It's Magic!

A bit of mood lighting, change the setting on the camera, voilà!  It's magic!  This is why one shouldn't believe everything one sees in print.

Musty room or not, it was just as well we booked a room last night because the rain pelted down and the wind blew gales all night.

The set-up where we stayed was pretty clever. It's actually backpackers' accommodation which is housed in shipping containers arranged in a u-shape and the whole lot covered over with a steel roof. Perhaps the mustiness is part of the rainforest influence and a negative aspect of living in the rainforest!

The ablution and community kitchen block still left a lot to be desired and rainforest or not, cleanliness is not hard to be achieved if carried out on a regular basis.

A television was set up at the end of the dining area but this was commandeered by a Spanish national in his late fifties and we heard the news being broadcast in every language but English.

This was how we learned about the tragic incident at the Love Parade in Germany. It seems so hard to believe that such incidents can happen in this day and age of what sometimes appear to be excessive OH&S regulations. Not excessive enough perhaps?

The Spanish gentleman became quite animated when news of Spain's Rafael Nadal's Wimbledon win was broadcast. And so he should, haven't the Spanish also won the Tour De France, the German Grand Prix and the World Cup? I guess he had every reason to want to hog the television!

Above: Views of Kuranda.

Kuranda Village contains a mixture of galleries, churches, nature attractions, gardens, parks, markets and eateries (among other things!) (It sort of reminds me of Byron Bay – in the hills!)

Once again, the weather left a lot to be desired but we did manage to see quite a bit of the town. We contemplated visiting the Butterfly Sanctuary but decided to leave that until our granddaughter arrives in Cairns next month, for the impending wedding.

Honey Pie has already decided that the wet tropics/rainforest is not his cup of tea. Nice place to visit but the constant dampness is really getting to him.

But he doesn't have to wait for long before we're out of the wet.

Our plan is to visit Mount Mulligan and Chillagoe-Mungana National Park.

We drive through Mareeba, (stopping for great coffee at Jacques Coffee), on to Dimbulah where we have trouble finding a place to have lunch, and where we turn off onto the Mount Mulligan Road. The sky is now a brilliant blue, the sun shining and the weather dry.

We left the Mount Mulligan Road to investigate the area around Kingsborough and come across Tyrconnell Historic Gold Mine where we discover a great camp at the mine itself. We're quite impressed with what we've found and decide to stay the night.