2020 Far North Queensland
 

Townsville - Tue 21/07/2020

2020 Far North Queensland
Trip to Atherton QLD to see Jordan 21/07/2020 We leave the botanical gardens and travel south on the PCW. We turn off at the town of Babinda on our way to the Babinda Boulders. Trip to Atherton QLD to see Jordan 21/07/2020 This high grade road was built specifically to take tourists to the boulders and falls. The drive is incredibly lush and green with mist covered mountains providing a spectacular backdrop. We're very lucky that rain has started again. Trip to Atherton QLD to see Jordan 21/07/2020 This interesting picture is about the disabled parking and the toilet block; we really need more "reality show" pictures like this. Trip to Atherton QLD to see Jordan 21/07/2020 It's raining which is a bonus because the streams and waterfalls are very active right now.
Trip to Atherton QLD to see Jordan 21/07/2020 This is a nice story: Babinda creek is a local attraction for many years. American company in 1969 wants to build a resort here. Land owner Abel Cottone transfers 35 acres to the public for the continued enjoyment of all. Trip to Atherton QLD to see Jordan 21/07/2020 What's it like inside one of these toilets you ask? Pretty good: clean, lots of (locked) toilet paper, no graffiti. Press the pedal to flush when you've finished. Trip to Atherton QLD to see Jordan 21/07/2020 It's a short walk to the stream. Trip to Atherton QLD to see Jordan 21/07/2020 Even if never got any better than this, it wouldn't matter: a crystal clear stream in the midst of a tropical rainforest - and it's raining.
Trip to Atherton QLD to see Jordan 21/07/2020 Beautifully maintained park land accompanies the river. Trip to Atherton QLD to see Jordan 21/07/2020 US Air base constructed inland at Charters Towers. Fifteen new USAAF B25C bombers stationed there. Early April 1942, B25's mounted raid on New Guinea supporting Australian troops. On returning from NG, encountered severe tropical weather as it approached Mt Bartle Frere. Aircraft crashed and seven man crew instantly killed. Locals notified Babinda police of crash Babinda Police notified Cairns Police about crash Next morning, local residents organised themselves to search for survivors. Trip to Atherton QLD to see Jordan 21/07/2020 Two formal search parties under Babinda police travelled from the Boulders All able bodied men away serving in ADF, only men available were youths and older men (some 70 years) Search continued for seven days in heavy rain at Mt Bartle Frere Short break in clouds, RAAF search aircraft spotted burnt vegetation at Mt Bartle Frere Local searchers (some 70 years old) located crash. Other search group led by Babinda Place (some 70 years old) on site; recovered personal effects Early May 1942 CO USAAF Charters Towers conducted burial ceremony at site and interred remains. Trip to Atherton QLD to see Jordan 21/07/2020 We walk alongside the water that is flowing nicely because of the rain presently falling on the mountain tops. The river runs in the same direction as our walk.
Trip to Atherton QLD to see Jordan 21/07/2020 This is something from my long ago lost youth: fresh water so clean you can swim in it. Look at the dense tropical rain forest surrounding the water. Trip to Atherton QLD to see Jordan 21/07/2020 This is not a major river, it is one of many streams cut by water flowing down from the mountain tops. Trip to Atherton QLD to see Jordan 21/07/2020 Jenni takes a picture of the widening stream. Trip to Atherton QLD to see Jordan 21/07/2020 This is Queensland. Queensland is wheel-chair friendly.
Trip to Atherton QLD to see Jordan 21/07/2020 We follow the track into the wilderness. Trip to Atherton QLD to see Jordan 21/07/2020 The stream narrows as the gradient steepens. We start to see some of the boulders after which this area is named. Trip to Atherton QLD to see Jordan 21/07/2020 The boulders are granite and have worn smooth over the countless years the flowing water has polished them. Trip to Atherton QLD to see Jordan 21/07/2020 This is weird. I never see the back of my head and I don't realise how curly the back of my hair is. No wonder I can never grow it long.
Trip to Atherton QLD to see Jordan 21/07/2020 This is the picture I was taking in the previous slide. The iPhone takes wonderful pictures, better than my Pentax (which I left at home) but it is no good when you use it's telephoto feature. It's not a real telephoto but a digital cropping which means the cropped picture does not have the pixel density. Maybe the iPhones with a third lens fix this problem. Trip to Atherton QLD to see Jordan 21/07/2020 Enjoying this area, The Boulders, is one of the highlights of our 5600Km trip. Even the sounds created by the rapids is intoxicating. Trip to Atherton QLD to see Jordan 21/07/2020 This incredible natural creation is called the "Devil's Pool". Trip to Atherton QLD to see Jordan 21/07/2020 Jenni hides from me, unsuccessfully.
Trip to Atherton QLD to see Jordan 21/07/2020 I have never been in forest -jungle - this thick. Trip to Atherton QLD to see Jordan 21/07/2020 It is not an easy walk, my left ankle hurts, but just ahead is the "Boulders Gorge Lookout". Trip to Atherton QLD to see Jordan 21/07/2020 This is real, untouched by human hands, tropical rain forest. Thank you Abel Cottone for, all of those years ago, preserving this delight for those of us in your future to enjoy. Trip to Atherton QLD to see Jordan 21/07/2020 We leave the Boulders, drive a few Kms down the road and see a sign that says "Josephine Falls 7 Kms". Never heard of it but why not?
Trip to Atherton QLD to see Jordan 21/07/2020 The road takes us past cane fields and some of it is being harvested. We even see a cane train operating as it collects the cut (but not burnt) cane. Trip to Atherton QLD to see Jordan 21/07/2020 Jenni crosses the road to take a picture of the cane and to get an idea of the enormous size to which the cane grows. Trip to Atherton QLD to see Jordan 21/07/2020 The rain clouds sit atop a mountain range of which Mount Bartle Frere is a part. Trip to Atherton QLD to see Jordan 21/07/2020 Here we have a field of cane in the foreground, another crop (possibly mangoes) in the mid-ground and Queensland's tallest mountain range in the background.
Trip to Atherton QLD to see Jordan 21/07/2020 We're on Bartle Frere Road, we've travelled through the small township of Bartle Frere and that's Mount Bartle Frere, Queensland's tallest mountain in front of us. Trip to Atherton QLD to see Jordan 21/07/2020 How Queensland was born - Mount Bartle Frere & Atherton Tableland. Queensland Wet Tropics Management Authority "4. Millions of years of erosion removes the rock overlying the granite. Granite is more resistant to weathering and remains proud of the landscape to form the highest mountains (e.g. Bellinden Ker, Bartle Frere and Thornton Peak)." Trip to Atherton QLD to see Jordan 21/07/2020 This field has been harvested and is ready for the cuttings to be plowed back in. The previous graphic explained how the mountains wore away over millions of years leaving the granite peaks exposed. Where did all of that gravel, sand and silt go? Answer: here in these lush, fertile plains that occupy the space between the mountains. Trip to Atherton QLD to see Jordan 21/07/2020 Tilling the soil in quite a magnificent setting. Notice how the tropical forest clings undamaged to the mountain side; useless for farming therefore preserved. Sort of a reverse Darwinian strategy: ensure your species survival by being useless to humans.
Trip to Atherton QLD to see Jordan 21/07/2020 Ahead of us is Mount Bartle Frere covered in rain cloud. Trip to Atherton QLD to see Jordan 21/07/2020 What a great use to put this land to: bananas. Not. I'd have preferred a rain forest. Trip to Atherton QLD to see Jordan 21/07/2020 The road leads to Woo-roo-noo-ran National Park at the base of Mount Bartle Frere. Trip to Atherton QLD to see Jordan 21/07/2020 A high grade path leads to the falls.
Trip to Atherton QLD to see Jordan 21/07/2020 Rain is falling and the river tumbles over the granite boulders. Trip to Atherton QLD to see Jordan 21/07/2020 A swimming hole - how nice is this? Look at how clear, how clean the water is. This is the water large corporations claim to bottle for our enjoyment. Trip to Atherton QLD to see Jordan 21/07/2020 Rivers like this are capable of flash flooding. Trip to Atherton QLD to see Jordan 21/07/2020 It gets noisier as the climb gets steeper. I remember my left ankle being particularly sore right now.
Trip to Atherton QLD to see Jordan 21/07/2020 Poetry in motion. Trip to Atherton QLD to see Jordan 21/07/2020 The lower part of the falls. It is from here that I send a picture to Caroline, the Beasleys, the Percivals and Joan & Roger. Trip to Atherton QLD to see Jordan 21/07/2020 By now it’s about 2 pm and we still have 300 km left to travel so we need to make a concerted effort to get into Townsville at a reasonable time. Trip to Atherton QLD to see Jordan 21/07/2020 The sights and sounds of our journey through this spectacular part of the world.
Trip to Atherton QLD to see Jordan 21/07/2020 This is Cardwell, 180 Kms south of Cairns towards Townsville. One of the Barrier Reef's premium natural reserves, Hinchinbrook Island is 5 Kms off the coast. Trip to Atherton QLD to see Jordan 21/07/2020 Hinchinbrook Island is part of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park and wholly protected within the Hinchinbrook Island National Park, except for a small, abandoned resort. It is the largest island on the Great Barrier Reef and the largest island national park in Australia. We still have 160 Kms to reach Townsville; it's back in the car again. Trip to Atherton QLD to see Jordan 21/07/2020 For the first time this trip that bloody satellite navigator screws us around; we drive way south of Townsville and then turn around and head back north into town where we check into a motel at about 6 pm. Trip to Atherton QLD to see Jordan 21/07/2020 We walk a short distance down the Townsville waterfront, The Strand, where the Seaview Hotel has lots of outdoor seating so we have dinner there.
Trip to Atherton QLD to see Jordan 21/07/2020 Jenni has a rump steak and I have a wagyu-beef hamburger; both are very nice. Then it's back to the motel where I sleep well but Jenni sleeps on the tiled floor. Trip to Atherton QLD to see Jordan 22/07/2020 This is the Strand next morning. It's only 380Kms to our next stop at Mackay so we have the luxury of breakfast. Trip to Atherton QLD to see Jordan 22/07/2020 After breakfast, we fill the car with petrol on the way out of Townsville and head south down the PCW. Trip to Atherton QLD to see Jordan 21/07/2020
Trip to Atherton QLD to see Jordan 21/07/2020    
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