Here We Go Again - Chapter 33 - Paronella to Cairns

We wake to rain on the roof. This area owns the golden gumboot for the wettest area in the country. They get something like 4 metres of rain per annum here. Its not torrential, but its rain.

The three vans required very little in preparation as none were actually unhitched. I am relegated to our rightful place at the rear. Our efforts on the previous day were not good enough to hold the lead.

On the road, what do we find – more road works. The journey is infested with them. One lot though intrigues. As we approach the UHF starts with differing conversations. There are confirmations of arrivals, discussions about load dumping and flattening as well as other “technical stuff”. 

Unlike what you might expect, this particular set of roadworks is a hive of activity. We listen intently and only interrupt when we need to for turning etc.

Its only a short hop to Cairns and we arrive before lunch. Well most of us do. Silver Leader has missed the turn and headed off into Cairnes looking for a roundabout to return. Forbsy has made the turn and has his back end hanging out on the road, as there is another checking in. We stop in line and hazard lights flashing.

Firbsy makes the turn and calls me to make a wide turn as there is not much room. The office staff have mucked up the deposits and Forbsy has had to repay the entire rental, as has Robyn which does not impress her at all.

We have been given the first spot in the park. A godsend when you consider how tight the rest of the park is. Or it would have been, if it weren’t for the power coupling of the sites across the road, firmly in the line of any straight van and Cruiser. It takes several goes to get the van in straight enough, then we still have to leave the doorway a little hanging over the edge of the concrete as the drawbar was still on the road.

But we get in and set up. The mind boggles at getting out, but that is in 6 days time. We will worry about that then.

After setting up I get talking to a patron who just happens to eb from Failford, just near Forster NSW ie about 30kilometres from home. Whereas we have a 21 foot 6 inch van, he has a 25 foot van and was placed diametrically opposite in the park, meaning he had to negotiate all the thin windy streets to his spot.

Now we are all in, we need to work out what are the preferences for things to do here, and then to book them. The list has two things that cant be changed. Silver Leader has his second Covid jab booked for Monday at Atherton, and we have a breakfast meeting with one of Robyn’s nieces (and her daughter) planned for Sunday. The reef is high on the list as is the Sky Rail as well as Cape Tribulation and the Daintree. 

We have enough days to do all of these. The only thing that will throw a spanner in the works will be availability. The only way to sort this out is to head to the office en masse and check on availabilities and book.

There is much toing and froing as well as gnashing of teeth as some days things are booked out, others the weather doesn’t look good. We end up with a list with everything on it and a bill which will keep the local economy buoyant for some time.

Tomorrow we will do a bus tour to the Daintree and Cape Tribulation. Saturday will be the Reef Tour, Sunday will be a lay day as we will breakfast with the family and then perhaps spend the day with them. Monday is the jab Day so we will make a tour of the Atherton Tablelands with it, leaving Tuesday for the Sky Rail for the afternoon.

There is a dinner van in the park that looks like an interesting alternative to cooking. Smoked meals at reasonable prices are enticing, and at 5.00pm we head over to sample its wares. We find Silver Leader and Rose already there. We order a half chicken for two and settle in.

Silver Leader has had delivered his new battery for the van and is eager to install and test it. He quips, that if we see smoke rising from the area of their van, he may be struggling. No such smoke rises and after we finish our dinner, with gravy soaked chips we wander across to see a beaming Silver Leader and an apparently fully installed and charging new battery.

We leave them and head to the van for a couple of hours of computer administration. I have a job I have been putting off for some time and with the early dinner cna get it done. Robyn plays with some videos she wants to use as Facebook advertising, and this done we both retire.