8 October 2011 - Rocky Creek War Memorial Park, near Tolga, Queensland

We are still here, camped early alongside a couple of motorhomes, one of which sports NZMCA wings. No doubt they are as us, seated in front of their television watching the first quarter final of the Rugby World Cup. We were happy to find that it is being televised free to air and the second match will follow. Alas the fourth match, that between New Zealand and Argentina will not be on until midnight tomorrow and so this will entail being woken in the middle of the night to see it or alternatively simply missing it. Alas, for rugby aficionados, this weekend in Australia is all about the Bathurst 1000.

We spent a good night here along with a dozen other parties, not disturbed at all by the road noise, and woke to yet another fine warm day. We packed our lunch and moved the caravan further away from the road to the end of the camping area, hoping that there it would be more secure to abandon for the day.

Back south to Tolga, then east toward Lake Tinaroo, an irrigation dam across the Barron River, the first of its kind in Queensland completed in 1958. The 28 kilometre drive around the lake passes through Tinaroo, at the dam point where quite a holiday village has become established back from the very pleasant picnic and recreational areas. We stopped and read the statistics of the construction and attempted to absorb the map showing the irrigated areas, many of which we had travelled through when we were based further north at Mareeba prior to our trip up the Cape.

Lake Tinaroo

Once across the dam, the road enters the Danbulla National Park and State Forest. This gravel road follows the lake edge for some time, offering access to camp sites and boat ramps and then winds up through the forest eventually joining the Gordonvale – Atherton road we travelled yesterday.

I was fascinated to see that the trees drowned in the filling of the dam over fifty years ago are still standing with their bare branches reaching out of the lake like ghosts, defying the law of decomposition.

The remains of an abandoned farm

En route we stopped at several points to enjoy short walks by yet another “maar”, Lake Euromoo, around the Mobo Creek Crater which is home to some very elusive platypus and around the Cathedral Fig Tree, one of the most impressive strangler trees to be seen alleged to be 500 years old, 48 metres tall and extending over 1000 m square metres. Lunch was enjoyed in a deserted picnic area which boasts toilets, picnic shelters, and two lone chimneys, remnants of a life similar to those return soldiers who settled and then after years of effort had to abandon their holdings in Mangapurua. But unlike my grandparents, these Australians were dairy farmers and the land was unfertile and dry and totally unsuited to such enterprise. This was back in 1924 long before irrigation was a reality. I guess the world is full of such sad stories.

This is the land of the amethyst python, a very large and lovely tree snake, which I have yet to spot on our walks. We did however find the discarded skin of a long snake by our picnic table; th thin scaly patterns faded.

The National Park is home to many wonderful species of bird and creature, but the one that particularly fascinated us, and thankfully remained unseen was the native Giant White Tailed Rat. At the entrance of the park there was a special notice to announce its presence and a warning as to its habits: chewing through tents, plastic eskis, tin cans and vehicle wiring. Imagine what they would do to an ankle!!

The Curtain Fig Tree

Back on the main road, we travelled through to Yungaburra, which we had rushed through yesterday pulling the caravan heading for our ultimate destination. Today we drove slowly around this village, much of it heritage listed. Many of these otherwise fine old buildings are desperately in need of maintenance however I imagine that such undertaking is too grand for the profits gained from the modest trade. Again, such a familiar story.

We called at the platypus viewing platform on the Peterson Creek, however it was evident from the still murky waters that the cute little fellows were all asleep in their river bank burrows and would not be out hunting until dusk, by which time we would be long gone. We visited the Curtain Fig Tree close by and were duly impressed as we had been by the Cathedral Fig Tree back up the road.

Our watches reminded us that the Games would soon be starting so we headed back through Atherton, filling our water containers at the Information Centre on the way and soon arrived back here to find our caravan where it had been left and all in order.