There can’t be too many places so far removed from Scotland as Townsville but that doesn’t stop the local population having its very own Tartan Day. We were fortunate enough to be in town in time to see the parade through the main street. Twenty one pipers, a swirl of kilts (is that the right collective term?) drums and lots of colourful tartan banners. Even three Scottie dogs. Scottish dancing and no doubt a dram or several. No caber tossing though.
Next stop was WOW (World Of WearableArt) an exhibition from New Zealand. Definitely whacky, frequently amusing, sometimes challenging, here are a couple of our favourites creations, although we’re not too sure about the everyday wear ability.
On to the museum to see a special exhibition about HMS Pandora, the warship sent out from Britain to find and arrest the mutineers from HMS Bounty. Some fourteen were found and manacled in a small prison constructed on deck. The Pandora foundered on a reef on 29 August 1791 losing 31 crew and four of the prisoners. Kim was drafted as part of a gun crew to prepare, run out and fire a six pounder cannon but is not planning on furthering her naval career.
A really special day was completed by a once in a 250 year event when the moon, Venus and Jupiter more or less lined up. We’re not waiting for the next one – here’s how it looked.
Monday, has a whole week really gone by? We’re getting settled in now to setting up and packing away reasonably efficiently, taking less than ten minutes which includes getting the kettle boiled for a cuppa. Essential this morning as we’ve yet more drizzle. Following the coastal road and then heading north again on the Bruce Highway. Nothing too strenuous today so we complete a couple of hundred kilometres and stop at Cardwell, a small seaside town, for the night.
And so on. Nothing special but after just one day of sunshine it’s back to rain. Camp in the rain, pack up the saturated tent in the rain, drive northwards in the rain and arrive at Palm Cove where it stops raining – hurrah! Up with the tent to dry it out. Kim makes use of the camp’s laundry while I dry, tidy and repack the back of the Land Rover. The big question now is do we continue north or abandon the Cape to turn west on to the Savannah Way? We don’t see this trip as an endurance test and don’t want to wreck the Land Rover driving on washed out tracks, corrugations and churned up ruts, nor risk it on flooded river crossings. We’ll make enquiries and make a decision tomorrow. In the meantime, as dusk approaches it’s time for a glass of wine whilst enjoying the dry. That big black cloud looks threatening but we may get away with it.
Morning and there’s something odd going on. The sky is azure blue and there’s a large yellow orb emitting warmth and light! Breakfast, a stroll and a decision. We’ll say here one more day and then travel north to Laura where we should be able to find out the condition of the tracks leading to Cape York.
The beach looks inviting. The signs don’t.
Not everything in the north Queensland Pacific is out to kill you – just most of it! It may look like a tropical paradise but in the sea there’s stingers (box jellyfish), Irukandji jellyfish (about a centimetre across but quite deadly) and of course salt water crocodiles and sharks. We have a coffee and watch the sea from a distance. The surf lifesavers erect a stinger net to make a screened off area in the water that is safe(ish) for swimming and maintain a watch on people swimming between the yellow and red flags. It’s an excellent voluntary service that occurs all over Australia and is maintained by voluntary contributions.
Time to end this little blog. Lunchtime and I may just have a beer to wash down the sandwich then enjoy the peace and sunshine. There are times when . . . . .
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