Tropical Christmas in July

Last Thursday, 23rd July, we attended the annual Tropical Christmas in July Rally, put on by the Far North Nomads, a chapter of the CMCA. What a fun 4 days we had!
CMCA is the Campervan and Motorhome Club of Australia, of which we are members. This event was held at Davies Park, Mareeba, and over 260 vehicles of all types were present, from small pop top vans to large converted busses/coaches.
We met many interesting people, who we hope to come across again on our travels.

Morning and afternoon tea were provided each day, BYO chair and cup. Each evening there was entertainment; live bands and dancing; with Christmas dinner on the Saturday night. Sunday was Open Day, with market & food stalls, and the public was welcome to come in for a look.
Sunday night the Far North Nomads entertained us with a variety of acts, all very good. We laughed almost the whole 4 days! hahahaha...................this will be a must do next year. Photo below is of some of the vehicles; it wasn't possible for me to get all of them in the shot. Click on photos for a larger view.
This eagle was part of a wildlife show at the rally.

Today, finally, our Winny has name stickers. We chose Mystery Tour because that seems to be what we have been doing! LOL And we also added the Aussie map with Our Back Yard as it seems appropriate. (Mystery Tour is on the front too.)

Etty Bay to Devonshire Tea

After leaving Paronella Park we continued south along the Old Bruce Highway (hard to believe this was part of the main highway from Brisbane to Cairns, not a good road) until we reached the new Bruce Highway, then we headed north back towards Innisfail. We saw a sign pointing east to Etty Bay, so we thought let's see what's there. Very nice little beach; not much there apart from a caravan park. We took a walk along the beach and over the rocks.......
very peaceful.

Click on the photos for a larger view. The resident Cassowary took a liking to our bull bar; it could see its reflection, maybe thought it was another cassowary.

We then drove through Innisfail, intending to find Josephine Falls, but Rick saw a sign pointing west to Millaa Millaa, (which means wet wet, we were told) so up the mountains on the Palmerston Highway we go. Not as twisty and turny as some of the roads we have been on, but it had some quite steep grades.

We spent the night at the Millaa Millaa caravan park; next morning we headed to Malanda. There are a lot of things to see on the Tablelands, one of which is the Curtain Fig, pictured below.

Rick and me at the Malanda Falls.

We felt on top of the world up here; the views are beautiful.

We decided to visit the Nerada Tea plantation, which is reached by taking a roller coaster road from the highway. The next 2 photos are views of this road.

The next photo shows part of the tea processing at Nerada. This was very interesting. Click on the link to find out more.... http://www.neradatea.com.au/

This is the view from the Nerada visitor's centre; Queensland's highest mountain, Bartle Frere in the background, with tea bushes the slightly raised bright green centre area, and an old harvesting machine in the foreground.

After our busy morning, devonshire tea was too tempting to pass up.

On the road again, we came across a dairy farm with a shop and cafe, so of course we had to investigate. Glad we did; their home made cheeses were delicious, served with some warm crusty bread. Yum! A return visit is in order. We love our food, as you have probably guessed by now. LOL

Paronella Park

Last Sunday, 28th June, we drove around 140kms south to visit Paronella Park, near Innisfail. What a magical place; well worth a return visit. Included in the entry fee are tours, and a night in the caravan park. I won't write about the history here, as it is all in this link. http://www.paronellapark.com.au/ Scroll to the bottom of the page for the history.

My photos don't really do this place justice; you need to be there to feel the special atmosphere it has. (If you click on the photos you will get a larger view.)

This is a view of the castle.

The cottage where Jose and family lived.
Looking down on the picnic area from the castle.
Picnic area with its moss covered tables and stools.

The waterfall. The structure on the right is for the hydro thingy. The castle is just above here to the right.

The Grand Staircase, from the picnic area up to the castle.

A view of the waterfall.

The Tea Rooms.