Dale and I have done our fair share of travel over the past 40+ years … we’ve just set up a feature wall (aka brag wall) at our new home with canvases of just some of our travels. We have been blessed.
However, we haven’t done that many long distance road trips … other than transporting a young family some years ago back and forward from Rockhampton or Cairns.
This time, our first real travel time since my 28 February retirement, we decided to visit Joel (& partner Upasana) for three days in Emerald, Central Queensland before heading five hours north to Charters Towers, North Qld for 6 nights with friends Barb & Pat. Then onto Cairns, FNQ – six nights at Palm Cove (ridiculously wonderful accommodation/meal deal) and then three with friends Glenn and Jan. We’ve travelled the better part of 2000 km so far in our Hyundai i30.
Let me work backwards. Yes, Palm Cove is touristy and ritzy, but it’s Palm Cove’s natural beauty that is so captivating. The long beach, the palm trees, the cloud over the nearby mountain, the afternoon breezes. The long walk along Williams Esplanade is such a plus! And hey … it’s much warmer up here!
While Dale and do enjoy the touristy, sightseeing side of things, we just as much enjoy kicking back and taking it easy. Nice breakfast, good morning walk, coffee, swim, read, conversation, nap 💤… Palm Cove has offered all of that and more. We’re lapping it up.
On Friday we look forward to heading north into the Daintree via a tour on a 4WD bus.
We arrived here after about 7 hours driving (with breaks) from Charters Towers, via Townsville … driving through so much sugar cane country and places which are among the wettest in Australia… Tully, Innisfail …
Our stay with longtime friends Barb and Pat was a superb break. We basically had a little cottage to ourselves for 6 days. Highlights included:
- great conversations with Barb, Pat and son, Matt
- visiting Towers Hill – site of numerous defunct goldmining shafts and chimneys, as well as WW2 bunkers
- Appreciating the history of CT and surrounds
- Enjoying a cream bun “to die for” (sure hope not) at CT bakery
- Driving around property on their Polaris Ranger vehicles … not made for long-legged types!
- (Low point) suffering through the Queensland Maroons’ flogging by the NSW Blues in State of Origin 1.
- Especially, sitting around the campfire for hours most nights, with the sun setting, the fire warming, the guitars strumming plenty of old John Denver, Tom Paxton and Peter, Paul & Mary folk songs with Matt & me playing, sipping anything from coffee, Diet Coke or port. Just beautiful.
next to a song about possible unexploded munitions
Before Charters Towers we really enjoyed our three nights with Joel and Upasana in Emerald. Both are doing well and enjoyed cooking for us barbecued ribs on the Weber and Nepalese dumplings. Yum!
Just a really relaxing time of catching up, including watching Modern Family for the first time … then the second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth 😀
We left Spring Mountain , Ipswich on a Thursday morning with Mika left in capable, caring hands. We overnighted it in Roma before heading to Emerald five hours drive north … with a detour to the beautiful, stunning Carnarvon Gorge National Park. First time there for Dale. I was last there when 18!
Of course, we just had to stop … fuel and lunch at Belyando Crossing … roughly half way between Clermont and Emerald and only place for either. I’d heard about their dim sims but deferred to a hamburger!
Until next time, cheers.
Shalom, DAVID
