Now I know that many would deride the fact that our next move was a tiny doddle of 90 kms, but we were just so reluctant to leave the warmth of the tropical north Queensland coast.
Even when the weather is damp and ostensibly miserable, it is never cold. Indeed we have been enjoying overnight minimum temperatures which have been higher than Adelaide's recent maxima. But whatever you do, dear reader, do not take this as unadulterated praise of this part of the world. There really is no such thing a a 'free lunch' and here the price we pay is being constantly smothered in sticky 'Bushman' to ward off the ever present sandflies and mozzies and but gazing longingly at azure waters in which a swim is an invitation to become a crocodile's lunch or a victim of the local 'stingers' (which can be significantly serious to the point of potentially fatal...hence all the vinegar stations along the beaches). And whilst we know that this time of the year is reckoned to be the 'off' season for the box and irrikangi jelly fish, notices which proclaim that this is the time of 'least risk' do not inspire us to frolic with gay abandon in the briny. The beaches of South Australia are a much safer prospect. If only we could ban all but a week or two of the antipodean winter!
Anyway, off to Cardwell, the only town in this area which is actually right on the coast. It looks over the Hinchinbrook Channel which (strangely) separates the mainland from Hinchinbrook Island and lies immediately to the north of Port Hinchinbrook which you may remember was the area in which dozens of yachts were piled on top of one another as a result of Yasi. It was a photo which went around the world.
Cardwell did suffer dreadfully. Much restorative work has been done, but there is so much more to do. As has sadly been the case for years, the folk of Cardwell (in common with many others in this area) have had to wait a ludicrously long time to receive their insurance entitlements. As a result many homes still stand as stark reminders of the totally unforgiving nature of a Category 6 cyclone.
And yet, perfidious Mother Nature spared some.
Here, on Cardwell's Esplanade, stand two almost identical houses, one of which remains relatively intact whilst the other, as can be seen, has lost all but the lower stone walls. Repairs to the local motel have almost been completed, but to add insult to injury, the newly restored roof has recently sprung a leak with results which are more than a mere inconvenience.
Cardwell did suffer dreadfully. Much restorative work has been done, but there is so much more to do. As has sadly been the case for years, the folk of Cardwell (in common with many others in this area) have had to wait a ludicrously long time to receive their insurance entitlements. As a result many homes still stand as stark reminders of the totally unforgiving nature of a Category 6 cyclone.
And yet, perfidious Mother Nature spared some.
Here, on Cardwell's Esplanade, stand two almost identical houses, one of which remains relatively intact whilst the other, as can be seen, has lost all but the lower stone walls. Repairs to the local motel have almost been completed, but to add insult to injury, the newly restored roof has recently sprung a leak with results which are more than a mere inconvenience.
Despite the fact that a canvass cover is still a feature of the sloping roof on the northern end of the motel complex, we could not help but admire the sense of humour (or is it fatalism...or perhaps clever marketing..playing on the sympathy of visitors?) displayed on the Motel sign (look closely!)
The buildings were not the only casualties. The office at our caravan park displayed photos of the main street more than half washed away. I have to confess that I found this almost impossible to believe until we made a closer examination of the roadway in front of the pub, where the repair work was all too evident.
The seafront mangroves (that's Hinchinbrook in the background)
The buildings were not the only casualties. The office at our caravan park displayed photos of the main street more than half washed away. I have to confess that I found this almost impossible to believe until we made a closer examination of the roadway in front of the pub, where the repair work was all too evident.
The seafront mangroves (that's Hinchinbrook in the background)
and low tide litter are further current reminders of the devastation,
as are these remaining stripped tree trunks still standing amidst the partially cleared carcasses of their fellows which is a common sight on the road between Cardwell and Ingham.
One may ask why it is that the relatively simple task of clearing away the beach debris at low tide has not been undertaken. We did. The answer lies in the fact that a whole new beach front development has been designed and is awaiting approval. If it comes off (and the locals really deserve it) it will transform what is a relatively bland and uninviting seafront area into something quite grand. If only they could do something about the grossly unappealing mud flats (the sandy beach is only some 20 metres wide) which are exposed at low tide...strangely photos of the waters of this area are never taken at low tide!
But enough of Yasi. What of Cardwell itself? Firstly, our chosen park. We took the advice of the Vogts, who had preceded us in Cardwell, and chose the park on the beachfront, which also includes a motel in its complex. Good choice. We had a roomy site in a park which had an open feeling, not something commonly found in Queensland.
That's us, right in centre shot. And we did have at least one neighbour who made us feel quite inferior!
I mean, how often does one rub shoulders with the owners of a top of the range Giest caravan being towed by a BMW 4x4 and set off with a $60,000 fishing 'smack'. They were actually a lovely couple who come to Cardwell for six months each year and who leave their boat in local storage for the remainder. Interestingly they used to use Kurrimine Beach as their base for many years until the owners prior to those currently in charge banned pets. Some folk are just plain dumb! Fancy denying a business this type of client. Fortunately not too many of them run caravan parks.
On our other side we found Michelle and Ian with whom our first night happy hour morphed into a delicious Baby Q (Weber BBQ) roasted chicken and veggies dinner. Because of the inherent demands of park hospitality we felt obliged to assist liberally with the liquid side of things, and yes, I was a bit slow the next day (but you had guessed that, hadn't you?)
But apart from having chickens on hand at the drop of a hat, Ian also had a tinnie. He, like me, was a novice in this area, but was not backward in seeking local advice. And bless him, he was also short of a crew two days later which found your delighted correspondent rigging rods and acquiring appropriate bait. (as a quick aside, I must note that Ian is not short of quid, and he did have the grace to agree with me that towing a 3.7 metre tinnie behind a thumping Ford F250 did smack of overkill!)
So, off we went to launch at Port Hinchinbrook and we were soon scooting some 6 kms down the Hinchinbrook Channel to a spot just off the western shore of the Island, where, on a rapidly falling tide (we decided it would be prudent to move to deeper waters when we felt the tinnie bouncing on the bottom...well we were focused on fishing after all), I managed to capture my maiden grunter and a very nice bream. (I'm still at a loss to know why Liz laughs at my hat...this has been my fishing hat for over twenty years...why would I change now?)
Whilst these (and the small shovel nosed shark which I large heartedly returned to the water...the truth is we were not sure of the legal size, or state of protection or otherwise of it) did not represent a huge achievement piscatorally speaking, I was genuinely chuffed to have finally landed a grunter and to have had a cracking day on the water. Ian later reported that they were delicious (we have more fish than we can jump over), barbecued of course!
The Cardwell Esplanade is actually the Bruce Highway, and as you can imagine, is never quiet. Twenty four hour service stations and cafes invite many to stop, particularly the interstate hauliers. Groups of five or more semis, often parked side by side in the inordinately wide road shoulder, was not an uncommon sight. As was that of the constant fleet of caravans traversing the street in both directions from early morning to mid afternoon.
The shopping area itself is unremarkable, but we loved the imagination of the owner of this little cottage nestled on the main drag. So Normanton!
Cardwell is an old town. It was settled in January 1864 to become the port for northern Queensland. The coastal exploration had been completed many years prior to this. In fact, in 1819, Captain Phillip King, the commander of HMAS Mermaid, first sighted and named Hinchinbrook Island (after the estate of the Earl of Sandwich...no idea why!)
Despite this, little remains of the original buildings. When one considers that that they were of wooden construction, located in an area riddled with termites and hammered by cyclones, this is not entirely surprising. One exception is the Post Office and Telegraph Station which still sits defiantly on the main street.
Given that this building was erected in 1870, from which time it played a vital role in the communications system of the entire northern part of Queensland and beyond, the fact of its survival is quite remarkable. Annoyingly (for me) I was never able to get to the bottom of the secret of its longevity.
Cardwell's beachfront is so long (remember what I said about the sand...what you see here is all of it...once the tide rolls away a muddy flat is exposed) my limitations of both equipment and skill meant that I was unable to capture all of it. This photo, taken from the end of the short town jetty shows the view south to the point beyond which lies Port Hinchinbrook. I have not included any photos of that area for the simple reason that one marina development is invariably a clone of all others. Such is the case with Port Hinchinbrook.
As planned, we used Cardwell as a base from which to explore south to Ingham and east to the coastal areas of Tully Heads, Hull Heads, Lucinda and Taylors Beach. I noted with interest that my old mate Dalb, who had preceded us through Ingham, wrote that he found the place less than interesting (with the exception of Micks bakery) We agree.
Ingham, a cane town, attracted a large Italian immigrant population during its development. Our reading had lead us to believe that this influence could be found all through the town in the form of restaurants, cafes etc, etc. And although the main street supported a smattering of Italian style restaurants, we were completely unable to discover the gastronomic cornucopia promised in the blurb.
Whilst the Memorial Gardens sited at a junction in the main highway through the town were attractive enough, the main street was, from a tourist's perspective, quite bland.
What we did note, however, was the plethora of clothing stores, all of which displayed kit which Liz assured your less than fashion conscious correspondent was of the highest order. I chose one of the more colourful as an example.
Another point of interest for us was Lees Hotel. Whilst we have no doubt this establishment provides the locals and other with fine beverages and meals, we were somewhat sceptical of the claims made on signs at the front of the hotel. One boasted that this was the 'Original Pub With No Beer' and the second that the establishment was of historical significance.
This is the third pub we have come across in our recent travels which makes the 'no beer' claim, and as to the historical bit we decided that the Royal Hotel next door was architecturally a much more likely contender.
One indisputable claim which can be made by the good burghers of Ingham is that relating to the nearby Victoria Sugar Mill. It is indeed the largest in Queensland if not the Southern Hemisphere. We had previously learnt at Tully that a strange reluctance to expand that mill had been seized upon in Ingham with the enlargement of the Victoria the result.
This shot does not really do justice to the size of the place. It is huge. The steam and smoke pouring constantly from its stacks during the cutting season can be seen for miles and miles across the countryside. As we drove into Ingham on this particular morning the humid atmosphere coupled with the steam from the mill created a distant scene which looked for all the world like the eruption of a volcano.
And on this same day, whilst driving through the cane fields towards the coast, we finally came across a cane harvester we could photograph.
To see one of these odd looking machines sweeping relentlessly through the cane fields grinding the cane through the front rollers and spitting the chopped stalks out from the hooded conveyor top into the bins being towed alongside is a sight indeed.
With the exception of two last shots, I promise to discontinue the discourse about cane growing (notwithstanding the fact that we now know we shall be in cane country for some time yet). This one, to me really says it all. The cane railway line crossing the road and then running alongside a newly planted field, the steam of the Victoria Mill at Ingham just visible on the left horizon, cane ready for cutting and the mountain ranges in the background.
And finally, an empty cane train crossing the main street of Ingham. This great mechanical centipede was over 200 bins long! Had we known, I would have used the time as a coffee break.
During the course of our stay in Cardwell, true to plan, we ventured north to the coastal villages of Tully Heads and Hull Heads and south to Taylors Beach, Lucinda and Halifax, continuing our quest to discover the ideal small coastal resort in this part of the world for future reference.
Lucinda, the home of the longest sugar loading jetty in the world, (very poorly represented in this shot...you may be able to just make out the actual docking wharf at right angles to the end of the jetty on the horizon)
receives high praise from many quarters as a holiday destination. How we now value our own judgement! A morbidly crowded, pet-unfriendly caravan park and an average beach front area all overshadowed by the huge sugar warehouses and the jetty, left us cold. Tully Heads and Hull Heads were a very different proposition with good beaches, a river mouth (Hull Heads) and (Hull Heads again) a very appealing fee campsite right on the edge of the Hull River.
But the stand out for us was Taylors Beach. A lovely looking park (Max amenable), and a nearby inlet which presented clean, sandy tidal flats (flathead country), crystal clear waters and an indefinable ambiance which immediately appealed to both of us. A definite for another trip.
All of which all brings us to the end of our sojourn in Cardwell and beyond. I must apologise for the fact that I have been somewhat tardy in keeping this blog up to date. Our current base at Conway Beach is wireless Internet unfriendly...in fact we have no signal whatsoever other than at the beachfront, where I have had to make the shelter shed my temporary office.
Less that satisfactory and particularly frustrating for one who likes to beaver away at the keyboard on arising!
Tales of woe from Home Hill and Bowen to come (don't panic Gwen and Gwen!), and our adventures in Conway Beach, Airlie Beach and beyond in the hopefully not too distant future.
The Cardwell Esplanade is actually the Bruce Highway, and as you can imagine, is never quiet. Twenty four hour service stations and cafes invite many to stop, particularly the interstate hauliers. Groups of five or more semis, often parked side by side in the inordinately wide road shoulder, was not an uncommon sight. As was that of the constant fleet of caravans traversing the street in both directions from early morning to mid afternoon.
The shopping area itself is unremarkable, but we loved the imagination of the owner of this little cottage nestled on the main drag. So Normanton!
Cardwell is an old town. It was settled in January 1864 to become the port for northern Queensland. The coastal exploration had been completed many years prior to this. In fact, in 1819, Captain Phillip King, the commander of HMAS Mermaid, first sighted and named Hinchinbrook Island (after the estate of the Earl of Sandwich...no idea why!)
Despite this, little remains of the original buildings. When one considers that that they were of wooden construction, located in an area riddled with termites and hammered by cyclones, this is not entirely surprising. One exception is the Post Office and Telegraph Station which still sits defiantly on the main street.
Given that this building was erected in 1870, from which time it played a vital role in the communications system of the entire northern part of Queensland and beyond, the fact of its survival is quite remarkable. Annoyingly (for me) I was never able to get to the bottom of the secret of its longevity.
Cardwell's beachfront is so long (remember what I said about the sand...what you see here is all of it...once the tide rolls away a muddy flat is exposed) my limitations of both equipment and skill meant that I was unable to capture all of it. This photo, taken from the end of the short town jetty shows the view south to the point beyond which lies Port Hinchinbrook. I have not included any photos of that area for the simple reason that one marina development is invariably a clone of all others. Such is the case with Port Hinchinbrook.
As planned, we used Cardwell as a base from which to explore south to Ingham and east to the coastal areas of Tully Heads, Hull Heads, Lucinda and Taylors Beach. I noted with interest that my old mate Dalb, who had preceded us through Ingham, wrote that he found the place less than interesting (with the exception of Micks bakery) We agree.
Ingham, a cane town, attracted a large Italian immigrant population during its development. Our reading had lead us to believe that this influence could be found all through the town in the form of restaurants, cafes etc, etc. And although the main street supported a smattering of Italian style restaurants, we were completely unable to discover the gastronomic cornucopia promised in the blurb.
Whilst the Memorial Gardens sited at a junction in the main highway through the town were attractive enough, the main street was, from a tourist's perspective, quite bland.
What we did note, however, was the plethora of clothing stores, all of which displayed kit which Liz assured your less than fashion conscious correspondent was of the highest order. I chose one of the more colourful as an example.
Another point of interest for us was Lees Hotel. Whilst we have no doubt this establishment provides the locals and other with fine beverages and meals, we were somewhat sceptical of the claims made on signs at the front of the hotel. One boasted that this was the 'Original Pub With No Beer' and the second that the establishment was of historical significance.
This is the third pub we have come across in our recent travels which makes the 'no beer' claim, and as to the historical bit we decided that the Royal Hotel next door was architecturally a much more likely contender.
One indisputable claim which can be made by the good burghers of Ingham is that relating to the nearby Victoria Sugar Mill. It is indeed the largest in Queensland if not the Southern Hemisphere. We had previously learnt at Tully that a strange reluctance to expand that mill had been seized upon in Ingham with the enlargement of the Victoria the result.
This shot does not really do justice to the size of the place. It is huge. The steam and smoke pouring constantly from its stacks during the cutting season can be seen for miles and miles across the countryside. As we drove into Ingham on this particular morning the humid atmosphere coupled with the steam from the mill created a distant scene which looked for all the world like the eruption of a volcano.
And on this same day, whilst driving through the cane fields towards the coast, we finally came across a cane harvester we could photograph.
And finally, an empty cane train crossing the main street of Ingham. This great mechanical centipede was over 200 bins long! Had we known, I would have used the time as a coffee break.
During the course of our stay in Cardwell, true to plan, we ventured north to the coastal villages of Tully Heads and Hull Heads and south to Taylors Beach, Lucinda and Halifax, continuing our quest to discover the ideal small coastal resort in this part of the world for future reference.
Lucinda, the home of the longest sugar loading jetty in the world, (very poorly represented in this shot...you may be able to just make out the actual docking wharf at right angles to the end of the jetty on the horizon)
receives high praise from many quarters as a holiday destination. How we now value our own judgement! A morbidly crowded, pet-unfriendly caravan park and an average beach front area all overshadowed by the huge sugar warehouses and the jetty, left us cold. Tully Heads and Hull Heads were a very different proposition with good beaches, a river mouth (Hull Heads) and (Hull Heads again) a very appealing fee campsite right on the edge of the Hull River.
But the stand out for us was Taylors Beach. A lovely looking park (Max amenable), and a nearby inlet which presented clean, sandy tidal flats (flathead country), crystal clear waters and an indefinable ambiance which immediately appealed to both of us. A definite for another trip.
All of which all brings us to the end of our sojourn in Cardwell and beyond. I must apologise for the fact that I have been somewhat tardy in keeping this blog up to date. Our current base at Conway Beach is wireless Internet unfriendly...in fact we have no signal whatsoever other than at the beachfront, where I have had to make the shelter shed my temporary office.
Less that satisfactory and particularly frustrating for one who likes to beaver away at the keyboard on arising!
Tales of woe from Home Hill and Bowen to come (don't panic Gwen and Gwen!), and our adventures in Conway Beach, Airlie Beach and beyond in the hopefully not too distant future.
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