This is the life!: Atherton Tablelands

Hi Everyone, sorry this post has been a while to get up on the blog. We have been busy and enjoying ourselves, plus this particular blog took me a few days, today especially as the blog server has gremlins that make things a little difficult. A lot of frustration and swearing today!

We stayed at Biboohra, 8 kms from Mareeba, for 3 nights. Mareeba is a lovely friendly town about 30 kms from Atherton and has an abundance of assorted shops with pretty much everything you need. Mareeba takes great pride in its appearance; colourfully planted medium strips and an Anzac Memorial Park in the centre of town. It is also home to people of 64 different origins and is now home to Australia's coffee growing capital. We visited the information centre in Mareeba on Sunday, which also incorporates a fantastic Heritage Museum with loads of information about the area and has extremely friendly, well informed staff.

While staying at Biboohra we drove up to Kuranda, 30 kms from Mareeba, which is known as the Village in the Rainforest. It’s a quaint hippie village with a warm and colourful feel. The markets were started nearly 30 years ago by the hippies who lived there, selling their homemade food, clothes, jewellery and paintings etc. There are now 4 markets within the town operating every day, including the original one that runs at the back of the main street, amongst the hilly area, which is nestled amongst little cobbled laneways with colourful and amazing stalls at every turn. A great deal of the handmade wares on offer are made by local artists, which makes these markets so unique from the ordinary others we visit. Each market is different from the last, but placed within easy walking distance of each other, as well as enabling you to explore other areas of Kuranda. In fact, pretty much all of the towns in the Tablelands have markets at different times, so it’s nice to be able to have the opportunity to the visit them. We found an ice creamery which makes the most delicious locally made ice cream we’ve ever eaten! Yummo!

On the Monday, Trish & John arrived at Biboohra earlier than expected to surprise us. Another couple were here also, Bonnie & Barry, from Mackay, who are in their early 70’s, (we all call them Bonnie & Clyde!) They have been travelling for a year now in their little bus and are quite fit for their age and love travelling around. When John & Trish pulled up, they were surprised to see Bonnie & Barry as they had all met way back further on their travels at Yamba, near Rockhampton. It is amazing how many of the same people you keep seeing on the road and meeting up with, it happens all the time, any place you least expect it! Anyway, we had a fabulous time chatting and catching up that evening.

The next morning, Tuesday 8^th Oct, saw us all pack up and head off just down the road to the Mareeba Rodeo grounds, which is a huge place incorporating the Rodeo & Showgrounds with plenty of space for more than 500 vans, and only $16 per night. There is no shade there, but we had power and the air conditioner was plugged in for the next few hours as there was a very hot wind blowing. It is the first time we have used the air con so far, usually the breeze is enough to keep things cool, and with no shade, it was quite hot, but by the late afternoon it had cooled down nicely.

Tuesday was also our 25^th wedding anniversary; gee that time has gone fast! John & Trish had gone into the Mareeba Coffee Works and came back with a huge chocolate heart with Happy Anniversary written on it. A lovely thoughtful thing to do and much appreciated!

Photo mishap…I am very annoyed with myself as I seem to have lost some of the latest photos!! Somehow they weren’t there when I transferred photos from the camera. I have searched the computer in case they transferred somewhere else, but no luck. Must have a gremlin in there!!!

Such a disappointment as I had some fabulous ones of Kuranda and the markets, a funny one of Mark with a hand woven grass hat on his head, plus our visit to Coffee Works and all the amazing chocolate they have. Sorry Kaitlyn, I especially took pictures of the amazing chocolate just for you to make you drool!!! So, unfortunately I can’t put them on the blog, sorry to everyone!

A Hot Air Balloon came over us early in the morning and landed nearby

Awww Dad I just wuv you soo much!

We all went to the Mareeba market on Saturday morning, which is held once a month at the Heritage Centre. We mainly bought some fruit & vegies, then decided to stop at MacDonald’s for a cuppa.

The weekend country music festival at the Rodeo Grounds started on the Friday night and we all went over on Saturday night at a cost of $45 for Mark & I. We were a little disappointed as we had been led to believe the night was going to be the best of the weekend, but it was off to a very slow, dull start, with the emcee guys joking amongst themselves, and of course no-one had a clue what they were on about. The local talent were quite good, but we were waiting for Phil Emanuelle and then The Wolfe Brothers who had been on Australia’s Got Talent and had come 2^nd. They were amazing, not just with their own fabulous songs but also some oldies that they sung extremely well and they certainly knew how to work the crowd. Trish & I got up and danced and amongst our group we had a good night with plenty of laughs.

Bonnie, Trish & me

Trish & John
We reckon he looks just like Coxy!

But I've only had a couple of drinks...honest!!

Hurry up, I can't hold this pose forever!

I think a bug went up my left nostril...
can ya see if it's there?

Say Cheese!

John is always making us laugh

Mark & John having a water fight while washing the cars

Doing THAT chore before leaving camp! Emptying the 'crapper'.

Do you like our 'crapper' trolley's ? Me, Bonnie & Trish

On Sunday 13th Oct we all packed up and drove a short distance to Kairi (pronounced Keer-ie) a very small town just out of Tolga, and stayed at the little Rest Area opposite the pub. There was a little confusion as to being able to stay here though, as the first morning a Ranger guy arrived and told us it was only a 24 hr stop, despite no signs indicating this and the fact that the Camp Book & Wiki both say 48 hrs. He agreed to let us stay 2 nights. Mark got talking to the owner of the service station and as far as he knew the council had absolutley no problems with travellers stopping as they spent money in the town. But he also said the caravan park has just been bought by the same guy who sold it a few yrs ago; this bloke is now kicking up a huge stink about people staying anywhere other than his van park and complaining to the council. Then later, when we met up again with John & Trish the following week, they also got talking to the servo bloke and heard this guy was making a real pest of himself and being quite arrogant and rude to the local townsfolk. He had a rather rude confrontation with the service station owner, who told him to get out and has subsequently banned him from coming in except to collect mail. Now, the permanents who live in his van park obviously have to have their mail delivered, and there is no post box at the van park, and the nearest town is a fair drive, he uses the service station Post Office Boxes in his name only and this is the only way people can receive their mail. Apparently the permanents have trouble getting their mail from him as he doesn’t pick it up regularly! Seems some people like to make a name for themselves, and go around wanting to make their own rules and dictate to all and sundry just how things should be run! Anyway, the outcome is that the townsfolk are going to get together and talk to the council about how important it is that they allow travellers to stay in their Rest Areas.
We all went out to put the crab pots in nearby Lake Tinaroo to try our luck with Red Claw.
On our 2^nd night at Kairi we had a storm, with wind and pelting rain. The boys were running around trying to put our awnings in, and Trish & I were waving to each other from inside our vans, then the boys made their way over to the pub to sit it out! A few branches from the trees fell in the wind landing all over the place, with a couple landing on our van with an almighty bang, frightening Millie & me; my poor little girl was shaking like a leaf. The storm didn't last long and we went out to inspect the damage – the plastic window shade on the car was smashed, along with a small dent in the rear door & another small dent on the van. Branches were all over the ground and we were sitting in puddles of water! Yep that's part of travelling - you are exposed to the elements!!

Camped at Kairi

Mark & Trish putting out crab pots at Lake Tinaroo hopefully catch some Red Claw

Mark & John trying to put the awnings in during the storm

Ummm, I is a bit wet!

What a mess!!

Damage to the car was only minor

A further note on Cooktown; Mark got talking to a bloke while we were at the Mareeba Rodeo Grounds. He lives in Cooktown and evidently the councils’ stance is to NOT welcome travellers, indeed make their stupid crazy rules as I mentioned in the previous post, and just generally have things their own way. He said for years now, the townsfolk have tried numerous times to make the council realise just how important and significant Cooktown is, as its history is what people come to see. Well, as some council’s prefer to do, they don’t seem to care about what the locals say or want, and just again dictate to the people. It is terribly sad that they operate like this.

We have also since heard that many towns have a little box that they ask travellers to drop their receipts into so they can see just how much money is actually spent. Apparently at Home Hill, just before Townsville, where we spent the night, at the Comfort Station, has one such box. Would you believe that in one month travellers had spent a massive $48,000!!! And of course not all the travellers would have dropped their receipts into the box, so imagine the huge amounts of money that is generated in a year in all these places that travellers stop!! Incredible!! So it just goes to show that the Councils that don’t put out the welcome mat are not helping their town at all, but just discouraging us travellers, and we are more than happy to spend our dollars in towns that welcome and appreciate us!!

After staying at Kairi for 2 nights we went back to Bibhoohra for another 5 nights and on Monday 21^st Oct we drove on to Yungaburra, 50 kms away.

Bonnie & me at Bibhoohra

We are doing a loop as we have come up the coast, into Mt Molloy, up to the Lions Den and Cooktown, Cape Tribulation & the Daintree, then back down the Mulligan Highway and down into the Atherton Tablelands. We will keep going down through the Tablelands and eventually end up coming back through Innisfail to go and stay at Paronella Park at Mena Creek, but more on that in a later post. The Tablelands are a true wonder of this part of Queensland, an amazing sensory delight. We are truly loving the experience of exploring the area. For me personally, it is so much more than I had ever imagined. I have been looking forward to exploring this place ever since we saw it featured at one of the Caravan & Camping shows a few years ago. The beauty of the scenery is a truly incredible sight to witness! It is very much like Gippsland at home, except on a much prettier, larger, open and widespread scale. It is so wonderfully picturesque; the mountains, the greenery, the rich red volcanic soil, all sweeping as far as the eye can see and each area we explore is just as pretty, if not more incredible than the last. Lake Tinaroo Dam was formed in the late 1950's to serve the growing need for water for all the various agriculture in the Mareeba-Dimbulah area and you can see it from so many places.

There are just so many beautiful places to explore and visit!! Mark says I have turned into 'Mrs Wong' from the old ad on telly about the couple who lost their travellers cheques, as I always have my camera at the ready and can't help myself exclaiming with ooh's and aah's at the wonder of what we are seeing each day!!! Really, I wouldn't be me if I held back my passionate nature now would I??

There are breathtaking waterfalls, deep crater lakes, a tapestry of farmlands, mountain ranges, scattered rainforests, and the huge Tinaroo Dam. Not to mention all the fabulous, delicious and scrumptious culinary delights that abound - locally made cheeses, chocolates, cakes, yoghurts, icecream, coffee, fruit, wine and seafood. We have splurged a little (well, maybe a bit more than a little!) and enjoyed every mouthful!!

Yungaburra is a really quaint little town, about 12 kms from Atherton, and a little bit like Olinda and Sassafrass back home in the Dandenong Ranges. We are staying at the Lakeside Caravan Park for a week as a base to explore some of the area around here. It is surrounded on 3 sides by Lake Tinaroo, and at $20 per night for a powered site it's a fantastic price.

Lake Tinaroo right next to the van park & Mt Bartle Frere in the background - we are now on the opposite side of this mountain from where we stayed at Babinda

A huge Fig Tree in the main street of Yungaburra

I was very excited to see a cafe called the Whistle Stop Cafe here in Yungaburra, and yes, it is named after the movie "Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe" which I just love. The owner loves the movie so much and named her cafe after it. There used to be a train line opposite the cafe, but sadly this is no longer there. I told Mark we just had to go in and have something to eat! Oh my goodness, their homemade cakes are to die for!!

The Whistle Stop Cafe

Garden at the back of the cafe

We went for a walk after our delicious goodies at The Whistle Stop Café, delighting in the gorgeous town that is so very pretty. There are hanging baskets of flowers in the main street, the Lake Eacham/Yunguburra Hotel was built in 1910 from local timber and visitors are welcome to go in and explore. There is a lovely Bed & Breakfast cottage with stunning gardens, and a lovely walk to the Platypus Viewing Platform where you can sit quietly and look for platypus in Peterson’s Creek. We took a walk along the track under the bridge which has been constructed by local volunteers, many of them who grew up in the township and clearly remember the fun they would have as youngsters as depicted on a big plaque with their quotes and photos of bygone days. One man came up with the idea of building a suspension bridge over the creek, which we walked across and both laughed at Mark’s antics.

I'm afraid of heights, but this is a piece of cake...

Oh My God....It's too high! Now I'm scared! Really Lil, I'm serious!

Nope, not moving, too scared...I think I'll just stay here thanks

The magnificent Curtain Fig Tree - it has a vast curtain of roots 15 metres long!

Mark on one side showing the size of the tree

The canopy high above - Birds Nest Ferns are growing out of it

I was very excited to visit The Crystal Caves in Atherton which is something else I had been wanting to do for some time now. They are the creation of a man called Rene' Boissevain who for the past 40 years has been all over the world collecting wonderful specimens of crystals and fossils. You are encouraged to touch and photograph them. The front of the shop has a vast array of crystals, jewellery and photos of Rene' and the building of the Crystal Caves. It cost $22.50 to enter the actual caves and also see the "Empress of Uruguay" the worlds biggest and amazingly beautiful Amethyst Geode. It stands 3.5 metres tall, weighs 2.5 tonnes and the crystals she displays are of AA jewellery quality. I was in total awe standing next to it and being able to touch it. I sat for some time by myself in the room just admiring her beauty. Another couple kindly took my photo along with one of the Crystal Fountain of Love, just as amazing and made from over 4 tonnes of Rose Quartz!

The amazing "Empress of Uruguay" - 130 million years old!

It was the most amazing feeling to be able to touch this beautiful Amethyst Geode!

The Fountain of Love - made with over 4 tonnes of Rose Quartz!

Gallo Dairyland Chocolate and Cheese is a wonderful place just down the road at Malanda. We couldn’t resist buying some of their handmade chocolates made from Swiss coverture chocolate and along with a Latte we sat and enjoyed this splurge while looking out onto the Tablelands. Delicious! We were also able to sample a variety of their award winning cheeses and just had to buy some!

We visited the Malanda Falls, which are very pretty and the Information Centre is very informative and interactive. We both enjoyed learning so much about the area.

We also found the local seafood shop we had been recommended, and bought Tiger Prawns – YUM!