Woke to a misty and drizzly morning. The day only got progressively worse.
We discovered that there is camping in the national park, almost across the road from where we were camped but that pre-booking is needed. This was a bit confusing because when we drove down to the camping area, we found self-registration forms available.
We drove around the edge of Tinaroo Dam, but once again, we didn't have very good maps of the area and this, coupled with the weather convinced us to head the car towards Atherton.
I called my sister, who live just south of Cairns, on my mobile telephone from Halloran's Hill Lookout, to let her know that we would be arriving at her place later in the day.
She informed me that her future son-in-law was having a party to celebrate his thirtieth birthday this evening and that if we could arrive at her house by three, then we could go along too.
Up until then, our mobile telephone reception was almost non-existent.
At the top of Halloran's Hill, I stood in the mist, the rain, the cold and the wind to talk to her on my mobile. As you can imagine, the view was not really one to write home about!
At Atherton proper we visited the Crystal Cave shop, had morning tea and browsed at a great opportunity shop which sold new items at greatly reduced prices. I was very tempted to buy a carry-all bag (new) but Honey Pie keeps reminding me how we need to reduce the load in the car, not add to it. I decided not to buy the bag, especially since I'd already bought myself one while we were in New Norcia.
We arrived at Atherton's Historical China Town Hou Wang Temple around ten in the morning only to find it closed. Therefore I was only able to photograph the building from the outside.
Even though the building is clad in corrugated iron, it's quite impressive. It is the only remaining building from the pre nineteen twenties China Town.
Above you can see the door to the entrance of the temple and some sculptures relating to the Chinese way of life that have been placed around the temple, in recent years.
We discovered that there is camping in the national park, almost across the road from where we were camped but that pre-booking is needed. This was a bit confusing because when we drove down to the camping area, we found self-registration forms available.
We drove around the edge of Tinaroo Dam, but once again, we didn't have very good maps of the area and this, coupled with the weather convinced us to head the car towards Atherton.
I called my sister, who live just south of Cairns, on my mobile telephone from Halloran's Hill Lookout, to let her know that we would be arriving at her place later in the day.
She informed me that her future son-in-law was having a party to celebrate his thirtieth birthday this evening and that if we could arrive at her house by three, then we could go along too.
Up until then, our mobile telephone reception was almost non-existent.
At the top of Halloran's Hill, I stood in the mist, the rain, the cold and the wind to talk to her on my mobile. As you can imagine, the view was not really one to write home about!
At Atherton proper we visited the Crystal Cave shop, had morning tea and browsed at a great opportunity shop which sold new items at greatly reduced prices. I was very tempted to buy a carry-all bag (new) but Honey Pie keeps reminding me how we need to reduce the load in the car, not add to it. I decided not to buy the bag, especially since I'd already bought myself one while we were in New Norcia.
We arrived at Atherton's Historical China Town Hou Wang Temple around ten in the morning only to find it closed. Therefore I was only able to photograph the building from the outside.
Even though the building is clad in corrugated iron, it's quite impressive. It is the only remaining building from the pre nineteen twenties China Town.
Above you can see the door to the entrance of the temple and some sculptures relating to the Chinese way of life that have been placed around the temple, in recent years.
Top: Pub in Atherton on Vernon St (for those in the know: almost Veron!)
Middle Left: The beautifully carved Upside Down Tree, Halloran's Hill Lookout, which has specially positioned peep-holes to allow one to view each of the Seven Sisters separately.
Middle Centre: The beautiful contrast of the fertile red earth, lush green crops and the distant Seven Sisters at Youngaburra.
Middle Right: Hou Wang Temple, China Town, Atherton.
Bottom: Honey Pie and I at the Curtain Fig, Youngaburra.
The Curtain (Strangler) Fig Youngaburra. We were here with our eldest three children probably around thirty years ago. I will have to find photographs from back then to compare with this one!
We arrived at my sister's and brother-in-law's house around two in the afternoon via the Gillies Highway...(Wikipedia says that this highway has 263 corners but I guess what they really mean is 263 bends), which crosses the Gillies Ranges. There are some dramatic views to be had along the way, but alas the weather doesn't allow for such pleasures today.
My niece has a great birthday party organized for her fiancé when we arrived at their hilltop house...everyone gets to choose their pizza toppings which I though was a great idea.
It's been a long day, and thanks to our brother-in-law, we're not in bed too late tonight.
