A Great Journey through a Great country

 

Readjusting Yet Again

'The Best Relationship You Can Have With A Man Is Not To Live With Him'
Hans and I are once again together...but after learning from the lessons of our history, live apart...we each have our own 'space'...which we both need and yet now enjoy each others company when we are together...

My faithful and reliable car of 9 years Annie Astra has moved on to a new life with someone who I am sure will love her as much as I did...It was time, as living here especially during the Monsoon Season can throw many driving challenges your way...
Knowing what a Suzuki Jimny can do...I decided that thats what I wanted for my next wheels...

Introducing Suzy Q!

So now Suzy has a sister!

The Wet...or as we have renamed it The Monsoon Season continues to delight us all with relieving tropical downpours and exciting summer storms, which reduce the high humidity that builds just before these events...

The magical array of colours

Stopped in at Hutchins Creek a few days ago...

Clear pristine rainforest water flowing...

Local kids enjoying the cooling water...

Briefly visited Thornton Beach...Thats Struck Island in the photo...Doesnt take a lot of imagination to work out how it got named that!

Hans is now writing a weekly feature article for the online 'newspaper' coming out from Port Douglas called The Newsport...His articles are headed 'In the Rainforest this week'

http://www.tourismportdouglas.com.au/PORT-DOUGLAS-NEWS-DAILY.3081.0.html  (and click on News above recent news top left hand corner)

We were out that day looking for flowering and seeding plants to write about...

The Daintree Fan Palm is in flower...

The Walking Stick Palm is flowering...the flowers/seeds are either red or orange...Hans tells me they are the only palm seed flower that is edible.

These Bromeliads, although not native to the Rainforest were putting on a show worthy of a photo on someones property...

Water Lillies abound in the wetlands and temporary lakes that form this time of the year.

In the Mangoves, the Cannon Ball is fruiting..these trees grow up to 25 metres high..the Cannon Balls contain 12-18 tighly packed seeds which are released when the ball ripens to a golden brown and opens...

The Bread Fruit Tree...with ready to eat Bread Fruit just there for the picking...there is a whole orchard of these growing just out of Cape Tribulation Village...which Hans planted himself around 20 years ago...

The Bread Fruit was introduced to FNQ by the Samoan Missionaries...The bread fruit weighs up to 4kg and are around 20cms in diameter when mature...

A versatile fruit...used more for its potato like qualities...high in starch but not calories...it can be peeled and boiled, roasted, baked whole in the oven, BBQ'd.

We took one home that day and made Bread Fruit Chips...absolutely delicimo!

Whilst up at Cape Tribulation the hot and humid day was relieved by a tropical deluge that lasted but 30mins...so refreshing

A Golden Orb under cover of the corrugated roof was undisturbed by it all.

The drive back was certainly different to the drive up...

Coopers Crossing...which on the way up was dry (the crossing) and the river so clear you could see the stonebed beneath, had transformed to this...

The backpackers on the otherside decided that maybe they wouldnt be camping at Cape Trib that night as they turned around and went back.

The water tables around the whole of the area are full...the ground so saturated that anything that falls from above now becomes ground water looking for a place to go ...added to that the rain falling in the hills above coming down the valleys in volumes you wouldnt believe, hence the instant flooding...

This creates challenging and ever changing driving conditions....and why I now have Suzy Q!

Out of interest we went again to Hutchins Creek on our way back...

On another day when the sun was out photographed  this Golden Orb settling down to dine on this beautiful beetle in Patricks garden...

And another awesome sunrise to start another Magic Day...

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Whether the Weather!

Back on track!
Shorty who doesnt live in the camp but visits 2x daily, owns a quad bike, parks it in the camp for all to use (he is so kind)

Craig likes driving it and took Bev and myself for a bit of a 'blurt' up the beach...

Came across this ' large object' that the sea had 'coughed up'

Almost looks like a weapon!...the hole in the side of it showed it was full of some sort of polystyrene material, which leads us to think it was meant to float...you couldnt physically move it...highlights the power of the sea...anyway we are still none the wiser...so if anyone knows...leave a comment so we can all be enlightened!

Found a washed up pallet in good condition so decided to bring it back to the camp to dry out for future use...

                                                             The pallet.

Found a rope.

Found a makeshift sled.

Attached it.

Dragged it home!

We had the threat of Cyclone Olga looming over us for weeks...she was a typical woman...a 'temperamental bitch' and changed course frequently!...At one stage she was headed right toward the Port Douglas/Wonga area...Decided it was best to evacuate.

Hans's kindly came over and helped me to strap down the caravan as best we could and I spent the night in a safer place.

At work it was all systems Go!..The A  team were called in at 7am (the A Team are staff that volunteer to come in in case of emergency to assist, especially if evacuation is required) I was on shift anyway....The windows were taped,the outside furniture brought in, water was stocked,our cyclone food supplies and equipment brought out...

But Nothing happened!...not even a breeze and just a sprinkling of rain!

We had more rain in the time that the kids were here in December!

But we were prepared and as ready for a cyclone as you can be.

In the week that followed we did get rain and plenty of it.

Have spent many enjoyable afternoons playing scrabble with Craig and Bev while it rained and rained...

Big Al who is an absolute 'ace' with numbers and statistics informed me yesterday that in the month of January just finished we had 959cms of rainfall at Wonga...thats just under a metre!

Here is Al Cooper sitting on his own little 'island'

Things have dried up since with a few days of Sun...

That's about it for now!

Took this photo a few days ago from the top of the Rex Range...looking down on Mossman and toward the Daintree...it is indeed a beautiful place to live...

 

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:) :) :)

Time Of Adjustment

Would have loved to have been able to write a another 'episode' of the blog for you all to read, but right now my life has come to a bit of a standstill...Feeling numb but am existing and recovering. Being alone takes getting used to...but I am getting there...Thankful for having a job to occupy my mind and my time.

Will be back...

As they say...'As one door closes,another one opens'...(Just having trouble finding the door handle!!!)

Thank You for the Good Times Hans...

People come into your Life for a Reason, a Season or a Life time...
When you know which one it is for a person, you will know what to do for that person.
When someone is in your life for  Reason, it is usually to meet a need you have expressed.They have come to assist you through a difficulty,to provide you with guidance and support, to aid you physically, emotionally or spiritually.They may seem like a 'god send' and they are.They are there for the reason you need them to be.
Then without any wrong doing on your part, or at an inconvenient time, this person will say or do something to bring your relationship to an end.
Sometimes they die, sometimes they walk away, Sometimes they act up and force you to take a stand.
What we must realise is that our need has been met, our desire fulfilled,their work is done.The prayer you have sent has been answered and now its time to move on.
Some people come into your life for a Season, because your turn has come to share grow or learn.They bring an experience of peace, or make you laugh.They may teach you something you have never done.The usually bring you an unbelievable amount of joy. Believe it...it's real but only for a Season.
Life Times relationships teach you life time lessons: things you must build upon in order to have a solid emotional foundation.
Your job is to accept the lesson, love the person, and put what you have learnt to use in all other relationships and areas of your life.
It is said that love is blind but friendship is clairvoyant.
Thank You Hans for being an important part of my Lifes' Journey.

Below: just a few random photos of the numerous, adventures, camps, experiences and journeys we shared...