We have left Atherton and the Tablelands behind for the coast which is quite a few degrees warmer. It was 17.5C when we left our cabin at Atherton and down on the coast near Innisfail on the same afternoon the temperature was 23.5 degrees.
We travelled past the platypus lakes again and I stopped off to take a few more photos – this time with my longer lens. It gave me better results and I am happier with these second images.
Before we started the downhill section of our drive, we found a lookout that gave us some expansive views across the Tablelands.
There are many waterfalls in this area as streams fall off the tablelands to the plains below. We followed a 25 kilometre loop that took us to three of them. I managed to take a photo of the Millaa Millaa Falls just before a tour bus arrived and was able to squeeze off one good shot before the scene was invaded by about forty people.
I missed the second waterfall as the access was down a steep slippery track. I gave it away to avoid risking a fall. However, I could reach the third waterfall, the Ellinja Falls, down a formed bitumen track. It was a bit awkward capturing a photo of these falls as the sun was directly behind them. However, I was able to get something acceptable with the aid of an overhanging branch that shaded my camera lens.
We popped in to the town of Millaa Millaa which is in the southern area of the Atherton Tablelands. This is a beautiful litle town. At 850 metres above sea level, it is nestled among emerald hills surrounded by lush dairy pastures, majestic rainforests and those magnificent cascades.
- We stopped for lunch at a picnic table in the Memorial Park right opposite to the pub. It contained a war memorial stone, a replica of the Long Tan Cross and a statue of the two men who first found a route across the range to Atherton.
After Millaa MIllaa, the road descended steeply off the Tablelands and down to the coast. There was a succession of long steep grades although the road was well made and smooth.
As we drove, we passed some of the Nerada Tea Plantations, small farms and some stunning views.
We stopped overnight at Innisfail which didn’t seem to have a lot going for it. Perhaps it was Sunday morning when we looked around before leaving and nothing seemed to be happening. The shops were shut and the streets were quiet. I was interested to see that the large Roman Catholic Church has been renovated since we were here two years ago. It looks magnificent.
There is a large cathoilic population here as early workers in the cane fields came from Italy, Albania and Ireland. There are a large number of Art Deco buildings in the town. These are a result of a cyclone in 1918 that destoyed many of the existing buildings so the new ones were built in the contemporary style of the day.
At the southern end of The Espanade along the river is the Pioneers Monument – a statue of a cane cutter with his knife at the ready. It was donated to the town by members of the local Italian community as a reminder of how important the Italian cane cutters were to the success of the district.
There was a tourist route called the Canecutters Way that Jill saw and suggested that we follow. It took us on a road to Kurrimine Beach which was actually at the end of this tourist road. (We had been on a good part of this tourist drive from Innisfail without knowing it).
As a by-product, that deviation allowed us to see some cane cutting in action. In one canefield, cutting was underway and a couple of small locomotives on the 2 ft railway network were waiting to haul a cane train to the mill.
Much of the Bruce Highway (Brisbane to Cairns) in this region travels some distance from the coast so we decided on a detour to Mission Beach to see some tropical beaches. They looked Idyllic.
We didn’t stay long as the main street of Mission Beach had been dug up for repair and traffic was a nightmare. A quick visit to South Mission Beach let us see some similar aqua coloured water, golden sand and palm trees,
From there, we drove back to the highway thorough about 20 kilometers of Cassowary country but, of course, we didn’t see any. Perhaps these birds can’t read the signs and don’t know that they should stay where people can see them.
We were looking out for a spot for lunch and at one place followed the signs to a stopping place but it wasn’t where it should have been. That resulted in us travelling down a dirt road past sugar cane fields until we reconnected with the highway again. That dirt road was in better condition than many Victorian bitumen roads. Eventually we found a delightful roadside stop at the little town of Cardwell.
I read somewhere that the region of far North Queensland begins north of Cardwell, so I suppose we are now out of FNQ and just back in northern Queensland.
We continued on your journey to Townsville through interesting scenery. We stopped at a lookout that gave us a view over Hinchinbrook Island and, further on, we found a very peacful looking river.
We reached Townsville late in the afternoon and are ready for a free day tomorrow that doesn’t include a lot of long distance driving.
