Atherton

27 August – 14 September 2024

Leaving Hahn River Roadhouse I was relieved to see last of the dirt road only about 20km south – it would be an easy drive the rest of the way. Once again I took a break at each opportunity – Laura and Rifle Creek – and arrived at the caravan park in Atherton before lunch time. The staff were fantastic and helped me with the trailer, as well as providing the cabin key so that I wouldn’t have to go back to the office once I returned with the patient.

I was just driving through Atherton on my way back to Cairns, when Mick called to say he would be discharged shortly. I headed back towards Mareeba, and “down the hill” through Kuranda on the way to Cairns. Mick did not want to wait at the hospital so made his way very slowly and carefully to our meeting point on the Esplanade.

Neither of us had eaten so we settled on lunch at his favourite bar which does a great pizza. Although he was still in some pain from the surgery, he enjoyed lunch and then we set off to return to Atherton.

We settled in to the cabin and took it easy for the next few days while we considered what to do. Mick has been advised that he could undertake some gentle exercise (walking) but was not to lift anything over 5kg for the next 6 weeks. That would make life in the camper trailer almost impossible so we extended our stay in Atherton after which we planned to move on, and back to the camper trailer.

Mick’s recovery progressed well and we were able to get out for visits to some of our favourite local spots including Lake Eacham, Lake Barrine and Hasties Swamp. Photography was limited to using the smaller lens, except when I could carry and set up the “big” lens in the bird hide at the swamp.

We even managed a walk around Lake Eacham

We continued to work through the decisions needed for building our new home, including a couple of trips to Cairns to talk to builders again. We also visited new friends Cheryl and Rob at their home in Ravenshoe. Despite the circumstances, we made the most of our time in one spot while preparing for the next leg of the journey.

When we were ready to move on we felt we needed to remain close to Cairns so planned for the first few nights back in the trailer to be at a caravan park in Mareeba close to friends Bill and Kerry. We weren’t sure if we could manage with me doing all the heavy lifting and wanted to be close to friends in case we needed help.