2020 Far North Queensland
 

Townsville - Tue 21/07/2020

2020 Far North Queensland
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. 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. This interesting picture is about the disabled parking and the toilet block; we really need more "reality show" pictures like this. It's raining which is a bonus because the streams and waterfalls are very active right now.
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. 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. It's a short walk to the stream. 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.
Beautifully maintained park land accompanies the river. 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. 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. 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.
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. This is not a major river, it is one of many streams cut by water flowing down from the mountain tops. Jenni takes a picture of the widening stream. This is Queensland. Queensland is wheel-chair friendly.
We follow the track into the wilderness. The stream narrows as the gradient steepens. We start to see some of the boulders after which this area is named. The boulders are granite and have worn smooth over the countless years the flowing water has polished them. 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.
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. Enjoying this area, The Boulders, is one of the highlights of our 5600Km trip. Even the sounds created by the rapids is intoxicating. This incredible natural creation is called the "Devil's Pool". Jenni hides from me, unsuccessfully.
I have never been in forest -jungle - this thick. It is not an easy walk, my left ankle hurts, but just ahead is the "Boulders Gorge Lookout". 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. 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?
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. 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. The rain clouds sit atop a mountain range of which Mount Bartle Frere is a part. 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.
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. 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)." 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. 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.
Ahead of us is Mount Bartle Frere covered in rain cloud. What a great use to put this land to: bananas. Not. I'd have preferred a rain forest. The road leads to Woo-roo-noo-ran National Park at the base of Mount Bartle Frere. A high grade path leads to the falls.
Rain is falling and the river tumbles over the granite boulders. 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. Rivers like this are capable of flash flooding. It gets noisier as the climb gets steeper. I remember my left ankle being particularly sore right now.
Poetry in motion. The lower part of the falls. It is from here that I send a picture to Caroline, the Beasleys, the Percivals and Joan & Roger. 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. The sights and sounds of our journey through this spectacular part of the world.
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. 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. 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. 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.
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. This is the Strand next morning. It's only 380Kms to our next stop at Mackay so we have the luxury of breakfast. After breakfast, we fill the car with petrol on the way out of Townsville and head south down the PCW. 2029-07-13FNQld-13
2029-07-13FNQld-14    
Mackay - Wed 22/07/2020Next: Mackay - Wed 22/07/2020 Cairns - Tue 21/07/2020Previous: Cairns - Tue 21/07/2020
jAlbum image gallery software & TurtleSkin: Turtle Black, 5.6.7 Download   ·   Help