Mareeba

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G’day from sunny Mareeba. Well not really sunny but a distinct lack of rain is fantastic! We travelled down here from Cooktown yesterday as the weather forecast for Cooktown was looking rubbish for the next few days. A bit of a shame as we travelled well out of our way to go there in the first place. The weather was so bad that we decided to can the camping idea & grabbed a unit instead, which turned out to be a good decision considering the wind & rain that came through. We basically had a short few hours in the afternoon to dry our gear from the few days previously & a quick swim with the kids. We tried fishing briefly at the wharf while the mum’s washed the clothes but no fish were about.

Today we went to Atherton & visited the Crystal Caves. A little bit corny but some of the crystals were pretty cool & huge!

The morning was fun. We did the Bloomfield Track from Daintree to Bloomfield River in the wet. A few river crossings were needed but nothing too difficult. Lots of mud & rocks kept us going at a slow pace which suited us as we looked at the beautiful scenery. Our family had lunch at The Lion’s Den Hotel – an awesome old pub with stacks of history & a little museum.

Monday & Tuesday nights were spent in the Daintree National Park, for the most part in the pouring rain. We got a few brief patches of relief so we could fish off the beach, visit the Wildlife Discovery Centre & a dip at a swimming hole. We fed some little Jungle Perch & Phil managed to catch a turtle which the kids & other tourists there loved. He was well behaved & surprisingly calm. Nathan released him back & he swam off. Unfortunately Phil dropped his glasses when he dived in for the turtle so we got his diving gear & spent the next half hour (in the rain) trying to find them in the murky depths. Luckily old hawk eyes here managed to spot them & all was well.

Di & Tony (Phil’s parents) have offered to watch the kids tonight so the four younger parents can go out for a bite to eat at the local RSL. I’m well pleased with this & noticed as I drove through town today that it is the Sexy Cat Model finals tonight at the RSL...

Tomorrow we are off to Georgetown on our quest for the west. We managed to sort things to enable us to see the Georgetown Rodeo which will be fantastic. We may even stay at the grounds. Hopefully Suz or I will get some good photos to post from there.

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