Cairns Day 5

Packed, checked out of our cozy motel and got ready to hit the road early in the morning. The lady at the counter was really nice and did not charge us for breaking their juice beakers. This motel is highly liked by Slug and I for its friendly service and clean and comfortable rooms. We were reluctant to leave Cairns.

The interior compound of Aspect Central Motel

Grabbed some breakfast and browsed through a huge store selling all kinds of necessities for the outdoors like BBQ grills, fishing and camping equipment before leaving Cairns at about 10pm. We took the Bruce Highway, a major highway in Queensland leading south to Brisbane. Hopefully we could reach some major town by dusk.

Taking the Bruce Highway southwards

Small settlements

Driving was such a breeze! Light traffic, direct route, warm sunshine and relaxing views of the expansive plains. However, what marred the enjoyable driving experience was having to dodge the kangaroo (and other animals) carcasses that littered the highway (usually at the roadside). It was heartwrenching to see the bodies in various states of decay - some freshly killed lying in a pool of blood, while most were already run over, flattened and dried up till they had become powder and drifted away with the wind, leaving behind their brown hide. We could not make out what the smaller corpses were, probably wallabies and rats. And also birds.

What a lovely scene of nature

Came to a petrol station along the highway and bought some refreshments as well as went for a toilet break. Slug bought a handline reel and some prawns for bait.

At the petrol station

Had been driving for 2 hours now. Sugar cane plantations, grazing cows and small towns around us. Nevertheless, found it a peaceful and relaxing cruise. Took care not to exceed their highway speed limit of 100km/h, because there was enforcement by the traffic police - had seen the red police cars by the roadside with the officers stopping other drivers.

Decided to go for a little adventure by turning into a small road leading to some creek where we could do some fishing. I did feel some anxiety driving into some quiet unknown territory with no human presence around us. What if we were attacked? What if our car broke down? What if some mutant a la The Hills Have Eyes emerged from the sugar cane plants and chopped us up for dinner?

We came to Eubenangee Swamp National Park. There was a small creek beside the entrance into the national park. There was a family fishing at the creek - the father was resting in their vehicle, the mother was smoking and fishing and the small children were laughing and running around topless. We picked a spot to fish - on the railway track above the creek (okay, I know it's dangerous, but probably not as dangerous as the yellow sign that said 'Beware of wild crocodiles').

At the creek

At Eubenangee Swamp National Park

Slug fishing on a railway track

It was a shallow creek, and the hook kept getting stuck in the rocks. The smoking mother advised us to throw the bait into the water shaded by the tree cover, where Mangrove Jacks rest. No luck. The mother, with also a handline reel, kept hooking up fishes, but she released them back. I admire fishermen (or women) who respect wildlife by practising catch and release - releasing fishes that are not desired or are too small to deserve premature death.

I got bored after a while and we decided to enter the national park. We read the yellow sign carefully - no swimming and no approaching of the swamp and river banks. I was anticipating meeting a wild crocodile! Within the first 10 steps into the national park, I came out shrieking because I could not stomach the sight of twenty over mosquitoes resting on Slug's black T-shirt (as well as our arms). It was fun punching his back in swift kungfu moves and flattening 4 to 5 mosquitoes at one go, but pointless (this is the territory of generations of these bloodsuckers). I gave up and we walked in.

The dark dense forest that greeted us at the entrance

At the entrance

The air was still but moist, and all we could hear was our breathing. No bird calls, no cracking sounds of fruits ... ... where were the animals? We were looking out for crocs as we stared nervously at the gently-flowing but swampy river (the one leading to the creek that we were fishing at), but we saw none. However, we did see some obvious sandy patches by the path (in contrast to the surrounding densely-vegetated grass ground) and trail marks - looked like a resting spot for a crocodile and the tracks it left behind. We could never be sure.

Suddenly a man coming from behind overtook us, and we decided to catch up with him. After a while, we emerged out of the forest and came to a grassy knoll. Unexpectedly he walked up the knoll, which left us wondering where it would lead to. For safety's sake, we decided not to follow and get out of the national park. Felt kind of disappointed that we did not spot a croc.

The man went up the knoll to nowhere

Back onto Bruce Highway again. It was nearing 3pm. Now was starting to get time-conscious. However, saw a road leading to Josephine Falls and decided to sidetrack for a little while.

Empty road

Located along Josephine Creek at the foot of Mount Bartle Frere, Josephine Falls is a popular recreation spot amongst the locals. Surprisingly, when we arrived there, there was quite a number of locals picnicking and trekking there. The small waterfall looked tempting but the temperature made us hesitate towards stripping and swimming there.

Josephine Falls

Some parts of the creek were strewn with large boulders

At Josephine Falls

Got back onto Bruce Highway. We stopped at Cardwell for a toilet break and some fish and chips.

At a jetty in Cardwell

Gentle waves up the shore

Sped as fast as I could but started to get increasingly worried as the sun slowly dipped behind the majestic mountains, turning the scene a dusky orange. Wished to avoid driving on these empty lamppost-lacking roads at night. More kangaroo carcasses and a patch of burning forest along the way.

Evening approaching

Finally, it was nightfall. It was scary driving on dark roads where you could only see bright headlights ahead, so imagine my relief when I eventually saw the familiar orange lamppost lights and the town ahead - Townsville. We decided to settle there for the night. It was tough finding a motel along the beach that could accommodate us - most of them were full. We finally came to a decent-looking one further inland on the slope of Castle Hill - The Summit Motel. The middle-aged man at the counter was very friendly and gave us milk as welcome drinks. The room was equally decent too - neat, comfortable and had a really nice room fragrance.

We drove to The Strand (the road along the beach lined with restaurants, motels and bars, just like The Esplanade in Cairns) for dinner but realised we could only afford to eat Chinese noodles-in-a-box (even then, each box cost AUD$13). We had the impression that Townsville was just a small countryside town, but surprisingly, it had a modern CBD, posh restaurants and bars by the beach with a classy and stylish clientele in formal and clubbing wear. Imagine our shabbiness as we walked along The Strand in jeans and sweaters.

Spent the night resting our sore asses (for sitting in the car throughout this 350-km journey) and watching cable TV accompanied by beer. Had to leave for Mackay the next day.