Well it is time to get this blog up and going again or should I say up to date; what with how busy we have been and work commitments it has take a back seat; well that was a heap of bullshit, it is just plain laziness on my part.
Thanks to the ones who have been at me to get it back on track and also the constant nag, nag, nag from “Her Indoors”
The next few posts may be a little lacking on all the details but there is a fair bit to get through considering it has been 12 months since I fell asleep on the job.
MILLAA MILLAA
After being out west we ended up at Millaa Millaa van park for 3 nights; not a good park as the amenities are fairly old and the sites are very run down and messy; price was around the $23 mark per night but they did throw in 3 nights for the price of 2.
Good place to camp to see the falls but given how the park was it would be a better option to stay at Atherton and doing trips from there.
Millaa Millaa van park and the sites; as it is quite wet up this way the mud, mess and cold is not worth the stay.
Above and below one of the 4 falls in the region; these can be easily driven to and visited in a day.
Above – all the falls are very spectacular.
Beautiful scenery in the Millaa Millaa area; the above was taken at the working cheese factory.
Above is the old Millaa Millaa cheese factory which is now closed and in a poor state of repair.
The above is the “Giant Kauri Pine Tree” the dating and story behind the tree are as follows.
1137 – Pine seedling.
1947 – 5 acres of land and walking track gifted to the crown for “Special Purposes Reserve”.
2003 – The Kauri Pine crashed to the ground; the root system could no longer sustain the tree.
2006 – Dept of natural Resources gave permission to the Chamber of Commerce to truck the tree to town following cyclone “Larry”
Result was 3 sections trucked (3 x 4mt & 1 x 2mt) with an average girth of 10mts
The tree was carbon dated by Dr Les Moore at 870 years.
Just out from Atherton is the famous curtain fig and is a must see if you are in the area; it is amazing to see just how a fig can develop from a seed in a host tree. Linda is standing in front which shows the size it has grown to; there is a timber walkway that circles the tree.
Above is an explanation on how the fig started and grew over time.
YUNGABURRA
Also in the area there is the quaint little town of Yungaburra; it has a few arty/crafty shops and the Lake Eacham Hotel which is well worth a walk around, the internals and back gardens are very nice.
Above is one of the dinning areas of the hotel.
ATHERTON
Whilst in Atherton we stayed at Halloran's Leisure Park and we can certainly recommend this to anyone who wants to stay a few nights or a week in the area.
The park is owned by a young couple who have put a hell of a lot of work into the park grounds, cabins, sites and amenities. The sites are very big so you have plenty of room and the amenities are kept in a pristine condition. The rates at the time were around the $28 with a weekly discount of the seventh night free. Great value and a lovely park to stay at; it is about 2 km from town.
Above is our site at Halloran's; heaps of room as behind our van was the same distance you can see at the front.
Above – just out of Atherton is an attraction that combines two taste sensations of dairy & chocolate; Gallo's Dairyland produces cheese and chocolate (Lin was more interested in the chocolate side of the business). It was lucky the chocolate bath was behind glass
Above – Lin having a “serve yourself” moment.
Above – The Peanut Place is situated approximately 10km north of Atherton on the way to Mareeba; plenty of flavours to choose from and when you get to where your heading you can feel proud about buying Australian and show everyone your nuts.
Hope you enjoy the very delayed read; I am now on a mission to get things up to date.
Love & warm regards from us both.
David & Linda – The DavLin Rig
