Sunday 14th June Millaa Millaa
Woke up to an overcast day. A pleasant 22 degs and no rain forecasted. Tony from one campervan up who resides in a 5th wheeler with wife Valerie came over and continued his conversation with us from last night. They are here until September and are from Sydney. They love it, it’s sunny, not too hot and he has his golf course just next door where he plays every day. Only a small club and has made many friends there so feels quite at home. He has been all over the place and has given us details on where to go/visit etc.
First up it’s a drive out on the Theresa Creek Road to the Zillie Falls where after a short walk we viewed the falls from a platform at the top. It was then on to the Elinjas Falls where we followed a path to the picturesque area at the bottom of the falls. It was then on to the Old Palmerston Highwayand the scenic route to Ravenshoe. This is a drive through a very lush region which was very green; it’s called the Diary farm of the tropics. Plenty of cattle grazing and numerous farms. Passing Windy Hill where there are 20 wind power electric generators across the hill tops. They generate enough electricity to run a town of 3500 homes.
It was then on to Ravenshoe which is the highest town in Queensland and a visit to the information centre. Here we found out about the local steam train which runs every Sunday at 1.30pm. Once again this happens to have the highest railway station in Queensland! At 3165 feet (964.7 metres) we had our packed lunch and then we boarded the train which was being pulled by the last operating D17 loco in the world! http://www.steamloco.nq.nu/ The railway which runs to Tumoulin was opened in 1916 to take out the beautiful rain forest timbers. In those days Ravenshoe was called Cedar Creek and was only a logging settlement. This area was listed as a World Heritage of the wet Tropics in 1988. It is now run entirely by steam enthusiasts on a voluntary basis for tourists and visitors. Our round trip took 90 minutes and ran over high wooden trestle bridges and through the open forest. Out of interest we saw where the old sawmill had been that supplied the timber that was used to rebuild the House of Commons in London after WW11.
It was then a 28 Klms drive to the Innot Hot Springs. Luckily the creek was running so we made a quick change into our bathers and joined the hippies by lolling around in the sand and the hot running creek by the road side. Otherwise we would have had to pay a fee and use the 7 pools of various temperatures which are run by the camp site. We thought it was better to use the creek than the concrete pools. Our way was also free and it was great and very relaxing
Quite tired now we headed back to our base camp for dinner and a read of the Sunday papers which we haven’t done since we have been away. It was also time for a beer and to plan our day for tomorrow.
Woke up to an overcast day. A pleasant 22 degs and no rain forecasted. Tony from one campervan up who resides in a 5th wheeler with wife Valerie came over and continued his conversation with us from last night. They are here until September and are from Sydney. They love it, it’s sunny, not too hot and he has his golf course just next door where he plays every day. Only a small club and has made many friends there so feels quite at home. He has been all over the place and has given us details on where to go/visit etc.
First up it’s a drive out on the Theresa Creek Road to the Zillie Falls where after a short walk we viewed the falls from a platform at the top. It was then on to the Elinjas Falls where we followed a path to the picturesque area at the bottom of the falls. It was then on to the Old Palmerston Highwayand the scenic route to Ravenshoe. This is a drive through a very lush region which was very green; it’s called the Diary farm of the tropics. Plenty of cattle grazing and numerous farms. Passing Windy Hill where there are 20 wind power electric generators across the hill tops. They generate enough electricity to run a town of 3500 homes.
It was then on to Ravenshoe which is the highest town in Queensland and a visit to the information centre. Here we found out about the local steam train which runs every Sunday at 1.30pm. Once again this happens to have the highest railway station in Queensland! At 3165 feet (964.7 metres) we had our packed lunch and then we boarded the train which was being pulled by the last operating D17 loco in the world! http://www.steamloco.nq.nu/ The railway which runs to Tumoulin was opened in 1916 to take out the beautiful rain forest timbers. In those days Ravenshoe was called Cedar Creek and was only a logging settlement. This area was listed as a World Heritage of the wet Tropics in 1988. It is now run entirely by steam enthusiasts on a voluntary basis for tourists and visitors. Our round trip took 90 minutes and ran over high wooden trestle bridges and through the open forest. Out of interest we saw where the old sawmill had been that supplied the timber that was used to rebuild the House of Commons in London after WW11.
It was then a 28 Klms drive to the Innot Hot Springs. Luckily the creek was running so we made a quick change into our bathers and joined the hippies by lolling around in the sand and the hot running creek by the road side. Otherwise we would have had to pay a fee and use the 7 pools of various temperatures which are run by the camp site. We thought it was better to use the creek than the concrete pools. Our way was also free and it was great and very relaxing
Quite tired now we headed back to our base camp for dinner and a read of the Sunday papers which we haven’t done since we have been away. It was also time for a beer and to plan our day for tomorrow.
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