Atherton Tablelands

25 - 28 October 2014

Our next stop would be the beautiful Atherton Tablelands. From Cairns you can travel north and go via Kuranda and Mareeba, or go south via Gordonvale and straight to Yungaburra. We opted for the longer journey via Kuranda. Both the Gillies Highway and Kuranda Range Road are steep and windy, and both can be dangerous, but Kuranda Range itself is much shorter. Besides we had all day to get to The Canopy in Tarzali.

Once we reached Kuranda, just on 9.00 am, we stopped for coffee only to discover that Kuranda doesn't really get going until later in the morning - we suspected once the tourists start arriving via Skyrail and the Kuranda Rail. We did find one coffee shop open and enjoyed our coffee - complete with milk art - before checking out the local op shop. We also did a spot of Christmas shopping in one of the few shops that were open.

Great work by the barista, worth a photo!

As luck would have it we had booked this visit on the weekend of the famed Yungaburra Markets, so this was to be a definite stop. Yungaburra Markets started as a fundraiser for the local primary school, and have grown into the biggest and best markets in the north. They are held on the fourth Saturday of each month, except December when they are held before Christmas. We wandered through the numerous stalls selling local produce, clothing, natural remedies, soaps, gift ware and numerous foods. We bought nitrate free bacon and fresh local vegies, as well as some more Christmas gifts. Traditional Swiss bratwurst hot dogs and a deep fried, battered potato twist was not the healthiest lunch - but it sure tasted good! 

Christie is serenaded by a barber shop quartet as she chooses a dip.

Not only was it markets day, it was also Tablelands Folk Festival weekend, so like Green Island, Yungaburra was packed with tourists, but unlike Green Island, these were a different breed altogether. Everyone was relaxed and friendly, polite and courteous. Despite the crowds, it was a nice place to be.

Green-eyed Tree Frog found in the bath room.

From Yungaburra we drove on to Malanda to pick up more supplies and then on to The Canopy. We had stayed here before and chose to return as it is a beautiful spot in the rainforest, with abundant birdlife. Bird seed and over-ripe bananas are provided so you can attract the locals and it didn't take long for Mick to get the camera set up on the tripod on the balcony of our pole house. Brush turkeys were the noisiest visitors and catbirds the greediest. King parrots, Macleays honeyeaters, Victoria's riflebirds and many others visited throughout the afternoon. 

This is the boss turkey. There were at least six others in his entourage constantly hanging around, totally obsessed with getting a share of whatever food was on offer.

Light levels were always very low in the rainforest, making photography very difficult. I found myself pushing the ISO up to numbers I'd not attempted before and still not even getting 1/160 s. As a result, close up detail has suffered and lots of shots were blurred and unusable. Luckily, modern cameras can handle high ISOs very well and in in conjunction with noise reduction and editing software, a decent image is possible. 

I set up my camera with a flash attached on a tripod at the other end of the deck from where birds came in to feed. Whenever birds came in I clicked away like crazy. Unfortunately the feeder is at the darkest part of the deck. This was a great learning experience as I worked through different combinations of ISOs and fill flash values. Because of the lack of light the aperture was always wide open. Mick.

Spotted Catbird

Wompoo Fruit-Dove

I could never tire of this view.

Sunday was a relaxing day spent at the cabin, with Mick alternating between taking and processing photos. Some of the birds eat out of your hands and one of the king parrots was quite demanding – sitting on the table and making eye contact and noises until a handful of seed was made available.

Australian King-Parrot Female

Macleays honeyeater

Victoria's riflebird Male

Victoria's riflebird Female flicks banana into its mouth.

We were awoken by noises inside the cabin to discover a midnight possum raiding party. I had forgotten to close the louvres in the kitchen before retiring for the night! The Special K cereal was overlooked in favour of bananas, and date and walnut loaf as the food of choice for these very cheeky creatures. As Mick held the door open to shoo one out, another came strolling in. The trail of possum pee revealed that they had even been into the bedroom – perhaps checking that we were asleep. 

They are a pest but an irresistible one.

The local currency is banana.

We headed out - having cleaned up after the possum party - and made our way to Malanda and then Atherton for the op-shops. Then it was on to "Platypus Park" and Hastie Swamp for some bird watching. There is a great hide at the swamp, but not many birds on this occasion. Back to Malanda for lunch at the bakery - tasty pies and good service (they even provide hand sanitiser on the tables!) Back over to Yungaburra for a browse in the shops and you would never know the place had been crawling with thousands of tourists and visitors two days before - it was back to its sleepy and peaceful self.

Eastern Water-dragon.

Bridled Honeyeater sun-baking.

Gerygone feeding young in nest.

These three shots were all taken at another favourite birding place of mine, Platypus Park in Atherton. I make a point of visiting each time we are on the Atherton Tableland and am never disappointed. 

Because of the diverse habitat available in a relatively small area, there is always plenty of wildlife. Because this is a suburban park the wildlife is more accustomed to humans, so you are generally able to get a little closer. A large Evodia tree in the park blooms around Christmas each year and becomes the focus of a multitude of nectar-loving creatures. Several species of honeyeater, butterflies, lorikeets, beetles and other insects all flock to the abundant nectar supply. More pics to come. Mick.

On arriving home, we went for a short walk on the property to visit the turtle hangouts. These creatures know to expect to be fed when you arrive, and come to the bank in expectation. I held a handful of the turtle food provided and was bitten on the fingers for my trouble. I didn't expect that.

We spent our last morning just enjoying the surroundings - and taking more photos, so we didn't leave until almost ten o'clock. A good run home, with a stop in Cardwell for lunch.

Time to start planning the next trip....

Cairns

23 - 25 October 2014
We arrived in Cairns and checked in to the Mantra Esplanade - we've stayed here a couple of times before - and discovered we had been upgraded to an "ocean view" apartment rather than "city view". We had a one bedroom apartment near the corner of the building on the sixth floor (only one above us) with a  great view over the lagoon swimming pool and out over the ocean.

View of the lagoon and the entertainment space where twirling and juggling fire were the flavour of the week.

We had been considering a trip out to Green Island and decided to book for Friday. We booked through the hotel reception and they were able to give us a generous discount. Bonus! Dinner at "Cafe Thai" just off the Esplanade was very nice. We've never been to Thailand so don't know if it's authentic - but it was very tasty, good value for money and the service was great.

Cruise morning looked a little grey.

To avoid the crowds, we had checked in to the "Big Cat" the afternoon before - good decision, as there were heaps of people arriving as we were.

Our transport awaits.

We boarded the boat and waited to set off. Tea and coffee were available as were ginger sea sick tablets. These tablets work very well - I used them when we went on the "Bruny Island Adventure" cruise in Tasmania a few years ago. That trip takes visitors into the mountainous seas of he Great Southern Ocean, so anything to help settle the stomach has to be good. I decided to take one as a precaution even though the waters of the Great Barrier Reef are comparatively benign. The sea was a little lumpy and a number of passengers succumbed to seasickness. Yuk!

Leaving Cairns and the clouds behind.

Bridled Terns all in a row.

We saw turtles from the jetty but they were too quick for me to photograph.

Arriving on the, far from deserted, Island.

Our full day package tour promised 5 hours on Green Island, and we were on the go the whole time. We started with a stop in the resort village area and then headed out on the walk through the middle of this coral cay island, into the National Park. This pleasant walk highlights how small the island really is. If you weren't stopping to photograph birds and read all the interpretive signage, you could do this easily in about 15 minutes. The well made path is perfectly flat, and mostly boardwalk.

Out of all the bird species found on and around the island, I was particularly interested in photographing the Rose-crowned Fruit-dove. This bird appears on many Eremaea Birdlines lists for Green Island so I thought it would be fairly easy to shoot. Unfortunately, I only encountered two individuals. One zoomed overhead in a flash and the other was in an inaccessible area and had to be photographed from a long way away. Such a beautiful bird, I wish I could have got closer. Mick.

Pacific Golden Plover

Eastern Reef Egret, grey morph

 

Eastern Reef Egret, white morph

Rose-crowned Fruit-dove

Black-naped tern with lunch.

Buff-banded Rails are common and fearless on the Island. This contrasts with the skulking nature of their mainland cousins.

We arrived at the beach on the other side of the island, and made our way back around to the jetty via the beach. The total distance around the island is only about 1.5km - an easy 45 minute walk. You can swim and snorkel anywhere along the beach but are warned about the dangers of marine stingers.

We returned to the boat for the lunch included in our package, and then the (also included) glass bottom boat tour.

The glass bottom boat, a very touristy thing to do.

The fish are paid an appearance fee in the form of food. I suppose this makes the Silver Gulls the tax department.

Bat fish

Tea-leaf trevally

Back to the beach for a swim - you can't go to a tropical island and not swim. The water was very shallow - about knee deep, and surprisingly cool, but still a nice swim. Back into the rainforest to try again for some birds and then it was time to go home.

Green Island is a beautiful coral cay on the Great Barrier Reef - and worth visiting if it weren't for the hordes of ugly tourists. I know I was a tourist too but I didn't push past anyone to get to the head of a line, smoke in no smoking areas, tell people that seats were taken when they clearly weren't, invade others' personal space and stop in the middle of walk ways and entrances. (End of rant). I noticed a fair amount of litter around and am astounded that someone could consciously trash such a beautiful place. Mick.

On our return we walked along the Esplanade to observe the waterbirds - the tide was too far out for photos. From our balcony we were able to watch the entertainment near the lagoon pool - acrobatics and fire twirling.

Fire twirling performer taken from the balcony.

The weather has been beautiful and we have enjoyed our stay in this part of our beautiful country.

Next stop - Atherton Tablelands.

•  Cairns Esplanade is an all time favourite place of ours. Great for birds, people watching, eating and drinking.
• In the city (44 Spence St) you can find a huge variety of fresh local produce at Rusty's Markets.
• There are always birds feeding on the mudflats along the Esplanade.

Mission Beach

22 - 23 October 2014

We're off again today - heading for Mission Beach, Cairns then Atherton Tablelands - our favourite "short break". While we are away we will be trying out another blog tool - will post the link this evening - we hope!

Update: not happy with the new tool yet so...

We're on the road again!

We left home this morning for the relatively short drive to Mission Beach. As usual, we stopped in Ingham to check out the op shops, and in Cardwell too. Lunch in Cardwell and then in to Tully to browse "Kitchen Essentials". This is a fantastic local kitchenware shop with a huge variety of merchandise and some of the best brands available as well as some really quirky items. (If anyone is interested, they have carrot sharpeners. I know I'm sick of eating blunt carrots. Mick) They have their Christmas stock in too.

On to Mission Beach, to stay at Rainforest Motel - close to the village and beach. We went for a walk to the beach and for a look at the shops and restaurants. There are lots of businesses closed and for sale - a legacy of a couple of cyclones. 

It's good to not be the only nut on the beach.

We had dinner in one of the few restaurants open and naturally it was quite busy, despite the average food. We might try a different one next time.

Breakfast was at an old favourite - Early Birds. The business has been there for many years - at least 10 that we can remember and they do a great breakfast. Mick is a creature of habit and always has bacon and eggs, but I went for pancakes - with fruit salad and ice cream! Yum.

I don't know about the ice cream but I do know that breakfast here has become a tradition with us.

 A short walk to see if any fig parrots were feeding in the fruiting trees - but no luck. Then into the car and on the road again. The trip to Cairns should take about 2 hours - but we managed to stretch it out to 5. 

Mission Beach is a very reliable place to see Double-eyed Fig Parrots and although I couldn't find any to photograph, some were seen and heard flying by. This is also a prime place for Southern Cassowaries. One bird was spotted in somebody's yard as we drove past but I didn't get the camera out thinking we were sure to see another later in on our travels. Didn't happen. Mick.

Our first stop was a second hand shop just before Innisfail, then the op-shops in Innisfail. A quick coffee and cake - at the pub - and then on to Babinda and the Boulders. This popular swimming hole is really beautiful and we hadn't visited before. We went for the walk along the creek to "Devil's Pool". The warning signs leave the visitor in no doubt  that this can be a dangerous place. Many young lives have been lost in the treacherous waters - and there is an Aboriginal legend about the danger - or maybe this particular swimming hole invites the foolhardy and bulletproof. There is a designated, safe swimming hole right at the picnic area, which looked very inviting.

Detail of hydro sculpted granite.

There are signs like this and barriers at the dangerous sections of the river.

Not much water at the moment but it's not hard to imagine this scene during the wet season.

The power of water is evident in the sculpted rocks.

 I didn't see many birds but that's not surprising up here around the middle of the day. It gets pretty hot and our feathered friends like to find a cool shady place for a nanna nap. As we were about to leave, I heard something hit the roof of a shelter shed. I looked above the shed to see a Blue Quandong tree with lots of fruit and a lone Topknot Pigeon feeding. I was happy to point the pigeon out to a visiting English birder who was thrilled to see such an unusual creature. It was a long way up so my pics didn't turn out so good but they are better than none. Mick.

Topknot Pigeon

 After lunch in Babinda, it was on to Cairns - via the op-shop Edmonton of course.

Adelaide

29 September - 4 October 2014

After lunch on Lyndoch we made the fairly short, 1 hour, drive in to Adelaide, through the Adelaide Hills, and promptly missed the turn to our accommodation and had to drive around the city block. Even when the GPS is giving accurate directions, you can't account for city traffic and a slightly nervous driver (as well as an apartment hotel with no parking out the front). No matter, we made it. 

Later in the afternoon we drove back into the Adelaide Hills to Norton Summit, to meet with friends at the aptly named Scenic Hotel. In addition to the great view of the city, there was a sleeping koala in a tree right in front of us! Unfortunately the sun was in the wrong position to get a photo. Even though it was only late afternoon, the temperature dropped significantly and has us reaching for our coats. Even so, this was a beautiful spot and one we would not have discovered on our own. We drove back to town to meet up with friends who are also here for the conference.

On Tuesday, with a day free, we made our way into the Rundle Mall to check out the shops and stock up supplies.

Interesting old buildings and shops can be found in some of the lanes around the city.

Pigs... There is no shortage of bronze art works around the city.

More public art in the Mall

On the recommendation of our Adelaide friend, Sue, my friend Liz and I also visited the Adelaide Central Markets. What a fantastic market! We could have spent hours there just browsing all the fresh produce and locally produced goods - cheese, salami, meat, oils, honey, bread, nuts......

This ornate shopfront probably owes something to the local German heritage.

Our motivation for being in South Australia at this time is so I can attend ACEC2014 (Australian Computers in Education Conference) so our sightseeing has come to an end, although Mick has the next few days free to indulge his passions.

Lots of great architecture to photograph.

On our last night in Adelaide the wind came down and the temperature went up. At last we could enjoy the beautiful cityscape from the 17th floor balcony.