Winter Solstice in North Queensland

The morning was warm (with a really heavy dew) as we headed north up the Bruce Highway and into Balgal Beach to check out the markets. I thought there might have been yummy fruit and vegetables… but not today. More sugar cane on either side of the road. They are just beginning their harvest and the mills are operational. Also saw pineapple farms.



At Ingham we tried to contact an old family friend with no luck …yet. Apparently they have moved to Cairns. As we can’t go into the National Parks (thanks Rifter!) we headed “beachside”. Discovered the sugar port of Lucinda where raw sugar is transported overseas. It is moved via a conveyor belt that goes 6 km out to deep water and then loaded onto ships.



This notice was on the edge of the beach so no paddling today for us. There were plenty of mangrove areas about that I’m sure crocs would love. The messages are very clear…stay away from the waters edge and beware of crocs. We are yet to see any though……



We could see Palm Island across the ocean, an aboriginal community with lots of problems and a sad history.


The vegetation started to look tropical and we have entered the “wet tropics”,  full of lovely rainforests. The vegetation on the side of the road in the forests is impenetrably thick, some vine covered, others covered in fan palms. Cyclone Yasi devastated this area and it is still recovering.    So much for it being mid winter and the shortest day. It was a beautiful 25C, blue skies and no wind.Perfect!!



We stopped at a lookout and looked down at the Hinchinbrook Channel,(Captain Cook stopped here- not sure why) gorgeous..shame about the power lines across the view! Then down to Cardwell and on to Tully, the home of the “Golden Boot”. Tully is Australia’s wettest town with an average rainfall of 4490mm. The gum boot is 7900mm high, the same number as the record rainfall year in 1950. It rains 150 days a year..but NOT today. There was a sugar mill in the town that was belching out steam.





We are camped at Mission Beach, its a lovely place with lush rainforests, nice looking beaches and a view of Dunk Island. It is also home to Cassowaries, another animal to be wary of.



We walked the beach and watched the sun set, behind us. A great midwinter day!