If there’s two things I admire about Queenslanders it’s their stoicism. And humour. The damage – entire roof ripped off part of a petrol station – the result of Cyclone Yasi a few months ago.
Ken's Blog
Gone with the wind
April 9th, 2011Frontier town
April 8th, 2011Millaa Millaa. Small cafe. Ushered in by its warm, homely appearance. Table by the window a fine vantage point to watch the comings and goings. Respite from yet another deluge. Twenty feet of rain the previous year.
I’d thought historic Herberton the previous day to have genuine charm. But Millaa Millaa seemed more authentic. A few similar wooden clad buildings, corrugated iron roofs, pastel shades. But somehow less chance it might have been spruced up a bit for tourists.
This time the main street a short distance from the highway down to the coast. And wider. Frontier feel. Half an eye out for prospecting types.
Return to the rainforest
April 8th, 2011Return to the rainforest from Ken Roberts on Vimeo.
Descending from the high Atherton Tablelands back towards the Queensland coast, Ken describes his sudden return to tropical rainforest.
Welcome refusal
April 8th, 2011Turned away. From a backpackers hostel in Innisfail. "I wouldn’t want to errr… put you in with the rest of the clientele" explained the owner. Discreetly. Friendly chap. Early 50s. Trying to be helpful. Instead directing me towards a camp ground half a mile or so away. Best such site so far. Appreciative of the earlier refusal.
The earlier descent from Millaa Millaa back to the Queensland coast slowed considerably by the weather. Sustained tropical downpours so heavy as to render it difficult to see where the road went through my glasses. Peering over the top as best I could. Eyes stinging from the rain. Surface water inches deep in places. Beginning to wonder if a bicycle could aquaplane.
They’d been respites. Albeit brief. Crawford’s Lookout. A roadside water stop. Passing car tooting. Sue, Simon David and Heather I’d met back in Atherton.
High pastures
April 7th, 2011
Tough afternoon. More steep climbs and plunging descents. Not the gentle undulations I’d half expected. There’d been a few clues. For, one I was crossing the Herberton Range. Then there was mention in my dubious guide book of Queensland’s highest road. Cie la vie.
But rewarding. No longer the dense, lush, green tropical rainforest. Rather, open pasture. Cattle grazing. Might have been Devon, Somerset. Much of Wales. But for the humidity. And the extreme ultra-violet.
Take the high road
April 7th, 2011Take the high road from Ken Roberts on Vimeo.
Ken reaches Queensland’s highest road. And finds some surprisingly different scenery.
Hard bargaining
April 7th, 2011Hard bargaining from Ken Roberts on Vimeo.
Camp ground waterlogged. The ground saturated. Realising that if he wants a dry night, best to sleep in a dingy. So, still the low season, visitors thin on the ground, time for some hard bargaining…
Gone clubbing
April 6th, 2011I’d seen a few of these clubs around Queensland. No. Not one of those. Well, perhaps in Cairns. This a very respectable establishment. Members affair, but suitably attired visitors could be admitted. On the outskirts of Atherton. Similar to the Royal British Legion back in Blighty. I’d been invited out by Sue, together with husband Simon and friends David and Heather. All from Melbourne, three hours flying, over three thousand kilometres to the south.
We’d finally met at a leisure park on the outskirts of the town. Quite unbeknown to me, they’d spotted me on the road several times earlier during the day. Simon a keen cyclist. And then I’d just missed them at the Tourist Information Centre in the centre of Atherton. Finally meeting up in the park’s reception.
I’d been given the steer that it’d be better to stop in the town, rather than push on to Herberton. Few more options. Backpackers hostel. Leisure park. And the usual expensive hotels. But the first was out. Workers only. Long-term residents. Farm workers. Fruit pickers. As was the latter. And something just wasn’t gelling with Atherton. Niggling. Security.
Opted to take a unit at the leisure park. Encouraged by sage advice from a very helpful woman in the information centre. "Bargain hard". Low season. Visitors deterred by the recent run of natural disasters. A small chalet secured for the night, it at least meant I’d be able to leave Emma, my trusty steed, and all the kit in safety and join Sue and her friends for a sociable evening out.
Found the club very convivial. Charming in a rather quaint sort of way. Neat lines of tables. Small queue to order. Shades of school dinners. But generous portions. Uncomplicated choices. Not cheap – perhaps double the cost of a similar meal in one of those family-friendly chain pubs in the UK – but still pretty good value. For Australia.
Historic Herberton
April 6th, 2011Historic Herberton from Ken Roberts on Vimeo.
Ken describes historic Herberton. A little tongue-in-cheek. His own cottage quite a bit older. But that could be said of much of Australia. Aborigines excepted of course.
Left turn
April 5th, 2011Beyond the crest of the Kuranda Range, an undulating descent onto the Atherton Tablelands plateaux. Wisps of cloud. Distant. Dense, lush rainforest fading away. Gradually. Giving way to more open woodland.
Coffee stop a little short of Mareeba, the first settlement. A small coffee plantation. Warm and humid, comfortably so now. Civilised affair. Sitting on the veranda. Mellow jazz playing gently in the background. Breeze barely perceptible.
Pondering the map. Far too early to finish the day at Mareeba, despite the advice of yet another dubious guidebook I’d picked up in Cairns. On to Atherton I decided. But left wondering if a brief foray into Mareeba would be worthwhile. Turn right at the next junction? Or left to Atherton?
I sought Joanne’s advice in the cafe. "What was there in Mareeba?" I enquired. "Subway, KFC, Red Rooster" she explained. Left turn.
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