Monday, 26 July 2021

Day 10 - Maintenance day and afternoon trip to Cairns

 (Kate)

We did some maintenance in the morning - like house maintenance, but on the car, tent and trailer instead.  Tent pole repairs, chair repairs, and a load of washing.  The light weight washing line that we bought works a treat.  It copes with pretty much a full load of washing.

We found a lookout in Pt Douglas called Flagstaff Hill.  It said that Pt Douglas was initially established as a port to transport gold from inland.  Ben told us that the miners discovered the painful way that a tree with heart-shaped leaves called the "gympie" gave them a stinging sensation that persisted for months.  We immediately became paranoid about any trees or shrubs with heart-shaped leaves.

We drove the hour to Cairns, partly for a sticky beak, and partly to visit a camping shop which there are multiples of in Cairns.   We drove the very windy coast roast and were horrified at the number of roadside memorials with flowers for car crashes/deaths.  Partway to Cairns we stopped at a locality that Wikicamps calls "The Gatz Balancing Rocks".  It was so simple yet so beautiful.  Cairns was big.  And busy.  A bit exhausting for all of us.  It seems we've adjusted to the quiet travelling life sooner than we thought.

We finished the day by accepting a dinner invitation from some of Kate's extended family who happened to be staying in Pt Douglas - very nice.  As we left the caravan park for dinner a pig started to wander around the campground.  It appeared to be wagging it's tail.  The timing was probably not a co-incidence.













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