ATHERTON TABLELANDS

 

20^th June, 2016

Well we have finally made it to one of our favourite places to spend the winter – the Atherton Tablelands. We're trying out a different spot to camp for a while near Mareeba. We are on a property which has only basic amenities but the view across the paddock is marvellous and the quietness is deafening.  In the morning we awake early to the familiar sounds of gas burners on hot air balloons. What the … ? A quick look out the window confirms that we aren't just hearing things. A couple of hot air balloons are landing in the paddock.

Hot air balloons at Ringer's Rest

We quickly get dressed and go outside for a look see. While we watch a bunch of people climb from the baskets and get into a mini bus. Then another mini bus arrives and a new group of people climb out and into the baskets. The balloons then take off and slowly drift away. It appears we have stumbled across one of the landing spots for some commercial hot air balloonists. Well we certainly enjoyed the entertainment and took the opportunity to pat the resident horses as well.

Wok gets a pat

There are lots of birds on the tablelands and Guinea Fowl are often seen wandering by.

A flock of Guinea Fowl wanders by

The southern part of the tablelands is home to many waterfalls but the northern section also has its fair share. These waterfalls are a little more remote and less frequented. Not far away is Emerald Creek Falls so we drive along a gravel road and hike up the mountainside to the top viewing platform.

Emerald Creek Falls

The view back down the mountain is striking and we are glad that it is now all downhill from here back to the car.

Wok takes in the view at Emerald Creek Falls

The information centre at Mareeba is also well worth a visit – if only to visit the statue of the rather large Brahman Bull.

Robyn gets a pat of the Mareeba Bull

It's our wedding anniversary so we decide to do something different and cross off one of those many items on our bucket list. We visit Jaques Coffee Plantation and take a guided tour of the plantation. This tour though is a little bit different. Instead of the normal bus tour we opt for a 'segway' tour. There are only the two of us and the guide. We spend about five minutes learning how to operate the segways and then we are let loose. Our guide beckons us to follow him and off we go into the plantation. The guide (who also works on the plantation) gives us a running commentary on the history of the plantation, how the coffee is grown and how the plantation is maintained.

Wok and Robyn - Segway professionals ... LOL

Our hour long tour turns into nearly two hours as we zip along between the rows of plants. What great fun! It is definitely a great way to get around. The plantation also has a restaurant where you can, of course, taste all the different blends of coffee that they produce. We decide an anniversary lunch is definitely in order and settle down for a nice relaxing meal on the verandah.

Wok's favourite meal - fish 'n chips (with a salad side dish)

Time for some more exercise. This time to Davies Creek Falls which involves another hike up a mountain to the viewing platform near the top.

Wok at the top of Davies Creek Falls

Once again the view down the valley is very scenic but the rough track up is far from user friendly.

Looking down the valley at Davies Creek Falls

Back at camp that night we enjoy a quiet moment watching the horses munch away in the nearby paddock.

A couple of months soaking up the winter sun sounds just about right.  Yep ... life is grand!

 

CARNARVON GORGE

25^th May, 2016

We leave Roma and take the highway north to Rolleston where we check into the caravan park. To the south of here lies Carnarvon Gorge National Park and our plan is to take a day trip to the park and do a walk into the gorge. It has been over thirty years ago since we last visited the park with our children so it will be interesting to see what changes have taken place. On the way into the park we stop at a memorial which was erected to the memory of US and Australian services personnel killed in a World War II aircraft crash.

There is little left of the aircraft – the tail, a motor and bits and pieces.

We have noticed one major change so far. Except for the last 10 kilometres the road in is now tarred. The campground operated by the National Park that was situated at the entrance of the gorge has been closed and a caravan park/campground is now located quite a long distance away. We pull into the parking area at the visitor area, pack our backpack with snacks, fruit and water and set off up the gorge. The visitor pavilion is closed for renovations so the only signs of life are the resident kangaroos. The main walking track has obviously had a few changes made to it over the years. Instead of trekking beside the creek the track now ascends to halfway up the hillside on the northern side of the gorge

View along the track looking down to the creek at Carnarvon Gorge

and then follows the terrain until it finally descends down to the creek before the Moss Garden. We leave the main track here and climb up and up many steps until finally the Moss Garden comes into view.

Part of the Moss Garden at Carnarvon Gorge

Platform walkways and handrails have now been built along the moss wall in an effort to keep people from destroying the delicate plant structures. It is nice and cool here with water still flowing into the rock pool at the canyon end of the Moss Garden.

Moss Garden rock pool at Carnarvon Gorge

We retrace our steps back across the creek to the main track and continue hiking further up the gorge. The track now becomes a bit rougher with many creek crossings – much as we remember it from before.

Wok at one of the many creek crossings in Carnarvon Gorge

The next turnoff is to the Ampitheatre. We cross the creek once again and climb up the side canyon until we get to the base of the entrance to the Ampitheatre. Access is by way of a series of steel staircases attached to the cliff wall – much better than the rickety ladder we had to climb thirty odd years ago. At the top of the stairs a raised steel walkway has been installed to help you over the uneven rock floor in the tunnel leading into the Ampitheatre. We emerge at the other end into the Ampitheatre.

The Ampitheatre - Carnarvon Gorge

It is still as breathtaking as it was all those years ago. Here also, walkways and handrails have been installed to try and protect the fragile surroundings. This is as far as we intend to go up the gorge so we stop here for a bite to eat while we gaze up at the sheer walls that surround us.

It's a long way to the top of the cliffs inside the Ampitheatre

It is lovely and peaceful in this shady cavern with only the echoes of our voices to break the silence. Reluctantly we made our way back to the top of the stairs where we pause for a while to take in the view.

Taking in the view at the top of the stairs to the Ampitheatre

We're not looking forward to the hike back and by the time we reach the carpark we are well and truly bushed. We estimate that we have walked 14 kilometres today. No wonder our little feet, legs, hips etc. etc. are giving us grief. We're pleased that we made the effort though. Carnarvon Gorge is still a lovely place and for the more energetic there are other bush walks to be done and more things to see. Just for the moment though we are looking forward to a nice hot shower to soothe our aching muscles and maybe a day of relaxation is on the agenda for tomorrow …

ROMA

18^th May, 2016

On the way to Roma we stop for a couple of nights in Dirribandi. We have stopped here so that we can take a tour of Cubbie Station – a cotton farm just inside the Queensland border. The station first commenced operations in 1984 and is situated in a floodplain between the Culgoa and Balonne Minor Rivers. At 80,000 hectares it is one of the biggest cotton farms in the southern hemisphere and has a water storage capacity of 462,000 megalitres. Our tour vehicle is a four wheel drive and there are two other couples along for the ride. We enter the property only a few kilometres from town and drive and drive and drive along kilometres of fields and water storage areas with channels running in every direction.

Driving along the embankments on Cubbie Station

The whole of outback Queensland has been under drought conditions for a number of years and Cubbie Station has also been affected. Of the 88 fields developed into furrow irrigation only two or three will be planted with cotton this year because of the drought. The station depends on floods to keep its water storage areas at full capacity with some storages 8 metres deep. After driving for more than two hours we have only seen a couple of storage areas which actually have water in them.

One of the water storage areas on Cubbie Station

Cubbie Station's production is irrigated agriculture and they can grow a variety of irrigated crops such as cotton, wheat, sorghum, barley, chickpeas, sunflowers, mungbeans and soybeans. Principally they grow cotton as it provides the highest gross margin. In full swing they employ over 120 full time staff and approximately 10,000 trailer loads of cotton are taken to the cotton gin. That equates to 4,400 road trains from Cubbie Station. The figures are staggering. We just can't get our heads around the picture of 4,400 road trains loaded with cotton trundling back and forth along these embankments. We are between the harvesting and planting cycles so only routine maintenance is being carried out now. We have been driving around the station for nearly three hours and have only seen a small portion of the property. To say we were impressed by its size would be an understatement.

The following day we arrive at Roma and slot ourselves onto a powered site at the local clay target shooting club. The club is on the outskirts of town and is nice and quiet – except for Thursday nights and Saturdays when the members practise their shooting abilities. This provides a different kind of entertainment for us though and everyone is very friendly with a barbecue dinner at the clubhouse on Thursdays. Roma was settled after explorer Sir Thomas Mitchell reported glowingly on the country in 1846. Like many outback towns Roma was reliant on rather scanty rainfall and in the late 19^th century looked closely at the potential of underground water. In 1881 the first attempt to drill for water was made with only a little success. A second attempt was made at a different location in 1899 and at 3684 feet natural gas was encountered. Roma has strong historic as well as current links with natural gas production and is centrally positioned in an area of large reserves of petroleum, gas and coal seam gas.

One of the first things you notice when driving around Roma is the abundance of Bottle Trees growing along its streets. The bottle trees are native to the area and can grow to over 200 years old. This is one reason why the town has introduced them to the streetscape. Towards the end of World War I the town council sought to establish an avenue of suitable trees to honour their fallen soldiers and the bottle tree was chosen because the trees could be planted in a mature form, thus avoiding the depredations of the many mobs of feral goats which then roamed the town. In 2003 plaques were placed at each tree with information found regarding a particular soldier. On Anzac Day each year wreaths are placed on each tree.

One of the bottle trees in the Avenue of Honour in Roma

The largest Bottle Tree in Roma is located at the end of Edwardes Street near parkland. The tree was transplanted by the council from a local property in 1927. As the tree was fairly well grown at the time of the transplant its age is unknown. It stands 6 metres tall with a crown of 20 metres and has a girth of 9.5 metres. It sure is a big bottle tree.

Wok thought the Big Bottle Tree in Roma needed a hug ..

We've been told about a shop in Roma that is said to be worth looking in. On enquiring where it might be located the answer was “just drive along the main street and when you see a lot of boxes out front you're there”. Couldn't be more easier directions than that eh? Well we did as we were told and yep! There were the boxes as well as other stuff stacked along the footpath.

Boxes and stuff on the footpath nearly hide the entrance to the shop.

We went inside. OMG! Rows and rows of stuff – packed to the ceiling. Bolts of cloth and textiles in one aisle

Looks like Wok has spotted something he wants on the top shelf ...

colourful ribbons of all sizes in another aisle

Ribbons ... Ribbons ... Ribbons

and shelves and boxes of wool that would have kept a hundred knitters busy for ages.

Wool ...Wool ... Wool

And that was just three aisles – there were aisles of kitchen utensils, clothes, manchester and 'who knows what'. High up on the sides were cardboard boxes stacked on dusty cardboard boxes. There was stuff everywhere. It would be a nightmare trying to do a stock inventory. We're pretty sure that there were things there that hadn't seen the light of day for years. Yep this shop was definitely well worth having a look at!

The Information Centre in Roma is situated at The Big Rig. The rig is not hard to miss as you head along the highway and is a memorial to the pioneers of Australia's gas and oil industry. We take a self guided walk through a series of interpretative signs and panels embellished by drilling rigs and mining equipment.

Drilling Rig

An older drilling rig

That night we come back to take in the 30 minute light and sound presentation which recreates the story of local oil and gas exploration in the early part of last century.

Roma also lies in the heart of a rich cattle grazing area. The largest cattle-selling centre in Australia lies here and visitors can experience the sales on a free guided tour. Thursday is a busy day in town with Prime (fattened) cattle being sold. Up to 12,000 cattle per sale can be yarded. Cattle are transported by truck in the days leading up to the sale and are fed and watered in spelling yards until the afternoon before the sale, when they are then drafted into the selling pens. We are up early on the day of the sale and head to the yards. There are quite a lot of people waiting to take the tour and we are split into smaller groups with each one having its own tour guide. Our guide takes us on a walk between the selling pens where we rub shoulders with the cattle buyers and agents. The smell is slightly overpowering at first but after a while you don't seem to notice it as much. We are then guided up to the walkways which overlook the pens and we can watch as the selling agents auction each pen.

Roma Saleyards - Auction underway

Not all the cattle in each pen is acceptable to the buyers and a long handled broom daubed with paint is used to mark those that don't pass muster.

Cattle in pen being marked with brush

After each pen is sold the cattle are herded into the weigh-in area where the total kilograms per sale can be recorded and then moved on for delivery or into spelling yards.

Weigh-in area

By the following day all the cattle have been loaded onto trucks and taken to their destinations. One would like to think that they were all going to nice rich pastures somewhere but the reality is that most of these cattle are sold for meat production.

We've quite enjoyed our stay at Roma. One of those places we have been through many times but not actually stopped in to have a look around. We spend our last night at the clay target shooting grounds watching the sunset. With kangaroos grazing in the nearby paddock it makes for a pleasant end to the day.

LIGHTNING RIDGE

10^th May, 2016

We're now in the far north of New South Wales and not far from the Queensland border lies the opal mining town of Lightning Ridge. As we get closer to the turnoff into Lightning Ridge a large sculpture (obviously of an emu) comes into view and we just have to stop and take a look. A plaque at the base of the sculpture explains how and why 'Stanley' came into being.

Really 'large' is a bit of an understatement. The word that comes to mind when looking up at Stanley is 'gigantic'.

It's a long way up to that first VW

After being suitably impressed with Stanley we head into Lightning Ridge. The familiar landscape of an opal mining area soon comes into view.

Mullock heaps near Lightning Ridge

We check into a caravan park which is situated right behind the main shopping area where there are innumerable opal galleries and touristy type shops to browse through. There are a couple of tourist companies which will take you on a tour around the town and opal diggings but there are also some self drive tours which one can do. We opt for the self drive tours so that we can take our time and stop for however long we want at the sites along the way. The self drive tours are called 'Car Door Tours' and are signposted with old car doors that have been scavenged from the diggings. There is the Red Car Door Tour, the Blue Car Door Tour, the Green Car Door Tour, etc. etc. etc. ... you get the idea!

After breakfast next morning we set off to do the Yellow Car Door Tour. This tour takes us out into the 3 Mile Opal field through the mullock heaps where the original township of Lightning Ridge once stood. There are lots of open mine shafts around so it is not wise to wander aimlessly around Lightning Ridge. We stop for a look around Lunatic Hill.

Lunatic Hill Open Cut at Lightning Ridge

The leases for this section of land were bought by one company and open cut mining was undertaken. In 1986 an opal valued at $2.5 million was found here – it was named Halley's Comet. Information Panels explain the geology and mining techniques used. The tour continues into the 4 Mile Opal field and then joins up with the Castlereagh Highway. We head back for a bite to eat at the local RSL and then head head out towards the Artesian Baths where we find the start of the Red Car Door Tour. This tour takes us up into Sim's Hill Opal field and was the site of the first 1906 settlement called Wallangulla or Old Town. The first opal rush boomed here in 1905. There are many private homes along the track with recycled materials being a popular choice for building construction. Bottles, rocks, corrugated iron, bits of tin – anything that was discarded and could be used for another purpose was utilised and still is. We stop for a look at Amigo's Castle, a private home single-handedly built of ironstone.

Amigo's Castle - Lightning Ridge

Started in 1981 and inspired by Roman ruins in northern Italy, Amigo constructed the castle using scaffolding consisting of 44 gallon drums with planks arranged one above the other.

Section of Amigo's Castle at Lightning Ridge

Underground there are trapdoors, dungeons and tunnels leading to Amigo's mine. We continue along the track passing old shafts with hoist buckets standing idly by.

It is now late afternoon – so time to head back to camp and a singsong around the campfire before turning in for the night. In the morning we opt for the Blue Car Door Tour which takes us to the Bald Hill Opal field. This field was famous for good black opals that were found on many different levels. Besides opals agate and quartz have been found in this area. The last stop on this tour is at Bean's Black Opal and Cactus Nursery. It is easy to understand why cactii grows so easily here. The climate and soil (what soil there is) suits these plants perfectly. With over 2300 species the nursery has the largest collection of cactii in the southern hemisphere and are the world's only opal mining cactus farmers! The cactus farm was the last stop on our Blue Car Door Tour so we then decided to visit a place that we had passed yesterday - Chambers of the Black Hand. This is a mine with a difference. Ron Canlin bought the unwanted mine in 1982 hoping to find his fortune. The mine did not live up to expectations so he built some stairs and turned it into an open mine for tourists. After the first year of showing a few people the mine he decided to dig a little extra room at the 35 foot level to give visitors a demonstration of opal cutting. As the sandstone was excavated for the new room he carved a welcome hand in the stone and the Chambers of the Black Hand was born. One carving led to another and when one room was completed the next room was excavated to allow for more carvings. The result is a set of catacomb-like rooms where dinosaurs, goblins and figures such as Nostradamus and the Archangel Gabrielle emerge eerily from the walls. Ron gets his inspiration from photos in books and newspapers. Having found a picture he digs out a new space in the mine with a jackhammer and begins to carve the relief with a small pick. The fine work is done with kitchen utensils – the sandstone being stable but very malleable. In the small shed at the top of the mine we don hard hats and make our way slowly down the steep stairs to the carving level. There is a tour of the actual opal mining level further down the mine with the guide being a present-day opal miner. This tour was very interesting with life on the opal fields discussed as well as information on what it was and is like to mine opal. We returned to the carving level and were then on our own to explore the maze of tunnels for as long as we liked. The following photos are a snippet of some of the wonderful creations that we saw :-

 

Large carving of the Last Supper

 

In the maze of tunnels we find Ron Canlin hard at work on his next carving

 

 

 

Just love these meerkats !

 

 

Ron Canlin is now in his eighties and still carving away. His dream of becoming rich as an opal miner has changed somewhat. He is now rich in other ways and the fantastic underground world he has created and is still creating will delight people for many years to come.

That afternoon we embark on the Green Car Door Tour which follows an ironstone ridge to the north of the town. Although power lines come from the highway to town most of the camps on the fields don't have power from the electricity grid and are instead self-reliant on generators or solar or wind or just plain go without. Along this track we pass an old wild orange tree that has an 80 foor root system. The aboriginals made a paste of this fruit and some miners regard them as surface indicators of opal. At the end of the track we come to a lookout at the site of Nettleton's First Shaft which faces northwest over the Coocoran Opal Fields.

 
These fields were a multi-billion dollar venture between 1988-1996. If the dollars found there were equated to bricks and mortar the skyline would easily resemble that of the Gold Coast. It's hard to visualise the fortunes won and lost here on the opal fields let alone the back-breaking work needed to win the opal from the ground. Today the miners have machinery to help with the digging but this is no place for the weak. The work is still punishing, life difficult and the climate unforgiving.
 Ahhh … but the chance of finding that one in a million opal …. It's what dreams are made of .. !