Paradise on Earth

 



 Paradise on earth

Tinnaroo, Yungaburra, Tinnaroo, Yungaburra, I keep repeating these two words to myself like a mantra as I wait to return to this paradise on earth. The three weeks we spent at Lake Tinnaroo Caravan Park when we first arrived on the Tablelands, will be amongst the most memorable of times.

On arrival we were told that with Christmas holidays approaching fast we could only stay at the caravan park for three weeks, which was great considering we had no prior booking. But we did not estimate how alluring the place was to become.

Around Lake Tinnaroo would have to be the most scenic of landscapes we have ever seen particularly in the wet “Green season”. (Late December to end March) We marvelled at the Picture post card beauty on a daily bases, as we checked our Cray pots and fished for the elusive Barramundi.

Talking of Barramundi their huge in the well-stocked Tinnaroo dam,

one day out fishing on the lake in Little Toot (our flat bottom Tinny) I saw what I thought was a rather fat log coming towards us, as it got closer I realised it was a four foot Barramundi sunning its self. In my excitement I alerted it to our presence and it took off. Now as if that’s not enough of a trill, the very next day Laurie caught a rather large cat fish and as I bent over the boat to net it for her, the biggest Barra I’ve ever seen (6 footish) was chasing the cat fish and if I had been a little quicker I could have netted it as well, that’s if I’d had a bigger net. This was all the encouragement I needed though to get up at 4am and go fishing. I know they’re out there, so it is now our mission to catch one before we head off .

The town ship of Yungaburra is another jewel in the crown of the Tablelands , in the 1800’s it was an overnight stop for miners heading west, and once the railroad was put through it became a thriving community. Today it’s a haven of boutique shops and restaurants and boasts having the largest country market, which is held on the village green, the fourth Saturday of every month. There are fabulous arts and crafts on display and the area also has several local art galleries well worth a look.

 Another claim to fame is the amazing Curtain fig Tree just out of town. The process of strangulation of a host tree by the fig tree is a common feature of rainforest life; this one is dated around 800-900 years old and is massive.

One of the best ways to experience the rainforest is to walk one of many walk trails in the area, and you never know you may get lucky and see a tree Kangaroo or platypus along the way.

 Christmas Eve drenched us with approximately 600mls of rain over 24 hours around the region; some believe that down pure was the beginning of Queensland’s flood disaster. The once pristine waterfalls of the area turned into gushing muddy rivers and at Malanda falls were we had relocated too, it had risen approximately twenty foot overnight, it was the wettest Christmas day we had ever had.

We escaped from our swampy caravan site for a few days to Cairns to visit with family who were visiting from England. We took in the sights from the sky rail rainforest cable way; gliding over the tree tops is a fantastic way to experience the rainforest, and has two nature walk stops along route, before arriving at Kuranda village. The village was established back in 1800’s as a retreat from the heat & humidity of the tropical coast, but back in the 1960’s a new wave of alternate lifestyle settlers moved in and begun the renowned arts and craft markets of today. After some great retail therapy at these unique markets and a family game of mini golf we returned to Cairns on the scenic railway stopping at the mighty Barron Falls

The following day it was Cairns Zoo to introduce the family to Kangaroos and crocodiles, fulfilling their itinerary of must do things. It was an extremely hot humid day, felt like 35 degrees Celsius till around 3.30pm when the heavens opened and our nearest shelter was the Kangaroo feeding enclosure. We had been there earlier in the day but the Kangaroos were not hungry, in fact overfed by eager tourists, but on our return at closing time, they were eager to see us and clambered for our food pellets, it was a magic moment just us and about 30 Kangaroo’s, so glad we weren’t close to the crocodile enclosure, ha ha.

And talking of Crocodiles, it can be quiet alarming to tourists when they hear estuarine (salt water) crocodiles are common in rivers, creeks, estuaries and beaches in North Queensland. So we walked Mylee our 2year old Staffy very gingerly along Yorkey’s Knob beach were we were staying, keeping an eye open for any large slithery tracks? Unfortunately some of the area’s best fishing is in the rivers and mangroves, that is why the croc’s are there, so remember don’t dangle your legs over the side of the boat in FNQLD!

We left Cairns and headed south through lush green sugar cane country, along Canecutter way to visit Paronella Park. On five hectares beside Mena Creek Falls Jose Paronella built a remarkable castle to fulfil his life’s ambition. He opened it to the public in 1935 and it was the talk of the whole region, holding many elaborate dances and movies in the ballroom of the castle; the first to have a hanging mirrored ball over the centre of the dance floor. The garden with its bridges and tunnel is home to 7,500 tropical plants, Complete with a delightful picnic area by the water fall. In its time the park boasted tennis courts, and change rooms with an ice cream parlour to refresh the wired tennis players. Jose certainly was an innovator, installing Queensland’s first privately owned hydroelectric plant (1933) utilising the 45 foot Mena Creek Falls Paradise on earth

Ravishes of time and Queensland cyclones have taken their toll on the cement and the fixtures of this remarkable place but the ruins continue to talk of Jose dream, just like a lost Incan village.

Your entry ticket allows you to come back with in twelve months to experience a night tour and a stopover in their van park next door, which makes this place good value for money.

 There are heaps of special places to visit and things to do in and around the Tablelands, so I’ll keep a few stories for our next instalment of the Gemseek travel blog.

So until then followers, BFN and enjoy those gems!

AL.B & Laurie C

Gemseek Productions               http://www.gemseek.com.au/





O'Briens creek Topaz

O’Brien’s Creek was only a short distance away from our last camp at Forsayth, in the wonderful Savannah land of North Queensland. With the annual wet season poised to begin at any moment, every dry day was vital towards the filming of our documentary series “Gem Seek Adventures”.http://www.gemseek.com.au/

Our first port of call on arriving at Mt Surprise was Pete & Pam of Mt Surprise Gems fame; they own and operate the gem shop and a great fossicking tour to their own private Topaz claim, plus they have all the local info, vital to know and even do a roast chook dinner delivery service once a week out to the camp ground some 38 kilometres away, now that’s what I call service.

Like many rivers and creeks in far north Queensland, O’Brien’s Creek and adjacent Elizabeth Creek, flood in the tropical wet season, limiting access to the gem fields. Elizabeth Creek once dry, has been flowing constantly for a few years now, and is a river crossing at the best of times, during the wet it’s a boat job if you dare.

They assured us all was good on the dirt road out to the allocated camp site at O’Brien’s Creek but that we might not be able to cross Elizabeth creek to the gem fields for a day or so, due to the rain upstream the night before. How exciting our new Adventure begins with a river crossing, I hope “Nugget” (Nissan Patrol) is up to it, one never knows until you’re confronted with the situation.

The allocated campground for the O’Brien’s Creek gem fields is leased by John and Maureen Solinas wonderful people who have greatly improved the facilities in the park over the past few years, and with Elizabeth Creek running alongside the boundary fence it is a very picturesque & comfortable place to stay.

Now if camping is not your style then don’t despair, just over Elizabeth Creek is Diggers rest, Paul and Cindy own and operate the original old homestead, and have three rustic self-contained rooms to rent.

After settling in at the campground we drove around eager to start digging but where do you start fossicking in unknown territory? By chance we met up with an old rock hound Garry, he’d been there all season and was about to head south for the summer, but agreed to show us around before leaving.

The following morning we were up early to catch the best light for filming our tour to Pete & Pam’s claim. This was our first experience fossicking for Topaz so what better way to learn than from someone who’s been finding some nice material.

Topaz (aluminium fluorosilicate) is found in alluvial gravels or “wash” up to 2meters deep in creeks and gullies, in a variety of colours ranging from the common white to shades of pink and blue through to red yellow and brown. Other gemstones found in the region are Citrine, aquamarine, and Smokey quartz. You may also find some fragments of Tin, left over from mining of another era.

                                                                                                                                                                                              There are also some very clever facetors in the region, check out these fancy cuts available.

 Our day fossicking for Topaz with Pete was great, but there’s nothing quite like exploring in the wilderness to find gemstones, so the following day we roped Garry into showing us one of his secret spots, way up in those hills is all I can say, but find Topaz we did. In this area you also find have been heard for miles, giving away our secret location.

aquamarine, and smoky quartz crystals and some really good specimens had been found this last season. Thinking back the yahoo’s we let out as we unearthed our treasure would probably.

Another gem of this region is its natural beauty from the red rocky outcrops to groves of ancient Cycads and flocks of colourful birds like Lorikeets, & Cockatoo’s, to blubbers,& Blue -faced Honeyeater’s and the Dollar Bird who has a very unique style of flight; it truly is a bird watchers paradise.

A fossicking license is required when fossicking in Queensland and can be purchased for varying periods of time and from many places around the gem fields. Hand tools only are to be used when digging usually a pick and shovel and dry sieve the material, but we were lucky to have plenty of running water to wash our gravel in.

Our days at O’Brien’s Creek went quickly, by day we fossicked & filmed, and constantly marvelled at the spectacular vegetation of the “green season” and in the evening’s we enjoyed the big sky sunsets and watched satellites in the night sky, while relaxing beside our camp fire.

We saw some spectacular specimens of both rough & cut Topaz, Aquamarine, and Smokey Quartz which made our bag of treasure look insignificant in comparison but were thoroughly enriched by the experience of visiting O’Brien’s Creek.

        

Cyclone Yasi at our back

Cyclone Yasi at our backs

Well the day had finally arrived for our return to Paradise at Lake Tinnaroo, we had waited five long, wet, weeks at Malanda falls caravan park over the Christmas holiday season. We had had the wettest of Christmas days ever, with cyclone Tasha (cat 1) awakening us in the early morning; rocked the van & dumping 600 mm of rain on the district. Many tree’s around the Rainforest Park were uprooted or snapped off, and our campsite quickly became a swamp, needing planks of wood for walkways to and fro the access road. But that was nothing compared to the monster Cyclone Yasi that was heading towards far north Queensland.

We woke early the morning of 1st Feb 2011 excited to be moving back to Yungaburra. The three weeks we had stayed there before Christmas was some of the most memorable. Turning on morning TV there was a cyclone alert for coastal regions Cairns to Townsville. We listened attentively as the authorities gave instructions about securing your home, storm surges and self-evacuation, but what should we do? There were no instructions for caravans, tourists or the tablelands/ Yungaburra, did we need to evacuate??

Still we were packed up and ready to leave for Yungaburra anyway, so we would evaluate the situation with our friends over there, they knew the area better than us. You can imagine our surprise as we entered the park to find most people had gone, and our friends franticly packing the last of their gear into their RV. This was serious, a huge monster of a cyclone; “Yasi” was a category 5 cyclone and would take out most of the coast and inland for 200kms. A decision had to be made fast, as caravans don’t generally do well in cyclones. So it was inland to Mt Surprise away from this monster, with a brief stop for some supplies,and to fill the water tanks, we hit the road westward.

We had friends at Mt Surprise, and surly 280kms was enough distance to out run this cyclone. Pete and Pam were most welcoming of us and the friends we brought with us. All had a great night, unwinding with a few drinks and a good jam with the guitars.

However the next morning it was on again, this monster had been upgraded and was going to hit Mt Surprise as a category 3 cyclone with wind speeds of 200kms.With limited road options, to go south we had to get close to the coast before heading inland. To go west we risked flooding rivers and creeks, which might have us stranded outback for weeks. At first we headed back towards the coast for 30 kms or so but with a headwind ever increasing in strength it was hard towing and we turned around and headed west 147kms towards to George Town.

But by the time we got to George Town, cyclone Yasi had intensified and was to hit George Town as a category 3 cyclone. The information centre didn’t know of an evacuation plan for themselves, so turned all travellers away towards Croydon, further west 150kms.

Now although we were running from a cyclone the tropical wet season brings afternoon storms and rain every day and as we drove into the setting sun two massive storm fronts loomed one either side of the road. Thankfully we made it to Croydon before they joined into one enormous storm front.


Again in Croydon we were told not to stop but head to Normanton on the gulf another 150kms, then south towards to Mt Isa, but enough was enough, it was 40 degrees and we were exhausted. We would bunker down at the Club Hotel and hide the caravan alongside the units and take our chances. We had just enough time to sort things out and have a swim in the hotel pool, when the heavens opened, and one monster of a storm began and lasted all night.

After a restless night we awoke to TV reports of devastation at Mission beach, Tully and Cardwell all coastal areas south of Cairns, Cairns itself had been spared. There was no news of damage on the tablelands so we had to assume all was well as we had no phone reception to check. The edge of the cyclone past south of Croydon heading to Mt Isa around 9am, but it was only flooding rain and 100 knot winds that we could handle, but thank goodness we had not headed to Mt Isa as advised.

Later that day when the cyclonic winds died down we located some friends at the local evacuation shelter, were the local mayor had been cooking meals for the stranded travellers housed there. Troy the local policeman advised us of road conditions and yes we were isolated in both directions. Heading back east the fast flowing Gilbert River was our major concern as the bridge over it is so narrow and low, it could easily be damaged by the flooding waters.

During the cyclone we developed a leak from the skylight over the bed so we couldn’t wait out our time in the caravan unless we could dry out and fix the leak. On mentioning this problem, to a young ringer named Pete, who then introduced us to his good mate Tom, who happened to have an empty shed we could park in, and the local shop had heavy duty tape to fix any problem. We are so grateful for the help & that this was the only damage we had.

It’s this sort of country hospitality by complete strangers that restores ones faith in humanity. The people of Croydon could not have been more accommodating, for the 100 or so refugee’s that descended upon them, making our ordeal tolerable. So to all the residents and officials of Croydon we say a very big thank you.
The Croydon caravan park re-opened a few days later so many of us gravitated to there for what was to be our last day in town. The Gilbert River went down just long enough for us to exit back to the coast five days after cyclone Yasi hit.

Hind sight is a wonderful tool, for the few that stayed at the Yungaburra caravan park,they bunkered down in the motel units, while sheltering their caravans close to the building. They enjoyed an evening of cards and games and escaped with no major damage from a category 5 cyclonic monster,but the outcome the  could have been very different.

We have learnt a lot about ourselves, and each other, as well as cyclones and their nature and hopefully will be better prepared for the next one, for to live in this great country of Australia, we have to be prepared for all manner of disasters it goes with the turf.