Off from Cardwell , northwards to Mareeba . Todays drive takes us up the coast through Tully and Babinda . This part was raining , but not too heavy , just consistent , more annoying than anything else - it didn't last too long .
Tully sugar mill was in full swing , as all mills are at the moment .
The dominant industry is still sugarcane , but we started seeing more pineapple's and banana's - some places they were all beside each other .
Babindah is a place we will come back to and investigate , so much potential . Before we knew it we'd arrived at Gordonvale , one of Cairn's southern suburbs , and the traffic had increased markedly. Manoeuvring our way through Cairn's was going to be easy , follow the road north & basically bypass Cairn's city - we followed the signs and before long we found ourselves going straight in towards the city - hmmm that didn't go as planned !! We turned off the main road and headed along a few back roads finding our way back to the main road near the turn off to the Botanic Gardens . Traffic lights seemed to be all red & roundabouts flat out , we got to Smithfield and turned toward Kuranda - a 12klm climb up the mountain !! Remembering the road as we went up , utilising the slow vehicle turnouts to allow traffic to pass , we cruised up in 2nd gear easily . At the top we passed Rainforest Station , a very busy spot today , many cars & buses parked . Pulling off the road we stopped beside Barron Falls Rd for some lunch before continuing on to Mareeba , where we will stay & organise ourselves for another drive later in the week .
Sunday 6/8/17
6:50 am we wake to strange sounds outside , sounded like someone washing their car with a high pressure hose ?? Then there's the people talking , so up we get to see what's going on , much to disgust - sleep was good !! not anymore though , 5 hot air balloons floated above us , by the time I found the camera 4 of them had disappeared , one however was just across from us and was descending rapidly with burners on full blast , next minute it was on the ground 500m from us - before we knew it , it was back in the air and floating overhead and off into the distance .
A couple parked beside us yesterday , we recognised them from when we were in Hervey Bay , they came in and parked beside us there as well !! only for the one night then though . We had some drinks with them later in the day . Here's sunset .
Monday 7/8/17
We wake to a foggy morning , but it burnt off pretty quickly . Seeing as it was a nice sunny morning, we decided to head over to Tinaroo Dam and go for a paddle . Arriving at the sailing club , the track took us down to the water , it was a long way down - 50 % apparently !! It was surprising to sea it that low , but with that there are other opportunities . With the water low , trees previously covered up , are now on show , so we could have a paddle in a huge slalom course , weaving our way in & out and around .
There are plenty of birdlife using the lake , here are some of the pelicans and cormorants .
Here's the photo's - yes , tree's and the odd bird shot , oh , and the odd reflection .
When the dam is full , the ute would be about 5m under the water !!!
It was quite warm as we paddled , and was nice to be in the shadow of a cloud every now & again , in fact the clouds started to develop quickly as we packed up and had lunch , before we'd finished lunch it was spitting rain , then the rain arrived as we drove out to Atherton .
Some shopping done in town , I decided to get a haircut , finally choosing somewhere to get the job done . Well this was a surprise , they shampoo'd and conditioned my hair , then cut it and blow dried it - then when I was all happy with it we went & paid --- $8 --- yes that's right eight dollars !!! We were both gobsmacked at the price - I can't remember when I paid that amount last - it would have been along time ago !! Their name - Atherton Hair Dressers - use them !!
Back to Mareeba and a heavy shower of rain greeted us , day done !!
Here's a map link :- https://drive.google.com/open?id=1jNTFW1FFQeKJEwQXNbiXVLM51P0&usp=sharing
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