Well we're getting the hang of staying in one place for a little longer now, as opposed to the short stays we had getting up here. We spent last week at my brother's place as per previous blog entry. Erin went to the Cairns show with them and got a few choccy show bags while Geoff and I ran around Cairns picking up some bits and pieces as well as general shopping. Last Sunday a friend of theirs had his prime mover there and got me to drive it! Those of you who know me personally will appreciate that I'm the biggest woose there is and it was a challenge getting me on the quad bike let alone in a big rig. Granted I only drove it about 50 m forwards in first gear then reversed back to where it was. Geoff also had a go and drove it up the road, turned it around and brought it back, he has a licence for it but hasn't had a lot of practice in one.
We left Gordonvale last Monday and arrived in Bramston Beach near Innisfail with light rain, we set up, put our feet up and down the rain came, perfect timing.
By Wednesday the weather was sunny and clear and the beach looked even more perfect. We went for walks at low tide and saw star fish and flat sea urchins and loads of shells. We stayed at the Bramston Beach Campground and even the bats pelting sea almonds at us every night didn't bother us, although we may have to clean the tent of the red juice they dumped on it. We were surrounded by other nomads on extended holidays and met some fantastic people. One couple had a German shepherd that Erin took a shine to, he kept visiting for more play time and she obliged by throwing the ball again, and again, and again.
We took a day trip into Innisfail to pick up some groceries when the car started making a flapping sound, further inspection revealed that the alternator belt that had just been replaced was shredded. Supercheap obligingly replaced it saying that they had never seen that happen before, it had only done 600 kms. We priced a pair of belts at Toyota for around $50 that they claim will last 40,000km so we might get them next time.
We left Bramston this morning when the rain came back. We always said that we wouldn't pack up in the rain, we'd just stay another day or too until it cleared but yesterday we made the mistake of making a plan, breaking our golden rule of not planning. We thought that as we were so close to Geoff's parents again that we would visit for a night or two before heading west and confirmed that we would be there today. Lesson learnt.
On the way down to Townsville we visited Etty Bay and saw a young cassowary and its mum along the side of the road feeding. The beach was nice but very blowy compared to Bramston. We stopped at Kurramine Beach for a picnic lunch and watched a kite surfer, he was going really fast, again, very windy. The township was nice, very tidy. We had been told that Mission Beach is well worth a visit and I have to agree, the road between Bingil Bay and Mission was great, we've never driven on a road so close to the beach before, the tide was in too, magic… The town itself looked a bit too touristy for us and the caravan parks were very full with the vans very close together so we didn't stop for a look around, just continued on our way.
