We flew from Sydney to Cairns, in northern Queensland for the next part of our trip. Most parts of Australia that I'd already seen are quite flat, so it was quite surprising to see so many hills in the area surrounding
Cairns. There's not an enormous amount to see in the town itself and on the first afternoon we headed out to Fitzroy Island, about 30 km south-east of Cairns. We'd been told we could dive there, however visibility was pretty bad and the organiser had forgotten weight belts so in the end we gave up. Fortunately our other dives in Queensland went much better (see more about them
here)!
 |
| Fitzroy Island |
Cairns has an extensive foreshore promenade, however you're not allowed to swim in the sea there due to risk of crocodile attacks. Between November and late April there's also a risk of being fatally stung by jellyfish, and the rashguards rented by companies that offer snorkelling excursions tend cover the whole body.
 |
| sign at Cairns waterfront warning of the risk of crocodile attacks |
After spending a
day diving on the Great Barrier Reef, we took possession of the camping car we'd rented for the next ten days, and started to head south.
 |
| our camping car in Queensland |
Due to the tropical climate there's quite a lot of sugar cane cultivation, like
Reunion. However unlike the enormous lorries in Reunion that carry the sugar from weighing station to factory, in Queensland small - but very long - trains are used.
 |
| a train carrying sugar cane crossing the road |
 |
| a train carrying sugar cane crossing the road |
 |
| a very long sugar cane train in Ingham, Queensland |
 |
| controlled sugar cane field fire, near Ayr, Queensland |
After stopping at Alva Beach near Ayr to
dive the Yongala, our next stop was Bowen, well known for its mangoes, and home of two giant mangoes.
 |
| the 'little' mango, Bowen |
 |
| the 'big' mango, Bowen |
Our next stop was in
Rockhampton, in Central Queensland, and as it was a Friday evening we found ourselves at the
Great Western Hotel (established in 1862), where a bull riding event was taking place. Apparently every Wednesday and Friday you can eat dinner and watch the bull riding at the same time.
 |
| bull riding, Great Western Hotel, Rockhampton |
As we hadn't been aware of the event we hadn't booked a ringside table and would have ended up sitting inside, however an Australian couple we'd got talking to in the queue while waiting to pay for our food very kindly suggested we share their (ringside) table, so we got to see the bull riding up close.
 |
| bull riding, Great Western Hotel, Rockhampton |
 |
| bull riding, Great Western Hotel, Rockhampton |
Rockhampton promotes itself as the 'Beef Capital of Australia' (see further below) and the Great Western Hotel is apparently the only place in the world outside of Texas where you have a bull riding arena incorporated into a hotel and restaurant.
 |
| bull riding, Great Western Hotel, Rockhampton |
 |
| bull riding, Great Western Hotel, Rockhampton |
The next morning shortly after leaving Rockhampton we stopped at the sign marking the Tropic of Capricorn, latitude 23° 27' 30"S. (The last place we'd been at such a sign was in
Namibia, about 18 months previously). The
Tropic of Capricorn is the the southernmost latitude at which the sun reaches its
zenith. This happens only once each year on the summer solstice (about 22nd December).
 |
| Tropic of Capricorn, Queensland |
In Roman mythology
Capricornus was the sea goat into which
Pan was changed to escape from the terrible giant
Typhon. It's also the name given to the constellation resembling it, and when the December solstice was first observed the sun was situated in this constellation, hence the tropic was named Capricorn.
 |
| Tropic of Capricorn, Queensland |
 |
| Kigelia (aka Sausage tree) |
 |
| lunch stop |
 |
Memorial marking Cook's landing at Seventeen Seventy
(lee = downwind, or downward) |
 |
| sunset at Seventeen Seventy |
 |
| wild echnida seen at Seventeen Seventy |
After the big mangoes came the big bottle of rum! We stopped at the Bundaberg distillery, but didn't take the tour as it's something we've
already done in Reunion more than once.
 |
| outside the Bundaberg distillery |
 |
| Mary Poppins statue, Maryborough |
After
diving at Wolf Rock off Rainbow Beach, our next stop was at
Glass House Mountains, on the Sunshine Coast about one hour north of Brisbane. These 'mountains' (the highest is 556 metres) are a group of 13 hills that rise abruptly from the coastal plain. The modern non-Aboriginal name was given by Captain Cook as the peaks reminded him of the glass furnaces in his home county of Yorkshire.
 |
| Glass House Mountains |
We then had lunch and took a walk in the nearby
Mary Cairncross Reserve, a conservation park where there is sub-tropical rain forest as well as good views of the Glass House Mountains.
 |
| at Mary Cairncross reserve |
 |
| bird in Mary Cairncross reserve |
 |
| bird in Mary Cairncross reserve |
We then arrived in Brisbane, which was to be our home for the next five nights as I was attending a
professional conference there. We visited the city on the first day before my 3-day conference started on August 3rd. Brisbane is the state capital of Queensland, and the third largest destination in Australia.
 |
| ANZAC Square, Brisbane |
 |
| Post Office square, Brisbane |
 |
| City Botanic Gardens, Brisbane |
 |
| goyavier jaune in need of support, Brisbane Botanic Gardens |
 |
| view of Brisbane |
At the start of the
conference I got to see a
Welcome to Country ritual ceremony that is often performed at many events held in Australia to highlight the cultural significance of the surrounding area to a particular Aboriginal clan or language group. Indigenous Australians are believed to have lived in coastal south-east Queensland for 32,000 years, with an estimated population between 6,000 and 20,000 individuals before white settlement
 |
| Welcome to Country ritual |
On the first evening of the conference we also got to do a 'showboat' cruise on the Brisbane River.
 |
| Kookaburra evening cruise on the Brisbane River |
 |
| Cape Byron lighthouse |
 |
| Cape Byron |
Near
Port Macquarie we finally managed to see koalas in the wild!
 |
| koala in the wild, Port Macquarie |
But we also visited the nearby
Koala Hospital to see some more.
 |
| koala at the koala hospital |
To get to our accommodation at Tea Gardens, further down the coast, we took a tiny ferry at
Myall Lakes National Park. As it was early evening and there was a full moon it was quite atmospheric.
 |
| ferry across Boolambayte Creek |
 |
| moonrise and pelican, Boolambayte Creek |
Our final stop before reaching Sydney was at
Newcastle, the largest coal export harbour in the world. The Newcastle metropolitan area is is the second most populated area in New South Wales.
 |
| view of Newcastle, NSW from the top of Queen's Wharf Tower (30m high) |
Then it was back to Sydney for one more night before flying cross-country to Perth, and then finally back to Reunion via Mauritius.
 |
| Manly Beach, Sydney |
See also:
