I really like Cairns, but I REALLY like Atherton Tablelands. It's the mountain range behind Cairns. The air isn't quite as humid as the coastal region. I have deduced that I'm a 'mountain' gal. I like the green trees, the cooler climate, and less population.
We ended up staying at a spot called Lake Tinaroo just outside of Atherton. It is THE spot to be. We started off in the caravan park. So that first day we looked at alternative sites around the lake itself and then we headed back into Mareebra to tour a coffee plantation. Very interesting that. As we drove through Mareebra on our way to the plantation, Chris spotted these on the local Golf course....
Kangaroos. And LOTS of them. They were all huddled around 3 or 4 trees in the shade and keeping cool. ''Only in Australia'', I said to myself.
Skybury, the coffee plantation, supplies 60 % of the 80 % of coffee to Australia. We toured the plantation and had a coffee taste testing at the end of the tour. Very nice. The most impressive thing about the plantation, was not ONLY the coffee, but the bathroom.
There was a pond that interconnected the Men's room and the Lady's room. No roof over head, so it was exposed to the elements and yes,....there WAS fish in the pond. It was cool. I loved it and told Chris I want one of these in our bathroom. Somehow, I don't think it's going to be practical though. (sigh)
We did eventually find a spot on the lake and we spent 3 days there and loved it. I've decided a house right on the lake would be wonderful. That first day we got there, the water was like glass. We only had two other couples each side of us and they left the following day. So we were eventually by ourselves for a little while. 
As you can see, the water IS like glass, but that soon changed.
A storm started brewing up and we waited and watched it form for most of the day. By around 4 or 5 o'clock, it hit. Fierce winds whipped the awning around. I had already put some of the gear away as I watched it coming across the lake. But WE were a little late getting the awning down.(....note:...I didn't point any fingers?) Rain pelted down and lightening flashed across the sky. Awesome in it's power as it headed towards the coast. So we hunkered down for the night. The following morning, the water again was like glass. Woohoo!! we get to go SWIMMING!!!! So we filled up the floaties and headed for the water. It was great!!! I really like the lake to swim in. It reminded me of Shasta Lake and Oregon. Although, THAT water was too cold to swim in, this, however, was not. It was a PERFECT temperature. We spent most of the day in the water and my sunburn tells me that we must have had fun. By Friday, the park started filling up with people. And by Saturday morning the foreshore was filled with people and lots of kids and boats. The end of school had come and families were on holidays. That was the day we went fishing with our Barramundi expert guide, Jason. He took us around to the other side of the lake where it was a bit quieter. But unfortunately there wasn't even a bite....oh!...let me take that back. We DID get ONE bite. Chris NEARLY got a good sized barramundi, but it cut the line before he could reel it in. This was the one that really DID get away. And we didn't get a bite for the rest of the day. Oh well,....it turned out to be one of those days where the fish weren't biting.
So we ventured back to the caravan and decided to get some groceries and have dinner. So off we into town we went. Chris's biggest comment was "the girls are SO friendly here". Very impressed with their intensity and focus on customers, being an 'ex' sales manager. We even went to the local Chinese food place recommended by the cashier. ''No reservations?...no problems...we'll put you here!'' RIGHT AT THE FRONT DOOR. I told Chris that we were at the 'MEET N GREET' table. I was beginning to think I should have dressed better, but it was too late. However, the food WAS GOOD and it wasn't too bad sitting there as the guests (those WITH reservations) came in. They had a full house that night and I can understand why. Very nice food and nice ambience too as you watch the sun go down through all the windows and the sky turns a midnight blue.
And now we're off to Casey's (Rob's girlfriend) hometown of Ravenshoe. That's pronounced Raven's hoe,..not Raven shoe. Eh~..50/50 chance and I got it wrong. We came into town here and the Sunday markets were on. Along with a steam train ride. The steam train museum is where the ''caravan park'' is. It's ALSO where the Sunday market was held. So we drove THROUGH the Sunday Markets, caravan in tow, and waited for the markets to break up so we could unhook our caravan. And then we headed up the tracks on the Steam train! It was a nice trip. A bit of cool air and a bit of history as well, from one of the locals, and we ended the day up at the local pub and had a 'counter' dinner while we watched the thunder storm pass over.
Tomorrow, we're off to Herberton to see the historic mining town and back into Atherton to fix the mobile phone car charger and possibly get a new phone. We've had a few problems with electrical goods on this trip, but they will get sorted out. At least the fridge is working again. We've discovered that the battery for the fridge can run for a couple of days, but after that, we need to recharge batteries again. ah well,...it's all a learning trip.. right?
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