So the original plan a couple of years ago was to take a trip to Tuscany with a handful for friends and celebrate turning 50 amongst the sunflowers, truffles and Armani but COVID kinda killed that plan … for now at least.

The back up plan isn’t quite as glamorous but I do feel blessed that we can actually get out and about, many people are still living within 4 walls and a 5km radius. \240If we have to be confined to one state, Queensland certainly has plenty to offer.

The big get away leading up to the big 50 next month is a 3000km round trip from Isa to Cairns and home again. Along the way we’ll see some country, sing some bad harmonies, eat some great food, cool down with some beers and catch up with some friends…

Day 1, Mount Isa to Normanton

Day one started easy. \240We are notorious for pulling an all nighter getting ready for a holiday and usually leaving in the wee hours of the morning … but this time we didn’t do it, we went to bed not packed and didn’t plan on an early departure …

We finally rolled out of Isa around 11.30, the equinox packed to the roof like a complex Tetris. \240We did the familiar drive eat towards Cloncurry and turned to head north about 100 clicks up the road … it was new territory for David and he refrained from blinking so he didn’t miss Quamby on the way through. \240We stopped for a very late lunch at the Burke and Wills Roadhouse and after a great burger took on the last 190km and rolled into Normanton just after 5pm. \240We did a lap of the town to get our bearings and headed to our friend Jen’s place.

Jen had kindly offered us her place for the night while she was back down in Isa…. We arrived to an unusual sight of a dead wallaby in the driveway … we’re not in Kansas anymore Toto. \240The neighbour thought it might have been dropped off as a treat for the dog but we think it just dropped… \240We unpacked and headed for the Central hotel for dinner, we split a steak, downed a beer and started nutting out the details for my upcoming birthday celebration…. It might not be Tuscany but it will still be EPIC!

Back at Jen’s cute cottage and we could barely stay awake so after some life administrivia we were out cold for the night…

Tomorrow will take us up into the gulf and new territory for both of us, but that’s another blog for another day.

Until then…

Cheers, Tash

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Day 2, Normanton to Karumba

We woke up sorta early, got ready and packed the car before 9am so David could zoom in to a work meeting (the wonders of modern technology) before we got started with our day. \240We popped into the bakery for a coffee and a bite to eat and then called into Gidgee to drop of keys, resources for one of David’s clients and say G’day to some peeps I used to work with.

We headed to the Council to deal with the wallaby in Jen’s driveway and called into the library where there were some terrific exhibits about Aboriginal women working on stations through the years, Aboriginal stockmen and Aboriginal rodeo riders and cowboys. \240There was also some super useful information about the area’s early explorers with a big focus on Burke and Wills. \240After learning about them extensively for so many of my formative years it’s only now at the age of 49 and living nearer to the business and tragic end of their expedition that the enormity and futility of their efforts have really stuck home for me.

We decided to take the 40km drive to Camp 119the last and most northern spot of the expedition. \240Seeing Walker’s tree ( the famous one with “B” carved into it back in 1961) having walk less than 200m in the sun to get there, I have no idea how they survived for as long as they did… those 3 minutes in the midday sun \240were hot and unrelenting!!!

Modern Australian History done, we headed west for a few more kms to check out the Bynoe and Flinders rivers before returning to Normanton and driving a final 80kms north to reach the gulf … Karumba Point…. A very pretty and isolated outback seaside town.

We did a lap of the town before checking into the caravan park, finding our cabin and having a wee little rest, who doesn’t love a mid-afternoon nap?????

Awake and refreshed we did what almost every tourist who visits Karumba does…. we grabbed a beer and pulled up a table at the Sunset Tavern to watch the sun go down . Even with few clouds to offer a contrast it didn’t disappoint…the sunset was gorgeous with oranges and pinks in the sky over the silvery water … just magic! \240The barra and the prawns weren’t bad either, the only mild disappointment was that they were fresh out of mud crabs so that delicacy will have to wait until we hit the east coast early next week.

Back at the cabin after another easy day And I’m ready for bed. We have an early start tomorrow. We have to be in Croydon by 11am so I have wi fi and can jump in on some interviews back in Isa. \240This modern world of holidays with a smidge of work is great… I can relax and enjoy myself but keep things ticking over so I don’t arrive back at work in a frenzy and a symphony of work to catch up on and \240losing all the benefits of the holiday downtime in the first 15 minutes on the first day back!

Until tomorrow

Cheers, Tash

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Day 3 - Karumba to Croydon

Oh gosh it was an early start today … the alarm woke us before 6am which is really quite rude while on holidays but it was kinda a work day for me so that’s how it goes…

We packed up and headed to Ash’s cafe (if only I had a thick black texta that place wound have had a name upgrade). We split a big breakfast, sipped a coffee and met a lovely staff member all the way from Brooklyn NY. She chatted for a while before getting back to work (as she’s often in trouble fir chatting too much… IMHO I think her friendly chatting was a draw card, all the other staff were efficient but grumpy!)

Breakfast done we drove back towards Normanton while listening to the soundtrack of 1990…. Much of it was dreadful but we sang at the top of our lungs to Heart’s most famous 1st wedding dance song (which is, in fact a cheating’ song). We didn’t stop in Normanton, I had a deadline so we turned east and acquainted ourselves with the Savannah Gulf \240Highway…

We were in Croydon in no time and with 25 mins spare before my first interview!

I’m telling you holidays with a sprinkling of work is the bomb… I sat in a lovely shady park and logged into Teams while David furnished me with morning tea. I moved to our cabin at the local caravan park for the other interviews while David flipped between doing a bit of work himself and site seeing.

Croydon is a lovely little place and they have made a wonderful effort in restoring old building and developing a lovely heritage area… I’ll get the chance to have a wander tomorrow morning before we leave to head further east for the weekend.

Interviews done I curled up with a good book and may or may not have indulged in a late afternoon nap 😴. David definitely indulged! 💤💤💤

There’s only the one pub in town so we shared a counter meal (great steak) and watched the Sea Eagles make a definite first half statement over the Roosters.

Tonight we’ll map out our final route to Cairns from Ravenshoe and work out which bits of the tablelands we’ll see when over the ne t three days… but that’s for another blog for another day.

Until then

Cheers, Tash

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Day 4 Croydon to Ravenshoe

A day of contrasts…

After the early start of yesterday we started day 4 at a much more leisurely pace… we weren’t packed up and out of our cabin until just before 10. We shared breakfast at the local cafe before filling up the tank and setting east.

It was another cracking sunny day and great driving conditions which was a good thing because the road quality fluctuated between 10/10 to 1/10 including some detour sections on \240compressed red dirt….

It was also a contrast of changing topography and landscapes from the dry red flat outback to the undulating hills and mountains of the tablelands.

The third contrast was our culinary experience. I thought it was a given that if all else fails you can alway be guaranteed at least a pie and sauce in an Australia country town …. My assumption was wrong 😢… we arrived in Georgetown around 12.30 to find very few place to buy lunch but there was a cafe attached to the only motel in town. There wasn’t a big menu but they had meat pies so we ordered a couple… they were frozen so they took a while to heat up but after about 10 minutes I had a couple of steaming hot pies on my hand …. or so I thought… We found a lovely shady park down the road so we sat ourselves down at a table to enjoy the Aussie staple … and it was dreadful, hot and soggy on the edge stone cold and soggy towards the centre and deadset frozen in the middle … fail fail fail! We tossed the pies, shared a drink and feasted on BBQ chips as we drove out of town.

We rolled into Ravenshoe about 5pm and found our accomodation before doing a quick lap of the town, we found a pub that served dinner and a supermarket to grab a few breakfast supplies as the motel owner told us nothing would be open in the morning.

The final contrast of the day was the weather… it was cold! After the searing heat of Normanton just a couple of days ago we had to ferret around in our luggage to find jeans, jumpers, socks and beanies just to get to the pub! But it was worth it!

The pub was a cracker, it’s claim to fame is that’s the highest pub in Queensland and from the outside it looks like a standard Timber Queensland country pub… through the door and it’s the public bar on the left (also standard and looks similar to pubs in Croydon, Richmond or Chinchilla but to the right was a grandiose dining room. Tablecloths, silver flatware, heavy drapery and a spring ballroom dance floor, the menu was pub fare but elevated with an elegant menu and wait staff doing all the fancy serving stuff (while wearing leggings and thongs) … it was a busy night because of the scooting competition on over the weekend (we were polite to all the other patrons as most of them had multiple rifles at hand).

Back at the motel, I found my warm PJs, curled up in bed and was asleep in minutes, David sat up, watched the Penrith Parra game and disappeared down the rabbit hole that is the Victoria public health system researching some info for his folks…

All in all it was a good day despite experiencing the worst pie ever.

Tomorrow we’ll explore the Atherton Tablelands, but that’s for another blog for another day.

Until then

Cheers, Tash

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Day 5 Ravenshoe

A day to remember … or not!!

It was a lovely reprieve to wake up and not need pack the car first thing… instead we had a full day to explore the tablelands area before continuing on to Cairns. \240We planned to do \240a one hundred kilometre loop taking in the highest road in Queensland in Tumoulin and that historic town of Herberton on the way and coming back through Hypipamee National Park to see the crater with the very weird green sludge.

We kicked off our day with a coffee at a very cute local café where we also logged in for the weekly Hydon family quiz. We did pretty well 17.5/25 but South America questions continue to haunt us….

Before heading towards the tablelands we trekked back a few kilometres to Millstream Falls. \240The track to the falls was only 350m and was in good condition so we decided to give the wheelchair a go. \240It worked pretty well but it was definitely an upper arm workout for me, and an exercise in trust for David, I had to hang onto the chair pretty tight and engage the hand breaks for most of the way to avoid David rolling down over the side of a pretty sizeable cliff. The effort was worth it, the falls were lovely. \240There was no way I could push David back up the track so he used the chair as a walking aid for the return trip. \240There were lots of people visiting the fall and most people were like us and stuck to the track but there were plenty of people who wanted a closer look and went off the track (mostly in their standard issue Queensland safety shoes - rubber thongs)… It's no wonder there are accidents in places like this. \240We drove around to have a look at Little Millstream Falls which was a smaller but taller waterfall and from there we headed up to the effort and tablelands.

The drive was lush, as David says “If it’s not raining it’s dripping off the trees” and very windy so we were going at a pretty slow pace. We reached Tumoulin and found ourselves at an elevation of just over 1100m … it was downhill from there (sorry I could resist). \240Around many many bends, up hill and down dale we missed the concealed turn off to Herberton even at our slow speed and with double lines continuing for at least 10kms we made the easy decision not to attempt a u-turn. \240It was easy enough to just travel anticlockwise instead of the original plan. \240A few more kilometres up the road and we were at the road leading to Hypipamee National Park. \240It was a short sealed walk to the cater so we used the wheelchair again. \240The crater was quite erie, the green sludge at the bottom was nothing like I’d seen before. \240The information board indicated that it was purely rotting vegetation but it almost looked like green concrete. \240We stared at it for an age trying to see if there was any movement but my best guess is that it was the consistency of very thick sludge (a truly scientific term).

We got back to the car, loaded the wheelchair into the back, shut the boot and disaster struck! We locked the keys in the car. I thought it was impossible to lock keys in cars these days but we found a way … I'd use the proximity feature to open the boot which we later discovered does not really unlock the doors so when we put David's bucket (which had the keys in it) into the boot we were unknowingly shutting an already locked car.

Luckily I'd kept my phone in my hand so I was able to ring RACQ. We spent the next 2 1/2 hours watching a bush turkey, counting trees, resting in the sun and watching cars come and go from the car park. the RACQ guy finally arrived and after 25 minutes got the car open.

One of the places I was keen to visit what is Gallo Dairy, it \240closed at 4:00pm. \240We were 12kms and we had 14 minutes to get there … we made it as they were closing the doors, \240told them our story and they stayed open a little longer just for us. It was well worth it as we walked out with several samples of lactose free cheese and some chocolate delights.

We were just a few kilometres outside Yungaburra so we decided to go into town for an early dinner, \240it's a very quaint little town with a bit of money behind it. \240An Italian restaurant called Nick’s was heavily advertised in all the tourist brochures and on signage on the way to town so we thought we'd give it a go. It was a great choice, the best Italian food I’ve had in a long time and the best I’ve had in Queensland.

We drove back towards Atherton in the fading light and turned to home in the dark with the high beams on. \240About 20kms into the drive, a roo jumped out in front of the car, I had no chance of stopping and it hit the left headlight and side of the car, we felt a slight thud but kept going. \240There was nowhere to stop and check the damage so we drove on. \240Back at the motel we inspected the car and saw some minor damage to the front bumper and the headlight casing but that was the extent of it.

We were home in time to watch the Brownlow which was an easy and relaxing way to end an eventful but not quite excellent day. Tomorrow we’ll arrive in Cairns, but that’s for another blog for another day.

Until then

Cheers, Tash

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Day 6 Ravenshoe to Cairns

On the move again

We were up early, packed and rolling out of Ravenshoe before 8.30 and it was chilly! \240Our first stop was a lookout on the way to Milla Milla falls, it was a lovely vista which I mostly enjoyed via the photos David took because I was hiding out in the car with the heater turned on full blast… I was outside for less than 30 seconds before the arctic chill was too much for me … seriously I think it was less than 15 out there …brutal … True to say I’ve completely acclimatised to the dry heat of Isa, only a few days ago I felt a wee bit warm \240Normanton where it was 39. (that’s celsius for my friends following along in the USA)

Next stop was Milla Milla for a coffee to warm my cold bones, again a quaint little picturesque town that’s definitely worth stopping for. \240The Milla Milla falls never disappoint, although it’s an image that dominates the travel broachers and I’ve been here a few times before it’s still mesmerising and a lovely spot to spend some time. \240We followed the “waterfall loop” and checked out Zillie Falls before going on to Elinjaa Falls. The viewing spot for Elinjaa Falls was down about 70 steps so David stayed up the top and I went down and filmed the falls for him.

We made one last stop, at the Cathedral Fig Tree before winding our way down from the tablelands and into Cairns. We found the back entrance to the hotel, checked in and unpacked in record time so we could make David’s 1pm appointment with his orthotist.

Being in Cairns meant that David could get his leg braces and shoes serviced. \240Dan Dan the Fake Leg Man ( also known as Dan Baldwin) has been David orthotist for the past three years. \240One of the benefits of living in Isa is that Dan provides services to the area and he is one of two technicians in Australia with his level of qualification and skill so we are very lucky to have him. \240The down side of dropping David’s braces and shoes in for a service is that he will be pretty much immobile for the next 24 hours … so bringing the walker and wheelchair were well worth the effort.

David had a little work to do and a conference call to take so I wandered down to Muddy’s playground and café at the end of the esplanade to meet up with Renee and Peter who had arrived in Cairns a day earlier. \240I spotted the kids, Noah and Abigail first, enjoying themselves on the weird and wacky playground equipment and I found Renee and Pete enjoying a drink and a grazing platter. \240We all wondered back up to the foreshore lagoon where the kids paddled their feet for a while before the Wallaces headed back to their caravan park in Redlynch – Noah had peeps to catch up with before dinner!

David and I ventured out onto the esplanade for an early dinner. \240I was so grateful for the foreshore upgrade works because it made pushing David in the wheelchair very very easy. \240Given that I’d missed out on a mud crab in Karumba there was only once choice for dinner … The Raw Prawn, where I knew the live tank would be in sweet supply of superb crustaceans. \240We were at a seafood restaurant so naturally David chose the chicken while I settled on a \240traditional Singapore chilli sauce for my muddy. \24090 minutes and 23 paper towels later and I was done … it was a magnificent feast.

Back at the apartment I was too full and too tired to attempt a blog update so it was an early night for me. \240A whole group of friends from Brisbane and the sunny coast arrive in Cairns tomorrow which will be great fun but that’s another blog for another day.

Until then

Cheers, Tash

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Day 7 Cairns

Staying put

Woke up early to warm sunshine and a glorious view, seeing the ocean first thing in the morning never gets old for me.

One of our travelling challenges is David negotiating the very many different bathroom set ups. \240We get disability access rooms where ever we can but sometimes they’re not available or simply don’t exist. \240 The bathroom at Royal Harbour is something else! It’s kinda in the kitchen/living room area. \240Our apartment is a fairly clever studio set up with the bed in an alcove just inside the front door and then the bathroom is in the middle and the kitchen opens up to the living area and onto the balcony that takes in the view of the esplanade, foreshore and ocean. \240The shower/bath/spa is circular, juts out into the living area and glass walled so you can shower with a view, but everyone else in the apartment can also view you! \240The upside of this weird set up was that it was very easy to get David’s shower chair in and he could work the taps himself …

Being day two of David without braces we were pretty slow to get out and about this morning. With no braces our outing options were limited to places with smooth flat terrain …. so DFO was the perfect choice. We had a great time zooming around the shops and shopped up a storm at the Converse shop and Oroton.

It was almost 2pm by the time we left so we \240were able to go straight to Dan Dan the Fake Leg Man to pick up David’s braces… he was so happy to be reunited with them! Back at the apartment we had a couple hours before we were due to meet friends for an early dinner so I curled up with a book and the view wh David had a sneaky mid afternoon nap.

Dinner was at a brewery and gin house called Hemingway’s right on the water, it was a lovely spot. Catching up with my bestie was even better. We were a merry group of 8 all together, Julie and David, Kerrie and Scott and Ali and Rob were great company and the laughter and drinks flowed. I had a tasting paddle of gin and confirmed once again that I’m not destined for the Navy as I’m not a fan of Navy strength gin … I like the softer citrus varieties much more.

There was one kinda horrifying incident at Dinner, Julie presented me with a gift from her and David Kerrie and Scott, the gift was lovely, a very grown up pair of crystal drop earring the horrifying bit was the ‘Happy 50th Birthday’ card, it was the first one and a tad confronting… I’m not ready for 50!!!!!!!!!!

After dinner we wandered around and down the esplanade in search of a late night ice cream. \240 Well seven of us wandered and David drive around and met us.

We sat on the edge of the water catching up and eating ice cream for a while before calling it a night.

I have no idea what tomorrow will bring but that’s another blog for another day.

Until then

Cheers, Tash

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Day 8 Cairns

Still staying put

Another early morning flooded with sunshine and a spectacular view. We enjoyed our sweet time in the apartment enjoying the sunshine and the view while getting on with a little life administrivia and didn’t head out until well after 10… the day’s main destination was Cairns Central to check out Myer and the other exciting shops we don’t have in Mount Isa.

As we approached the entrance we were stopped by a security guard who told us only part of the centre was open due to a police incident… a quick check of google and there was some vague news about an incident but no details. \240We decided to pop up the road to the Holden Service shop for them to have. A look at the roo damage. \240The mechanic confirmed that the indicator blurb had broken but with the side mirror and back indicators still working we were ok to drive it home and get it fixed there.

We drove on to Earlville and Big W fand picked up the usual bargains of t-shirts, socks and books. \240Back at the apartment we opened Disney Villains Monopoly for the first time, it was a good twist on the original game with simplified banking, money allocation and purchasing rules. As we played, I realised that I have quite a bit of homework to do on my Disney Villains, I don’t know the characters nearly as well as Mickey and friends or the princesses!

We ventured back out to Cairns Central, (we’d heard the very sad and disturbing news update that the incident was an unprovoked fatal knife attack on a Cairns Local in the shopping centre earlier in the morning). Half the centre was closed so we basically contained ourselves to Myer and the surrounding shops. Again we picked up some good buys that are not normally available to us. We called into the post office on the way back to the apartment and David found a few delightfully surprising gifts to add to my upcoming birthday bonanza.

Back at the apartment we decided to stay in and enjoy a simple dinner and an early night.

Tomorrow we’ll catch up with Isa friends but that’s another blog for another day.

Until then

Cheers, Tash

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Day 9 Cairns

And still on the esplanade!

As I’ve now come to expect and very much enjoy the day started early with our apartment bathed in sunshine. \240We headed back to Cairns Central to find it all open and operating as normal. \240Yes we have spent quite a bit of time at the shops over the past few days but it’s such a novelty and still more compact \240than the big city shopping centres down south. \240Our main goal was to get to the Telstra shop. David’s phone had been playing up for days to the point where he couldn’t answer incoming calls or send texts…

As well as Telstra we had great success in Sketches, Typo, QBD and Dasio … and we needed a second trolley! \240 During the morning I checked in with work to see how the ‘secret mission’ was going … all was on track and I got a call back around 2pm to let me know that it had been a great success. In my absence I organised a surprise for my boss and CEO. \240He is a mad keen Melbourne Football Club supporter and I wanted to celebrate and acknowledge Melbourne’s grand final appearance and cheer him up – boarder restrictions meant he couldn’t get to the game in Perth. \240My team ordered and picked up 80 red and blue balloons to decorate his office. \240They organised to pick them up and get them into his office while he was at a meeting. \240He was delighted and very surprised…. Totally worth the effort!!

After all that shopping we needed a rest but I also needed some fresh seafood, (it had been almost 3 days!!!) so we popped down to the Prawn Star trawler where I picked up a kilo of fresh mixed prawns … delicious!

After a feast of prawns and a rest we headed out to the Coconut Cairns, and absolutely huge caravan park/resort to catch up with our Isa friends Anneke and Tim. We had a fabulous night over a BBQ, a few drinks and a board game in between a array of hilarious stories. \240(mostly from David’s observations and non stop people watching over the past week). \240The highlight was when a group of islander boys walked past the deck and we asked them to stop and sing ( A&T had heard them singing earlier over at the pool) initially they walked past but they doubled back and sang for us… they were brilliant … such great voices. They were adorable \240when they got all shy and giggly when we applauded them at the end.

We had an early start planned for the next day so David and I called it a night just after 11. Tomorrow will bring even more new adventures but that’s another blog for another day.

Until then

Cheers, Tash

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Day 10 Cairns

Yep still here!

Up and out of the apartment bright and early, sipping on a lovely coffee a tick before 8am. It wasn’t as sunny as other mornings but the mild cool breeze was a refreshing change (although we’d heard that Isa was going through a bit of a cold spell too). \240We were meeting Julie, David, Kerrie and Scott for breakfast. \240They had all been out on a reef tour the day before so they were sharing stories of all the other tourists, like us they like to people watch and they had some pretty funny stories.

Breakfast was delicious and most dishes had an interesting spin of the stock standard breakfast fare…We said our goodbyes and hoped that it wouldn’t be too long until we all saw each other again. \240After breakfast we tossed up whether or not to drive out to Mareeba for the day but the appeal to relax and do very little won out…

Unfortunately David’s phone started playing up again, we were warned that this might happen, so he went back to Telstra and replaced his phone for a new one. \240The whole transaction took a couple of hours so I finished my book and wandered down the esplanade for some lunch. \240Mushroom arancini balls and a glass of prosecco hit the spot nicely. \240As has become our pattern we had a mid afternoon rest before grabbing a quick dinner - fresh tacos on the esplanade before meeting up with Anneke, Tim and Charainne at the casino. \240 We all gathered in the theatre style seating to watch the Bunnies annihilate Manly in the first preliminary final on the big (think giant humongous) screen. \240We also found the perfect spot to watch the Storm game and the AFL Grand Final tomorrow….

After the footy I spent 12 minutes and 50 bucks playing roulette (my gambling fix for the next 4-5 years sorted). \240Anneke and Tim were on a roll at their poker machine so we said our goodbyes and headed home.

Hopefully tomorrow we’ll get a chance to catch up with some friends who’ve left Isa and catch some representative footy before settling in to watch the NRL prelim and the AFL GF but as always, that’s another blog for another day.

Until then

Cheers, Tash

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