Ray has kept in touch with Tim, the man we originally met at morning tea, by the side of the road between Roma and Emerald. He was one of the lucky recipients of a discussion about weights of caravans. Tim was onboard from day one and agreed wholeheartedly with Ray about spreading the word. Tim and his wife, Di, are from Wagga Wagga in NSW. They are in Cairns at the moment as well and popped by our caravan park this morning for a coffee at our cafe.
We spent a lovely hour and a bit chatting before we all had to get a wriggle on. Tim and Di to Mossman, and we had a visit to Mareeba planned. We bid farewell and thought that we may catch up later in the week.
Mareeba is inland and a good hour and fifteen minutes away. It used to be a rich tobacco producing area but the main industry is now mining minerals of all kinds like copper, gold, lead, zinc, limestone, marble and slate. There are some major mining companies in the area.
It’s been 10 years since we were last in the area and we headed straight to the Visitor Information Center to see if this was any different. When we travelled last, we visited hundreds of Visitor Information Centers (VICs). We voted the Mareeba VIC the best by far. We were keen to see if it was as good as we remembered.
The drive there was pleasant. Up through the greenery of the rainforest to the town of Mareeba. As soon as we got to the VIC, there was a volunteer out the front cleaning the steps who told us that we could take Henry inside. Fantastic. The VIC had uniformed volunteers all too happy to help us with anything we needed. There were brochures galore covering the whole region and beyond, a gift shop, booking service and the museum that we remembered. It cost $5 to enter for a 3 day pass. We bought a ticket each.
The entry fee also gave us a QR code with a downloadable guided tour of the museum. The Captain decided to be our tour guide so the oral guide designed to accompany the walk around the museum, didn’t quite work out for us. The museum had grown in size by about double since we had been last and the displays were really good. Perfect for kids and dogs!
The museum also had a cafe with an extensive menu. We stopped for lunch. While we had been enjoying the museum, the volunteers in the VIC had been researching some accommodation for us further up north in Cooktown. So helpful! We collected the information on our way out (as well as another jar of humbugs as our glovebox stash was nearly out.)
Emerald falls was nearby and we had read about them being dog friendly as they were in a a state forest, not a national park. We arrived under a black sky but it was 34 degrees and didn’t feel like it was going to rain. Ray and Henry headed straight for the little stream that was flowing pretty fast before you started the walk to the falls. Henry wanted to jump straight in but the current was much too strong to take his lead off.
The walk to the Emerald Falls was 40 minutes return so we checked the information board for any tips for taking a dog. While we were standing under the shelter reading the board, we heard what sounded like rain on the tin roof. Looking on the ground, we saw the telltale signs of rain on the ground. Huge splotches landed in the red dirt, a few at first, then more and more, until the splotches joined in the dirt and quickly made mud. The information board warned against attempting the Falls Walk after wet weather because walking on the granite rocks to access the water is dangerously slippery.
We didn’t really get the chance to make the decision not to go, because the rain got heavier and heavier and just kept coming down. We jumped in the car and headed home. Before long the heavens really opened up and visibility was so poor that I have no idea how Ray managed to stay on the dirt road and not end up in one of the ditches. I kept an eye on the temperature gauge in the car. It went from 35 to 23 degrees in 4 minutes. Then it continued to rain, thunder and blow a gale on our way home.
By the time we were back at the caravan, the temperature was back at 32 degrees and not a cloud in sight!
Ray decided that since it was still early afternoon, (3:30pm) he could just about squeeze in a spot of fishing. Being the accommodating and loving wife that I am, I encouraged him to go and catch us some fish for dinner.
(He came back empty handed and Henry and I were without power after the whole caravan park lost power when a tree went through the power lines.)
Travel Australia Caravan Tips 