A Dishonourable Start

We had a dishonourable start to our day when a phone call landed, giving the bad news that our cheque written months ago to cover the balance of the deposit on our land at Forster had bounced. Of course it did, we have been so out of it, we completely forgot to transfer the money into that account. Not good to be in breach of a contract so we put it right, fast. Hopefully fixed now.

So, a late exit from Cardwell where we had recharged, refilled, washed everything and generally got ourselves ready for more wilderness.

First stop was "The Spa" a natural waterhole in the nearby State Forest.  This is best in the wet season, the info said. Well, it poured last night, so the spa action was well and truly happening. Bliss.

Then on to Tully, the town that gets an average of 4.4m rain each year, and its record was 7.9m.  On the strength of that the Civic Fathers erected a giant 7.9m high gumboot as a centrepiece of the CBD.

Check out the perfect blue sky, and the clear view of Mt Tyson.  This rarely happens in Tully. From the top of the gumboot, you can see this, the Tully Sugar Mill (below). In this picture you can see a full cane train parked, and an empty one just pulling out. Cane cutting season is in full swing.

This is banana and sugar country, with the occasional paddock clothed in thick deep iridescently green grass, in which fat cows are lying about and moaning how they just can't eat any more. There also seem to be plantations of things we don't recognise, perhaps tropical fruits? At Tully the lovely proprietor of Megabites Cafe gave us one of her canito fruit to eat, and told us the correct method for tackling a jackfruit. Wait till it's brown and really smelling very ripe, then oil up your hands and pull it apart, avoiding the latex core. Good to know for next time!

At Bingil Bay we were turned away from the beach camp on the grounds that our rig was "over 17 foot".  Which it is, when the bed is out.  But there were camper trailers set up there that were way longer, so we were a bit miffed. Went on a little rainforest walk nearby up Bicton Hill, hoping to see a cassowary, and this was the view of Bingil Bay from up there.  Lovely picture postcard beach, golden sand, coconut palms, the whole postcard.

A little further on, and our wish to see a cassowary was finally granted. Here it is, just after it poked its head in the van and made off with our pink balls.  Must have thought they were some kind of rainforest fruit.

Tonight we are in Paronella Park. More about that to follow.