Townsville and a Walk in the Rainforest

 January 21 

(Editor again - we're finally getting some good internet connectivity here in Bali, so hopefully we can catch up before we get home!)

No matter where we've been so far, there has always been the threat of 'passing showers' or full on rain. And it was no different here in Townsville. 

Our excursion was a walk in the rainforest at Palumba Range National Park, with a stop for morning tea and a barbecue lunch included. It was looking quite nice, although a bit sticky, when we left, so we didn't take an umbrella - we thought it might be a little difficult tramping along a track in the woods with one, never mind looking silly.

Sugar cane fields

After learning so much about mining in the south and central parts of Australia, we heard all about the agriculture in the north east. Sugar cane is one of the staple products grown here and they still use the method of burning the field the day before harvest to get rid of the outer husk and excess leaves. There are lots of other tropical fruits grown here and exported to the rest of Australia and abroad.

Townsville has a vibrant economy in processing minerals like zinc, nickel and copper, is a military headquarters and is the base for the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority and the Australian Institute of Marine Science. It looks like a lovely city from the photos we've seen; next time we're here we'll explore the city.

Back to our drive into the hills. It took about an hour to reach Palumba, and we found out why we needed to use small buses. It is a narrow, winding road up to a small community that could barely be called a village - in fact the residents have to drive down that same winding road to the main highway and then to the local shopping centre a few kilometres away just to buy groceries. We had our 'rest stop' and a chance to sample some homemade scones with cream and strawberry jam. 

After another 10 minute drive we were at the starting point for our hike. Not long after we started out and took photos at the first overlook spot, we had our first sprinkles of rain. But as the forest canopy was quite thick, that didn't concern us at all.

It was a comfortable walk along clear paths for the most part. The park service had also put in some heavy rubberized 'tiles' in some inclined areas to keep them from getting muddy and slippery in the wet weather. We only encountered one spot where a tree had fallen over the path, which meant we all had to climb over the trunk to get to the viewpoint, and do the same on the return journey. This was, of course, the point where it started to rain enough that it was coming through the trees and getting us all pretty damp. At least we weren't soaking wet! But as Larry says, it was truth in advertising: they sent us to the rain forest, and it rained!

Our guide explaining how the Strangler
Fig wraps around a tree and eventually
kills it

This was our goal. A spectacular view to
the west. As you can see, it was raining when
we got there. And look how low the clouds were!

Our walk back. It was as if the clouds
had come to meet us in the forest.

That was a nice bit of exercise! We reboarded the buses and began the drive to another part of the park for lunch. This was the Hidden Valley Cabins, a family owned rustic retreat. It looked like the perfect place to get away into nature. Although it didn't look like there were that many cabins and rooms, the dining room where they served lunch was large enough for the 60 people or so on the tour.

Our lunch included beef sausages, chicken
skewers, grilled onion and salads

One of the cabins

After lunch we loaded up again and headed back to town and the ship. We made one last stop at Crystal Creek, a gentle waterfall with pools that is a favourite swimming area for the local kids.

There were a couple more showers on the way back, but nothing to hamper our return to the ship.

Our next stop was in Cairns, but as we had done most of the excursions that were available, some more than once, we ended up staying on the ship and taking advantage of the pool deck lounges. That's not always possible on sea days, as people tend to dump things on them before breakfast and come back at their leisure to use them. Don't think people who sail luxury cruise lines are any different than anybody else in that respect.