Filling in our days in Paradise

Since we have been home from Mission Beach it's been go, go, go......

Many appointments, medical, financial and beauty ;-) and the occasional social.  Christmas is just around the corner and we are starting to get invites to Christmas catch-ups that are always something to look forward to.  I heard on the radio that there are less than 30 sleeps until Christmas and I am feeling just a little overwhelmed as we have a trip to Townsville before we head to Tasmania for Christmas.  I'm hoping to do a little shopping for Tasmania while we are in Townsville but I guess it will be nigh on impossible to purchase winter clothes in the middle of summer in Townsville.  Where we are staying in Tasmania (Lake St. Clair) had a snowfall last week.  It would be beyond our wildest dreams to have a white Christmas.  Fingers and toes crossed.

The weather in Palm Cove has been glorious to say the least.  All the wild weather that Queenslanders in the south have been experiencing has certainly not reached us here in the north.....yet.  Philip and I have been wandering down to the swimming net enclosure each afternoon for a relaxing dip in the refreshing water.  We love it and it also helps to fill in those hours in the afternoon that you might be looking for something to eat or drink.  Speaking of drinking, I have decided to become a Teetotaller.  Any alcohol of late has been like drinking poison for me and has been making me very very ill so it is time.  As a hemochromatosis carrier I always have to be aware of liver function as it is the organ most affected by hemochromatosis. It is a no brainer to eliminate alcohol. I hope I can do it and I do feel quietly confident but I am not going to put unnecessary pressure on myself.  The silly season will be a pressure test!

Exercise wise both Philip and I now go to Aqua Aerobics on Mondays that is a perfect place to be on a warm day. It is a very large class and you really have to fight for your space 😁.  I am still attending two hatha yoga classes each week and have now also incorporated a Yin Yoga class once a week.  I walk when I feel like it which is probably three times a week.  One walk is a 7.5km flat walk and the other is 4.5km with a big hill climb. On my walk yesterday I walked to the end of the jetty. It was particularly lovely and hardly a soul fishing from it that was very unusual.

There has been a sign at the jetty to say that there has been a crocodile sighted in the area lately so people should be aware.  I have never seen a crocodile here but this morning at yoga we had the absolute joy of seeing a pod of dolphins pass by very close to the waters edge.  What a treat and the yoga class was temporarily suspended as we all stood and watched these beautiful mammals. 🐬🐬🐬🐬🐬

What I've been cooking and eating

It's no secret that I am a foodie through and through.  I am forever downloading new recipes to my Paprika App from various websites.  My usual process is to see what I have in the fridge/freezer and then I do a google search for recipes using those ingredients.  You would be surprised what I find.  I am very fortunate that I have a husband who will eat almost anything, as do I.  Even if I don't love something it will not stop me from trying it in a recipe.  For example I don't love coriander but I am not afraid of using it in a recipe if it calls for it.  If I can substitute if for something else, for example parsley, I will.  I am also not adverse to using fruit in my cooking.  A friend noticed how much fruit we had in our fruit bowl recently and asked if we would eat all of it.  I was a little taken aback because of course we would eat it all!  If not the raw article it will be thrown into a salad (think Mangoes, Apple, Oranges) and  stone fruit that has almost met its "used by" date will be thrown into a saucepan with maple syrup, vanilla bean, cinnamon stick, star anise and gently simmered. The beautifully stewed fruit is then my "go to" breakfast along with greek yoghurt and nuts.

A recipe I found on our last trip away in the caravan was one by Neil Perry.  I had pork chops in the freezer and lots of apples in the fruit bowl. Neil Perry's Barbecued Pork Chops with Apple and Potato Salad (link HERE) was really delicious and the combination of apple potato and lemon was a combination that I would not have thought of but it really worked.  It will be on repeat.

A recipe that I have wanted to try but could never find all the ingredients is this one.  Fillet Steak Salad. (Link HERE)

The ingredient that I couldn't source here in Cairns was Watercress so I decided to buy a bunch of radishes and use the green tops as a substitute. Perfect. Philip declared this salad one of his top 10 so that is a big call.  It really was tasty and the addition of grated parmesan tossed with the leaves really enhanced the overall taste experience.  It was unusual to have two dressings in a salad but believe me it really worked and shouldn't be skipped.

Another eating experience in the past week was at a Wine Night held in Port Douglas.  Six wines were matched with six amazing small plates.  Unfortunately I didn't get any photos from the night but here is a copy of the menu.

The group get together often for wine/food nights and I am pleased that we have been invited into the group.  We were invited by Philip's cycling group who have become our firm friends and look forward to our next function. 

Wongaling Beach

After our stay in Millaa Millaa our next stop was Mission Beach where we were to meet up with our friends Kate and Mike.  We chose the Dunk Island View Caravan Park at Wongaling Beach on a recommendation from a friend and it was a great recommendation.  The park was well maintained with lots of shady areas and the sites were grassed with good size slabs.  The sites were also well spaced with bushes between each site and they were also very long sites that gave us ample room for van and vehicle. 

 The only negative about Wongaling Beach is that it is a drive to go anywhere.  There are no shops within walking distance and the stinger nets are at  North and South Mission Beaches but not Wongaling. However it was only a small negative in the scheme of things.

We arrived around lunchtime the day before our friends and by the time we had unpacked the van, had a bite of lunch and a mini nap it was time to make our way to South Mission Beach for a swim in the balmy waters.  It was pure bliss to rock gently up and down with the waves.  The following day I had an appointment with my skin doctor in Cairns so we woke early and gave ourself plenty of time to have breakfast at one of the little cafes near my doctors office before my appointment.  (Pleased to say that I got a clear on the sun spot that my doctor was concerned about).  After the doctor, it was a trip to Cairns Central and then Bunnings before finally heading the car south again for the two hour drive back to Mission Beach.  By the time we arrived at the van park our friends had arrived and set up their own camp.

We made a bit of a plan over drinks that evening to visit Tully (Kate's home town) and the Tully Gorge the following day which ended up being a little cloudy so it was a good day to be in the car.  We thoroughly enjoyed the tour around Tully where Kate took us to all her old haunts and to the house that she grew up in along with her five siblings.  Tully Gorge was an eye opener.  I had read a lot about it but it is an extremely lovely drive up to the power station at the top of the gorge.  The road crosses the Tully River that is a favourite place to go white river rafting when the water level is high.  Philip wants to do this sometime but I will have to renege on that one!  We had a photo shoot on the bridge over the river.

The following day Kate organised a boat tour for us.  We boarded the Island Spirit for a 3 Island Tour visiting the privately owned Timana Island, the luxury Bedarra Island with a stay at the resort there costing around $3000/night and finally Dunk Island that was devastated by cyclone Yasi in 2011.  We stayed on Dunk for around an hour and a half.  We had packed a picnic hamper so we devoured this and then went for a swim in the warm tropical waters.  Surprisingly there are no marine stingers around Dunk Island.  Our tour took around three and a half hours and it was money well spent.  Our kiwi tour guide was very well informed and as we were the only customers on board the boat we had his undivided attention!

There are some private homes on Bedarra selling around the $7m mark.

The very exclusive Bedarra Island Resort. This is as close as we were allowed.

Dunk Island

Back at our campsite that evening we were visited by the resident male Cassowary and his three chicks.  It is the first time I have ever seen one of these magnificent birds in the wild. What a treat.

Millaa Millaa and Surrounds

Philip's cycling group decided to do a 40k cycle departing from, and returning to, Millaa Millaa. The first part of the ride was a climb of 900m that took them to the wind farms at Windy Hill near Ravenshoe and the second part was a nice downhill along the old Palmerston Highway. It took them roughly three hours but the eight cyclists seemed to enjoy the challenge.  

(You can see the road that Philip followed in this photo and where we are standing is the beginning of the downward part of the ride. Quite an achievement to cycle this)

We decided to take the caravan to Millaa and have a good look around the area.  We also needed to brush the cobwebs off the kayak and take it for a spin around Lakes Eacham and Barrine.  This area is a host to many beautiful waterfalls and walks and the Mamu Skywalk is something we have always wanted to do.  Being the foodie I also wanted to visit the Mungalli Dairy Cafe to purchase some goodies.

Our first day was a trip to Yungaburra to walk Petersens Creek.  It is a relatively short walk but has a few challenging uphills for a good workout. 

We walked all the way from the bridge to the railway bridge and it really was a lovely walk. The locals have put a lot of time into rehabilitation of the riparian area with lots of plants to stop any potential erosion.  We crossed over the suspension bridge and headed towards the Old Water Turbine that had us intrigued.  Next stop was the inviting waters of Frawleys Pool.  Unfortunately we didn't bring our bathers so we had to be content to just dipping our toes into the cool water.  From here it was uphill to the Old Railway Bridge that we also found fascinating.  The walk, although short, took us two hours with various stops along the way.

The following day we drove down the Palmerston Highway to the Mamu Skywalk.  We have driven past several times always promising to stop when we had the time. Today we had the time and I have to say it was absolutely worth the stop.  The skywalk is around 2km one way and words cannot describe just how great this walk is.  The views from the elevated walk, cantilever bridge and the 37m high tower take in the whole of Woolooran National Park and Johnston River. It was truly spectacular and we would do it again in a heartbeat.

After Mamu we headed back along the Palmerston Highway and stopped to do the walk into Wallicher and Tchupala Falls.  These two falls are also picturesque and the walk in was very easy but as we had rain the day before we managed to pick up a few leeches.  Ugghh!  It was getting late and our bellies were telling us that it was time to head home so after a couple of quick photos, we headed home.

Days four and five were devoted to kayaking on the two lakes, Barrine and Eucham.  Eucham was first on the list and it is a very easy paddle around the small lake.  Philip wanted to do it twice but I suggested we go for a swim in the lovely warm water.  I splashed around but Philip stood perfectly still and let all the little fish clean up his feet.  They needed it 😁.  After we packed up the kayak and headed back to the van for a quick lunch we headed out to the Waterfall Circuit at Millaa.  The three waterfalls, Millaa, Zillie and Ellinjaa are all beautiful falls and well worth the walks to get to them.  We had been to these falls previously with my old photography group and I still think Ellinjaa Falls are my favourite.  We watched somebody with a drone taking aerial photos of the falls and regretted not bringing our drone with us.

Day five was my favourite day.  We made our way to Lake Barrine and straight up did the 5km circuit of the lake.  It is a very easy level walk with plenty of photo opportunities along the way.  After the walk we stopped into the teahouse for their renowned Devonshire Tea.  Yummo.  It was then time to work off the calories so once again we assembled the kayak and headed to the water.  I thoroughly enjoyed this paddle. We had a few challenging moments with the wind blowing across the lake but all up it was a great paddle that took us roughly an hour with plenty of stops along the way.  It was a great way to end our stay at Millaa.

We stayed at the Millaa Millaa Van park and I can highly recommend this lovely park.  We got to chose our own site and chose one away from trees.  We probably should have chosen one with a cement slab as the rain made it a little sloshy but nothing that worried us too much.  The one thing we loved about this park was that apart from the amenities block there were upmarket plumbed-in "port-a-loos" scattered throughout the park.  We have never seen this before and it is was very convenient that we had one right beside our site.  We had six nights here and would certainly return.

Melbourne Cup 2021

(A bit belated, I know, but that seems to be the way of my busy life at the moment.)

We once again made our way to Port Douglas for the Zinc Restaurant Melbourne Cup Luncheon that is a huge fund raiser for the not for profit organisation, KIND - Kids in Need Donations.  This is a terrific organisation that we thoroughly support each year.  This year it was a little closer to home for us with our friends from Julatten, Sam and Crystal, having their little boy Sebastian diagnosed with brain cancer at the beginning of 2020.  It was a huge financial and emotional strain for the family as Sam and Crystal had to move to Brisbane, leaving behind their three little girls, to have the treatment that Sebastian desperately needed. KIND was able to help them out and if you get a chance to pick up this book, it will help the family financially to face the ongoing costs that will be incurred well into the future. Here is the link to the website https://www.crystalleonardi.com

Back to the Melbourne Cup.  This is a lovely way to celebrate the "race that stops a nation".  The three course meal with matching wines is perfection and sitting with a group of friends from Philips cycling group made the day very enjoyable.  

We bought many sweep tickets and raffle tickets and placed bids on the auction items.  It was quite hilarious that Philip bid $450 for a $300 Tommy Bahama voucher, but it's our one time to donate each year and KIND is our organisation of choice.  We managed to pick up the "Trifecta" in sweep tickets and also picked up two of the raffle prizes so it was a good day.

Lost Mojo

 I seem to have lost, temporarily I hope, my mojo for writing.  This past 18 months has seen so many changes for Philip and I, that have been thankfully all good changes.  We have been kept busy bringing our little apartment into the 21st century including renovation of two bathrooms and the laundry.  They are all completed now and apart from a couple of little things we are done with decorating and renovating.

We have also travelled in the caravan quite a bit in the last 12 months and our last trip away to caretake our sons property at Gundiah went very fast.  We certainly got our animal fix for awhile and we are quietly relieved that we no longer have the responsibility of so many animals.  We were away just shy of four weeks and packed a lot into that time.  It was special to spend time with long time friends, all ex Julia Creek, and we definitely had our share of drinkies.  One night in particular with our friends in Leyburn left us all with giant hangovers the next day.

Most of the time away I cooked all our meals but when we did eat out, the meals were the very best. I declared the Crispy Chicken Ceasar Salad at Theebine Hotel the BEST EVER!

Some of the van parks we stayed in were excellent, some not so much.  Unfortunately I didn't get a photo of the site we had at the Toowoomba Motor Village but we have also declared it one of the best.  If you happen to be passing through Toowoomba ask for their Top Drive Thru site.  It is beautifully grassed and is right beside the amenities and camp kitchen.  Another great spot was St Helens Gardens Tourist Park at Calen.  For $20/night we received a drive through site with cement slab.  The park is set in lovely tropical gardens and there are a few cabins also available.  Calen is just north of Mackay and weren't we lucky that we missed, by one day, the awful hailstorm that hit that area. It would not have been good for the solar panel on the top of our van.

Another great find right in our backyard is the Big 4 Port Douglas Glengarry Park.  This park is set in very lush tropical gardens and it is one of the few parks where you see the gardener driving around all day every day doing his maintenance.  We stayed here for three nights while the builders were adding the final touches to our laundry and as we always have a night locally before putting the van back in the shed, this place will be on repeat.

So what have we been up to since we returned?  Well not much really.   Plenty of this......

We have been frolicking about in the ocean each afternoon since we arrived home and intend to keep doing it.  We are both water babies.  At the moment we have been able to just cross the road to swim in the very calm blue ocean but the stinger nets will go in shortly so we will walk down to the stinger net enclosure each afternoon for a dip.  

Other than that we have had quite a few appointments to keep and also a little shopping.  First on the list was a replacement for my indoor plant that outgrew the area.  Turns out it was a climbing plant.  We bought a Madonna Lily that I can tell you is perfect for the spot.  I gave it a feed of liquid fertliser as soon as we got home and I can see two new flowers reaching out to the light.  We bought the plant at Limberlost Nursery that is home to Vines Restaurant.  When we lived at Julatten we often had lunch at Vines but ironically we haven't been back since moving to Palm Cove.  The meals here never disappoint.  I treated myself to a bowl of Gnocchi with Pumpkin, Capsicum and Spinach in a rich garlic sauce while Philip had, you guessed it, Salt and Pepper Calamari.  He is not very adventurous when it comes to restaurant meals and nearly always orders the same thing......

I have enjoyed being back in the kitchen and trying out a few healthy recipes.  I first had Hainan Chicken (Chicken Rice) in Singapore and fell in love with it.  I now make a very quick version of it using chicken pieces instead of a whole chicken poached in the aromatic broth and I think it is nearly as good as the original. It is typically served with cucumber on the side but I prefer Asian Greens.

Well that's a wrap for the moment.  We have just enjoyed Melbourne Cup in Port Douglas so I will write about that in the coming days.

Judi x