The whole area from Port Douglas and on, south of Cairns is sugar-cane country interspersed with rain forests, mountains and beaches - the wet tropics. The sugar-cane fields are all perfectly manicured and the rest of the scenery decidedly beautiful. Since leaving Port Douglas which we loved, we have mostly been having grey, rainy days. After months and months of perfect, sunny days a bit of rain is quite a change. The scenery created by the mist and rain clouds makes our travelling times quite magical and Lord of the Rings like.
We spent 3 amazing days at an out of the way place called Bramston Beach. On the way we passed over Alice River where we had to take a picture as it reminded us of our precious little Alice. (We haven't found Eva or Eloise Rivers yet!) The caravan park at Bramston Beach was a huge park between the beach and the rain forest. We could not believe its beauty... and only a few caravanners - some whom come and stay for months at a time. The only dangerous thing was the falling coconuts! We also keep looking out for a cassowary but as yet have not seen one.
After our gorgeous few days we spent a night and day at the amazing Paronella Park which was constructed by a Spanish man, Jose Paronella, in the 1930's. He had a dream to build a Spanish castle for the people he loved. He built his castle and other buildings in the park so that wherever you stood you could see the waterfall. He even used hydro- electric power from the waterfall to supply electricity to the whole park. It is still powered by the same generator that he originally used. It was a most moving experience seeing the castle all lit up at night. His dream lives on today as it is now open for the public to enjoy. It really is a special place to visit. When we were all hitched up ready to go we found our car battery had gone flat! Luckily the park had a battery pack and with Chris's ingenious ways we managed to start the car and continue on our journey - needed more than just the battery pack!
We also had fun driving up to Wallaman Falls (the highest drop in Aus - 320m) through another amazing rain forest. Unfortunately, when we eventually got up the steep, windy road to see the waterfall, mist, clouds and rain had built up to such an extent that we couldn't lay eyes on the falls. We had a few chuckles with some fellow tourists about using our imaginations and being in very mystical surroundings. It was the first time we had to use our special rain jackets, and my umbrella - that I couldn't find as it was hidden deep in the bowels of the caravan! I had to take a picture of Chris as I thought he looked oh, so camp, in his blue rain jacket and (my) matching umbrella!
After descending from the clouds we visited the cemetery where we were told we had to see the mausoleums built by the Italian families in the area for their departed loved ones. Amazing when you've never seen something like this before.
All this in Ingham - again, sugar-cane country.
Sorry the pics are a little jumbled. Google blog does its own thing. The church is an old one in Port Douglas with an open square behind the altar that looks out to the ocean. Magnificent.
