We are in the Far North Queensland (FNQ) enjoying the warm weather (27-29 degrees in the days). We are currently based in Cairns and the day before yesterday we went crab fishing on the Trinity Inlet and not only ate loads of fresh mud crab, but we saw a couple of crocs sunning themselves on the muddy mangrove banks (see the photos link at the end of this post). Our host Tony was a typical Aussie character: he was a rough as guts, swore like a trouper and didn’t hide his racist attitudes, even to the polite but shocked Chinese guests on board. And he seemed to get more and more inebriated as the day wore on even though we didn’t see him imbibe. His little operation was so laid back that even Charlie was allowed to drive the boat for quite some time, or Tony just left the wheel alone and we would slowly swerve towards something we shouldn’t until someone raised the alarm.
Picking up from our last blog post, we left the Bundaberg district for the Yeppoon region, where we stayed at a great caravan park on the lake and causeway at the northern end of Kinka Beach. From here onwards and upwards to Mackay, which we would rather forget because the town and cara park were simply the pits (no offence to anyone born/bred there). My advice to anyone travelling the Queensland coast is to give Mackay a big miss. Then on to Airlie Beach where the cara park was a mini resort. The kids (and us grown-ups) loved it there. The next destination was Mission Beach. Another lovely region, but the thing about FNQ and its beautiful beaches is that while they are very picturesque, they are treacherous. Why? Because if the rips and currents and stingers (mainly in the summer months) don’t finish you off, the sharks and crocs will. To live near such beautiful beaches you can’t really use doesn’t make much sense to us, but we are, after all, in Queensland and the Queenslanders are a “unique” bunch.
From Airlie it was a short drive to Cairns where we were meant to stay five nights but have spent nearly two weeks here. The reason is because I’ve a debilitating and deteriorating condition in my elbows which required some cortisone injections (again) and I need to rest my arms (as much as possible and constantly moving a caravan doesn’t help). Anyway, all is ok with that for now. The cara park here is not a mini resort, it is a big resort with large resorts pools and various playgrounds and parks for the kids, so it’s a nice spot to stay put for a while. Touring the Cairns/Tablelands region is fun (and the waterways and reef), even if Liz has to drive (Liz has just told me to clarify that she drives well and I mean no inference by the earlier remark). We head off to Port Douglas for a week in a few days before making our way across the gulf to the outback (I'll be back behind the wheel for the towing).
We have taken quite a few photos over the past two or so weeks, and thought you might enjoy them. There are a couple of good ones of Liz enjoying herself in the caravan if you look carefully.
Till next time…
