.

We left on Wednesday morning and drove on to Ingham where we were going to camp at Tyto Wetlands for a couple of days with the birds.  On arrival we discovered the camping area closed due to all the rain having flooded the grounds.  Other camps in the area were waterlogged and closed too but the girl at the Visitor Centre told us of a campground at the Ashton Hotel in Long Pocket 23 km away.  We went to see and stayed for three nights as we waited for the weather to change.

The old hotel is one of a growing network of country pubs offering free or cheap sites out the back for travellers.  Popping in for a drink or a meal helps keep them in business and is a great way to meet the locals and fellow travelers.  We did both and met a lovely young French girl travelling around the country for a year.  Layla was on her own but seemed quite happy and confident to travel this way.

The next morning we woke to slate grey skies and more rain but decided to drive into Ingham to try the wetlands anyway.  We had a coffee on arrival but with the rain still falling decided it would be a waste of time and returned home for a quiet day in.  Thank goodness for puzzle books and online jigsaws!

The next day saw the sun poke through the clouds and so we went into sightseeing mode as we drove up to Wallaman Falls in Girrigun National Park.  These falls are said to be the longest single drop falls in Australia and at a height of 268 Metres are pretty spectacular.  

There are a number of walks here the longest being the 2km walk to the bottom of the falls.  We didn't do this but did do the short walk to the gorge lookout.  While walking through the park we saw the brilliant blue Ulysses butterflies on the red bottlebrush.  There were so many of them and just as many people with cameras aimed to try for the perfect picture.  Of course Bill was front and centre.

After lunch Bill returned to the wetlands to see what he could find and I stayed home catching up on chores and all things Rhossietalk.  The sun shone during the afternoon making the view from the porch look so much nicer.  We were camped beside fields of Sugar Cane most of which was ready for harvest though because of all the rain it was too wet to strip.  The sugar mills had closed down until it dries out and they were not expecting to start work again for another couple of weeks.  

Everywhere we drove we saw the cane trains all ready to load but no work yet.  Apparently it was going to wipe thousands and thousands of $ from the growers income.  So while the farmers elsewhere are rejoicing because the rain continues to fall the cane growers are just wanting it to stop.

The next morning the sun was shining again and it was time for us to move on again.  We drove into Ingham and did a bit of shopping before heading up the road towards Innisfail.  Just before Cardwell we found Five Mile Creek and drove in to have a look.  This lovely picnic spot started life as a meatworks built by the Cardwell Meat and Preserving in 1895 and closed in 1902.   It is now a fabulous swimming hole which locals and visitors love.  We walked down for a look but were not tempted to join the kids as they all said it was cold in.  Didn't seem to stop them though!

Leaving them enjoy their swim we were going to head inland and see if we could catch up with Nancye and Bob, our friends from Perth, who were staying in Malanda but didn't want to drive up in one day.  So where to stay.  We consulted wiki camps and came up with another pub camp at Garradunga a few km past Innisfail.

Right in the middle of sugar cane and banana plantations this tiny town seems to consist of just the pub but with just one site left it was full of life.  We settled in to the last site and enjoyed our possie beside the chook pen, thankfully no roosters, and the rusted hull of a large boat.  We decided that it may have been 'the ark' so we would be fine it the rain started again.  A couple of drinks before dinner paid our 'fees' and we met some our fellow campers.  It was a fun few hours.

The next morning we were interested to see that the Sugar Cane harvest had begun here.  Some trains were full and ready to go while others were being loaded as the big 'slashing' machine did its job.

We made our way up to Malanda in the Tablelands stopping along the way at Millaa Millaa to have a quick look at this little town.  In the local park we found this statue commemorating Christie Palmerston and his Aboriginal companion, Pompo who travelled with him with five years. 

 

In 1882 he was the first European to find and make a feasible track through 90 km of continuous rainforest between Innisfail and Herberton.  The Palmerston Hwy on which we were travelling closely follows the original track.  He was also the first European to scale Bartle Frere which at 1622 Metres is Queensland's highest mountain.

Soon after we arrived in Malanda and camped beside Nancye and Bob in the Malanda Falls Caravan Park.  We had a wonderful afternoon with them firstly visiting the beautiful Malanda Falls next to the park.  This small waterfall and swimming pool is often known as the beginning of the waterfall circuit here.  There are 13 waterfalls in the area but we might have to leave most of them until next time.  

We then drove out to Wongabel State Forest where we were thrilled to find our first Victoria's Rifle Bird high above us in the forest.  Sorry no pics as he flew off before Bill could get a good photo.

Back at home Bob lit the campfire and we spent the next few hours catching up on each other's travels since we last saw each other.  With drinks, nibbles and good friends it was a lovely way to spend the evening.  

We said goodbye to Nancye and Bob the next morning as they were moving on and we were staying to have a look around the tablelands.  Last year when we were here the weather was appalling and many of the places the birds were missed as they didn't like the rain.  So with the sun shining we were hoping for lots of pictures of the birds of this area.

The morning started well as the Eastern Whipbird came to visit us at home and Bill got this gorgeous photo.  The Spotted Catbird came visiting too but Bill is not so pleased with that one.  Maybe he will come back tomorrow.   After a trip to the Visitor Centre we left armed with maps and directions to where we may be successful.

Our first stop was The Bromfield Swamp.  A beautiful view of this swamp which lies in an old volcanic crater which is said to have formed around 7 million years ago.  Unfortunately the lookout is too far away to be able to see many birds but well worth a look anyway. 

Our next stop was Mount Hypipamee National Park were we walked down to see our second waterfall.  Dinner Falls is a series of drops cascading from the head waters of the Barron River which makes its way through world heritage rainforest to the world heritage reef.  

Bill went in search of the Golden Bowerbird known to be here but although he found its very intricate bower the bird remained elusive.  Perhaps we'll try again tomorrow.

After lunch we drove to Lake Eacham in Crater Lakes National Park.  This volcanic lake is said to have been formed 12,000 years ago and fringed with rainforest is a spectacular place to visit.  We did the 3 km circuit walk and really enjoyed seeing the lake, fish and Sawback turtles in the crystal clear water.  Not too many birds came to play though.

We spent the next day between Mount Hypipamee National Park looking for the elusive Golden Bowerbird again and Wongabel State Forest where we did the 2.2 km walk.  No luck with bird but we enjoyed the walk through the forest.  We stopped for a short while at Hasties Swamp where we found it swarming with Magpie Geese and Whistling Ducks.

We returned home to relax under the awning after first stopping in town to take a few pictures, one of the lovely old Malanda Hotel, reputed to be the largest timber hotel in Australia.  

We enjoyed our few days here and just like last year found the Atherton Tablelands to be a truly lovely area to spend some time in.

The next morning after the Spotted Catbird came to visit we packed up and left this very nice little park.  We drove the short distance to Mareeba where we stopped and camped for a couple of days at 'Birds on Barron'.  This is a large property owned by a lovely young couple who have opened it up to travellers for a small fee per night.  We enjoyed the friendly horses and the resident emu that visited each afternoon as we camped among the fruit trees.  

Bill found a few Bush Stone Curlews as he walked along the river banks during each afternoon.  

So it's from a very tranquil Mareeba that we'll leave you this time while we consult the maps and see where to head to next.  Somewhere north, still in search of the sun, of that you can be sure but stay tuned and see where we come to you from next time

until then........