Bl**** Weather…..

The following day was wet-, it poured down most of the night and much of the next day, so our planned walk was a non starter. Instead we drove down to the lake, and the dam, which is pretty, but fairly ordinary.

Anyway, as the weather did not look like improving we decided to move on the following day, up to Airlie Beach, a two day drive, stopping overnight in a motel on the way.

Reaching the main road, the M1, ( not quite like ours, it is more like the A6 Carlisle to Penrith- single carriageway!) we found ourselves in sugar cane country. Mile upon mile of cane lines the road both sides, and occasionally we would come across a sugar plant. The cane is moved to the plant by a narrow gauge railway, which criss-crosses the road, or runs beside it for miles. Only once did we see the wagons that move the cane, and we were past before we could get a photo.

It is harvesting time now- just started and will go on til October. We are told that they fire the cane, well the lower part of in anyway which is dead and dry leaves, to get rid of the insects and snakes before the reaper goes through. The machine cuts the cane into short sections, and deposits the leaves as mulch.

The cane has to be processed in the plant within 24 hours, which mainly involves crushing and boiling,  and depending on the quality, can be made into brown sugar, white sugar, or even icing sugar.

After harvesting they plough and replant, placing four inch sections of cane into the furrows at regular intervals, and it re-roots itself.

From time to time we came across citrus plantations, mainly oranges and mandarins, but also limes and lemons. A few mango plantations as well.

Our second day’s travel saw better weather, the sun shone, but it was still remarkably cold. Airlie Beach is just like we remember it, perhaps a little more developed out of town, but not much different. It is pretty quiet at this time, there are still quite a few backpackers around, but generally the tourists appear to be elsewhere at the moment.

We stayed in a mediocre cabin on a mediocre site, froze the first night even with four blankets on, but the next day dawned bright and sunny to warm us up a bit.

There was a P&O ship outside the harbour, guests being tendered into the harbour. It was a pretty long tender, as the Pacific Dawn was too big to come in close. We spoke to a couple of the guests. It appears that this ship regularly sails out of Brisbane as far as Cooktown and back.

In the afternoon we took ourselves off up the coast to Dingo Beach and Gloucester bay,

At the latter there is a restaurant and I suppose one could call it a motel called Montes, ( a few chalets on the beach) far off the beaten track and beyond the tarmac road.

We found that place purely by chance,  I have no idea how they get their business unless it is repeat, there were only a few people there at lunchtime, but plenty of staff to look after them.

It really was idyllic, a beautiful beach with a great restaurant, we almost booked there and then, but as it was we had a drink and a walk down the beach then took off back to Airlie beach.

So today it is a little overcast again, a bit warmer, but at least no rain, and we are on our way north to a town called Charter Towers, which promises to be interesting.

In the meantime – here is a couple of photos taken in Airlie Beach.........

Just a bit disconcerting to go for a p and be faced with these beauties.......