27th June 2012
We had another trip into Mackay to have our
car battery (main starter battery) replaced as the old one is showing distinct
signs of being on its last legs and is about 4.5 years old so we can’t
complain. We went to Mackay in order to replace
it with the same model AC Delco battery in the hope that it serves us as well
as the last one. Whilst in Mackay we
also acquired a Digiframe scanner to make scanning easier without having to
retrieve our scanner/printer from under our bed. We can save it to a USB flash drive until we
need to get the printer out. When the
printer/scanner dies we will buy a much smaller printer only which will make
life a lot easier for storage in the caravan.
30th June 2012
Barry assisted Mark and Jeane to unload a
trailer full of pavers that they had been fortunate enough to get for nothing
from someone they know in Salonika who simply wanted rid of them.
1st July 2012
Barry assisted Mark and Jeane to collect
two more trailer loads of pavers and unload in their garden. Mark did a rough count of one trailer load
which amounted to 360 so we estimate that they must have collected in excess of
1080 plus an extra four rows on the last trailer load that amounted to 48 plus
280 in the back of the ute. All together
we loaded and unloaded at least 1408 pavers.
Barry could be presented with the design and locations of where to lay
the pavers when we return there in the last week of September to look after the
place whilst they are on leave in Adelaide.
2nd July 2012
We left Mark and Jeane’s place for the last
time on this occasion and headed for Home Hill Comfort Stop where we stopped
for 2 nights on our previous trip to the Atherton Tablelands. As we left we
realised that the caravan brake’s control unit wasn’t working properly and was
not seated in its cradle. Barry re-seated
the unit but it still didn’t register that the van was connected. We decide to proceed cautiously and have an
auto electrician check it out in Mackay
but were soon having to make a serious stopping event and nearly didn’t
because the car brakes were trying to stop 5 tonnes instead of 2.5 tonnes with
no help from the van brakes. We pulled
into a convenient parking area alongside a motel/bottle shop and Barry had
another attempt at repair with some success.
It now operates the van brakes as designed but doesn’t indicate whether
the caravan is connected or not. The
only people that could have messed with it are the Nissan mechanics in Mackay
despite not having any reason to do so.
We have told them that we are not too pleased but haven’t had a reply
yet.
3rd July 2012
We left Home Hill and crossed the Burdekin
River via the Silver Link Bridge which is quite a spectacular bridge, and
headed for Innisfail. We parked up for
the day at the rest stop on the junction of the Bruce Highway and the
Palmerston Highway in the exact same spot as on our stop here last year. On the recommendation of the woman in the
Visitors Centre we drove out to Flying Fish Point to the cafe for fish and
chips but we can’t recommend it to others. We also noticed that one caravan
tyre was looking rather soft so Barry pumped it up with the under bonnet
compressor in the hope that was all that was needed.
4th July 2012
We found the tyre completely flat this
morning so Barry put the spare on and took the offending tyre into Innisfail
where it was repaired and has now become our spare. We then moved on to a Memorial Park free
campsite 10kms north of Atherton and about 15kms from tomorrows destination
Camping grounds at Granite Gorge near Mareeba where we will set up our van and
the tent for Richard, Jack and Rory to join us again for their school
holidays. They fly into Cairns on
Saturday which gives us a couple of days to sort everything out before they get
here.
5th July 2012
We found that up here on the Atherton
Tablelands is very cold with a biting wind so have decided to rearrange our
original idea of staying at Granite Gorge and moved back down to Innisfail
which is significantly warmer. The pump
that moves our water from the tanks to the taps has decided to play up so we
now have to find somewhere for spare parts or replacement as required
6TH July 2012
Now that we are back in Innisfail it has
chosen to rain which lives up to its nickname of Rain City but according to the
weather reports it is raining everywhere along the coast. After the rain stopped Barry removed the
water pump and disassembled it to check the diaphragm and pressure switch but
found nothing wrong, but at least he now knows how it works and what spares may
be needed in the future. He discovered
that the water wasn’t getting to the pump because one air vent to the top of
the tanks was blocked stopping air entering the tank. If no air goes in then the water can’t come
out but once he had cleared that everything worked okay. It is unfortunate that the pump is mounted in
a difficult access position under the bed.
7th July 2012 collect them
We set up the tent and beds in readiness
for Richard and the kids and in the afternoon drove to Cairns airport to
collect them. It rained for the whole of
the return journey and into the night.
8th July 2012
It
has rained all day and into the night again plus water is getting into the tent
from below because of a puddle forming in the uneven concrete pad that we
placed it on.
During a slight break in the constant
drizzle we moved the tent to another complete pad behind our van which has
solved the water problem and also placed a large over the centre section of the
tent and extended out over the doorway to provide a dry-ish area for them to
remove their shoes before tramping mud into the tent.
10th July 2012
We took a chance on the weather being
slightly better elsewhere so packed a lunch and drove 146kms to Innot Hot
Springs so that the kids could swim in warm water which kept them occupied for
several hours. On the way back we turned
in to Millstream Falls and felt the volume of water going over the Falls was
greater than when we last saw them after rain last year. As we descended from the table lands past
Millaa Millaa we were fortunate enough to have a Cassowary wander across the
road ahead of us and wait long enough to have its photo taken. It was the first time Richard and the kids
had seen one in the wild, and our second time.
We heard on the news in the evening that Innisfail now holds the State
record for the highest rainfall in July since records began with 145mm in the a
24 hour period. That was achieved with
rain all day followed by torrential rain all night.
11th July 2012
Last night continued the rain pattern
although reduced, and is still raining today.
12th July 2012
The weather has cleared slightly which
allowed Richard and the kids to go to the Innisfail Annual Show in the
afternoon
13th July2012
We drove through to Granite Gorge where we were
supposed to be camping with Richard and the kids and they were suitably
impressed and payed to stay there for the final week of the holiday despite
having already paid for that week in Innisfail.
It would be most unusual if they refund any of the money. On the way back to Innisfail we drove through
Lake Eacham National park in the hope of seeing some Musky Rat Kangaroos
without success but the Lake was impressive and we did find a Red Bellied Black
Snake, and we also called into the Curtain Fig Tree. On arrival back in the camp we took the tent
down whilst it was dry, in readiness for the move in 2 days time.
14th July 2012
Taking the tent down worked well as it is
raining again today which inspired a couple of games of Tenpin Bowling and then
made a start to pack up the campsite prior to tomorrow’s departure. Much to our surprise the park owners did
refund a sizeable amount of our payment covering the next week proving that
some park owners are reasonable despite being business people.
15th July 2012
We finalised the packing and moved up to
the tablelands with a stop at Malanda for Breakfast in the Dairy/Visitor centre
and then at the Malanda Falls before heading for Granite Gorge near
Mareeba. By the time the camp was set up
it was getting late so we drove the long way round into Mareeba for a meal but
managed to find the short way back.
16th July 2012
We drove into Mareeba Visitor Centre to
check out the Historical Walk that takes you through the coal mining period
that ended with a gas explosion killing 74 people, and explained the building
of Tinaroo Dam to form the Tinaroo Lake that we camped alongside when we were
on the Tablelands last year. It was
built to irrigate the Tobacco industry that developed in the Mareeba area and
now irrigates the sugar cane, mangoes and banana crops. And also includes a small heritage village.
17th July 2012
We drove out to Karanda for the kids to see
the Barron Falls which unfortunately was not in full flow because they had not
received as much rainfall as Innisfail, but was still good and had a train pull
in at the viewing station as we arrived.
We then took them to another lookout with a view to Cairns and the coast
before moving into the Karanda towns to visit the Butterfly Park. After lunch in the town’s central park,
Richard and the kids went to the Bird Park whilst we wandered through the
Heritage Market before driving to the Wildlife Park but it was decided that it
was far too expensive for the benefit of feeding a few Wallabies and Roos which
we can do at Granite Gorge on a daily basis for no cost.
No comments:
Post a Comment