Mareeba

14 – 30 September 2024

Finally leaving the comfort of the cabin in Atherton we hitched up and drove to Mareeba. The trailer really needed a clean so we called in to the carwash before checking in to the caravan park. While cleaning underneath Mick discovered that we had a broken shock absorber. I must have done it on the trip back down the Cape from Lockhart River but I hadn’t noticed any change in handling. We went straight from the carwash to ARB, who set about determining what was needed. It was late on Saturday morning so we left it to them to try and source the part needed and checked in to the caravan park.

Although I was a little concerned about how we would go setting up with Mick physically limited, we managed just fine and didn’t need any help from friends. The caravan park wasn’t the sort we would normally have chosen but it was well maintained and had a very friendly atmosphere. We weren’t the only ones there waiting for post-Cape trip repairs.

We ended up having to spend longer than planned as the part we needed had to come from Cub in Sydney and there were some delays. Again we made the most of the time in Mareeba including returning to Cairns to talk to builders – again – and visiting local attractions. A walk to Emerald Creek Falls, followed by ice cream at the Emerald Creek Ice Creamery was a highlight, both places we had never visited before, but definitely on the return visit list. We also visited Davies Creek Falls in Dinden National Park.

There is a nice walk at Emerald Creek Falls

We had been experiencing ongoing issues with the 12v system in the camper trailer so we found an auto electrician who would come to us. Fran was fantastic and identified a number of issues. She presented a couple of options and fixed the main problem at a very reasonable price. We may need to replace one of the battery chargers down the track, but on Fran’s suggestion we will see how it goes with the new fuses and a new solar panel, and then decide.

After one final visit to builders we were able to make our choice and were ready to sign initial agreements. The trailer part arrived late on a Friday afternoon and was booked in for Monday morning. We decided that we would head off from Mareeba as soon as the trailer was ready, and where we would go would be determined by what time we could pick it up.

We packed up and dropped the trailer off fairly early and went for a wander around town before settling in to the library to get some admin work done. We returned to town for lunch and had just finished when ARB called to say that the trailer was ready to pick up. We wanted to go to Etty Bay but the only site available was not suitable so we decided to go back to Atherton for one night, then on to Etty Bay after that.