Cat-astrophes

Here is the last entry of my holiday adventures...and possibly the most memorable?

Our last two days was spent on the mainland in Townsville. On the second day we decided to treck inland and up the Paluma Range (Big mountain). Being the tourists we were, we left armed with swimmers, in-car Global Positioning System and camera. We affectionately called the GPS 'Jane'. Apparently Jane didn't share these affections, as toward the top of the skinny mountain road she started to demand we 'turn right now' - straight off the edge of the cliff.

From that point on she was known as 'Evil Jane'.

Regardless of Evil Jane's efforts we arrived safely at the Mount Spec Bridge - a bridge and a region rich with history. Apparently this was a mountain where troops were posted to lookout for airraids etc over Townsville. I just thought the bridge was purdy...

Infact, I liked it so much I think I took about 15 photos of it from all different angles...but I won't bore you with those....

The bridge ran over a body of water known as 'Little Crystal Creek'. Though it wasn't too little...It did provide a series of spectacular waterfalls and pools that you could quite happily splash around in. However it was still quite early in the day and not quite warm enough yet on the mountain to justify getting wet. We decided to stop by in the afternoon on our way back down.

Istead we continued to the summit. A sleepy little community greeted us, surrounded by rich rainforests. We trekked partway into the trees - BF was determined to do the walk in power-mode so most of my photos here turned out a blur - wanting to stop, trying to keep up, getting lost often (luckily the path made it kind of foolproof....). Some of the trees were just so beautiful - with buttress roots as large as walls and as tall as a house.

After the walk we stopped by a little cafe called 'Ivy Cottage'. The concept was great but the food......and 'coffee'...... well, yes. It was basically a house with a varandah converted into a cafe. If you don't like birds, I don't suggest it. Honey eaters of all kinds (and a few bush turkeys...) come to pinch scones and jam off your table. They fly *very* close as they jump from table to table. I was much amused.

The woman serving us didn't seem so patient towards us 'city folk' as we asked to see the menu before ordering (????). She got her own back by taking her time to serve the food. My scones were nice. The coffee burnt. BFs hot chocolate was lukewarm, her hubby's cake was stale. We assumed there was a lot of frozen food being microwaved out the back... The experience was good though.

At this point we had decided we had seen enough of Paluma and thought we'd make an early trip back to Townsville and find a massage instead (I still had most of my spending money at this point!) Little did we know that our plans were to be thwarted (I love that word....thwart...teehee).

We made our way slowly back down the mountain taking in the view, which was quite spectacular. To give you an idea of distances. That photo is taken an hour inland - the little 'mountain' off in the distance is actually magnetic island. Pretty amazing stuff!

As we turned yet another skinny corner we were confronted with an interesting sight. The back of school bus had slipped off the edge of the road and was balanced daintily on the edge of a straight drop down. The kids were off the bus evidently pretty shaken. We spoke briefly to a police officer who informed us that it was going to be a long wait. Alternatively we could go the other way down the mountain through 'Hidden Valley'. We smiled politely at the officer, thanked him, I took a photo, then turned back around.

Back up through Paluma we went and off towards Hidden Valley. Not long down the road we were confronted with a sad sight. Dirt road. A lot of it. Since we were in a borrowed car that had never seen dirt before, we set off at a painfully slow pace - diverting around every bump and crevice in the road. Dust was still caking the perfect paint.

An hour passed and we decided that this was indeed a Hidden Valley. Too well hidden. We were also running out of petrol.

All was not lost. We found Hidden Valley, and it had a petrol station! In fact, 'Hidden Valley' was just a petrol station and a lodge. Mind you, it was the cutest petrol station I have ever seen. There was some interesting characters there...the owners were extremely helpful and let us know that it was another 3 hours of dirt before hitting a long road back to Townsville. We decided we had better chances with the bus.

The drive back felt even longer for some reason - but at least we had a full tank of petrol, bottles of chilled water and we were armed with an array of chips and minties - all at petrol station prices....

Back through Paluma we went and down the mountain towards the bus. We hadn't gotten very far when we came across a barricade blocking the road with 'road closed' hanging on the front. We stopped momentarily, wondering what to do, before our driver, beyond being fed up, jumped out and opened the gate. I closed my eyes....(except to take a photo of course)...I know 'nusink...'

There was another long wait by Crystal Creek until the road was finally cleared, and a crane had lifted the bus back onto the road. We were finally on our way back to Townsville, but massages were a little out of the question by now. We had spent well over 5 hours on that hill. 4 more than anticipated.

On the way back, we followed the crane...another photo op for my journal...then finished the day with a carwash - more funky photos.

BUT...

The story doesn't end there.

The next morning whilst waiting for our flight out, I caught site of the front page of the Townsville Bulliten. There was the 'Paluma Incident' sprawled all over it with a photo of the bus....on the road. "Argh!! My photo at least has the wheels off the edge!" I protested. That evening I emailed them a thumbnail of my photo and told the paper to contact me if interested. They did indeed - offered no money for the photo, but did a quick phone interview. I requested they send a copy of the story in return.

I heard nothing.

I got sick of hearing nothing and tried to find an electronic version...which I did. Between misquotes and manipulating my words I was not too impressed...but then found the whole article had a bit of a negative vibe towards tourists attempting to drive on this mountain recklessly! Sheesh, if only they had known I am a P-plater!! So...for the record:

1. I was not the one driving
2. We were going well under the reccomended speed limit
3. The lady at Ivy Cottage agreed that it was a dangerous road and that buses should be banned
4. I did not say that it was popular with tourists - how would I know???
   

Bah...still, I can say I've done a little freelance :)

And so ends the North Queensland Adventures.

xxx