This’n’That

First posted on May 15, 2013

I love the old Queenslanders – but some are in better nick than others!

Gorgeous old Queenslander

Ripe for renovation

Compare that to the many gated communities…. like an homogeneous prison with day release, i.e. the checking in and out. There are quite a few of these about, both as holiday “resorts” and permanent residences. Definitely not for me!

Gated community

Old Australians – aka Grey Nomads. I haven’t actually come across them at close quarters before, apart from getting stuck behind them on the road. At the Atherton Information Centre I was shocked to hear one ask if there were any free sites with showers nearby. When he left I asked if this was a common request. “Oh yes.” And are there such facilities? “Oh yes. Maybe a gold coin donation for the shower.” Who provides them? “The local council.” Well, if I lived in a tourist area I’d be asking my local council to be charging realistic fees for maintenance of such sites. I didn’t know you could travel that cheaply – at the expense of local rate payers! Eye opening!!

Then there was the one who nearly ran me down – twice!!
I dare say you can’t judge all grey nomads by these two. She hopes!!

Tourist Information Centres – If you’re into planning a trip and you’ve got time enough … I found asking the local accredited Tourist Information Centre was the best way to get info about where I’d be visiting. I say “accredited” because there are so many “tourist information centres” in Cairns but all but one are booking agencies giving information limited to what they sell.

I had to look twice at this – an above ground possum crossing. It runs from the Flecker Garden to the Botanic Gardens in Cairns.

Possums cross here!

And I rather liked this water tank set-up at the Red Cross Blood Donor Centre in Cairns. Definitely practical and it looked rather good too, in keeping with the local architecture.