July 16th DAY.. 30

Beach at Port Douglas

 A noisy night in Mossman parked very near a busy road. The day dawned bright again but there are always clouds about, ready to darken and produce a shower of rain. Port Douglas was next on the list. What a beautiful beach. We walked a long way amongst lots of people who were walking, reading, playing with kids or swimming in the cool surf. The township itself is beautifully cared for with all lawns and gardens well kept. It is a very popular and busy tourist centre with many many resorts providing accommodation. The golf links don't interest us but they looked magnificent.

Sugar harvesting is in full swing with trains and trucks carting the harvested cane to the mill in Mossman. The
cane fields are really attractive with their tall fronds swaying in the breeze.

Instead of following the coast we decided to go inland again where the roads are not so frantic. Once we went through the hills the country became much drier. We were still meeting trucks carrying harvested cane. From where? We remembered seeing sugar growing near Dimbulah. It is a long way to take the cane for processing. Dimboolah once had a very strong tobacco industry..but it is nowhere to be seen today. Probably all being grown in China...near the area where John a & Anneshka lived

Cairns seemed to be a maze of roads and traffic but we eventually we found the park where we were booked for three nights. Not a lot of space to park our rig but plenty of shade to sit in.

 We had been in contact with Tony Powell who lives here, in Cairns, at present. Lauren is also working up here working on a boat which takes tours out to the reef.
Brenda and Grieg Pollock also arrived in Cairns today. Tony invited us all for dinner.  Lauren cooked us a lovely smoked salmon pasta meal. It was good to see everyone.

Sugar train being loaded with harvested cane