Seisa

We arrived at Seisa, 40km south of the tip of Cape York.   Our home for the next 5 days.   North of the Jardine River, the area is known as the Northern Peninsula Area.  The population is a mix of Aboriginal, Islander, European and Asian.   Seisa is Islander, Bamaga (7km down the road) is a mix of about 4-5 Islander groups, Injinoo, Umagico and New Mapoon, also just down from Seisa  are Aboriginal communities.   The culture in the area is strong and people continue to practice their traditions in everyday life.
 

Weipa to Seisa

 From Weipa we headed back the way we had come for a bit and then took a detour thru Batavia Downs Cattle Station.  This is a shortcut and the road was in

really good condition.   Lots of small creek crossings and cattle grids.   Lots of cattle grazing along the roadsides and they didnt give a stuff.  Used to the traffic, it was their territory after all.   The pictures are of termite mounds.   There are a zillion out here.   Red and brown, depending on the dust.   The view below is of them scattered thru the forest like little statues.   We had decided to do breakfast on the road at one of the roadhouses as we needed to fill up with fuel anyway.   Our fuel prices ranged from $1.65/lt to $2.45/lt.   for unleaded on this trip..   Bramwell Roadhouse. -    Rick fancied an egg and bacon roll, but the $12 price tag put us off, a  toasted sandwich and a cup of coffee  for two set us back $20.   Captive market.   This place was jumping and making a killing with 3 off road tour buses pulling in behind us.   Everyone bought hot food and drinks.   From Bramwell, the road deteriorated quickly and it was much harder going.   The corrugations were pretty rugged and we were constantly being showered with dust with the 4WDs coming back from the Tip.     When we got to the Jardine River, it was necessary to take a car ferry across.  $129 return for a ferry ride that would take no more than 2 minutes to complete.    They have a captive market once again.   Raking in the $$$$$$$.  With this river crossing you simply have no choice, there is no other way to cross the river.

Weipa

The road between Laura and Weipa, all dirt, rock, sand and corrugations wasnt as bad as we thought it might be.    We were happy enough to sit on around the 80-95kmh mark, but we were very happy to get to Weipa and try and escape the dust.  Our campspot was right on the waterfront of Albatross Bay.   Lovely spot, once again a tempting spot for swimming but croc warning signs in place and a local who had been at the pub told us there was definitely a resident croc in the waters near the pub.   Folk lore has it that one of the patrons decided to walk home along the beach and never made it.   Could be an urban myth .

Weipa is the site of the worlds largest bauxite mine (the main component for the manufacture of aluminium)  The town has a population of around 3,500.  Had a look at Lorim Point where you can view the loading operations and storage areas of the bauxite.  Its not an attractive town, mostly its all about mining. You can do a mine tour, but we went keen.    Had done enough of them.   We saw a couple of very pretty lakes, a few modern buildings, but the rest was uninspiring.    People seem to come here for the same reason as us, just to see it.  To break their journey.  Or to fish.   The sunsets are legendary but we were busy having a happy hour with some Tasmanians and missed it.    We had a great nights sleep, clean and fresh.  What a difference a hot shower can make to your attitude.    Once again, we were awake so early it wasnt funny.   Decided to forgo breakfast and just hit the road and have something at one of the roadhouses as we had to stop for fuel anyway.    Next stop was Seisa, our camp spot for the next 4 nights.   Our destination to the TIP.

The start of the trip - Lakelands to Laura to Coen

We camped up at the Lakelands Caravan Park and got the car packed and ready to go.   Man it was a tight squeeze, we seemed to have so much stuff for such a short trip.  Lakelands is a tiny blip on the map, a roadhouse, caravan park, pub and coffeeshop.   Lots of crops are grown out this way, pawpaw, sunflower, teak, sandalwood, watermelon, African Mahogany, passionfruit, watermelon and 3 large banana farms.   All or most requiring farmhands (mostly backpackers, there were 24 at our caravan park alone, plus many farms have onsite accommodation).   The start of our journey takes us to Laura,  60km of bitumen up ahead. So far so good.  Love that bitumen road.  Nearby is Lakefield Nat. Park which we were told was quite beautiful but we didnt visit this time around.   Just out of Laura is Quinkan, world famous aboriginal rock art sites.   We pulled in to do a self guided walk, saw it was all uphill and gave it a miss.   Just out of Laura, the dirt road begins and this is I guess what we came for.    Dust, dust and more dust.   Every time a car passed us our windscreen was obliterated and there were times when we just didnt know where the road was.   We got stuck behind a few trucks as well that made it even worse.  Too unsafe to pass and just had to wait for them to give us a signal to do so.   The friendly emu was at one of the roadhouses we stopped for coffee.  The biscuit tin was buried who knows where in the car, so we shared a Cadbury Chocolate Boost bar with it.   Not sure it was a healthy choice but the emu didnt object.    Rick had chosen to drive on this dirt road with his window DOWN.   Big Big mistake.    By the time we got to our overnite camp spot, we were both red with dust.  Clothes, my hair,  his beard, inside of the car and most of our belongings. We didnt realise how dirty we were, happily chatting to our fellow campers before we actually had a good look at each other.  Couldnt help but laugh.  What they must have thought.  Rick couldnt understand why!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  we were so dirty.   Anyway we pulled up by the river at Coen.   We hade come around 300km I think by this stage and I could see that Rick was pretty much stuffed.  Wouldnt admit it though.   Out came the tent and the challenge was to remember how to put it together.    There were a few choice words spoken, at one stage the tent was going to be pitched in the river, but we calmed down, got our act together and got our camp set up.   Yay.   The water looked tempting for a paddle as we were thick with dust and our feet were putrid, but a fellow camper had almost trodden on a snake at the river, so we gave that a miss.    Had a nice happy hour, cooked dinner and went to bed at 7.30 !!!!!!!!!Yikes.    Woke up the next morning to rain.   Great. What a start.   It was only 5.45 and we were wide awake.   We cooked brekkie in the tent, toasted sandwiches and coffee and then had to pack it all up in the rain.   Well we were already dirty from the day before so now we were wet, muddy, sandy and over it.   Lets hit the road and get to Weipa.   We were going into a caravan park and a long hot shower would be the reward.

Cape York

We have arrived back from our epic trip to THE TIP.   Cape York.   It was a fantastic week away.   No dramas, no breakdowns, no tyre blowouts, thank goodness.   We are really really happy to have finally made the journey.  One to tick of the bucket list now.    Will try and update the blog when I can.  For now its all about washing filthy clothes that have turned red from dust and cleaning the inside and outside of one very very dirty Suzi.   The Mighty Suzi handled it beautifully.

Lakelands

We are now at the Lakelands Caravan Park, getting ready to leave the bus behind at the Park and head off in the Suzuki for a week up the Cape.  Camped up here this Monday night, it has been raining very heavily the previous night, the park is quite wet,  Danni the manager usually puts the vans into the "standby" area (where you leave your van whilst you are away on your Cape Trip) but its too wet,  cos of the rain, which is fine, as we are on a powered site today and will then leave the bus on the same site, unpowered until we return.  The sky has been quite black along the way and since we arrived.    But its so muggy that I have had to have the air con on in the bus.  Cannot wait to get going in the morning.     Not sure if I will blog whilst we are away, Im doubting it very much.      So this is it until we get back to Lakelands on our return.

Judith if you are reading this, we will see you at the Top in a few days time.   Was going to say Look Out For The Big Red Bus but then remembered we wont be in it.   !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mareeba Rodeo

Well this is what we came for, the Mareeba Rodeo held over two days.    They were expecting over 11,000 people to the rodeo, dont know if they got it, but it sure was a busy time.   The rodeo grounds were chockers with motorhomes, caravans, and campers.     The Mareeba Show was on as well.    The grounds were full of noise.   Lots of thrill seeking rides, sideshow alleys promising big prizes for the lucky person who wanted to waste their hard earnes $$$$$$.   Showbags, lots of  takeaway food, woodchopping, bull judging, and lots of displays of homemade cakes, woodwork, flower arrangements, knitting etc. etc.   A typical agricultural show.

We loved the rodeo, spending hours in the grandstand, bums going numb, it started as early as 7.30 am going thru to 9.30pm on Sat  and 7.30 thru to 5.OOpm on Sunday.    We saw pretty much the full spectrum.   The juniors started from Under 8 thru to Under 11-14 y.o.

Such a proud moment for the little tackers, especially when they actually got to stay on an animal, even if it was only for a fleeting few seconds.   Hi- fiving their dads, no doubt displaying a few bruises, for Show and Tell at back to school this Monday.There was also a show called the Rooftop Spectacular.    A professional unit, combining a  bit of comedy, horsemanship, etc.   The show was good under lights on Sat night and was then repeated in the daylight hours of Sunday afternoon.    A weekend worth hanging around for.    As soon as it was over, it was back to the bus for a happy hour with friends Ross & Kim, Ila & Kevin, all friends from Vic.  Ros & Tony. from SA, Peter from NSW & John & Jo from Qld.    

Rodeo Street Parade

Well the pre rodeo kicks off a week before, with a ball, competitions, etc.   On Friday night the main street is closed to traffic and a street parade takes place.   Hot food, carnival stuff etc on hand.   There is the judging of the Rodeo Queen.   This year there were 12 Rodeo Princesses vying for the title.   Each Princess rode on her own procession float.    Police, Ambulance, Fire Brigade, SES,  Bands, local organisations, semi trailers, horses and lots of kids took part.    The highlight was that almost every float had a bucketful of lollies to throw to the crowds and as we were front and centre, we managed to grab quite a booty full.      Rick demolished most of them AS SOON as he caught them.   BUT there were hairy moments, when his enthusiasm for a sweet treat got the better of him and he almost face planted the road a number of times in his rush to get out of his chair and to grab the loot.    It was a really fun night.  Lots of happy faces in the parade, obviously a highlight for many of the locals.

Herberton

We took a leisurely drive down to Herberton which is the oldest town on the Atherton Tablelands and its entire area is listed on the National Heritage Register.   This area was mined for tin starting back in the 1880s.    We paid a visit to the Herberton Pioneer Village and thoroughly enjoyed every moment of it.   There is a collection of over 50 buildings, all of which are originals, not replicas, either originating in Herberton or throughout the Tablelands.     Every building is full of displays, the Frock Salon full of original ladies fashion and underwear, the corsets were eye popping.  The original school building, 1883, is full of nostalgia.    Rick and I were saying "I remember this"  or "Do you remember these?"   especially when we walked thru the Grocers/Chemists/Toy Store/Schoolhouse.   Of course, no village is complete without the local garage and Rick was a happy man.   Or maybe a sad man, wishing some of the cars were in our backyard instead of the village's.    Anyway we spent the whole day here and were stuffed by the time we finished.

Mareeba

Today we got our two new tyres fitted.   They were actually cheaper than what we paid in Melbourne.   One good thing going our way finally.    We drove off, heard a squealing from the car, took a look, seemed to be a belt, went back to the tyre service and asked where we could find a good 4x4 mechanic.   They were looking really worried when we returned thinking they had stuffed up.   Off we went, the 4x4 were quick to diagnose the problem, a tight belt.   A quick spray and off we went, 10 mins later, it started up again.  Got back to camp and several guys suggested we use soap on the belt.   Worked for a while once again. The next day we decided  to  travel into town to Repco to buy some special spray stuff.   That fixed it, finally.   YAY.

  So, with all our troubles behind us, we set  off to sightsee.   Got 10kms down the road, bugger me, the belt started screaming worse than ever.     A quick u turn, drove back to the 4x4 place.    He sprayed it, cleaned it and it still wasnt going well.   So he took it in to his workshop, and found  the belt had stretched and was cracking.     He jumped in his car, tore into town, picked up a new belt, came back and fitted it up for us on the spot.     Terrific service.  A quick little cash job.   But what more can go wrong for us.    We were very worried as we are heading up North and off road for a week  or more next week and didnt want anything to go wrong once we had left "civilisation" so to speak.    Fingers crossed we are all out of bad luck and only good things can come from here on in.

Kuranda

We drove down to Cairns, 60km away and caught the Skyrail Gondolas

up to Kuranda, a village in the World Heritage rainforest.   1000M above Cairns.    The skyrail trip takes around 1 1/2hrs.   There are two stops/stations on the trip where you can exit your gondola and do some sightseeing/walks before getting back on again.   We didnt bother, just wanted to get up there.   Part of the Barron Falls Gorge.  You can view the falls from designated viewing platforms.   There is a lot to do here, from walks to the Gorge/Watererfall, river cruises and 3 markets that run 7 days a week.    The markets were disappointing.   Full of either the same old crappy "aussie" style souvenirs - tshirts, or cheap and/or overpriced clothes and jewellery.  Lots of hand made stuff but still over priced for what it is. The plus side - Rick FINALLY got an Old Guys Rule T Shirt - he has been looking for one that would fit him since Darwin 2011.     Almost as good was the german meal he had, bratwurst, german potato salad, sauerkraut, friend onions and rye bread.    It was Heaven apparently  !!!!     You can travel to Kuranda by skyrail both ways or do a gondola ride one way and the old scenic railway the other way.    Thats the way did it.   Beautiful old carriages and we were lucky enough to sit by the windows where we could see the views and also watch the train disappear around the bends.

     The old train once again takes around 1 1/2 hrs. to do the descent.    You get amazing views from both forms of transport.   In the gondolas you are floating over the rainforest canopy and can see the waterfall.   On the train you can look down into the Gorge and watch as the train weaves its way around bends in the track and over very old bridges.   Construction of the rail line was started in 1887.   It was completed in 1891.   Pretty good going. 1500 men worked on it.   37km of track, 106 cuttings, 15 hand carved tunnels, 55 bridges and 98 curves.   The Kuranda stations is heritage listed and was built in 1915.

It was a really great day out but at the end of it we were stuffed.    Tomorrow is a rest day, hopefully.

Yungaburra

We have taken a drive thru some smaller towns,  stopping off at info centres to find out what to see and do, before moving along.  Visited an icrecream factory, a dairy where they make chocolates and to- die for cheeses and stopped at Yungaburra.   Est. 1890 with lots of heritage listed buildings.   Nice walk around the village, we could have gone along the creek to view platypus and tree kangaroos but Rick wasnt that keen.   So we went out to see The Avenue of Honor built to honor the diggers who have been killed in Afghanistan.    Est. in June of last year.  Built on the shores of Lake Tinaroo it is a beautiful spot and once the gardens and avenue trees grow will be spectacular.   

Memorial on the left, for the dogs that have been killed in action. Merlin, Razz, Andy, Nova and Herbie.   Explosive Detection Dogs who gave their lives.

Balloon Ride

We were lucky enough to take a hot air balloon ride over Mareeba a few days ago.    We were

picked up at the rodeo grounds at 5am (up at 4am) and taken out to a farm paddock.    It was very cold, more so because the grass was long and wet with dew.  The ride itself was warm and comfortable.  We watched the balloons inflate and then time to hop on.    It was about a 45 min.ride all up, even though it stated "30 min" ride. on the ticket.   Loved it so much, it was my first time, but it was such a lovely feeling being up in the early morning, watching the sunrise in the horizon.   There were 15 of us on board (usually 20).    We were lucky because we only paid $50 each for the pleasure.     Those that were bussed up from Cairns paid $235 each. Here at the rodeo grounds you can put your name down with the Balloon Company to go on a standby list.   Which we did.   Got the call the next night to be ready for a 5am pickup.    They use the standby list to fill the balloon when they dont have a full flight.   Its the "quiet season" at the moment for them.

Got dropped off at the rodeo grounds, soaking wet feet and jeans, and headed straight to the tyre service to order our tyres for the Suzuki.   Back to the bus for a late brekkie and then off for more sightseeing and another picnic.   Rick is ready for a day of nothing very soon now.

Mareeba

Mareeba is a lovely town, around an hour inland from Cairns.    Central to so many lovely towns and scenic places.    We spent our first day, battling the heat setting up camp.   26c beautiful.    We visited a number of local touristy things including a great museum at the info centre.   Spent ages there.   Picnic in the park, followed by a visit to Coffee Works.    This place has over 27 coffee blends for you to try plus oodles of chocolate samples.    You pay an entrance fee, get a cup and then just load yourself up with all or any of the coffees you want to sample.    Drink as much as you want.   They also do teas as well.  All blended by the Company.      You can also taste as much coffee liqueurs as you want.    Didnt like any of the coffees I tried incl fancy ones like Irish Cream/ Chocolate Or Hazlenut etc.    Loved all three of the coffee liqueurs.   At $45 a bottle they werent that spectacular though.      You can sample as much chocolate as you want.   I DID of course.     I cant remember how many different ones were on offer but I will guess around 20 or so.    I overloaded on it.     There is also a coffee museum here and beleive me its amazing.   Over 2000 exhibits We spent almost two hours in this place.    So worth a visit even if you arent a coffee drinker.

In this area they grow Coffee, Tea, Cocoa, Sugar, Mangoes, Avocados, Lychees to name a few.    This was a huge Tobacco Farm area back in its heyday.    Of course, the trade in tobacco has disappeared now, the farmers worked damn hard, made good money, but when tobacco lost its popularity, the farms simply closed up.

We are here at the Mareeba Rodeo grounds for the rodeo coming to town this weekend.   At the same time they are setting up the Mareeba Show here as well.   Semi trailers full of daredevil rides are coming in, showbag and amusement alley being set up, food stalls, show arenas etc.    There are probably 2000 motorhomes and caravans here at the moment, Wednesday and more arriving constantly.    Going to be a big weekend.     They also have an area fenced off for family camping and another called "Feral Hill".   No need to explain who will be camped there this weekend.     Thankfully we are far away from those areas. Some of the rides are right next to caravans and motorhomes so its going to be an interesting time for them.

More bad luck

Yes, we are cursed again on this trip.    Driving down a double laned highway, the motorhomer in front of us ran over a 5ft. long piece of steel.   She could have avoided and gone around it but she didnt.   It flipped up, flew towards us, we had no chance to avoid it.     We didnt know if it had done its damage as it went under the bus, but a few kms down the road and we heard some horrible sounds.   Pulled over on the freeway to discover the steel had done our back tyre.    Rick was not happy.      So with semis flying past we started the change over.   Kevin & Ila, motorhomers from Clunes in Vic. pulled up to lend assistance, especially as they knew Rick had had his heart op.    So our travel plans immediately changed.    We were going to sightsee thru the Atherton Tablelands for 5 days before heading to Mareeba and a Rodeo.   Needless to say we scoured the internet for Mickey Thompson Tyre dealers.    As luck would have it NO ONE carries them.   Yes they could get them in but only if we show up in person and order them.   So with Mareeba as our final destination before Cape York, we headed straight there.  Tyrepower will get them for us.   Camped at the rodeo grounds now.   Ordered the tyres and will have to wait 2-3 days.    Just when we thought all our bad luck had gone away.

BUGGER.    !!!!!!!!!!   More $$$$$$ we just didnt need to spend.

Paronella Park

We visited Paronella Park after leaving Tully and camped up overnight in their carpark.     You can do a day tour and hear the history of the property and the extraordinary story of Jose Paranella.Way ahead of his time.   Then go back after dark and do a night tour by torchlight before certain parts of the park are lit up. This was the dream property of a young Spanish man, Jose Paranella.   He arrived in Qld in 1913, leaving behind a fiancee.   He discovered the waterfall at Mena Creek and decided it was the best spot to build his future on.  He purchased 13 acres as a future home for his fiancee.   11 years later he went back to marry her only to find she had married someone else.    That didnt deter him, he married her little sister instead.   He built a castle, picnic areas, tennis courts from crushed termite mounds, tunnels, bridges, a movie theatre that transformed into a ballroom with live bands, a pavilion with turret topped balconies, refreshment rooms, changing cubicles so that people could change from their sporting clothes into clothes suitable for the refreshment rooms.   He also harnessed the water on his property and built the very first hydro electric plant in 1933 to power his park and the grounds were opened to the public in 1935.    Electricity to the rest of the area did not come till 1953.   He was so way before his time.     He made all the concrete for his buildings, from soil and rock on the property. He and his wife also cleared the forests and planted more than 7000 tropical plants and trees.   He was one smart dude.   His story was inspiring and I loved it.

He built this 47 step staircase first to reach the start of his castle

Beautiful trees in the garden

The park has been flooded 3 times, had a fire in the ballroom, and suffered damage from two cyclones.   Jose died in 1972.  The park was sold, then two years later a fire swept thru.   The new owners left the park to fall into disrepair.   It sat in the rainforest, badly damaged for 10 years until  the current owners discovered it in 1993 and are working to repair and restore the dream.    The hydro turbine still generates all the power for the Park

Tully

We arrived in Tully to overcast skies and the heavens opened up.    We grabbed a free spot at the showgrounds, had a free coffee/cake and a banana at the Info Centre and got some tour maps etc.  Fantastic info centre with very friendly staff.   Tully and Innisfail produce 90% of our bananas and they have the only Sugar Mill that the public can tour, so its all about sugar cane and bananas up here.

  We drove out and had a walk along the famous Mission Beach.    It was like a lot of the beaches we have come across, full of debris, mostly tree branches and lots of coral.  Very beachy/touristy.   It was nice but cant say WOW.  Visited a local banana farm.   Watched the bananas being sorted, washed and packed and then bought 10 for $2.

   A planned trip to Tully Gorge was called off 15km into the trip, it was bucketing down.  The mountains shrouded with mist.  Our friends went ahead and it was perfectly fine up in the rainforest.!!!!   This gorge is one of the best in Australia for white water rafting and if you go up around lunchtime each day you get to see them ride the rapids.   That had been our plan.     So with a crappy day weather wise we did what we needed to do.   Shopping, laundry, cooking and postcards.    The next day we did a tour of the Tully Sugar Mill.   It was a very interesting tour lasting two hours.    We have travelled thru so many sugar cane farms and it was really good to actually learn about what we had seen and the processes involved.

 Essentially the sugar cane is shredded, passed thru mills to extract the sugar juice.   The fibre left over is called Bagasse and that is used to operate the boiler plant which provides steam to run the whole sugar mill.  The excess Bagasse not needed by the factory is put back into the grid and powers about 5000 homes.    The company have been generating enough electricity to run their mill and export to the grid since 1997.   This place is so self sufficient.

  The milled cane juice contains some soil and other impurities.   It is heated and lime is added.   This settles the impurities, it is then vacuum filtered to remove any lasting sugar juice.   The filtered mud left behind is rich in nutrients and that "mud" is then sold back to the farmers for fertiliser.      We had seen trucks delivering and spreading what we thought was topsoil but now know it is the mud mix left over from the sugar cane crush. So from the time the cane is cut and harvested, virtually every part of the cane is used for some purpose and virtually nothing is wasted.

The mill also has a machine that has a powerful magnet in it that detects any metal that comes thru the crushing mills mixed in with the sugar cane. Bits of gates, fencing, machine parts, blades etc.  The above bin is just a few days worth of stuff this magnet detected.   Apparently after Cyclone Yasi, they needed 10 tonne skips continually there was so much debris amongst the cane.

In the 6 month season, just started, this mill, now owned by the Chinese, will crush 2,400,000 tonnes of cane and produce approx. 298,000 tonnes of raw sugar.   All of the sugar produced here goes straight to the export market.   Apart from the free samples we got today.    We found the mill itself to be old and quite dirty. It started in 1924.  A fairly dangerous place for both worker and visitor.    Lots of leaking pipes, steam generated everywhere, lots of debris just lying around everywhere.   Glad we did the tour but thought  the mill itself would have been a more modern and streamlined op.     We tossed up whether to stay another day in Tully or hit the road, its still drizzly.  We have decided to take our chances and hope the rain disappears further North.    Really shouldnt complain.   The weather has been kind to us up until now.   We are still in thongs and shorts even in the rain cos it just isnt cold, just muggy.   Having to wear sneakers to the mill tour today nearly killed me.    I love my thongs.

Ingham

Victoria Mill, the largest sugar mill in the Southern Hemisphere.   The mill recycles its waste product into energy thru an electricity generating plant and feeds the power back into the grid.     As far as you travel, all you see are sugar farms and lots of harvesting.     Sugar cane train lines criss cross all thru the farms and you have to be very aware when you approach these crossings to look out for the trains.    We have seen quite a few the last two days.   Today we watched them harvesting and transporting the cane.   Below is a picture of the Lucinda Jetty.   It stretches 6km out to sea.  The worlds longest offshore sugar loading facility.   It follows the curve of the earth.    Some locals told us that there was a 5M croc in one of the creeks nearby, but we didnt spot it, as if we would go looking anyway.  !!!!   The Pub With No Beer made famous by Slim Dusty is also here in the main street.

Contractors on ropes, reroofing the sugar cane terminal

We are leaving Ingham tomorrow but will come back again as we liked the place and there is more to see.

Just an old P.O.