First posted on May 8, 2013
My last morning in Atherton I awoke to rain, as had become the norm, and a coolish day, which was not usual. I’d arranged to meet Piers and family for a farewell coffee at the Malanda Dairy Centre (recommended!) before heading to Cairns via Innisfail.
However, in view of the weather and the fact that I’d already driven most of the road to Innisfail when I went on the Canopy Walk, Piers’s mum came up with an alternative suggestion: head north through Mareeba and Mount Molloy to Port Douglas then south to Cairns along the coast. The weather argument got me, plus, sad to say, it would be a whole lot easier to say “Yes, I went to Port Douglas” instead of having to explain why I didn’t (no desire to!).
Morning tea was good but sad, not knowing when I’d see anyone again. Those beautiful babies will have forgotten me already! They really are dream children, not a problem at all. Mind you Master Twin has the most mischievous twinkle in his eyes at times and Miss Twin has a “butter wouldn’t melt” look that could hide some mischief too
Then it was time to hit the road.
However, in view of the weather and the fact that I’d already driven most of the road to Innisfail when I went on the Canopy Walk, Piers’s mum came up with an alternative suggestion: head north through Mareeba and Mount Molloy to Port Douglas then south to Cairns along the coast. The weather argument got me, plus, sad to say, it would be a whole lot easier to say “Yes, I went to Port Douglas” instead of having to explain why I didn’t (no desire to!).
Morning tea was good but sad, not knowing when I’d see anyone again. Those beautiful babies will have forgotten me already! They really are dream children, not a problem at all. Mind you Master Twin has the most mischievous twinkle in his eyes at times and Miss Twin has a “butter wouldn’t melt” look that could hide some mischief too
Then it was time to hit the road.
First stop was at Coffee Works in Mareeba, the place that closed as I arrived on my way to Atherton. Well – it might as well have been closed again for all it did for me. You have to pay to enter to do a DIY tour of the coffee works, making your own coffee for tasting along the way. Or you could enter the shop and cafe for free(!) which is what I did. The stock was hippy-kitsch, the chocolate shop with not much variety (very poor compared to the Licorice and Chocolate Factory at Junee, NSW that I visited last December). Which meant I wasn’t interested in having lunch there either.
I pressed on. The weather really deteriorating by now. I stopped to see the scenic view at Lyons Lookout ….. gloomily veiled by clouds and mist.
And very much suited to the bad news I got when I turned my phone on to take a photo: visit to granddaughter in Brisbane cancelled. She and her mother moving to Townsville before I arrive in Brisbane following her father’s deployment to Afghanistan. Well, 13 months since I’ve seen Juliette. How many more I wonder?
There was nowhere to eat in Mt Molloy, I’d been told there was nothing of interest in Mossman, so it was on to Port Douglas. PD lived down to my expectations – very artificial, developed for Beautiful People, people with money, and their ilk. Banana bread and a mocha (not wonderful, left half of it) for lunch.
I pressed on. The weather really deteriorating by now. I stopped to see the scenic view at Lyons Lookout ….. gloomily veiled by clouds and mist.
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| View from Lyons Lookout near Mossman |
There was nowhere to eat in Mt Molloy, I’d been told there was nothing of interest in Mossman, so it was on to Port Douglas. PD lived down to my expectations – very artificial, developed for Beautiful People, people with money, and their ilk. Banana bread and a mocha (not wonderful, left half of it) for lunch.
I was making a reasonable pace down the coast – no one overtook me in the passing lanes. But by Rex’s Lookout (near Wangetti) I’d been caught so pulled into the lookout point bay to allow cars to pass and to take some more cloudy photos.
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| View from Rex's Lookout |
I’d been told Palm Cove was pretty so I pulled in there for a look. Artificial but not brash like PD and being considerably smaller was to its advantage. I’d be happy to stay there – but only if someone else paid!!
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| Palm Cove |
I rang the reef tour company. Yes, the reef/snorkelling trip would be going ahead tomorrow. This by now truly foul weather wouldn’t stop the sailing. If I don’t go, at this stage no refund so I’ll be there at 7 in the morning. I walked down to the pier to check how long it took – don’t want to miss the boat!
It’s a very late afternoon return so no sorting the train info tomorrow. My free day in Cairns on Friday will start out with making alternative arrangements for getting home, now that the Brisbane stay is off.
It’s a very late afternoon return so no sorting the train info tomorrow. My free day in Cairns on Friday will start out with making alternative arrangements for getting home, now that the Brisbane stay is off.
I had a happy start to the day, a pretty unimpressive middle, and a good end in that although I didn’t feel like eating I knew I had to. I lucked in with my spur of the moment decision not to count the cost when looking at Perrotta's menu. On the odd occasion I spend up big (for me!) I'm often not all that convinced that the extra cost is worth it. Not the case this time. And, unusually for me, I resorted to drink!
It would be soooo lovely to wake up to clear skies in the morning! I don’t think that’s in the forecast
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| Dessert and port |
This post via my phone as a hotspot for my computer. VERY expensive wifi at the hotel. Very poor in this day and age. But it has been very pleasant sitting on the hotel verandah composing this, ready to copy and paste into the blog later. Not so cold. And finally (hopefully not temporarily) the rain has stopped.
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| Hides Hotel verandah |